TPi December 2015 - Issue 196

TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL

TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL

WWW.TPiMAGAZINE.COM DECEMBER 2015

ISSUE 196

LIVE EVENT DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY • DECEMBER 2015 • ISSUE 196

IMAGINE DRAGONS DON’T GET TOO CLOSE. IT’S DARK INSIDE...

UAC IMPLEMENTS TRANSATLANTIC TOUR SERVICE

VEVO HALLOWEEN • CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN • MEA SUPPLEMENT • IN PROFILE: MILLENNIUM STUDIOS • PSA • IN THE SPOTLIGHT: AYRTON • L-ACOUSTICS PRODUCT LAUNCH • KLANG:TECHNOLOGIES

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“The LEO Family is the right choice for providing the best quality sound to our clients and their audiences.

The Meyer Sound brand is the perfect match for Wigwam Acoustics, in terms of its reputation for quality.”

Chris Hill, Co-founder and Spencer Beard, Managing Director, Wigwam Acoustics

Read the full interview at meyersound.com/wigwam

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Meyer Sound Laboratories Inc. • 2832 San Pablo Ave. • Berkeley, CA 94702 • 510 486.1166

PUBLISTING TPI

Creative: LEOPARD Launch Ads

Contact: Elania Nanopoulos Phone: 510 486.1166 x115

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So whether you are an Integrator, Installer, Re-seller, Hire or Events Company - Let us become an asset to YOUR business

Just Think Leisuretec Leisuretec Distribution Limited • Leighton Buzzard LU7 4UH (UK) • Tel: +44 (0) 1525 850085 • www.leisuretec.co.uk

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DEAR SANTA...

It’s been a strange month for everyone in our industry. The events in Paris on 13 November truly shocked and saddened the world, and affected many of our touring brothers and sisters. Our thoughts are with you all, as seen on Pg.74.

I can’t quite believe it’s the end of the year again. The last 12 months have flown by at rapid speed and the abundance of events we’ve covered is staggering. Not only have we completed 12 more issues of TPi, but we’ve also managed to get two editions of our MEA magazine under our belt. You’ll find MEA 002 bound into this issue where we cover Bon Jovi, Take That, Sensation and much more. It will also receive stand alone distribution in the MEA region. Enjoy!

Our cover story this month focusses on Imagine Dragons and the recent UK leg of their world tour. It was an interesting lesson in supplier partnerships, as we heard the story of UAC - United Audio Companies - from their teams on the ground. The companies in question are UK-based SSE and US-based Sound Image, who together created a seamless transference of sound equipment and crew, expertly tailored to the tour’s regional needs. The tour also offered a look into the creative show design from “UAC - UK-based SSE and Moment Factory and LD Sooner Routhier (who US-based Sound Image, coincidently features in Bon Jovi’s MEA article). together created a seamless Elsewhere, Brit rockers Catfish And The Bottlemen dominated the (beer throwing!) transference of sound crowds on their recent headline tour, bringing equipment and crew, their youthful crew with them, led by Tour and expertly tailored to the Production Manager, Daniel James Humphreys. tour’s regional needs.”

Plus, Ste contributes a design-orientated piece on Vevo Halloween, a tale of true production teamwork for the show’s five acts.

Off stage, we take a look at new launches from the audio world as KLANG:technologies and L-Acoustics unveil new product lines, and Sound Engineer Ben Hammond talks us through his experience of using Allen & Heath’s brand new dLive console.

On a personal note - and I can’t stress how many times recently I’ve been glad to hear the sentiment that ‘people over products’ is what keeps this industry in perfect working order - I’d like to say a huge thanks to my editorial team for making the last few months so much fun. Ste and Stew are not only passionate about the world that you work in, but are constantly enthusiastic about having become a part of it. Here we are above (Stew is the youngest and tallest member of the crew!).

From everyone at TPi Magazine & Awards, we wish you a very happy holiday season, a well earned rest and a much deserved mince pie.

We’ll see you on the other side…

Kelly Murray Editor

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Merry Christmas and a rockin’ New Year to everyone we’ve worked with in 2015

ITINERARY

CREW

a member of

Editor Kelly Murray Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7738 154689 e-mail: k.murray@mondiale.co.uk Assistant Editor Ste Durham Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8385 Mobile: +44 (0)7891 679742 e-mail: s.durham@mondiale.co.uk Editorial Assistant Stewart Hume Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7712 607419 e-mail: s.hume@mondiale.co.uk General Manager - Magazine & Awards Hannah Eakins Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7760 485230 e-mail: h.eakins@mondiale.co.uk

OBITUARIES 08 Remembering Sound Engineer, Dennie Vidal and

freighting legend, Alan Escombe-Wolhuter.

EVENT FOCUS 10 Soundcraft Open Day

The Vi7000 consoles are showcased at John Henry’s, much to the attendees’ approval.

12 Dirty Dancing

Clay Paky lights the way for a new stage adaptation of the classic film.

16 KLANG:technologies

The IEM manufacturer showcases a new 3D monitoring system courtesy of HD Pro Audio.

18 L-Acoustics’ New X Series

L-Acoustics launches the new X Series with an open day at its Paris HQ.

Advertising Sales - TPi Magazine Charlotte Goodlass Tel: +44 (0)161 476 9126 Mobile: +44 (0)788 0208 226 e-mail: c.goodlass@mondiale.co.uk

22 Faithless Hears Logic

Event Manager - TPi Awards Mo Naeem Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)775 9272 313 e-mail: m.naeem@mondiale.co.uk

Graphic Design & Production Dan Seaton: d.seaton@mondiale.co.uk Zoe Willcox: z.willcox@mondiale.co.uk Accounts Donna Barlow / Sarah Miller: ar@mondiale.co.uk Chief Executive Justin Gawne Mondiale Group Chairman Damian Walsh www.tpimagazine.com • www.tpiawards.com Cover Photography Imagine Dragons by Tom Martin

SSL is the desk of choice for Mark Kennedy’s mix.

PRODUCTION PROFILE 26 Imagine Dragons The US band arrives in the UK with an Adamson rig, welcoming a smooth transition from Sound Image and SSE’s new joint venture, UAC.

38 Vevo Halloween

A twisted circus themed gig allows five acts to perform in five different spooky sets as the production team handles festival-style changeovers.

48 Catfish And The Bottlemen

Kelly Murray sees a headline concert from one of Britain’s most popular young indie exports.

DAY IN THE LIFE OF...

56 Eat To The Beat’s Susan ‘Soozie’ Coll shares her

road diary.

INTERVIEW

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58 Ben Hammond

The FOH Engineer stops for a quick chat about

Issue 196 / December 2015

CLOCKING OFF

mixing punk band, The Professionals.

IN PROFILE 60 TPi’s Stewart Hume visits Millennium Studios for

an anniversary interview.

66 DiGiCo celebrates fund raising for UK charity TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL is a controlled circulation magazine, published 12 times a year by Mondiale Publishing Limited under licence. ISSN 1461-3786 Copyright © 2014 Mondiale Publishing Limited. All contents of this publication are subject to worldwide copyright protection and reproduction in whole or part, in any form whatsoever, is expressly forbidden without the prior written consent of the Publishers. Every effort is taken to ensure accuracy in the preparation of this publication but neither Mondiale Publishing Ltd, nor the Editor, can be held responsible for its contents or any consequential loss or damage resulting from information published. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Publishers or Editor. The Publishers accept no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, illustrations, advertising materials or artwork.

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Behind The Scenes.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT 68

A look at Ayrton’s DreamPanel Twin, launched at Frankfurt’s Prolight+Sound.

MOVERS & SHAKERS 72 The latest industry appointments.

PSA 74 Andy Lenthall pays his respects.

VITAL STATS

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78 PSCo’s Stuart Holmes takes the hot seat.

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OBITUARIES

REMEMBERING DENNIE VIDAL 27TH MAY 1964 - 8TH OCTOBER 2015 Excerpts from Dennie’s Eulogy by Edris Russell of the Vidal family as edited by Johnny Henry of John Henry’s Ltd. It’s with heavy heart that we confirm the passing of our friend, Dennie Vidal, after a short battle with cancer. He leaves behind a loving family, daughter and many friends who will miss him dearly.

Dennie was born and raised in Stoke Newington, London, and soon found out that music was his passion at an early age. He became fascinated with the sound of music.

Following his secondary education, Dennie enrolled onto a sound engineering course which he passed with distinction.

In the early days Dennie supplemented his income by working in a leather shop where he saved money for tools and travel money for gigs. He then went on to manage various nightclubs in Hackney and dealt with the sound requirements involved.

Dennie toured the world and worked with some of the biggest names in music including BB King, Prince, Public Enemy and De La Soul.

He became great friends with singer Beverley Knight, Mary Pearce, Imani, Black Slate, Incognito and Jazz Warriors.

Working in every major concert venue in the UK, Europe and across the whole world, he has also engineered live music for 08

broadcast purposes for the BBC for both TV and radio.

He will always be remembered with a smile when working with Pete Skan setting up PAs for raves in muddy fields. Dennie would often stop musicians in the street and ask them what they were doing - turning up at their next gig to give advice on stagecraft and live sound. Dennie would also regularly engineer for free, helping new bands get the best exposure they could.

Internationally known and locally respected, he would become every member of the crew, from carrying equipment and turning knobs to making repairs with his famous tool box! His energy, never-ending enthusiasm and love for shows made working with him fun, and something to always look forward to.

After setting up a restaurant on the island of Dominica, Dennie returned to the UK to become a teacher, mentor, role model, and father to his beloved daughter, Kayanna. He went on to work full time for John Henry’s and soon found a group of like-minded people who also love what they do. Here, he made friends and was happy.

Dennie was loved and he truly brought people together.

TPi

OBITUARIES

RIP ALAN ESCOMBE-WOLHUTER 16TH AUGUST 1945 - 17TH OCTOBER 2015 Alan Escombe-Wolhuter passed away peacefully at his home on 17 October after a long fight with polycystic liver and kidney disease. Born in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Alan fell in love with the sound of rock ‘n’ roll in his teens and boarded a ship to London at the age of 19 to become a musician. He joined some fellow Rhodesian expats and formed a band called The Shake Spears, with whom he had numerous hit records in the UK and Europe as the group’s bass player. He later formed prog rock group Fynn McCool with his friend, Chris Stone. Encountering leaner times in the 70s, Alan sought pastures new and landed a job at a shipping firm. His sharp mind, formidable memory and eye for detail made him well-suited to business he would excel in.

It was a conversation with a friend from his rock ‘n’ roll past that led to something special happening. A few casual words about how he might save the Genesis tour money by using ocean freight led to a surge of phone calls from people representing tours such as Eric Clapton and Elton John. All were asking the same thing, to use Alan’s ‘Magic Shipping’ company.

Along with business partner David Bernstein, the two joined forces with Chris Wright, Ian Haynes and Mike Porciello in 1985 finding huge success working under the same banner at Rock-it Cargo. Bernstein’s memories are touching: “There are very few men who will ever reach the level of good that he did; he truly was the exceptional ‘good man’, a true Man of the World, with more skill, knowledge and understanding of how to work with people than almost anyone I ever knew; God, I will miss him dearly.”

Considered one of the pioneers in the modern music touring world, the list of artists whose world tours Alan helped to manage include Paul McCartney, U2, Queen, The Rolling Stones and Michael Jackson, to name but a few. He also played a role providing his freight expertise to groundbreaking events such as the original Live Aid concert in London.

Chris Wright commented: “I first met Alan in the early 80s when he was a competitor of ours. Little did I know he was to become not only a valuable asset and trusted work colleague but a good friend. The first day he turned up to our office with his friendly smile it

was like he had always been with us. It was the start of a long and fruitful partnership.” Former Director of Rock-it Cargo Ian Haynes said: “He was a joy to work with and a true gentleman both in actions and in his nature. He will be greatly missed.” Current GM of Rock-it Cargo, Alan ‘Durbo’ Durrant, added: ”He was a lovely, genuine man. I learnt a great deal from him over the years. When he retired, he was irreplaceable, which sums him up. He will be sorely missed.” Former Rock-it Cargo employee and now Managing Director of Sound Moves, Martin Corr, stated: “I spent many of my formative years in this industry working with and for Alan whist at Rock-It Cargo. Alan was very generous with his time and was always very patient and supportive when advising and helping me to plan and route world tours. These are traits that I sincerely hope have rubbed off on me.”

In 2005, Alan was granted a special achievement visa for his contribution to the entertainment industry, which allowed him to move to Byron Bay, Australia, with his family. He made many friends in the area and in time became a DJ on Bay FM. His two children have both followed in their father’s footsteps by entering the music industry; his son Luke is an award-winning musician and his daughter Melanie has become a celebrated rock ‘n’ roll photographer based in Los Angeles. Luke commented on his father’s passing: “He was a captivating storyteller with a wealth of rock ‘n’ roll stories, an incredible memory and a mesmerising voice; he could enthrall his listeners for hours. A remarkable man, he started out with less than £100 to his name and found success in two different careers. His contribution to the global touring industry is impossible to overstate. He was a true originator, a pioneer of ocean freight and one of the industry’s most beloved figures. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been told by someone at a show what a good guy he was.”

Alan was cared for in his final weeks by his wife of 44 years Karin, his children, daughter-in-law Kamilla and grandson Harry. The family would to like to express their gratitude for the support they received from the local health services and from Alan’s many friends around the world.

TPi 09

EVENT FOCUS: Soundcraft Showcase

SOUNDCRAFT VI7000 SHOWCASE SOUND TECHNOLOGY, DISTRIBUTOR OF HARMAN PROFESSIONAL AUDIO IN THE UK AND EIRE, RECENTLY HELD A SOUNDCRAFT OPEN DAY SHOWCASING THE NEW VI7000 AS WELL AS OTHER HARMAN PRODUCTS FROM SISTER BRANDS AKG AND JBL PROFESSIONAL. TPi CHECKED OUT THE DEMONSTRATION. Located in Studio Five of the famous John Henry’s facility in London, Sound Technology set up an afternoon event to showcase the latest Soundcraft Vi7000 and give those interested a chance to get some hands on time with the desk. The crowd that attended were a mixture of Soundcraft first-timers to old hats who were keen to see the benefits of the new desk.

The new Vi7000, along with the Vi5000 consoles, were announced earlier this year and are the most advanced desks produced

by Soundcraft to date, with a more powerful DSP engine with more channels to mix (128 chs with 384 I/O) along with 96kHz processing and headroom for further expansion. The Graphical User Interface (GUI) has also been updated with a new look as well as some useful features including BSS DPR901ii Dynamic EQ. Another useful addition to the desks has been 10

the extension of compatibility with the VM2 radio microphone status features that is now compatible with the Shure ULXD as well as the AKG DMS800 and WMS4500 systems.

Sound Technology also brought a Soundcraft Vi3000 to the demo day along with a Vi1 to give those completely unfamiliar with Soundcraft’s digital desks a chance to get some one to one training with the consoles. After a brief introduction by Stuart Strachan, Live Sound Project Engineer for Sound Technology as well as Andy Brown, Product Manager for the Vi Series, the audience were then welcomed to the stage to have a chance to give the desks a go with various members of Sound Technology on hand to answer any questions.

Strachan, who only joined Sound Technology in April of this year, has been taken on by the company to provide technical support, product demonstrations and pre and post sale product

training for all the various product it has on offer. Speaking about the event he stated: “With this particular event at John Henry’s we wanted to create an informal atmosphere that would allow anyone with an interest in spending some hands on time with the Soundcraft Vi series.”

