TPi October 2017 - #218

TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL

Linkin Park’s poignant final performance with the late Chester Bennington

LIVE EVENT DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY • OCTOBER 2017 • ISSUE 218

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EDITOR’S LETTER

D8PLUS STAGE OPERATOR

Welcome to issue 218 of TPi Magazine.

I’ll be honest, this hasn’t been an easy one for us to write, and it might not be the easiest of reads. I’ll start from the top. On 6 July I went to visit Linkin Park’s tour to profile the band’s new production and, I’m happy to say, spend time with some friends from across the pond who I respect very much. It was - after many years of meeting and drinking with, listening to and learning from - the first time I’d actually interviewed Production Manager Jim Digby while on tour. It was also an opportunity to see the tour’s brand new Video Director Shelby Cude. I first met her at the ESA (Event Saftey Alliance) in Pennsylvania last year - which Jim runs - and I’m so proud of how far she’s pushed her professional capabilities since. Girl, you smashed it!

What we couldn’t begin to imagine at the time of Chester’s love and laughter-filled last performance was the heart-rending grief that would follow. Please visit http://musicforrelief.org if you or someone you know needs helps with depression, mental illness or suicidal thoughts.

The extremely sad news continued in America this month with a mass shooting in Las Vegas during a country music concert. Our thoughts are with those affected.

Meanwhile in our hometown of Manchester, the city’s Arena was reopened after the devastating events of 22 May. We discuss it on Pg.8.

At points, this really hasn’t been a comforting year for live music. It’s seemed momentarily hopeless in fact, and yet the strength in the global community we share is unfaltering. Thank you for reading, and for continuing to create the live shows that we are so passionate about attending; your jobs are vital to the way we experience our favourite music.

Kel Murray Editor EDITOR Kel Murray Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7738 154689 e-mail: k.murray@mondiale.co.uk

CHIEF EXECUTIVE Justin Gawne Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7768 850767 e-mail: j.gawne@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

GRAPHIC DESIGN & PRODUCTION Dan Seaton: d.seaton@mondiale.co.uk Zoe Willcox: z.willcox@mondiale.co.uk

STAFF WRITER Stewart Hume Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8385 Mobile: +44 (0)7702 054344 e-mail: s.hume@mondiale.co.uk ADVERTISING SALES Georgia Guthrie Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8399 Mobile: +44 (0)7501 597837 e-mail: g.guthrie@mondiale.co.uk ADVERTISING SALES Lauren Dyson Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7415 773639 e-mail: l.dyson@mondiale.co.uk GENERAL MANAGER - TPi MAGAZINE & AWARDS Hannah Eakins Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7760 485230 e-mail: h.eakins@mondiale.co.uk Issue 218 - October 2017

ACCOUNTS Lynette Levi / Sarah Miller: ar@mondiale.co.uk MONDIALE GROUP CHAIRMAN Damian Walsh

• For Chain Hoists in Direct Control or Low-Voltage-Control • Linkable Motor Distributions Network-based • Integrated Sofware for System Configuration • Password Management • Load-Measuring with Group-Switch-Off Function • Import of Hall Drawings • Intergated Manual Mode • Touchscreen Remotes up to 17” available • Radio Remote Controls available CHAIN HOISTS • CONTROL SYSTEMS • SOLUTIONS

COVER DESIGN Linkin Park by Giles Smith of Fanatic Live EDITORIAL INTERN Jacob Waite PRINTED BY Buxton Press • www.buxpress.co.uk Annual subscriptions (including P&P): £42 (UK), £60 (Europe), £78/$125 (RoW).

Subscription enquiries to: Subscriptions, Mondiale Publishing Limited, Strawberry Studios, Watson Square, Stockport, SK1 3AZ, UK. Tel: +44 (0)161 476 5580 Fax: +44 (0)161 476 0456 e-mail: subscriptions@mondiale.co.uk www.tpimagazine.com www.tpiawards.com www.tpmeamagazine.com

TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL is a controlled circulation magazine, published 12 times a year by Mondiale Publishing Limited under licence.