Speaking about the two new consoles Brown explained how: “The Vi5000 and Vi7000 desks are evolutions of the successful Vi4 and Vi6 and our currently our flagship consoles.” He went on to state that these showcase events were incredibly useful to get face to face time with clients compared to the traditional trade show format: “I think trade shows are a great place to meet a large number of people but with every exhibitor launching new stuff its much harder to get your message heard. What is better are events like this where there is a lot more focus on what we want to show with a

EVENT FOCUS: Soundcraft Showcase

Opposite: Stuart Strachean from Sound Technology and Andy Brown, Production Manager for the Vi Series standing in front of the Vi 7000. Below: During the showcase the audience were welcomed to get up on the stage and have some hands-on time with the desks under the guidance of the Sound Technology staff; During the afternoon Sound Technology also demoed the the JBL VTX V20.

lot more hands-on time with really interested users.”

Another addition that was shown at the afternoon was the Soundcraft Realtime Rack, a 19-inch rack unit containing DSP chips to process plug-ins by Universally Audio. It has up to 16 plug-in chains that can be created in one unit and the option to daisy chain up to four units for a total of 64 plug-in chains. Strachan commented: “The Realtime Rack sets itself apart from leading competitions by the fact that the Plug-ins have not merely been modelled using transfer functions. The electronic circuits used in the original hardware units have been modeled in the software creating a very accurate representation of classic studio quality.”

The day also represented a chance to show other products that fall under the Harman umbrella including JBL’s Tour Sound loudspeakers. For the afternoon Sound

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events and our own training facility which means actually training people meaning that they are confident how to set up the system correctly.”

To conclude, Brown gave some final thoughts on the event: “I thought that Sound Technology did a great job organising and prepping the event and John Henry’s is a perfect venue for this kind of thing. It seemed from the comments after the event that we got the balance right between presenting information and hands-on and listening experience.”

TPi

Technology had the JBL VTX V20 on hand. Ben Todd, Project Engineering Manager at Sound Technology, led the talk explaining the research development that went into producing the loudspeakers. He said: “A huge amount of time has gone into the research and development of the VTX series which came onto the market last year.”

VTX V20 features the advanced technology and extraordinary performance of the “groundbreaking” VTX V25 in a smaller format, high power density three-way system complemented by a new suspension system that provides efficient transport, fast setup and precise configuration. Talking about the event, Todd said how he really enjoyed these types of showcases as it gives people the necessary hands on training: “We stopped doing the really big trade shows for a while and it has given us more financial capacity to invest in training

www.soundtech.co.uk www.soundcraft.com www.jblpro.com www.harman.com www.johnhenrys.com

FIRE & LIGHTNING - ‘DESTINY—THE TAKEN KING’

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EVENT FOCUS: Dirty Dancing

CLAY PAKY LIGHTS DIRTY DANCING CLASSIC ‘80S FILM DIRTY DANCING SHOWS NO SIGN OF LOSING ITS CHARM IN NEW STAGE ADAPTATION. On the contrary, in fact, as the show continues to thrill and entertain new and old generations thanks - among other things - to its faithful theatrical adaptation, which allows the audience to relive all the excitement and magic of the film in a live show. Since 2004 (the year of its world debut) Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage has recorded months and months of sell-outs in its various international versions.

In conjunction with La Contrada - Teatro Stabile di Trieste, Wizard Productions srl acquired the exclusive performing rights of the original version for Italy from the author of the film herself, Eleanor Bergstein. The American author supported the Italian team during the casting, as she always does, to make sure her show has the same characteristics as the original script in every part of the world.

An eight-piece orchestra plays the famous film’s music live, with its overwhelmingly infectious rhythms that excite the entire theatre and get people dancing. In the Italian adaptation, only the dialogues are translated, whereas the songs are sung in original language.

Behind the scenes of the new show, which is an even richer and more spectacular version with choreography by Gillian Bruce 12

and impressive scenery by Roberto Comotti, Emeritus Professor of the Brera Academy, LD Varerio Tiberi said: “Federico Bellone was appointed as show director and I can assure you that, for what we have done so far, the adaptation is quite faithful to the film as concerns the visual aspect, i.e. the set that has been built and the realistic film lighting. I asked the producers almost exclusively for Clay Paky moving lights, which I use along with the conventional theatre lighting: 26 Alpha Profile 1500s, six Alpha Wash 1500’s and 14 Alpha Wash Halo 1200’s.”

He continued: “I built it up starting from the stage design and the constraints stemming from the spaces that needed lighting, and followed the suggestions in the script and the director’s instructions. The main goal of the design was to try to ‘show the film, as far as possible, to the audience’, starting from scenic realism: the resort, the trees, the forest, the round terrace on the lake and the gazebo, all stylistically real: not surreal or modern or peculiar.

“The choice of lights depended mainly on the quality of their light and their power. I needed a lot of light and to work a lot on the contrasts. I even needed to make some of the scenes look overexposed. In the musical scenes, like in the resort dance hall for example, I had to

create a 1980s show like quality and alternate the saturated colours. I chose the lights for their features, especially the Profile 1500’s and Wash 1500’s.” He also used the Wash 1500’s mainly as back lighting using them to re-create the look of sunlight. “They are very powerful, produce a beautiful light and you can play with the colour temperature. The halogens, on the other hand, which I especially love (unfortunately there are increasingly fewer Clay Paky halogens available), produce all the pastel shades that make up the atmosphere of the various scenes and mostly follow the characters.

“The clearer the director’s plans and theatrical constraints were, the clearer the lighting design became on paper, together with the tasks I needed to assign to the various lights, their movement and the sequences needed.” This included representing the passage of time (from noon to evening and on to sunset) and the story time settings. He continued: “I have to say that this stock of Clay Paky lights gave us a big helping hand in transforming the initial project into a final design on stage during the rehearsals with all the scenery, to the stage overrun with actors.”

TPi www.claypaky.it

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TPi AWARDS 2016 - NOMINATIONS

Tom Sheals-Barrett Jake Ryan Dick Meredith Glen Rowe Ian Quinn

Bob O’Brien Ceri Wade Dick Tee Sue ‘Duchess’ Iredale Joel Stanley

Showforce Stage Miracles Rock City Crew Gallowglass Crewsaders Mad Crew

Star Events UK Rigging Unusual Rigging PRG XL Video Cirque du Soleil Blackout

Michael ‘Pickle’ Ellison Pete The Greek Jamie Moore Oz Marsh Sven Knight

Wigwam Acoustics Adlib Audio Britannia Row Productions Clair Global SSE Audio Group Capital Sound

Gary Bradshaw Paul Cooper Marc Carolan Andy Magee Rob Sadler

Jac Nott Darren Dunphy Amanda Thompson Jack Bowcher Mikey Gibbard

Pearce Hire Aggreko Firefly Power Logistics Buffalo Fourth Generation

Millennium Studios LH2 LS-Live Music Bank Rock Lititz John Henry’s

SSE Arena, Wembley 02 Arena, London 02 Academy, Brixton Roundhouse, Camden Royal Albert Hall, London Croke Park, Dublin

GLS Lighting Neg Earth PRG XL Video Colour Sound Experiment Nitelites Adlib Lighting

Rob Sinclair Maty Killmurry Oli Metcalfe Ed Warren Tim Routledge

ER Productions BPM SFX Pyrojunkies Le Maitre Event FX Strictly FX

Acorn Event Structures Stageco Tait Towers All Access Staging & Productions Star Events Serious Stages

Paul Normandale Oli Metcalfe Willie Williams Misty Buckley Emma Bull

SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS

www.tpiawards.com

Total Fabrications Tait Towers Steel Monkey All Access Staging & Productions Brilliant Stages LS-Live

Corvus Security Showsec Show & Event G4S Green Event Security SB Security Solutions

KB Event Fly By Nite Stage Truck Brian Yeardley Continental Conference Haul International Upstaging

Galaxy Cruiser Beat The Street Phoenix Bussing Vans For Bands Jumbocruiser Crossland

Dave Forest Transport Rock-it Cargo Sound Moves Global Motion Horizon Entertainment Cargo EFM

Rima Travel The Appointment Group The Tour Company InďŹ nity Travel Tour Travel Road Rebel

Danny Spratt Mike Grove Phil Murphy Deb Jones David Peverley

Solotech PRG XL Video Creative Technology VER Video Illusions Satis & Fy

Chris Saunders Oli Metcalfe Willie Williams Nick Whiteoak Steve Price

Arcadia Metamorphosis - Bristol Ed Sheeran - X AC/DC - Rock or Bust The Script - Live at Croke Park Take That - Live 2015 U2 - Innocence + Experience

To be announced on February 22nd

EVENT FOCUS: KLANG:technologies

KLANG:TECHNOLOGIES HD PRO AUDIO HAS BEEN APPOINTED AS THE UK DISTRIBUTOR FOR AACHEN, GERMANY-BASED KLANG:TECHNOLOGIES GMBH, DESIGNERS AND MANUFACTURERS OF A REVOLUTIONARY 3D IN-EAR MONITORING SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED DANTE ENABLED HEADPHONE PRODUCTS. TPi SPEAKS TO ANDY HUFFER AT THE PRODUCT’S FIRST UK OPEN DAY. Commenting on the new appointment, HD Pro Audio’s Sales Director, Andy Huffer, said: “If initial client reaction is anything to go by, KLANG:technologies’ 3D IEM processing has the potential to be the next major step in the evolution of stage monitoring, so it’s great for HD Pro Audio to once again be at the forefront of bringing new live sound technology to the market.

“With multiple musicians able to control their own mix with standard touch-screen tablet devices plus the revolutionary effect of the 3D processing, bringing greater separation, clarity and, more importantly, reality, to their personal mix, the pioneers at KLANG:technologies have come up with a truly unique addition to the monitor engineer’s tools at their disposal.”

Huffer continued: “We also see wider 16

applications for KLANG:technologies design and streamed audio, and the new KLANG:quelle PoE Dante headphone amplifier makes distributed hardwired monitoring systems far more flexible.

All-in-all, the perfect fit for us here at HD Pro Audio.”

transparency for live and studio musicians.

Our 3D audio technology lifts your stereo headphones and IEMs to the next level. We are looking into a promising future with HD Pro Audio as a strong partner with extensive industry expertise.”

“The the pioneers at KLANG:technologies have come up with a truly unique addition to the monitor engineer’s tools at their disposal...”

HD Pro Audio Sales Director, Andy Huffer Dr. Pascal Dietrich, Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of KLANG:technologies added: “It’s all about unrivalled sound

HD Pro Audio launched KLANG:technologies with two demo days in November, the first at Tour Supply, Manchester, followed by John

EVENT FOCUS: KLANG:technologies

Opposite: KLANG:technologies is said to be on the verge of revolutionising the mix potential in monitor world.

Below: The 3D IEM is easy to use via iPad; The set up at the first UK open day, held at Manchester-based Tour Supply.

Henry’s Rehearsal Studio 4 in London.

At the first event, Huffer told TPi: “We’ve had a great response from all those who braved the Mancunian downpour to find out if they really should believe the hype about KLANG. Al Mouat at Tour Supply allowed us to use their space to show off this revolutionary binaural IEM processing platform and we can’t thank

them enough; engineers from across the industry were in attendance, and we discovered some potential new applications for KLANG that we’d not previously considered.

“All-in-all, it was a great start to our KLANG roadshow, and we’re looking forward to seeing more people’s faces light up as they try it for the first time.”

Get the next issue of TPi to see an exclusive first look at the product in use during a live production.

TPi www.ststouring.co.uk http://hdproaudio.co.uk www.klang.com

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EVENT FOCUS: L-Acoustics Product Demo

THE X FACTOR IS HERE A SHORT DRIVE FROM PARIS CITY CENTRE IN THE COMMUNE OF MARCOUSSIS IS L-ACOUSTICS’ HQ. LAST MONTH IT OPENED ITS DOORS TO THE INDUSTRY PRESS TO SHOWCASE ITS LATEST OFFERING, THE X SERIES. TPi’S STEW HUME HEARS THE NEW SYSTEM DURING A TOUR OF THE FACILITIES. From its humble beginnings in 1984, L-Acoustics has secured itself as one of the premium producers of loudspeakers within the live events industry. The company has seen year-on-year expansion with the HQ rapidly outgrowing its main building, which it moved in to 13 years ago.

L-Acoustics currently takes up four buildings in the Marcoussis business park, not to mention a recently redesigned Simea facility located near the French-German border in the Lower Rhine, Keskastel. This is where the framework for each L-Acoustics cabinet is built. However, according to Stephane Ecalle, Marketing Director, the goal of L-Acoustics has never been growth, but to produce the best products possible.

L-Acoustics’ most recent offering to the market is the the X Series, a range of four short throw coaxial speakers that have the capability to be used in the touring and the install markets. The series was first unveiled at this year’s Prolight + Sound tradeshow in Frankfurt.

The three new products, the X8, X12 and X15 HiQ, have joined the older 5XT to create a range of purpose-built speaker cabinets.

During the visit to L-Acoustics, before listening to the new selection, Dan Orton, the UK based L-Acoustics Application Engineer 18

gave an overview of the product range. He stated that: “With the new X Series, we took everything that we learned from the new K2 to work on the ergonomics of the cabinet, produce better acoustic properties, decrease the weight of the cabinets as well as different

Series. “The challenge in creating the X Series was to bring all of the experience we gained in designing the K2 to bear on a new series of reference coaxials. We used new carpentry techniques to optimise internal volumes, maximise bass and eliminate vibrations,

“The team spent over two years designing the new X Series. We received extensive feedback from partners during our pilot phase over the summer where we heard that technicians have been asking for more of them because they are so easy to lug around and to get up in the air...”

- Florent Bernard, Director of Application, Touring.

manufacturing processes to allow the cabinets to be more rugged.”

The three new cabinets include highexcursion neodymium drivers, ellipsoid directivity on the X12 and X15 HiQ, laminar vented ports and up to 30% weight reduction.

Prior to the event Christophe Combet, Head of Acoustic and Instrumentation at L-Acoustics, talked about the development of the new X

designing a new aerodynamic form with a slender, low profile that gives a profound feeling of power.”

Florent Bernard, Director of Application, Touring, talked about the R&D process of the X Series: “The team spent over two years designing the new X Series. As with the K2, engineered wood contributed both to the weight reduction as well as the acoustics. We

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EVENT FOCUS: L-Acoustics Product Demo

Previous page: The full range of the new X Series. Below: The outside of L-Acoustics’ main building in Marcoussis, France; the company recently expanded its real estate by opening up a new warehouse where it produces its speakers; Florent Bernard, Director of Applications, Touring.

received extensive feedback from partners during our pilot phase over the summer where we heard that technicians have been asking for more of them because they are so easy to lug around and to get up in the air.”

He went on to state that every piece of design has been meticulously thought about during the development of the series and certain minor design traits such as handle design were very important to the process: “We were absolute sticklers on the ergonomics, which meant hours of discussions on things like handles. While that may seem trivial, when you are the person who carries the speaker in and out of a venue day after day, believe me, it’s an important part of the acceptance of the series by the end user.”

The top end of the X Series is the X15 HiQ, which is now L-Acoustics’ reference active stage monitor. “This is our flagship monitor system but it is also a cabinet that can be used for a range of applications,” stated Orton. With high feedback immunity and a narrow ellipsoid 20

directivity of 40° by 60° it provides a fantastic choice for monitor setup. With a low profile, lightweight design, it is perfect for the touring environment. The cabinet also comes with the inbuilt risers to give the monitor a range of 35° to 55° creating maximum versatility. The design of the X15 HiQ along with the other two new speakers all share a similar curved shape that reduces the amount of mechanical binds in the cabinet resulting in a more rugged and durable design.

Heading down the line of products, the X12 is a multi-purpose enclosure for use in stage monitoring and fills, while its ellipsoid directivity of 90° by 60° makes it adaptable for FOH applications. Its passive design also provides effective amplified controller management.

The smaller X8 fills the purpose of live monitor within the X Series.

A high SPL and extended bandwidth makes it perfect for operation at FOH control positions and allows an accurate translation of the engineer mix to large format L-Acoustics

systems. The speaker has a wide conical directivity pattern which imparts a sense of specialisation with no minimal listening distance.

L-Acoustics has also produced several bracket solutions for the X Series. “There is a whole array of rigging accessories so each speaker in the series can be mounted in any configuration imaginable. We went right back to a blank white page when designing things like the pole mount, or the rigging systems with only one thing in mind. How can we make it so that one person alone can rig it?”

As well as listening to the new system, the L-Acoustics staff also gave those attending the showcase a tour of their main building including a look at the new production facility.

Only moving into the new warehouse in April, the company recently decided to move to an assembly line method of production, which increases efficiency as well as consistency of its products.

TPi www.l-acoustics.com

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EVENT FOCUS: Faithless

FAITHLESS SOUND BETTER THAN EVER WITH SSL LIVE MULTI-FACETED DANCE PIONEERS, FAITHLESS, HAVE BEEN CELEBRATING THEIR 20TH ANNIVERSARY ON THE FESTIVAL CIRCUIT AHEAD OF A NEW ALBUM RELEASE, FAITHLESS 2.0, WHICH IS MIXED LIVE BY FOH ENGINEER, MARK KENNEDY, ON AN SSL LIVE L500 CONSOLE.

FOH Engineer, Mark Kennedy has been working with the band for 19 years, and this year he is doubling up by using the same rig and crew for Faithless vocalist Maxi Jazz’s new band, Maxi Jazz and the E-Type Boys.

For this series of nearly 30 dates, Kennedy has chosen to use an SSL Live L500 console, supplied by Britannia Row Productions. On the Faithless show, there are 56 inputs from the stage including feeds from a large percussion section, standard drum kit, bass guitar, four sets of keyboards, and three vocal microphones.

Kennedy calls it a “tricky” mix. “People will walk on and walk off throughout the show,” he explained. “They’ll walk off with the radio mic and put it down and start chatting to people off stage, and that’s the least of your worries.

22

“Sister Bliss likes all of her keyboards to be velocity sensitive, so depending on what mood she’s in we can go from a whisper to a scream.

You have to be so on top of the whole thing all of the time.”

According to Kennedy, the SSL Live L500 is perfect for the job on several fronts. First and foremost is the sound: “Festivals are the best place possible to tell what your board sounds like because every other guy has every type of board possible. When you hear the difference between the SSL and the other consoles on a large touring system it’s quite incredible how much better it is.

“In an analogue mixer, with a fader at five or eight dB down, the channel is quiet but doesn’t drop out of the mix. With most digital consoles,

that channel would be gone, but that doesn’t happen with the SSL, it stays there.

“And the stereo separation is amazing,” he continued. “On one recent show we were pushed a long way over to one side of this big festival. You could still hear what was coming out of the left so clearly it was incredible. It really was amazing.”

Because the Faithless show is so unpredictable, Kennedy is hands-on from beginning to end: “I use snapshots to get to the starting point of a song. After that it’s mixed freehand.

“One thing I love about the SSL is that I can do two things at the same time. I can be on the right hand side EQing something on the channel control tile while I’m pushing up VCAs

EVENT FOCUS: Faithless

Opposite: FOH Engineer, Mark Kennedy chose an SSL L500 console to mix Faithless’ show. Below: Faithless’ latest album 2.0.

with my left hand.

“With the upper and lower banks and the three different tiles I can dial almost a whole show up onto the surface, and then I’m free to do whatever I want without being restricted or having to step through menus.”

screen and the instant access of the channel control tile. It’s so fast. I can jump from my inserts, to my compressor, to my gates, to my header amps. I don’t have to go looking for them.”

The final words on the tour’s sound go to Rollo Armstrong, Faithless multi-

“One thing I love about the SSL is that I can do two things at the same time. I can be on the right hand side EQing something on the channel control tile, while I’m pushing up VCAs with my left hand... ” Mark Kennedy, FOH Engineer

The L500 has several control options three fader tiles, a 19-inch multi-gesture touch screen, and the unique channel control tile with its own high-resolution touch screen and rapid access controls.

“The main touch screen is fantastic,” said Kennedy. “But for me the key is the right hand side of the desk - the smaller touch

instrumentalist, Producer, and SSL studio console owner: “It sounds so much better than it’s ever sounded before. We’re really happy.”

TPi www.faithless.co.uk www.solidstatelogic.com www.britanniarow.com

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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Imagine Dragons

IMAGINE DRAGONS: BEHIND THE SMOKE + MIRRORS

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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Imagine Dragons

LAS VEGAS-BASED ALT ROCK QUARTET, IMAGINE DRAGONS, HAVE ACHIEVED IN FOUR YEARS WHAT MOST ASPIRING MUSICIANS CAN ONLY DREAM OF. FROM THE NORTH AMERICAN CLUB CIRCUIT TO THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF INTERNATIONAL ARENA TOURING, THE BAND CONTINUES TO GO FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH, AND IS STILL DELIVERING AN ENGAGING LIVE SHOW, LED BY PRODUCTION MANAGER, MATT MILEY. TPi REPORTS...

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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Imagine Dragons

Below: Imagine Dragons treated the gig goers at Leeds First Direct Arena to their Smoke + Mirrors production, which has already completed stints in America, Australia and Asia.

Imagine Dragons’ Production Manager, Matt Miley has been working with the band for 18 months, alongside Tour Manager Angie Warner, witnessing their ever-growing production values. “I came onboard without really expecting it to be as constant as it has been. I joined this tour and have been very, very busy ever since,” he told TPi at Leeds First Direct Arena. Miley had previously worked as an Audio Engineer, working at both monitor and FOH positions for acts such as GWAR, and jumped on Imagine Dragons’ tour bus having finished a tour PMing for US indie pop act, FUN. A RAPIDLY GROWING PRODUCTION “Imagine Dragons had already exploded before I came onto the scene but the time span has been much shorter than what you would usually encounter in terms of the venues they’re playing. They’re growing into a big live production band quite rapidly,” he explained.

With this band, Miley has developed a close working relationship with the tour’s suppliers, many of which started on the US leg and have carried on into the UK and European dates.

“There were some suppliers already in place with the band when I started working with them, but the design team was different.

The development of that process and concept almost snowballed because what started out in understated club style venues quickly built into something much bigger,” the PM added.

28

For the Smoke + Mirrors vendors, Miley is working with VER for lighting and video requirements, with show design from Moment Factory, Strictly FX for special effects, Actus Industries for rigging, SGPS Showrig for set construction (and automation in the US) and Horizon Entertainment Cargo for freighting.

“Our video panels and probably 85% of our VER gear was shipped over from the US because it was more cost-effective to ship what we had rather than prep from scratch.”

Miley went on to express: “I’ve had nothing

with the Sound Image / SSE set up. Basically, Sound Image is our vendor in the US and we’re actually working in reverse; normally you would bring your control package overseas and use the locally sourced PA boxes, but in this case Sound Image brought their Adamson rig over here.

“We’re using the US rig running on transformer power [supplied through The Power Shop in Belgium], which is unusual but it made sense in this instance. The UAC way of running the audio has worked out very well,

“I think they’ve got a lengthy touring career ahead of them. That’s primarily because they’re focussed on their live shows, but they also have very reasonable, almost humble expectations as a band.”

- Matt Miley, Production Manager

but great service from our vendors,” which also included Stagetruck for production logistics and Beat The Street for band and crew buses.

For audio, there is a somewhat unconventional setup. United Audio Companies (UAC), which is made up of US-based Sound Image and UK-based SSE, work in transatlantic unison as the tour’s sound equipment supplier.

Miley elaborated: “We are doing 10 dates

and my guys are happy,” he confirmed.

And as far as the band is concerned? “I think they’ve got a lengthy touring career ahead of them,” smiled Miley. “That’s primarily because they’re focussed on their live shows, but they also have very reasonable, almost humble expectations as a band. For me, that’s a winning combination and it makes them really easy to work with.”

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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Imagine Dragons

Below: Imagine Dragons singer Dan Reynolds not only provided vocals but also contributed to the percussion ‘backbone’ in the overall live soundscape.

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A UNITED FRONT Imagine Dragons Audio Crew Chief and System Tech, Cameron Whaley, has been working with Sound Image since 2004. This is the third tour the rental company has done with the band, but this time, it comes with the interesting twist thanks to the new UAC alliance. Said Whaley: “For a US company coming into Europe, touring can be a little bit difficult because we don’t have the same contacts or know all of the different regulations in the same way the local crews do.

Coming into the UK and having a partnership with SSE has become very important to us; it’s seamless.

“On this occasion we freighted the Adamson kit over because SSE doesn’t have an Adamson rig within the group, but for example, when UAC did Neil Diamond, they used a JBL VTX rig that SSE also had, so the resource sharing can work both ways depending on the tour’s PA preference. In this case, on our very first show in the EU, I got some comments from our FOH Engineer that it really was a fluid transition for everybody working on the show.”

The PA rider comprised (per side) a main hang of 15 Adamson

E15’s, six Adamson E15’s and six Adamson E12’s for side hangs and eight Adamson S10’s for rearfill. Subs (per side) included eight flown Adamson E219’s, four ground-based Adamson E219’s and eight new Adamson S10’s for frontfill in total. Amplification was through Lab.gruppen PLM20000Qs, and processing via Lake LM44’s.

Continued Whaley: “I think Adamson is one of the most underrated PA cabinets out there.

It easily keeps up with the ‘major players’ in the market. The quality of the E15 is very impressive; the mid range on that box makes it very easy to get the vocals right up in the mix, and easier to stand out.

We’ve also been really impressed with the new E12 cabinets. In the same way an L-Acoustics K1 and a K2 are designed to work together, the E15 and E12 are easily interchanged. This year they’ve added to that line with the S10 - a compact sub element. That was a change from the US tour to the EU tour, when we got those boxes we were able to use them as frontfills, side hangs and under hangs. They also have the same high driver as the E15 and E12 and a very similar sound, so we can integrate them

PRODUCTION PROFILE: Imagine Dragons

Below: From FOH, LD Mitchell Schellenger used an MA Lighting grandMA2; The stage design included eight mirror wrapped LED towers that displayed video content throughout the show.

into the design effortlessly; it’s been a very nice upgrade for us.

“The E219 is great as a sub; it has tonnes of output, nearly twice as much as the E218, our previously used model. The E219 is actually a unique sounding sub. For powering the system, we’ve been very happy with the Lab.gruppen amplifiers. The PLM2000Qs are very solid with the latest DSP built in and that’s been handy because we don’t have any processing out front, it’s all done inside the amps, which is an interesting feature.”

SSE’s Sammy Murphy is Whaley’s PA Tech and “power guru.” He elaborated: “I can’t tell you how great it is to have somebody whose familiar with European touring to manage all of the different voltages going on with the transformers for the US power for the PA system. The backline and control is on local power, so he’s been brilliant and taken away a headache for sure!”

FOH “As far as the Adamson system goes, I’ve been completely happy it. The new S10 sub boxes have totally impressed me; they are so consistent. This is definitely my first choice of rig,” added FOH Engineer, Scott Eisenberg.

Mixing on an SSE-supplied Avid Profile, his 96-channel desk is utilising Waves plug-ins and a 128 channel Pro Tools Recording System.

32

He commented: “I try to create a dynamic mix because the band themselves are very musical; its not all just one volume for the whole show.

At times they’re really rocking out full speed and it sort of kicks your ass! At other times, it’s pretty intense and dramatic in the way it builds up. I really try to capture a wide range of sounds so that it doesn’t get stale or boring, especially on these long tours. I want to make the right impact for the moments that have huge drumming sounds all the way through to more subtle, stripped down acoustic guitar and vocals. This desk definitely lets me accomplish that.”

Eisenberg joined the band when they had no crew three years ago and were playing small club venues. “They did their first headlining tour a couple of months later which was pretty huge,” said Eisenberg. “They were doing bigger clubs of up to 3,000 fans and it’s been non-stop craziness since then. It was cool being able to watch a band blow up like that.

“We’ve been fortunate too that we have a similar vision of what we think their live music should sound like. For example, I’m a drummer myself and I don’t know if that blends into my mixing but we do tend to focus on having the drum beat as the backbone of what’s going on,” he enthused.

On the UAC partnership, Eisenberg gave his thoughts: “We’ve not done any touring with SSE

before this, but they’ve done festivals with us, so it was really nice knowing that Sound Image and SSE were joining forces. For me, because I work directly for the band, I know that I’m going to feel that extra support when we travel here.”

MONITOR WORLD Monitor Engineer Jared Swetnam also works for the band, and was brought on board by Eisenberg once the band’s production needed extra grew. “I was working in a club in DC when I got a call from Scott. He asked if I wanted to do a two-month run with a band called Imagine Dragons. I’d never heard of them at the time, and I don’t think many other people really had at that point. But that soon changed because two months has turned into almost three years!

This band has definitely taken both mine and Scott’s careers into a different calibre of venues, touring and TV award shows. We’ve done everything you could think of with them over the last couple of years, and that’s been made really fun because the band is so easy to get along with.”

Swetnam’s desk of choice for this tour echoes that of Eisenberg: a 96-channel Avid Profile console. “The band are very used to how this sounds, so because we’ve been non-stop, it made sense to not disrupt that. Avid make pretty solid consoles, so I knew I’d have a good

A transatlantic collaboration between two global giants in Sound Reinforcement Systems, created to make life easier for touring artists working across the US and Europe.

www.uac.global UAC or United Audio Companies is a joint venture between British sound rental company, SSE Audio Group and California based rental company, Sound Image.

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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Imagine Dragons

Below: FOH Engineer Scott Eisenberg who has been with the band for three years with Audio Crew Chief and System Tech Cameron Whaley; Mitchell Schellenger took the reins as Lighting Director after initial concepts were created by Moment Factory and Sooner Routhier; James Valpy, Media Server Engineer using a Green Hippo Hippotizer V3; Jared Swetnam, Monitor Engineer using a 96 channel Avid Profile console; Matt Miley, Production Manager, has been working with the band for 18 months and has witnessed the height of their ever-growing production values.

workhorse.”

The entire band is on IEMs and Swetnam has chosen Shure PSM1000 IEM wireless packs with JH Audio JH16’s molds. He commented: “It’s a pretty standard mix, we’re all on in-ear monitors and the Shure wireless system. I only have six mixes including my own key mix, which makes it really easy when we’re doing so many fly dates and travelling to different venues and countries. “We have an endorsement with Shure. They make great transmitters and from day one of the endorsement, it’s been easy to keep the integrity of the show wherever we go. It’s all networked perfectly with Shure’s RF Coordinator software and having used it, I definitely wouldn’t do a wireless gig without that workbench now, but that’s my only request. I think in general we’re a pretty easy crew to deal with!”

Microphones include various Shure models including Shure ULXD for guitars and bass and a Shure KSM9 HS capsule for lead vocals.

SHOW DESIGN Before launching the Smoke + Mirrors tour earlier this year, Imagine Dragons employed the services of Moment Factory to create the band’s live show. Joining forces with Lighting Designer, Sooner Routhier, Moment Factory’s Creative Director, Jessie Lee Stout created the design for the whole show. The duo’s vision has earned rave reviews and even won Sooner Routhier the 2015 Parnelli Award for Lighting Designer of the Year. TPi spoke to Stout back in July, about the design of the US show. “I did some research into their photography, past music and touring history,” stated Stout. “I then put together a bunch of ideas across the board to see what the guys would respond to.” According to Stout, 34

his vision of the project was to exhibit various optical deceptions for the audience as well as creating an evolution in the show within the realms of dimension, colour and shape. Adding to this, Routhier said: “We wanted to paint every song with a different look. We didn’t want to use the same gobo or colour twice in the show.”

Once the initial concept of the show was created, both Routhier and Stout passed the reins to Lighting Director Mitchell Schellenger.

According to the LD he was not sure if he would be able to take the job initial due to conflicting dates with another project but he is very thankful that it all worked out in the end.

“It’s been great working with Moment Factory.

Because of Jessie’s background in graphic design, he looks at things in a different way to an LD. It has been refreshing because it was a different perspective,” explained Schellenger.

“Having a fresh eye artistically was a unique experience and I think it has really worked.

Sooner Routhier is obviously incredible at what she does too. I have been a friend of hers for a long time but this was our first chance to work together.”

The original US show has seen a slight redesign for the European leg, mainly seeing the laser and automation being omitted.

However the creative team behind the show have been able to maintain the integrity of Stout and Routhier’s original design.

Schellenger explained: “The show is broken down theatrically into five acts. There is an introduction in which the lighting is very desaturated. We have an Image Effects Generator created by Moment Factory and that allows me to control the video effects on the side screens that the cameras are running through

on the lighting console. We have full control of pretty much everything even the screens.”

After the initial build-up the LD is allowed to stretch his lighting legs providing a lot of colour culminating in a very impressive closing with the bands well know hit Radioactive.

During the initial design stages of the tour Routhier explained how VER’s global lighting, video and media server divisions played an instrumental role in the execution of the team’s vision. VER provided Routhier with digital production rehearsals by creating custom models in MA3D at the beginning of tour in North America and in LightConverse for the VER WinVision nine mm screens in South America.

She stated that VER had gone, “above and beyond to get us the gear we needed.”

Starting at FOH, Schellenger’s console of choice is an MA Lighting grandMA2 full size, which he declared is the only console he would use at this stage in his career. “The MA is just a great console. The syntax of it is just so smooth, I never feel held back by the technology.”

Control comes courtesy of two grandMA2 NPUs and four grandMA2 8 Port Nodes.

For lighting fixtures, according to Schellenger, the light that really drives the show is the Clay Paky Mythos (of which the are 48).

“We do a lot of beam effects and spot effects with the Mythos’ that live in the ladders nestled between the mirrored video columns on the stage.” In between the Mythos fixtures there are 40 TMB Solaris Flare LED Strobes. These fixtures are also heavily used within the show.

Schellenger stated that these two fixtures really “lead the way” in the performance and fit in alongside all the video content.

In between the video columns and the lighting fixtures are VER HD LED Blades (78

PRODUCTION PROFILE: Imagine Dragons

Below: Despite suffering from a chest infection on the night, singer Dan Reynolds continued the Leeds show by energising the crowd throughout; Along with the mirror wrapped LED towers, content was also present on two IMAG screens either side of the stage.

across the stage). These have been used heavily as a lighting fixture and a video source on the tour. The blades and their truss were lined with the mirror column on the stage. Schellenger praised these for being able to match the video content and be used as more of a traditional lighting fixture. He stated: “From the grandMA I am able to switch the blades to server mode, which then enables it to receive a video signal like an LED wall would and produce some very distinctive looks out of the same product.”

Wash effects were produced by 40 Martin Professional MAC Auras which, according to Schellenger, are the main “workhorses” for the overall show wash.

A notable addition to rig is the new High End Systems SolaSpot Pro 1500. From the inception of the show both Routhier and Stout wanted a spot type fixture that could handle varying

shades of colour with a smooth field and also an effective fixture that could bounce mirrored surfaces. VER sourced the Solaspot Pro 1500 and ensured that Imagine Dragons’ tour was the first to take it on the road. Routhier commented: “They are incredibly bright LED spots with a super-quick shutter system and very even colour mixing.” Schellenger added: “Although it looks like an old High End light, they are completely LED and they have an incredibly fast shutter in them so we will do a lot of different looks utilising that. Even though it’s LED, we use some of them as front light on the band and it looks fine. There is no shutter to it or any weird colour tone.”

Also present on the rig are 14 Martin Professional MAC Viper Air FX’s, eight Colour Kinetics ColorBlaze 72’s and 15 ColorBlast 12 TRX’s, along with four Robert Juliat Lancelot 4K

followspots. For effects, four Diffusion DF-50 Hazers were added into the design.

VIDEO AND VISUALS The original design of the show concept represented a real integration with lighting and video elements. As seen on the US dates, the eight mirror wrapped LED towers were also present on the stage to display the video content. Two IMAG screens were placed in a traditional L-R position on either side of the stage and showed live camera feeds.

James Valpy, Media Server Engineer for the tour, talked through the visual plot. For the main screen behind the band, Valpy used 80 WinVision nine mm LED Tiles with a customised ‘mirror’ surface. He said: “The Win9mm is the nicest video screen that I have ever toured with; it’s so reliable, quick and looks great even when

35

PRODUCTION PROFILE: Imagine Dragons

Below: The concept of the shows was always to exhibit various optical deceptions for the audience as well as creating an evolution in the show within the realms of dimension, colour and shape; Sound Image brought its Adamson rig over for the UK dates as part of UAC; Joel Gburek, Head Tour Rigger; Special Effects Technician, Brook Blomquist of Strictly FX.

you are covering it with semi transparent mirror surfaces. The surface does affect the brightness and colour quite a lot but it still looks really good.”

Video content was all created by Moment Factory with the exception of the song Roots.

Released during the touring period, the band wanted to incorporate the track into their live set. This gave both Valpy and Schellenger the chance to put their creative minds together to produce a design for the song. With 36 hours and a couple of laptops, the duo produced a design. Valpy explained: “We tried not to go too literal but as the song is called Roots so we played on the natural theme of growing.”

Valpy used Green Hippo Hippotizer V3 computer-based software. He explained this was because the crew needed a setup that they could take on a plane should the band be booked for a festival where there are size limitations. “With a laptop and an international power supply, I’ve got my show and the band’s show integrity remains intact.”

SPECIAL EFFECTS On top all the visual effects, the Smoke + Mirrors tour also deployed a modest special effects package, which came courtesy of Strictly FX. The company was contracted in the beginning stages of preproduction while Moment Factory created the concepts for the show. The effects technician for the tour is 36

Strictly FX’s Brook Blomquist. There were two main special effects features in this run of the tour. The first are six LED CO2 jets that are used during the first song Shots as well as the songs Demons and Radioactive. Other special effects used to dramatic effect were eight electric confetti machines, which were hung from the flown truss. This was used during the band’s encore for the song The Fall where the effect of falling confetti was used to replicate the look of falling leaves. Blomquist detailed how confetti arrives in a compressed format and therefore requires a fair amount of sifting. “It’s an international joke that I am a professional confetti fluffer!” he laughed.

RIGGING Rigging responsibilities were put in the hands of Head Tour Rigger, Joel Gburek. “I was referenced to our Production Manager, Matt Miley by a colleague I’d worked with on Nine Inch Nails. It’s a small industry where your name gets tossed around pretty quickly!”

Gburek expressed that he has really enjoyed the challenges that this tour has brought about in the UK. “We have been in a variety of venue sizes from the O2 Arena in London to the Motorpoint in Cardiff which is only 10 metres high. Some of the places we are loading into are really pushing the capacities of the buildings themselves as we are still trying to maintain all the elements of the show night after night.”

Gburek highlighted that it’s often not the equipment supplied that makes for a good rigging department, but how well maintained it is. Each night they are using around 56 motors. Actus Industries provided rigging supplies for the tour, which included the latest CM Lodestar chain hoists. “They have supplied me with excellent gear,” said Gburek. “All their equipment is well serviced and taken care of to the highest standards.”

As an aside Gburek talked about how Europe has really led the way in terms of rigging safety with the implementation of double breaks in all motors. He stated that this has really made his job “far simpler as well as safer.”

Imagine Dragons will continue touring Europe until February 2016.

TPi Photos: Tom Martin www.imaginedragonsmusic.com www.verrents.com www.uac.global www.sgps.net www.strictlyfx.com www.sseaudiogroup.com www.sound-image.com www.momentfactory.com www.beatthestreet.net www.stagetruck.com http://actusindustries.com www.hecargoworld.com

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25/11/2015 09:16

PRODUCTION PROFILE: Vevo Halloween

VEVO HALLOWEEN WITH THE UK BECOMING MORE AND MORE RECEPTIVE TO THE IDEA OF CELEBRATING HALLOWEEN, VEVO’S ANNUAL EVENT HAS CERTAINLY STRUCK WHILE THE IRON IS HOT. TPi’S STE DURHAM BRAVED THE DARK CORRIDORS (AND SCARY CLOWNS) OF MANCHESTER’S VICTORIA WAREHOUSE TO CATCH A GLIMPSE OF THIS AMBITIOUS AND MULTI-FACETED PRODUCTION. Despite 2015 marking only the third Vevo annual event, the team behind the scenes let their imaginations run wild, striving for bigger, better, and more terrifying than ever before. The concept was to convert Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse, in all its imposing, industrial glory, into a macabre circus. This included a bespoke interactive ‘scare-maze’ for attendees to confront and a line-up featuring some of the most soughtafter names in pop.

VP of Content and Programming, UK and International at Vevo, Tom Connaughton, said: “We want to make sure that as a music company, we don’t get stuck in London, there are so many great music cities across the UK, we wanted to bring a special event like this to music fans outside of London, so we chose Manchester and the Victoria Warehouse.”

A total of five acts graced the stage in Manchester - Years & Years, Little Simz, Wolf 38

Alice, Nothing But Thieves, and the ubiquitous James Bay. Connaughton, who heads up the content and programming team, continued: “It was all born out of a programme we have called LIFT, which creates exposure for emerging artists.

We didn’t have an event for the programme in its first year, but we felt like having a live focus would be the perfect complement to our work with these artists. We have worked with some amazing acts, and to culminate in a big live event for music fans seemed like a great fit for LIFT.” The following year, Vevo staged its first event at the 1,000-capacity Oval Space in London featuring Bastille, Lorde, John Newman, Iggy Azalea, and Nina Nesbitt. The team chose Halloween as it was during the school half term break in the UK, and clearly a night growing in popularity with the UK’s youth.

Connaughton commented: “This year there

will be more tickets sold for Halloween events than New Year’s Eve events. The audience is all up for wearing costumes and having a really fun night, so it’s a great atmosphere.”

This year, the production design channeled a great deal of effort, creating bespoke looks for each artist, while ensuring that the staging, lighting and sound is of the highest standards.

“When they walk off a Vevo stage, we want to ensure that they feel happy with the show, from the staging to sound, it’s important they trust us to put on a great live experience for their fans. Media owners sometimes get it wrong but we’re fortunate to have a fantastic team here,” Connaughton said.

“It’s quite exciting that after 10 months of intensive planning it comes down to one week where we have to execute it all correctly.”

This ethos of pushing the production envelope has been instilled in the team by Events Production Manager for Vevo, Ed Walker, who

PRODUCTION PROFILE: Vevo Halloween

Opposite: The Stealth LED system created a simple block colour look for Little Simz. Below: VP of Content and Programming, UK and International at Vevo, Tom Connaughton; Events Production Manager for Vevo, Ed Walker.

had a hand in designing most aspects of the event.

Walker explained: “It was key for me to tailor the stage to each artist this year - although it was quite bold I think we pulled it off! We work with them over the course of the year so we get to understand what they like and what they don’t.”

A TALL ORDER This meant essentially designing five stages in one - all within the constraints of 30-minute changeovers. One factor that allowed Walker to preserve his ambition throughout preproduction was the involvement of Head Rigger, Matt Garfield of Event Rigging Services.

To illustrate the extent of this complexity, Walker used James Bay’s set as an example.

“We wanted to have light bulbs hanging over the stage and out into the audience to really bring them into the performance,” he said.

This became a more time-consuming element than originally planned for various reasons, mainly due to the architectural features of the venue itself. Walker cited the weight capacity of the ceiling and low trim height as the main challenges.

He continued: “We had 95 motors, 30 of which were over stage itself and the rest over audience. The intention was to put them on trusses and motor them up to trim height but, with the weight restrictions in the ceiling, we had to dead-hang each motor in the roof - it took 27 hours in total to get them in!”

The original design roof load was 17,230kg,

which required Garfield to construct an intricate, self-climbing, eight leg Prolyte ST ground support system made up of a S52 truss grid with H30v spreaders, raised on S40t tower legs, reducing the roof load down to a more manageable 10,800kg.

The spreader beams provided the additional height required for the 20 Kinesys Liftkets used for some of the production automation elements. Garfield’s team then installed 140 metres of scaffold tube, dead hung from the roof to enable the required rigging positions for the DMX winches.

THERE’S NO I IN VEVO HALLOWEEN The underlying concept of the event was devised by Walker and made a reality by awardwinning prosthetics artists Shaune Harrison, whose movie credits alone include the Harry Potter series and World War Z. Walker explained: “We’ve worked with Shaune since last year after doing a quick search of who the best prosthetic artist in the North of England was! This year I took the creative lead on the maze and did initial drawings of the masks I wanted him to create. He did the clay modelling and, following my amendments, the

“It’s quite exciting that after 10 months of intensive planning it comes down to one week where we have to execute it all correctly.”

Tom Connaughton, Vevo

Garfield said: “This was not the first Vevo event we have delivered for Bryte Design, but was by far the most challenging from a rigging point of view!”

Garfield took the helm throughout the design stage, including the specification of kit, calculation of roof loads, CAD drawings and delivery of a “highly competent” rigging team. Following this, it was Dean Smith that led this rigging team on site and managed the day-to-day delivery of the job on behalf of Event Rigging Services.

whole thing began to take shape.”

As well as masks and other prosthetics for the scare maze actors, Harrison fabricated a giant, demonic clown’s mouth to serve and the entrance to the venue.

Another key member of the production team was Mike Smith, Technical Production Manager for Bryte Design - a company that has been with Vevo since the beginning. As well as acting as Lighting Designer, in collaboration with Walker, Smith was charged with bringing in the lighting, rigging and video suppliers and designing those 39

PRODUCTION PROFILE: Vevo Halloween

Below: Shaune Harrison created the giant clown’s mouth that served as the entrance; VER supplied a Stealth LED system, which was positioned across the back and both sides of the stage to create very different looks on the sets on Wolf Alice and Little Simz.

aspects with advice from people like Garfield.

Although he has only been at Bryte Design since January 2015, after working freelance in rigging and lighting, Smith already had experience of working with Walker.

This allowed them to communicate efficiently, leaving plenty of time for the pre-production legwork.

He was assisted on site by a team from Bryte Design including Paul Maddock-Jones, Dave Gibbon, Adam Nicholls, Ben Shepard, Dom Adams, Miles Metcalfe, and Katy Lord.

Smith explained: “All the lighting was designed with WYSIWYG from start to finish.

We did five days of programming in our own WYSIWYG studio because we knew there wouldn’t be time on site.”

In terms of the conceptual design, Smith and Walker were adamant that recreating each of the artists’ usual tour looks was pointless. Smith explained: “Wolf Alice wanted gold, to go with the theme of their album, but other than that there were no set colour schemes per se, just general feels we wanted to create. These were complete Vevo concepts that were nothing to do with the artists’ normal shows, though they did get final approval.”

Smith added: “One thing that helps when it comes to designing these lighting looks is that we have a lot of collaboration with Head Rigger Matt Garfield. We work closely and that’s helped a great deal with the rapid change of designs.“ The colossal rig that Vevo requested from DPL Production Lighting, which also supplied the 2014 event, was primarily a mixture of Clay Paky and Aryton gear, along with Robe kit added for good measure.

Walker commented: “We’re not precious about brands at the moment, its all about whichever is best for the job. We go to various lighting shows throughout the year and decide what we want. There was a batten I wasn’t sure about, but then I saw a demo and loved it!”

All told, the lighting for Vevo Halloween consisted of 24 Clay Paky Mythos, 26 Clay Paky A.leda B-EYE K10’s, 12 Clay 40

Paky A.leda B-EYE K20’s, eight Martin Professional MAC Viper Performances, 24 Robe Pointes, 24 Robe 100 Beams, and 36 GLP Impression X4 Bar 20 battens.

In addition to this, there were 31 4-Lite molephay, 36 2-Lite molephays, 24 Ayrton MagicBlades, 15 Ayrton MagicPanels, 24 Ayrton MagicDots 42 Philips SL Nitro 510c strobes, four 6 Lamp Bars, 12 Philips E-Strip 10 LED battens, 28 ETC Source Four S2 Lustr+ LED profiles, 30 PixelRange Pixelpar 44’s.

This monstrous selection was accentuated with three Martin Professional Atomic 3000 DMX strobes, and controlled by two MA Lighting grandMA2 full size consoles, with two grandMA2 NPUs, supported by two 72-way Socapex distribution racks, four Avolites ART 2000 T4 48-way dimmer / distribution units, and four Luminex Ethernet-DMX8 MkII nodes.

There were also other additions that were act-specific, such as 32 LASERBLADEs provided by ER Productions for Years & Years, which effectively meant five separate lighting rigs on the night.

Other suppliers pitched in to source some of the harder to come by fixtures. PRG in particular assisted with the procurement of the GLP Impression X4 Bar 20’s.

Smith explained: “They came from all over the world and were a nightmare to find. Andrew Strachan was key in helping us to source these.”

In designing the other visual aspects of the show, Bryte Design drafted in VER to specify the latest HD LED video and projection elements available.

Smith said: “VER offer a lot of guidance. I suggest and they advise: they possess great expertise. They’re also very easy to work with. They have a great space for demos, they really accommodate us through testing, and support us very well throughout the whole process.”

Two Barco HDK Flex 30’s were specified for a full surface projection onto a downstage screen that was flown up and down at various intervals, taking the acts in and out with introductions and branding. The units came from VER’s fleet of over

PRODUCTION PROFILE: Vevo Halloween

Below: James Bay’s much-discussed light bulb design; Eighth Day’s Aron Ross; Mike Smith of Bryte Design.

20 Barco 26,000 projectors upgraded internally to offer a more powerful 30,000 lumen output whilst maintaining the original size of the projector.

VER also supplied a lightweight, transparent Stealth LED system, which was positioned across the back and both sides of the stage to create very different looks on the sets on Wolf Alice and Little Simz.

Simple block colour was created for Little Simz, and appeared later as a more complex set for Wolf Alice. Stealth displayed fragmented graphics as a background rather than actual content, setting off five layers of video display, lighting and rigging.

elements but the effects in place achieved a perfect result for us.”

The visual team included Lighting Operator, Richard White, TV Lighting Operator, Callum Howie, Video Operator, Paul Nicholls, and Video Crew Chief for VER, Rob Smith.

SEND IN THE SPECIALISTS The team made sure that they could change looks quickly by using an abundance of automation. This included a drape line that kept revealing itself, and the aforementioned ceilinghung DMX winches controlled by Pete Watts, Automation /Kinesys Operator.

Smith explained: “The light bulbs are pixel-

“Like the service we receive from VER, the products are also of a very high quality. It is a shame we couldn’t use more video elements but the effects in place achieved a perfect result for us.”

Mike Smith, Bryte Design A Green Hippo Hippotizer V4 was used to send video to the front screen and the Stealth screen. Smith enthused about the support that Green Hippo and Simon Harris in particular provided during the process, as well as the onsite expertise thanks to Green Hippo’s Suzy Casserley.

The team also used a Hippotizer V4 Amber server in the WYSIWYG studio to allow them to pre-programme all the video elements of the show. All of the Green Hippo kit was supplied

by Jamie Baker from Creative Video Design.

Smith added: “Like the service we receive from VER, the products are also of a very high quality. It is a shame we couldn’t use more video 42

mapped and fly up and down before being swapped out for LED strips over the stage and a canopy of really high intensity LED battens.

We had custom winches made that allow us to send data and power down the winch line. Then we can use the ETC Source Four LEDs that have been automated so it seems they move around the artist. We also used 20 Kinesys hoists for the bands with moving trusses.”

The motors for the winches, among other things, had to be sourced directly from the manufacturers, as did the downstage screen that was to display bespoke content created by Connaughton and his team. Smith contacted Wahlberg Light & Motion Design to help with

PRODUCTION PROFILE: Vevo Halloween

Below: The calm before the storm, FOH at Victoria Warehouse with two MA Lighting grandMA2 full size consoles fired up and ready to go.

part of this challenge, a Danish company with a distinguished CV that includes the winch-related lighting madness at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

Wahlberg provided 95 DMX-controlled miniwinches with a powered lifting cable, which were used to lift the 95 light bulbs over the audience and stage for James Bay. The company also supplied 12 DMX-controlled double wire winches that were used for lifting the 12 sets of two ETC lighting fixtures. The winches have both power in the lifting cables and a DMX to the ETC lamps.

CEO Mads Wahlberg said: “Our clients come from all over the world - so working across borders is daily news for us. We normally only provide the technical gear. That said, we work closely with our clients in the lead-up to an event and offer our assistance on site if necessary - though there was no need this

time.”

“The products we delivered were ordered through Mike Smith from Bryte Design. He asked us how we could make his ideas a reality with our products, and we suggested some solutions.

We were both on the same page and, in the end, our visions connected in a useful way.”

Wahlberg continued: “The event itself went very well. We didn’t get a chance to go to Manchester ourselves, but the video we have seen and the response we got from Bryte Design was super positive.”

When it came to the screen, the team again had to bring their ambitious ideas to the specialists. Belgium-based ShowTex fit the bill perfectly once they heard Walker’s screen dilemma. He explained: “We came across ShowTex’s Hispeed Roll-Up system. In this case wires are attached to the barrels to pull the screen up to where it needs to be.

“It was problem-free, which was surprising as I thought it would need a lot of adjustment.

The previous system could do it in 13 seconds, but the barrel system did it in six - we could have even done it in 2.5 but that was too fast! I didn’t think we’d have to slow it down!”

ShowTex supplied a 17 metre wide by six metre high Venetian style screen made of filled cloth and a Hispeed Roll-up system. The company also sent one of its technicians to the site during the load-in to install and tune the system.

ITS NOT THE SIZE OF YOUR PA...

Aron Ross, General Manager of Eighth Day Sound Systems UK, was approached to supply audio for the show two months before the event and oversaw the load-in to this idiosyncratic venue.

He said: “I’ve only been at Eighth Day for

43

PRODUCTION PROFILE: Vevo Halloween

Below: Nothing But Thieves and Years & Years were able to achieve drastically different looks despite the tight changeover times.

18 months. I joined because I think they’re the most progressive PA company in the UK. They have a very exciting client list at the moment.

I like the d&b audiotechnik sound system they use and I really enjoy working with the people there.

“We’ve got a slightly unusual PA for this job as there is quite a serious weight limit in this roof. We would like to use a bigger system but the d&b V-Series with ArrayProcessing is easily big enough to fill this room, even though it looks quite small. With ArrayProcessing we can make the sound very even across the audience very easily.”

Ross also dotted d&b T-Series speakers around to serve as delays in the bar areas and back of the main room, which is partly covered by an upper balcony. He laughed: “The brief was for ‘lots of bass please’ so we also have a 18 d&b J-SUBS on stage. This is really far too many but it still sounds great - more is always better!”

“The d&b D80 amplifiers, which are relatively new, give us enough headroom with the smaller system - we’re confident to use it in a space like this as we have used it in higher capacity rooms like Brixton Academy and the Eventim Apollo. With Ed putting that massive stage and ridiculous lighting rig in, it makes the room a lot smaller!”

44

Ross and his team supplied two Avid Profile desks, one and FOH and one at monitors, for all but Years & Years, who brought their own and used a ‘festival changeover’. This simplicity was a blessing for Eighth Day, as Ross conceded there wasn’t “acres of room for multiple desks” at FOH. All of the acts brought their own crew for FOH and monitors, using a combination of d&b wedges and Sennheiser in-ears on stage.

Ross continued: “The line up we’ve got will use the warmth and the power of the PA without being too ear-splittingly loud. I really like this venue. It’s got a great feel to it and all the shows that take place here seem to succeed. The Vevo event will be a good test of the V-Series and, more importantly, a good sounding show - it was great fun designing it.”

ONE STEP AWAY As is often the way with annual events, Walker and his team were already batting around ideas for Vevo Halloween 2016 well before the first note of this year’s show rang out at Victoria Warehouse. Despite the unanimous success of the show, and perhaps true to form, Walker still saw room for improvement.

He said: “I really want to work closer with the artists on stage design next year, as we were basically putting on five small arena shows

with no artist rehearsal time! Future tech like real time projection-mapping or movement tracking that augments with the designs would be great to explore, and up until now I’ve not had the confidence or the suppliers.”

Walker went on to say that he feels like the event is “one step away” from where he wants it to be, production-wise. He continued: “There are elements we can improve to create a more immersive experience for the artists and the audience. Maybe this will be afforded to us by a venue that is not as limited in terms of trim height, weight loading, or a lack of points to rig from. We don’t want a standard arena that offers us nothing.

“That said, this year was exactly how I envisioned it and every changeover went ahead without so much as a one second delay. It couldn’t have gone any better.”

TPi Photos: Vevo www.vevo.com www.verrents.com www.eventriggingservices.co.uk www.shauneharrisonacademy.com www.brytedesign.co.uk www.dplx.co.uk www.wahlberg.dk www.showtex.com www.8thdaysound.com

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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Catfish And The Bottlemen

CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN FORMED IN LLANDUDNO, NORTH WALES, AND QUICKLY TAKING OVER THE INTERNATIONAL INDIE AIRWAVES, FOUR-PIECE LAD ROCK BAND CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN ARE GAINING A REPUTATION AS ONE OF THE UK’S MOST FORMIDABLE LIVE BANDS. ONCE AGAIN, THE RENTAL COMPANY ON THE RADAR WITH A NEW BREAKOUT ACT IS NEWCASTLE-BASED NITELITES. Catfish And The Bottlemen - named after singer Ryan ‘Van’ McCann’s first memory of a busker who possessed a similar name were originally signed to an artist collective called Communion, founded by Mumford & Sons’ Ben Lovett. The band released their debut album The Balcony and soon claimed an army of fans - eventually getting picked up by major label Island Records and securing a top 10 chart position.

Leading the band’s foray into full production touring is Tour Manager and now also Production Manager, Daniel James Humphreys.

Following a career at Cato Music, he began touring internationally by tour managing LA-based soul soothing musical sisters, Haim.

Currently based in LA himself, the 28-year-old Brit is looking after Catfish while Haim record a new album.

48

From his production office, Humphreys explained: “I’m very close to both these guys and the Haim girls. It’s been great being on the road with a real guitar band again; Catfish have just blown up quite quickly and that’s because they’re such a strong live act. They’re not pushing for arenas, which I’m glad about, but they could have done. They’re on the radio a lot and so they’re doing well in America too, but this only their first album and we’re building up their production in stages.

“They like the fact that they have a really good live sound designer and they can have an LD with them, but it’s more a case of working with working class lads who just love the musicianship in what they do.”

By Humphreys’ own admission, he’s able to fulfil his dual role thanks to the expert skills of his touring crew. “I have a good team around

me, so I can handle both roles quite easily. I liaise with all major sides and help to bring it all together but I’m not overly technical in the same way our engineers are. I do have a tech background and understand what we need for the show, and I’ve inherited a young, talented crew, who are mainly in their 20’s.

“I’m excited to work with the band on their new album because you get all those new sounds, designs, artwork themes, and that progression of maturity in the songs - which I’ve been lucky enough to hear. They’re growing and developing all the time, and their show will grow when the time is right. We’re all looking forward to seeing new show designs next time around and although the band will keep all those raw punk elements, we have to give the audience something different to keep them coming back every time.”

PRODUCTION PROFILE: Catfish And The Bottlemen

Opposite: Singer Ryan ‘Van’ McCann uses a Shure Beta 57A microphone.

Below: Tour and Production Manager, Daniel James Humphreys who also works with Haim.

As far as his choice of supplier goes, Humphreys admits he has prior relationships leading from his time with Haim. “To be honest, I’d never heard of Nitelites as sound and lighting suppliers but, as well as the crew, I also inherited them from the band’s previous tour manager. When I met Jamie it was easy to see why Nitelites are doing so well. They have quality kit, quality crew. Their service is unbelievable actually; they really go out of their way to make sure you’re happy.”

A FULL SERVICE PRODUCTION Overseeing the full production tour dates in London and Manchester is Nitelites’ Jamie Moore who has handpicked his team. “We’ve got some really young lads out with us who are great for their age. We’ve been looking after Catfish tours for a couple of years now, and they’re really getting noticed in the industry,” he said.

Moore noted how he enjoys seeing a similar flourishing achievement with the crew.

Nitelites has recently set up a programme with Newcastle College - which has both a live

sound mixing course and a stage lighting course - in an attempt to get more people through the doors of the company. “We have some really young lads out with us who are great for their age. We have some exceptionally talented young people and we’re are all about that. Without people and talent, you’ve just got products,” he said. “We get most of our work from building relationships, mainly with production managers, who like what we’re doing as a company and what we’re about as a service provider.”

FOH SOUND As one of the first full-time crewmembers to join the camp second only the band’s longtime friend and backline tech, Larry Reid - FOH Engineer, Mike Woodhouse has always wanted to be a live sound engineer. Catfish is his first touring gig, a role that has now taken him around the world. “I always wanted to tour, to travel, meet new people and basically smash it every night for the band,” commented Woodhouse. “When I first met the band for a drink, we got on instantly and I really 49

PRODUCTION PROFILE: Catfish And The Bottlemen

Below: System Tech, Tom Geoghegan with Nitelites’ Jamie Moore and Monitor Tech, Liam Shannon; The show design implemented a lot of big rock ‘n’ roll looks courtesy of LD Scott James Galloway who used a red colour pallette for the majority of the show.

liked their music too, which was a bonus. Pretty much straight away we did a small tour and suddenly BBC Radio One picked them up. That was it; we’ve now done three US tours, played in Australia, parts of Europe and done lots of festivals in the UK. It’s been wicked for us all, but I didn’t expect it to take off this quickly!”

The band’s growing notoriety soon warranted the two crewmembers to become seven, and Woodhouse has enjoyed the camaraderie of the growing production team, along with being able to specify his preferred rider. “I’ve worked with Nitelites for just under a year and they’ve been fantastic. We always know what we’re going to get with them. Before we started working with a rental company I was used to working on in-house venue desks, but ever since I heard and tried out a DiGiCo console, I loved it. I won’t use anything else now,” he confirmed.

Woodhouse started his DiGiCo career supplemented by Waves plug-ins - on an SD9 at Reading & Leeds Festivals, and soon moved on to trying out other models in order to get the perfect fit for his show. “I wanted to step it up, so I used an SD10 for some shows and this tour is my first time using an SD7. DiGiCo is a really 50

simple choice for me. It sounds better than anything else I’ve tried and that’s the be all and end all. Why would I ever want to use another desk, which in my opinion, doesn’t sound as good?”

For the microphone package, the band’s Shure endorsement is led by the Beta 57A Dynamic Instrument Microphone, which is

The Nitelites’-supplied PA is an L-Acoustics K2. Woodhouse was already a fan of the French manufacturer’s engineering. “We used K1 rig at Reading & Leeds Festivals and I really loved how powerful it sounded. At the moment, the K1 box is the best out there for me. In these smaller venues for our tour, the K2 is doing a great job.”

Nitelites’ System Tech, Tom Geoghegan, is

“I’m excited to work with the band on their new album because you get all those new sounds, designs, artwork themes, and that progression of maturity in the songs - which I’ve been lucky enough to hear...”

- Tour and Production Manager, Daniel James Humphreys

also utilised for the vocal needs of singer.

Woodhouse continued: “This microphone works naturally with Van’s voice, it’s really well-suited to his loud, sometimes gritty vocals. It’s robust enough for their shows, which are quite full-on and energetic. He’ll be all over the stage at times, and the sound never drops.”

looking after the K2 rig, which comprises a main hang of 24 K2’s (12 per side) with a total of 12 SB28 subs.

Infill consists of four KARAs and eight ARCS I boxes. Processing for the main PA is through two Lake LM26’s and on the ground, an LM44 processes the subs. Amplification is via

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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Catfish And The Bottlemen

Below: The band brought their customised black Orange amplifiers on tour; Production Manager Daniel James Humphreys expressed excitement about working with the band and their next production design in the future.

L-Acoustics LA8 units.

Geoghegan commented: “Most of the festival work I’ve done has been with a K2 system. It’s very easy to use and to rig. I’m a fan of L-Acoustics in general; my choices are always K1, K2 and KARA because the scalability is great, and you can easily get what you need from it, depending on the event.

Nobody is ever upset when they see L-Acoustics!”

On his relationship with Nitelites, Geoghegan commented: “It’s really refreshing to work on a tour knowing that the person booking the equipment and the crew is also the person grafting too. Jamie gets his ‘hands dirty’ with the rest of us!”

MONITORS In monitor world, Nashville-based engineer Travis Bing is the latest team member to join the crew, as he explained: “I was asked to a fill in for a week in the US and ended up staying - I owe someone a gig, that’s for sure!”

For his newfound role with Catfish, Bing is also using a DiGiCo SD7 console for the first time. “I wanted to give it a shot. I’d heard a lot about DiGiCo and I thought this would be a good chance to 52

test it out. The SD7 has a lot more processing than I was used to.

It flows really well and sounds even better than I expected.

Once you understand the DiGiCo terminology, it becomes a very intuitive desk. In fact, I think I’ve found my new desk.”

Bing is handling a mixture of IEM and wedge mixes.

Onstage, the wedges are eight d&b audiotechnik M2’s. Bing commented: “We were carrying M4’s prior to this to save space, but now that we have a truck we can accomodate the M2’s.

The singer, Van, has four wedges placed in front of him and there are two each for the guitar and bass players.”

For IEMs, Shure is again the brand the band likes using.

PSM1000’s with Ultimate Ear 18 molds are the in-ears of choice.

Bing talked us through his mixes: “Benjamin ‘Benji’ Blakeway [guitar] likes drums, bass and a bit of guitar spread out, so that’s straightforward. Johnny ‘Bondy’ Bond [bass] is on wedges only, Robert ‘Bob’ Hall [drums] just likes a lot of snare. Van’s mix is a bit more difficult; he likes to hear the crowd a lot based on ambient mics and his vocal. The trick is to get a

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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Catfish And The Bottlemen

Below: The band with FOH Engineer, Mike Woodhouse, Nitelites’ Jamie Moore and the latest addition to the crew, Monitor Engineer Travis Bing with his DiGiCo SD7 console - his new desk of choice; LD Scott James Galloway programmed on a ChamSys MagicQ MQ Pro 100.

very direct sound from all the instruments so I EQ and compress the ambient mics quite a bit to polish that sound. It’s almost like when you tune a system to the room, I tune to the ambient mics. The band’s on-stage set up is completed by customised guitar amps from Orange, which have been sprayed black.

RED FOR ROCK ‘N’ ROLL Show Designer and LD, Scott James Galloway, has also recently changed to a new desk, in his case, a ChamSys MagicQ MQ Pro 100. He told TPi: “ChamSys has been my go-to desk for the last six months. It started in the festival season when I purchased a ChamSys PC wing, it seemed like the best option for summer events and I’ve used ChamSys ever since.”

Galloway also noted that a big selling point for the console is its fixture cloning ability and its in-built pre-visualisation software platform.

it, with the exception of a few songs in the set which are drastically different. The reasoning for this stems from the idea that if you stare at one colour for long enough your eyes adjust to that colour. So when you change to a very different colour suddenly for certain songs it creates a much bigger impact visually.”

The flown lighting package from Nitelites included 12 Clay Paky Sharpys, 12 Clay Paky Mythos and four Martin Professional MAC Viper Profiles. A total of six Martin Professional Atomic 3000 DMX Strobes were chosen for effect lighting.

Floor package fixtures were 12 Clay Paky Sharpys, four Martin Professional Atomic 3000 DMX Strobes and six Chauvet professional SlimPAR Pros. Audience blinders were eight generic Pro-Can 2-Lite molefays. A total of 36 1kW PARcans were also specified for the floor package.

“Shaun and Jamie Moore are very good at what they do, and very good at making recommendations and building relationships too...”

- Matt Jackson, Fly By Nite

“The fixture cloning and morphing is really powerful and it makes programming and updating the show much easier on tour,” he added.

For his design, Galloway focussed a lot on red tones, which lit the stage in a simple focal point, layering the all black backline. Said Galloway: “We’re using a lot of red, because it’s sort of become like their brand. It’s a simple rock ‘n’ roll show and the PARcans and red colour palette make up the ‘big looks’. The lighting theme for the show has a lot of red in 54

For atmospherics, two DF 50 Diffusion Hazers and two Martin Professional Jem ZR 44 hi-mass fog machines were deployed. An Avolites dimming and distribution package comprising an ART2000 T4, an ART2000 Dimmer Module and three Avolites ART2000 Distro Modules was also chosen.

Galloway added: “The Chauvet SlimPAR Pros were used alongside bars of six PARcans at either side of the stage to provide a wash for the band. One either side of the drummer, and two either side of the stage to cross wash the

stage. Not a lot of front light is used during the show. I also really like the Mythos. They’re still quite new so it’s fun to see how versatile they can be. I can use them as a beam or a spot.”

Dimmer Tech Joe Dowling, a Nitelites freelancer said of the lighting package: “I really like the Mythos fixtures too. They’re nice and light which always helps with lifting. The rig was flown very easily and everyone was happy with how it looked so Scott was able to get on with his programming all afternoon.”

And what of the rental company? “I like working with Nitelites, they’re great for giving younger people regular work. They’re big on training, which is important. I like to keep on top of new technology because the amount of universes we’re working with now is always growing! - and I get to learn a lot on the job. It’s not very rock ‘n’ roll but I even end up reading on the tour bus!”

A PLEASURE TO DEAL WITH Fly By Nite’s Matt Jackson commented: “We worked with Catfish over the summer during their festival season, when Crossland supplied their tour bus. For the UK tour, both Fly by Nite and Crossland supplied a truck each for the production transport, as at the London and Manchester shows they carried additional gear, which required extra truck space.

“We were recommended to the tour through Nitelites; we supply a lot of trucks for their shows and we have a great relationship with them. Shaun and Jamie Moore are very good at what they do, and very good at making recommendations and building relationships too. It’s been a pleasure to deal with the band and crew on this tour.”

TPi

Photos: Alex Alevroyiannis www.catfishandthebottlemen.com www.nitelites.co.uk www.flybynite.co.uk www.crossland.ie

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A DAY IN THE LIFE OF... Soozie Coll

SUSAN ‘SOOZIE’ COLL, EAT TO THE BEAT I always talk about how I have the best of both worlds, being able to split my working life between North America and Europe. Having worked at Eat to the Beat for over 25 years, I’ve seen CEO Tony Laurenson’s dream of branching out over the planet become a reality - and I’ve been lucky enough to ‘onsite’ manage a lot of the big contracts. Whether it be music, travelling car shows, film catering or athletics, Eat to the Beat has grown into a formidable player.

I remember my first trip to New York was however a ‘jolly’. Four of our main crew at the time and some of my best friends were on tour with Sarah Brightman, it was winter at the start of 2001. New York was awe-inspiring and we raced around the city on the only full day the guys had off, trying to see everything at once. After my initial memorable visit to New York, I proceeded to do many different tours for Eat To The Beat USA including Mercedes Benz and Lexus cross country car tours taking up months on end; large rock tours, The Eagles and Van Halen, and medium metal tours Slipknot and Marilyn Manson.

Eventually we were taken on permanently by IMP, the excellent promoters behind the famous Washington 9:30 club - voted one of the top five sheds in the country after Red Rocks and the Hollywood Bowl, and Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia MD, nestled in beautiful countryside between Washington DC and Baltimore.

Eat To The Beat was commissioned to do ‘The Season’ for the last eight years at Merriweather and I have been lucky enough to base myself there for most of the summer months. It really confuses most British crew who come through the venue. “Are you any relation to the British Eat to the Beat?” they ask.

My Glaswegian accent and the flight cases soon gives it away!

I write menus according to the visiting band’s origin. For example, if it’s a British band who’ve been in the States for a while, the menu will reflect home comfort staples like shepherd’s pie. When Belle and Sebastian came through I knew one of the crew really well and greeted him at the toaster with a bottle of Iron Brew and an offer of Heinz Baked Beans with his 56

breakfast. He nearly cried. God knows what would have happened if I’d offered him a square sausage!

The summer season in America is fantastic but along with everyone else in this crazy circus called touring, I need to fill those winter months. Six years ago Eat to the Beat started a great relationship with a real circus, Cirque du Soleil. I toured for six months with the fabulous Saltimbanco show and discovered a new way for Eat to the Beat to showcase our flexibility and unique talent for satisfying every palate in nutritionally challenging situations.

This is the first time I had ever worked with athletes and the first time our bain-marie and buffet looked so colourful with vegetables and fruit playing major roles creating a healthier choice for all, including myself! As I’m getting older it’s more difficult being around banoffee pie. I just have to keep telling myself: I know what that tastes like! I’ve had it a thousand times before!

As my venue static summer months grew into autumn I got the call that we had been asked back to Cirque. This time for Varekai as it was about to bring itself back across the Atlantic after the North American leg. Each week it’s in a different European city. One load-in and one load-out a week. Perfect.

This is where I find myself now, in the mid-week one show Wednesday, with the mad rush of dinner over as the troupe troop off to their weekly meeting.

Two weeks ago we started with a week in Berlin’s Mercedes Benz Arena and we were asked to join this meeting and introduce ourselves. We were touched by the feeling of the applause as Varekai Company Manager Clare O’Connell introduced us back into the fold. Over and over again, the artists come up and shake our hands saying they are so happy we are back.

My family and friends back home are starting to ask me now when I’m going to stop travelling but the more jobs l go on like this one, with lovely experiences, lovely people, great places and the chance to cook good food, makes that prospect look like a very long way away...

Soozie Coll

Aerial photograph ©DeSciose 2015

Make everyone happy.

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INTERVIEW: Ben Hammond

BEN HAMMOND AND THE PROFESSIONALS THE ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF PUNK ROCK BAND, THE PROFESSIONALS, MADE UP OF EX-MEMBERS OF THE SEX PISTOLS, REFORMED FOR AN UNSURPRISINGLY SOLD OUT GIG AT LONDON’S 100 CLUB. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER 30 YEARS, PAUL COOK, RAY MCVEIGH AND PAUL MYERS APPEARED ALONG WITH TOM SPENCER IN AN INTIMATE GIG TO COINCIDE WITH THE RELEASE OF THE COMPLETE PROFESSIONALS TRIPLE CD SET, RELEASED BY UNIVERSAL. SOUND ENGINEER BEN HAMMOND WAS TASKED WITH MANAGING THE AUDIO, SELECTING ALLEN & HEATH’S NEW DLIVE MIXING SYSTEM. HE SHARES HIS EXPERIENCE OF THIS VERY SPECIAL GIG. What duties did you have to handle with the dLive?

The 100 is a small club, with monitors managed from FOH and the requirement was to provide a stereo and a multitrack record too. In a world of clean, clean, clean, I needed to deliver an edgy driven mix that was associated with this type of music, and when at least 50% of what you’re hearing is coming from the stage and not me, being able to put a mix together where I incorporate the stage noise and then add to it, while retaining the edge I needed was an interesting task.

The dLive is an extremely clean sounding console, and the move to 96kHz processing gives so much more space and headroom. The 58

width within the master bus is huge. However, it still dirties up nicely, so a combination of the two enabled me to get the sound I was looking for pretty quickly.

What was the workflow like for a chaotic sold out pub gig in London?

Because space was tight and channel count relatively low, I opted for the smallest hardware from the dLive range - an S3000 surface and DM32 stage rack - fitted with a Dante networking card. The gig was a relatively simple affair with drums, bass, two guitars, and four vocals, four wedge mixes, and stereo and multitrack recording via Dante to Reaper, to be mixed later for a ‘live’ release.

INTERVIEW: Ben Hammond

Opposite: FOH Engineer Ben Hammond with his Allen & Heath dLive console. Below: The Professionals performed at the famous 100 Club in London.

What particular FX have you been using in dLive?

I tried to keep the mix as open and raw as I could, just utilising the desk’s brilliant built-in FX, which means I don’t need to rely on plug-ins or outboard. I used the SMR reverbs (mostly rooms) and some short slap delays. I also used a little bit of ADT on the guitars to add that old chorused shimmer, some dynamic EQ over the vocal group to keep the four vocals in check for FOH but leave them open on the channel so I had maximum level to send to the wedges which were on fire!

How did you adapt your style of mixing to this gig?

As usual, I used a lot of sub groups, this came from learning to mix in a tiny venue with very underpowered monitoring, so I was back at home here! The idea is that any compression or heavy EQ cuts are done on groups so you retain

the maximum level available for the monitors.

I have always mixed like this as I much prefer treating multi mic’ed sources as one instrument,

then putting things together as I moved on was super easy and very quick, proving just how intuitive the dLive surface is.

“It was a real honour to work with someone with as much history and impact in music as Paul Cook.”

Ben Hammond, FOH Engineer and I’m a big fan of graphic EQs across most things. dLive handles this well with the number of processing mix channels available, as well as additional FX sends, monitor sends, matrix outs etc.

Did you build a showfile on the fly?

Yes, building a basic template showfile and

What was the reaction from the band and punters?

The gig ended on a great note, the audience were ecstatic, the band very happy, and looking forward to their next outing. It was a real honour to work with someone with as much history and impact in music as Paul Cook.

TPi www.allen-heath.com

59

IN PROFILE: Millennium Studios

MILLENNIUM STUDIOS THE BRAINCHILD OF VETERAN LIGHTING DESIGNER RONAN WILLSON, MILLENNIUM STUDIOS HAS OFFERED A REHEARSAL SPACE FOR FIVE YEARS AND HAS PLAYED HOST TO SOME OF THE BIGGEST NAMES WITHIN THE WORLD OF LIVE MUSIC. TPi’S STEW HUME WAS INVITED TO ITS BEDFORD SITE. Nestled away in the Bedford countryside, on the site of a disused military base, is Millennium Studios; a fully-stocked rehearsal facility that offers a practical and affordable solution for productions wishing to prepare for up and coming shows. The studio was opened in 2010 by Ronan Willson, an expert lighting designer who worked with some of the biggest metal and rock bands in the ‘70s and ‘80s including Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and AC/DC. Through the years, despite dipping his toe into the world of TV production, Willson has always kept his passion for music and, in 2009, the opportunity arose for him to purchase the Bedfordshire site. After a year of renovation, the studio was ready to welcome a whole array of productions from live rehearsals to film shoots.

Sitting in the Millennium office with his Bookings and Operations Manager, Nina Malivoire, Willson talked about how Millennium Studios came into being and its 60

plans for the future. “This is actually the second manifestation of Millennium Studios,” stated Willson. Starting life in Borehamwood near to Elstree Studios, Millennium added to the legacy of film and TV production in the town. But Willson also decided to create a rehearsal space at the vicinity. “One of the most memorable music things we did there was the British Rock Orchestra featuring Roger Daltry, Alice Cooper and Jason Bonham with the London symphony orchestra playing Led Zeppelin, The Who and Alice Cooper numbers. Standing in the studio while they played Kashmir was absolutely outstanding.”

Despite the success, increased competition within the film market eventually resulted in Willson selling the site, allowing him to reopen Millennium at its new home in Bedford. “The simple reality is that real-estate is a lot cheaper out here than in London. This means that we are able to offer reasonable prices,” said Willson.

“We didn’t cut corners when it came

to building the stage. We put 50 tonnes of plasterboard and 20 tonnes of rockwool into the studio to make sure the sound levels are almost inaudible from outside. Being set in such a rural area, we never thought we would get away with having a full PA but in fact it has all worked out very well.” Willson cites the knowledge he gained from the road as one of the reasons for the success of the facility. “I was on the road for 15 years so I was more than aware of the steelwork, orientation, power and ventilation that the studio would need. I had a good idea what people would be looking for but I also wanted to try and make Millennium into a bit of a music-centric park.”

Five years on and you would be hard-pushed to say that he didn’t achieve this goal. As well as the fully-equipped rehearsal space there are now several other businesses on-site working within the music industry including a recording studio and a business that resells analogue studio equipment and mixing consoles. But the crown jewel of the site has to be the ‘A’ Stage.

IN PROFILE: Millennium Studios

Opposite: Standing at 10 metres high, Millennium Studios’ ‘A’ Stage offers a rehearsal space for the live events industry at an affordable price. Below: Founder of Millennium Ronan Willson standing with Nina Malivoire, Bookings and Operations Manager and PR Representative, Louise Harris; ‘A’Stage has been used for multiple purposes throughout its five years. From tour rehearsals to video shoots; many famous names have used Millennium with many of the acts now dawning the walls of the main office on signed drum skins.

Standing at 10 metres high, the studio is a fully soundproofed rehearsal space complete with a load-bearing roof, a U-Shaped Cyclorama and not to mention a loading bay directly outside the stage entrance. The studio is perfect for theatre tours and modest-sized arena shows measuring in at 27.5 metres by 18.8 metres.

As well as plenty of space to work with, Millennium also offers lighting, staging and rigging options to those hiring out the space.

Marcus Blatchford and Tom Armstrong head up the in-house rigging team, IT and CAD expert Tim Williamson, and Site Manager Jerry Clarke complete the team. Backing on to the stage there is a sizable space for production to set up a temporary office as well as two large dressing rooms and on-site catering.

“I think that when we first opened there was certainly a shortage of rehearsal spaces big enough for touring productions to use,” explained Willson. “We were filling a bit of a niche. We are not the biggest rehearsal space but there are plenty of acts that simply don’t have the budget to book the bigger studios and coming up here they don’t only save on studio costs but also other peripheral costs such as accommodation are significantly lower.” When

asked why he believes Millennium has been so successful, Willson stated: “It has to be that people have been happy with what they have found.” He continued: “They have found a first rate facility with keen prices. We certainly have had a lot of repeat business over the years.”

Once the studio first opened in 2010 one of the first artists to come through the doors was

puts down to word of mouth. “This business is so close-knit that you can do a project for one person then word branches out and you are getting enquires from another interested party.”

While sitting in the offices you only have to look at the walls to gain a sense of the calibre of artists that have come through its doors.

Lining the walls of the building are several drum

“We were filling a bit of a niche. We are not the biggest rehearsal space but there are plenty of acts that simply don’t have the budget to book the bigger studios and coming up here they don’t only save on studio costs but also other peripheral costs such as accommodation are significantly lower.”

Ronan Willson, Founder and Managing Director.

Matt Goss of Bros fame. Willson explained that, at the time, the management company that represented Goss was based at the studios so they suggested that he used the facility while he prepped for his UK tour and Royal Albert Hall performance. Since then Millennium has had a steady flow of business - which Willson

skins, all of which have been signed by the various bands that have used the facility such Motörhead, Enter Shikari, Disclosure and John Legend. “The scale of some of the acts that we have coming through is astounding,” stated Willson, adding that the team at Millennium have a long-running joke that, if you come and 61

IN PROFILE: Millennium Studios

Below: As well as ‘A’ Stage, Millennium Studios also has two dressing room and a large production office space; Various companies have also made use of ‘A’ Stage including Martin Audio who run demo-days throughout the year. Here Nigel Meddemmen, Product Support Engineer at Martin Audio prepared for one of these events.

rehearse at the studios, your career will have an upward trajectory. If you see that One Direction, Jessie J and Bring Me The Horizon have all used the space perhaps there really is something in the water.

However it is not just touring productions that have made a temporary home at Millennium over the years. Due to the fantastic

62

acoustics in ‘A’ Stage, a selection of PA manufactures have been drawn to the facility including Martin Audio. Malivoire explained: “Martin Audio invites sound engineers to come in for demo days where they are taught how to use their systems. They often come in two to three times a year.” Due to the large production rooms, these showcase days can also offer

a classroom space for the visiting engineers.

Willson said how he has been very lucky with just how good the acoustic characterises of the space are. “There have been some PA guys that have come along and said how the room has perfect acoustics. This is more by luck than judgment but it means they keep coming back.”

As well as these PA training days, Millennium

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IN PROFILE: Millennium Studios

Below: Kanye West’s large lighting rig for this year’s Glastonbury Festival was made up of 792 PARcans. Kanye’s design team used Millennium to test the fixtures making use of ‘A’ Stage’s load bearing roof; Regular clients of Millennium Studios, The Australian Pink Floyd Show.

has also played host to lighting companies who used the space to rig new products and take demo photos. Another branch of the industry that has benefitted from Millennium is the special effects division, with companies like Le Maitre (the pyrotechnics and special effects company) using ‘A’ Stage to trial new products.

purchase the Cardington Hanger, where several high profile movies have been shot including Inception and the Dark Knight Trilogy. Although it has become known for its work with films, the hanger has also been used for some music productions including Sam Smith’s tour. Willson went on to state that, as a veteran LD, being

“I am very grateful to all our clients, the support we have received and the loyalty of people coming back.”

Ronan Willson, Founder and Managing Director.

Willson explained: “Le Maitre has commented that the venue is great for them because the ventilation system is so great which is obviously quite advantageous for them.”

However despite the success of Millennium Studios, Willson has not stopped there and in 2014 was presented with the opportunity to

64

involved in the movie world is very interesting to him as the use of Par Cans is still very common.

He made the point that having so many old style lighting fixtures suddenly became beneficial this year as rap superstar Kanye West prepped for his Glastonbury headline slot.

“For Dark Knight Rises we had brought 1,000

Par Cans. Neg Earth then got in touch with us earlier this year to enquire as to whether we could help them out with the show. It was actually lovely to be given that job, as it was a very heavy metal vibe. I was in my element because that was the style of lighting I used to be involved in. I thought it looked brilliant and full marks to John McGuire, the LD.” Kanye’s production team prepped the whole rig under the roof of Millenniums ‘A’ Stage.

To close, Willson wanted to thank all of the various productions and clients who have come through Millennium’s doors over the last five years. “I am very grateful to all our clients for the support we have received and the loyalty of people coming back. It’s lovely to see people make a return to the facility and for me it’s been great to see some old touring buddies coming through. I am flattered and pleased to see such talent.”

TPi Photos: Marcus Blatchford and Martin Audio www.millenniumstudios.co.uk

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CLOCKING OFF: DiGiCo Quiz Night Below: DiGiCo MD, James Gordon with Behind The Scenes trustee, Lee Dennison.

DIGICO QUIZ NIGHT CROWNS BEHIND THE SCENES AS CHOSEN CHARITY THE THIRD DIGICO CHARITY RENTAL QUIZ RAISES £5,500.

The third DiGiCo Charity Quiz Rental Company of the Year, or ‘The Paul Keating Stag Do!’ as it became known this year in honour of the Delta Sound MD, brought together some of the top UK audio companies in a battle of knowledge, wit, devious underhand dealings and a bar bill bigger than a you can imagine!

In previous years, DiGiCo has chosen to support some amazing causes and some now sadly departed individuals, with the pro audio industry coming together as one for what is an always-memorable night.

This year, DiGiCo chose to support UK events charity, Behind the Scenes. “We have been supporters of Behind the Scenes UK (BTS) since its inception two years ago, through its various charity events like the golf days and the recent karting day at Sandown Park, as well as 66

lobbying the industry for support,” said DiGiCo MD, James Gordon.

“This year, it was a natural choice for us to nominate BTS as our chosen charity since we all know people personally and professionally that have, at one time in the past, needed the industry’s support. Now we have a charity that is supported by our industry, for our industry and administered by our industry, and we all need to get behind it.”

On the night, a raffle had some great prizes donated by all participants and, with a star turn auction hosted by a rather orange David ‘Dennison’ Dickinson and a top prize of dinner with Delta’s Mark Bonner going for £900, the final total raised was a fantastic £5,500.

It was an amazing evening as always, hosted Ant & Dec of the audio world James Gordon and David ‘Webby’ Webster, and Delta Sound

were the runaway quiz winners. With the quiz done, the celebrations went on into the night, participants discussing the finer points of Jägerbombs.

TPi http://behindthescenescharity.org www.digico.biz

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Ayrton

AYRTON’S DREAMPANEL TWIN TPi SPEAKS TO AYRTON’S VALÈRE HUART-GYORS - INTERNATIONAL SALES MANAGER - ABOUT THE COMPANY’S NEW DREAMPANEL TWIN, AN IDEAL TOURING PRODUCT LAUNCHED AT EUROPE’S MOST INFLUENTIAL AV TRADESHOW, PROLIGHT+SOUND.

Can you talk us through this new product in terms of what the main features are and why they will appeal to touring crews?

The DreamPanel Twin is a brand-new concept: a unique hybrid luminaire which displays a DreamPanel Shift video panel on one side and an optimiSed, 8 x 8 emitter, MagicPanel style beam projection luminaire on the other.

Incorporated into a motorised head which is capable of continuous double rotation on the pan and tilt axes, the DreamPanel Twin can alternate between displaying high-definition video images and 3D volumetric lighting effects.

The 384 x 384mm video display side of 68

the DreamPanel-Twin has 4,096 RGB LEDs at a 6mm pitch. These are set in a flat black background which avoids internal reflections and provides prodigious contrast and definition for the rendering of full HD video on stage, balancing perfectly with an optimised screen size and overall system brightness.

An innovative 48-circuit rotating connector enables the smooth, undisturbed transmission of video signals through continuous pan and tilt rotation.

The MagicPanel-style, RGBW beam projection side has an improved resolution of 64 6.5° emitters that produce finer detailed volumetric mapping effects. This is made

possible by the 8 x 8 matrix featuring patented 45mm diameter collimators that can obtain a full 6° angle and centre-beam luminous intensity of over 73 candela per lumen.

The two sides are controlled completely independently - the video side through Ayrton’s new HDMI DreamPanel HD-Box control system, while the beam-projection side, with its 3D volumetric effects, along with the pan and tilt movement, is managed by Art-Net or sACN through an Ethernet link.

Ayrton’s DreamPanel HD-Box control system has been specially developed to drive DreamPanel video panels via a proprietary HDMI protocol. The controller manages the

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Ayrton

Opposite: The new DreamPanel Twin was recently on show at LDI in Las Vegas, following a successful launch in Germany. Below: The DreamPanel Twin is a hybrid luminaire with the MAGICPANEL on one side and the DreamPanel Shift on the other; Capable of continuous double rotation on the pan and tilt axes, the DreamPanel Twin can alternate between displaying highdefinition video images and 3D volumetric lighting effects.

image, the positioning of the panels, and the rotation between the media server layer, which generates the signal, and the display layer. It also resizes and positions the media in real-time in a matrix of video panels regardless of their orientation. DreamPanel HD- Box sends each DreamPanel tile the entire HDMI 1080P image with a control parameter so that it only displays its allotted portion of the image. DreamPanel Manager, a PC-compatible software, lets the user configure a matrix, orientate the tiles individually with 1° accuracy, and adjust brightness.

DreamPanel Twin will appeal touring crews and lighting designers alike because it brings a totally new kind of design and range of effects to the stage. The configuration of emitters combined with the video capability, and ability to rapidly switch between the two, or add a further dimension to the effect with continuous pan and tilt motion, is truly unique.

But more than that, Ayrton has built a reputation for manufacturing products that are reliable, robust and tour-worthy, both in their performance and in their transportation. Ayrton lighting fixtures have a fantastic career on the international music circuit and we have heard many times from the technicians on tour that they can rely on taking an Ayrton fixture directly from its flightcase, rigging it and switching it and it just works!

How long was the product in development for? Why is now a key time for its release?

DreamPanel Twin has been in development for three years. We have made it available 70

now, at a moment in our industry when lighting and video are converging more and more. This convergence is the essence of this fixture that we have designed to maximise the potential of these two media, individually and in combination.

What kind of emphasis does Ayrton place upon R&D? Do you feel this is a strong part of the company’s continued success?

R&D is the bedrock of any manufacturer from our perspective. Innovation is one of the main reasons for our current, growing success and R&D is directly involved in this success. We put a lot of effort into our communication with the end users of our products, listening to what they want in both aesthetic and technical aspects, and we rely on our R&D department to come up with creative ways of addressing these requirements - and adding that extra Ayrton magic to the end result. We know the lighting designers and rental houses out there really appreciate that close contact and it is a mutually beneficial relationship.

What was the initial catalyst for the DreamPanel Twin? Did you work closely with any end users / listen to what kind of products they would welcome for live events?

DreamPanel Twin is a concept of Ayrton’s Founder and Principal Product Designer, Yvan Péard. Some lighting designers have been looking for double face fixtures for long time and are very happy to see the newly-released DreamPanel Twin.

Where does this panel fit within Ayrton’s family of touring-friendly products as a whole?

It is, with the DreamPanel Shift, one of the first members of our new Imaging Display range of fixtures. DreamPanel-Twin is a complement to our Creative Solutions fixtures (MagicPanel, MagicBlade, MagicDot, MagicRing, IntelliPix) and adds a video dimension to our range of lighting fixtures.

Launched at Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt, Germany, how was the response on the show floor?

The response on the show floor was fabulous.

People were truly enthusiastic about it as a unique concept and you could see the brain cells working as the design ideas started to flow!

In terms of rental investment, are you able to tell us which regional rental houses are keen to take inventory?

DreamPanel Twin is currently available to rent across Europe, North-America and Japan.

Which live shows might we see the the products being utilised on in 2016?

The French electronic music producer, The Avener, is currently touring with 36 units, and is one of the first projects to use the DreamPanel0Twin. We know of several projects in the pipeline with more units on order, but are not allowed to divulge the names of them yet. Let’s just say we have some big surprises to come in 2016!

TPi www.ayrton.eu

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Chauvet Professional welcomed lighting professionals, designers, media and clients to its European home office in Ghent, Belgium on 18 November for an evening to mark the official grand opening of the facility.

In addition to the festivities, Chauvet demonstrated its latest products including the Ovation E-910FC, a five colour RGBA+Lime LED ellipsoidal, and the COLORado 1 Solo, a IP65rated PAR-style wash fixture.

Chauvet also showcased other road tested products such as the Next NXT-1 moving head LED panel with 25 pixel-mappable quad-colour RGBW LEDs and the Nexus Series of COB LED fixtures.

“We’re extremely excited to invite lighting industry guests to our new Belgian HQ,” commented Chauvet Europe Manager, Michael Brooksbank. “2015 has been an incredible year for Chauvet. With the Belgian expansion, we look forward to being able to serve the European lighting market better than ever.”

After a period of disagreement between SGM shareholders regarding the future capital structure of the company, the board of directors has had no other option than restructure the company.

SGM has been completely re-established with its new shareholder and capital. The management has confirmed that SGM will continue as before without any changes - and stronger than ever.

The team behind SGM will remain unchanged, as will its worldwide distributor network, while all warranty commitments will also be identical.

The new ownership relates to investment company, Eurofinim, whose CEO, Paolo Covre, wants to carry on SGM in the spirit created

by Peter Johansen - a sentiment solidified by Johansen’s continued role as CEO of SGM. Covre stated: “I have followed SGM from the sidelines for quite some time, and I find the company’s visions both sensational and 72

impressive with regards to its scope, high pace and innovative solutions. This is the kind of company I trust and I am honoured to be a part of, and it just needed a financial injection to continue and enhance its growth.”

Johansen has been positive towards the new investor’s wishes for SGM’s future. “Paolo and I share many viewpoints and I am sure he will become a great asset for SGM. I am happy to have him onboard. SGM is now stronger and more motivated than ever before. We will continue our growth, developing the innovative products we believe in. We are confident that the misleading rumours we have unfortunately incurred will be immediately disregarded,” he said.

Adlib has acquired EFX Audio, Scotland’s primary audio company, to strengthen its presence in the region.

The company has planned heavy investment, as well as looking to relocate from Bathgate and purchase warehousing in the Glasgow area.

Significant investment in additional stock will include a 24-box L-Acoustics K2 system and a wider range of consoles including DiGiCo, Soundcraft and Avid. “The additional kit will provide our clients with considerably more options without having to go further afield,” said Adlib’s Graham Cochrane.

Following the move to a new warehouse, Adlib intends to roll out all the comprehensive training opportunities that it currently offers in Liverpool.

Green Hippo is set to open its first international office in January 2016. Green Hippo US, to be based in Burbank, California, has been established to support the company’s partners and users in US, Canada, Central America and South America.

D.A.S. Audio has created a subsidiary in Brazil as part of its ongoing commitment to providing worldwide service. D.A.S. do Brasil will incorporate a full sales and technical team that

has had ties to the D.A.S. brand for nearly 20 years through Decomac, D.A.S. Audio’s former distributor in Brazil.

This team will ensure the continuation of the services D.A.S. has offered to the extensive number of its customers and users in Brazil through Decomac, and with the help of direct support from D.A.S. headquarters in Valencia aims to further improve after-sales care, training and technical support for the new products that D.A.S. plans to launch on the Brazilian market soon.

D.A.S. do Brasil will open its doors at the same location used by Decomac in São Paulo, headed by a management team closely linked to the history of D.A.S. in Brazil.

The D.A.S. do Brasil team involved in this new project includes Sales Director Guillermo Distefano, who is joined in the sales department

by Victor Da Silva and Marilia Macri. Providing support, technical training and set-up of D.A.S. gear in Brazil is Fernando Nanão, official D.A.S. technician for the country.

K-array has hired Marc Vincent as its President of Global Sales and Marketing, effective from the first of November. Based in Hong Kong, Vincent will be responsible for the implementation and execution of sales strategies and marketing efforts.

He has 35 years of industry experience, most recently as the President of Sennheiser Greater China from 2007 where he was responsible for building company operations throughout the region. Vincent worked first-hand with K-array during this period, using the Italian brand for big events such as the Asian Games Opening Ceremony, the JZ Music Festival, Clockenflap Music Festival, US President Obama’s visit to China and the Miss Universe beauty pageant.

“The company has recently undergone big changes within our distribution network and, while we have the intention to evolve and re-

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Opposite: SGM has undergone a recent restructure with Eurofinim, whose CEO, Paolo Covre sealed the deal with SGM’s Peter Johansen; Adlib has acquired EFX Audio, Scotland’s primary audio company.

emerge as a standalone company, we would like to maintain some continuity. We don’t want to overhaul our entire structure but enjoy a more natural progression,” explained K-array CEO and President of R&D, Alessandro Tatini.

“To achieve this we needed someone who knew us and our brand inside out and who had the passion and the tools to help us elevate our brand. We didn’t have to look any further than Marc Vincent and we are very happy to have him as a part of our K-array family.”

Riedel Communications has named Joyce Bente as the new President and CEO of Riedel North America. Bente joins the company with nearly 30 years of experience in the broadcast industry, and she will lead strategy and operations with the primary goal of expanding Riedel’s presence across North American markets.

Bente joins Riedel having most recently served as the Director of Sales for leading broadcast rental company Bexel, where she consistently exceeded annual budgeted sales revenues and profits. Over more than a decade with the company, she revitalised the branding of the company’s 20-year-old sales division with a focus on increasing market share and developing new vendor relationships.

Shure President and Chief Executive Officer Santo ‘Sandy’ LaMantia is to retire, effective 1 July 2016. Executive Vice President of Global Operations, Marketing and Sales and Chief Operating Officer, Christine Schyvinck will succeed him as President and CEO. On 1 January 2016, Schyvinck will take on the added title of President, and will serve in this role until her appointment as President and CEO. LaMantia joined Shure in November of 1995 as Vice President of Engineering and was later appointed President and CEO in May of 1996. For 20 years, LaMantia has “contributed significantly” to the company’s strategic growth, solidifying its reputation as one of the most recognised audio companies worldwide.

“My time at Shure has been not only a privilege, but a dream come true-combining my truest passions: music and engineering,” said LaMantia.

“It has been an honour to serve at the helm of a company that sets the bar for integrity, quality, innovation, and cooperation. Today, Shure enjoys outstanding growth, and now with a solid transition in place, the timing is right for me to step aside and spend more time with my family. Having someone with Chris’ skills, experience, and natural leadership - ready to take the reins, has made my decision all the easier.”

Schyvinck joined Shure in 1989 and led the Operations Division before being named to lead Global Marketing and Sales in 2006. More recently, she was promoted to Executive Vice President of Global Operations Marketing, and Sales and Chief Operating Officer.

“It is an honour to be named Sandy’s successor,” commented Schyvinck.

LaMantia commented: “Over the years, Sandy and I have worked closely to drive the vision for the company’s growth, and I’m confident that we’ve already built a strong foundation that will see us far into the future. I’m delighted that Sandy will be here for the next nine months, helping me transition into this new role.”

Scott Hansen is set to transition from his current role as PRG’s Chief Financial Officer into the role of Chief Asset Officer. Since joining PRG in May 1997, Hansen has held a number of key executive positions and his work throughout his career at the company has kept him involved in both its financial and operational management.

In his new and expanded role as CAO, Hansen will be responsible for the global annual capital expenditure plan, and the development and implementation of strategic asset initiatives. Hansen has for some time been involved with the asset management of PRG, so this move helps to clarify and focus the roles of CFO and CAO. Jeremiah Harris, Chairman and CEO of PRG, commented: “As we continue to grow, the new CAO position is strategically-critical to PRG. This role requires a wide range of skills to successfully manage every aspect of the asset lifecycle - from acquisition to optimisation to disposition. This is especially challenging for a global organisation such as PRG. The combination of

Scott’s deep financial skills and breadth of operational experience makes him singularly qualified to direct our asset strategy. We are fortunate to have him on the team.”

A large part of the role of CAO will include working with the many different PRG locations, which Hansen looks forward to. He said: “I have enjoyed building relationships with all the general managers over the years and will continue to do so even more as CAO. I want to help the PRG GMs strengthen their infrastructure to support depots. Our asset strategy needs to relentlessly evaluate the best approach for the company as far as asset purchasing, asset turnover and regional asset deployment while at the same time supporting the exceptional standard of customer satisfaction we provide to our clients on every job we do throughout the world.” has again Renkus-Heinz expanded its engineering team with the appointment of Lorenzo

Rene Barrios, to the position of Loudspeaker Engineer.

Barrios joins Renkus-Heinz after a successful tenure at Walt Disney Imagineering, where he served as Principal Audio/Video Specialist, working on projects at Disney theme parks in the US and Asia.

He has also held high-level design engineering positions at QSC Audio, as well as JBL Corporation.

In his new position, Barrios will report to Senior VP Ralph Heinz, and be involved in all facets of the Engineering team.

“We’re very pleased to welcome Lorenzo to Renkus-Heinz,” said Heinz. “He brings a wealth of loudspeaker development experience to the engineering team, and a deep understanding of many of the applications we are deeply involved in. We look forward to his contributions to the team.”

TPi

www.tpimagazine.com/jobs/

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THE BIGGER PICTURE

THE BIGGER PICTURE PARIS: REFLECTING ON TRAGEDY Friday 13 November 2015 saw several, devastating, callous, murderous, cowardly attacks on innocent civilians around the world. With attacks in France and Lebanon the senseless killings were brought closer to home, not just geographically but emotionally when they attacked people enjoying a peaceful, sociable night out at the football, in restaurants and in our own world of live music. It’s hard to imagine the scene. We know some of you have lost friends and the touring family has seen brothers and sisters killed, injured and traumatised. Lives ended, lives changed.

Nick Alexander, 36 Merch Manager, Eagles of Death Metal Our whole industry shared the horror, the worry and that feeling that we’d all know somebody who’s lost somebody; it’s a tightknit world out there in live music land. And then the tributes, to Nick Alexander, Master of Merch for Eagles of Death Metal, and Natalie Jardin, the in-house Lighting Tech at the venue and to local reps from the band’s label. You just know that paths will have crossed on so many occasions, just two of those people who you end up working with because that’s where the tour takes you; people who you hope to work with again, should the next job work out that way, or the next. We never expect terrorism to take away that opportunity.

They say that the show must go on, and many criticised some artists for cancelling shows 74

Natalie Jardin, 31 In-house Lighting Tech, Bataclan

in Paris. Perhaps the bands would have liked to play, there’s no doubt the crews would have been behind them, but with France declaring a state of emergency, there will have been decisions made out of normal reach. Criticising artists for not having the right words at such a terrible time didn’t help - we were all lost for words, emotionally battered and bruised, there was a collective time of reflection, of gathering thoughts and getting the show on the road again. Stiff Little Fingers had the go ahead, they went for it, good on ‘em. We don’t have figures, but it’s likely that more people have enjoyed live music than picked up an AK47 for some misguided mission in the past 10 days.

Since the attacks, people have shared stories of bravery, none were more poignant for our sector than the one describing the actions of the

Bataclan crew on the night, manning emergency exits to create escape routes, helping people out and returning to do it again. It was reported that one of the lighting crew, after briefing police on the room layout for their assault, donned a bulletproof vest and switched on the house lights. Nobody flew solo, said one report.

To all those affected, to the family and friends of Nick Alexander and Natalie Jardin, just part of the team that delivered enjoyment with passion, for those that fancied a great night out, we mourn with you; to those that saved lives, from the venue staff to the emergency services, we salute you; to all those that lost their lives, when the lights and t-shirts fade, we’ll remember you.

TPi www.psa.org.uk

www.psa.org.uk Photo: Sam O’Sullivan

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Stuart Holmes Profession: Managing Director, PSCo Date & Place of birth: 18 March 1975, Reading You started in the industry at a relatively young age. What inspired you to do this?

I was 22 when I started working in the AV industry so yes, relatively young. My first job was with Matrix Display Systems.

It was a young and fast-paced outfit that had a great work ethic and a hungry sales force keen to get out and win business. Many of the original Matrix team have gone on to become company directors or to own their own businesses.

I remember Matrix investing in a rental fleet of 42-inch Fujitsu plasmas and I was amazed with how popular they were. I loved the rental model as it was focussed on service and support and I could see how new display technologies like the 42-inch plasma would have a demand for live events - and I wanted to be involved.

“If someone tells me that something can’t be done, or it is too hard, it gives me the drive to do my best to achieve it and to really push the boundaries of what can be done.”

What were some of the key moments between then and now in terms of your business?

There have been many key moments and picking out highlights is quite difficult. I guess, as a company, PSCo has always been about the products we offer, so key moments would be around signing new tech. The first videowall product where PSCo secured exclusivity for the UK market was a Bezel-Less Plasma from Orion in Seoul. We also invested in FogScreen (a projection screen made of fog that you can actually walk through), the Panasonic 103-inch plasma (I couldn’t believe the size and weight of it), and more recently, our partnership with Absen. We were really proud to be the first to have a rental fleet of 1mm, 2mm and 3mm LED displays - I don’t think you can see anything like that availability from anyone else!

How much is your own success, as well as that of PSCo, linked to an underlying personal philosophy?

What drives PSCo is a real enthusiasm and passion for our industry, as well as getting behind all the new technologies that come to the market. On a more personal level; if someone tells me that something can’t be done, or it is too hard, it gives me the drive to do my best to achieve it and to really push the boundaries of what can be done.

For example, I was told that the 103-inch plasma just wasn’t a rental product and that anything less than a 3mm LED would be too fragile and expensive for live events - yet here we are today with a huge fleet of screens well over 80-inches in size and an LED offering down to 1mm in pixel pitch - and all successful rental products. That success gives me and everyone at PSCo a huge buzz.

How much do you believe changes in technology have influenced your business?

There’s no doubt about it, changes in technology have influenced our business 100%. We aim to be at the cutting edge, bringing new solutions 78

and the latest technology to our clients. So if it wasn’t for the pace of product development and innovation, PSCo wouldn’t be the company it is today. Long may it continue!

I make a concerted effort to talk to display manufacturers about their roadmaps to understand what is around the corner. Just recently I visited China to ensure we have a clear understanding of developments within LED, and I’m as excited as I have ever been about what is coming. The future is full of new innovations and we aim to be there to bring them to market.

What have been some of your proudest moments at the helm of PSCo? Initially I would say driving the transition of ‘The Plasma Screen Company’, a plasma rental business to ‘PSCo’, an organisation offering rental and sales of the latest display technology. We remain 100% trade-only and still have many of the same customers.

It’s been quite a journey that has seen us create our own Assessment Centre, as well as giving us the opportunity to work with many leading manufacturers who have entrusted us to work with and build their brands in the UK. Another thing that makes me proud is to see our employees clocking up important milestones - 5-10 years of service, for example - some for many more years too. Also, when we started, no one in the company seemed to be married or have children.

Today, the majority of our team have done one or the other. It is great to see these personal landmarks being reached, as well as our staff moving up and developing their careers at PSCo. Finally, on the occasions you do manage to escape the industry, what do you most enjoy doing?

Honestly? Letting go of the reins! When I get home, I am no longer the boss - and that suits me fine. I have also recently become a father and spending time with the little one is definitely something I look forward to every day. I used to enjoy playing golf, but alas, I no longer have the time for that!

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