ISSN 1461-3786 Copyright © 2017 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. Total Production International USPS: (ISSN 1461 3786) is published 12 times a year by Mondiale Publishing Limited United Kingdom. The 2017 US annual subscription price is 117USD. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by Agent named Air Business, C/O WorldNet Shipping USA Inc., 155-11 146th Avenue, Jamaica, New York, NY11434. Periodicals postage paid at Jamaica NY 11431. US Postmaster: Send address changes to Total Production International, Air Business Ltd, C/O WorldNet Shipping USA Inc., 155-11 146th Avenue, Jamaica, New York, NY11434.

Subscription records are maintained at Mondiale Publishing Ltd. Waterloo Place, Watson Square, Stockport, SK1 3AZ, UK.

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ITINERARY EVENT FOCUS 08 We Are Manchester TPi speaks to PM Steve Hill about

Manchester Arena’s grand reopening.

10 KOI 2017

A round-up of this year’s Knight of Illumination Awards.

18

11

Beat the Street at 25!

The Austrian tour bus company celebrates 25 years in business.

12

Pink Floyd: Their Mortal Remains LarMac LIVE talks TPi through its involvment in the V&A exhibition.

16 MLB Battlegrounds Bluman Associates and Imagination join

forces for Hyde Park’s Baseball event.

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18 Boomtown Acorn Event Structures continues its

5-year relationship with the festival.

22

38

20

Jurlights and Alcons Audio Jurjen ‘Jur’ Hesseling discusses the company’s Alcons connection.

PRODUCTION PROFILE 22

38

Linkin Park The band’s loyal production crew looks back at what would be their final show with the late Chester Bennington.

Creamfields Stew travels to Daresbury Estate for Britain’s largest dance and electronic music festival.

46

Sziget Kel catches up with the production team and suppliers to celebrate the Hungarian festival’s 25th birthday.

54 John Legend The soul singer takes his live show to new levels with the Darkness and Light tour.

COMPANY PROFILE 62

Ste talks lasers with ER Productions.

PRODUCTION FUTURES 67

TPi speaks to Melody VR’s, Matt Williams.

FESTIVAL FOCUS 68

46

This month’s edition includes coverage of Bestival, ArcTanGent & 2000trees Festival, plus many more...

ROAD DIARIES 92

Rob Heilig’s tales from Cuba. Gulp!

CLOCKING OFF 94

A group of 24 industry stalwarts take the saddle for the Graham Wylie Foundation.

GEAR HEADS 96

Robe Product Manager, Ondřej Hegar, discusses the new MegaPointe.

PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE 98

54

PSA’s Andy Lenthall sets the record straight on the troublesome T&Cs that freelancers face...

INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS 101 The latest movers and shakers.

BACK CHAT 106 Matthew Whitehead, Co-Founder of

Airworks Inflatables, takes the hot seat.

EVENT FOCUS

WE ARE MANCHESTER Manchester Arena reopened its doors on 9 September with a spectacular celebration of life and music. TPi’s Ste Durham returned to the venue to meet the crew behind this high-profile, emotionally charged event.

“The work that goes on behind the scenes, dealing with safety, security, the local authorities, police and everything else it takes to organise an event of this size, is significant. That given, everyone knows the task in hand and, collectively, are on the same page.”

Managing Director at Adlib, Andy Dockerty, agreed: “We were honoured to have been asked to be a part of this hugely emotional event.

Understanding that our friends Wigwam were looking after the audio, we were humbled to be able to compliment the occasion by providing the lighting.”

REBUILDING Steve Hill, Director of EMO Ltd, explained how his company came to stand at the helm of such a prestigious event: “We produce two shows a year here with Key 103, the local radio station. We had to cancel in July, for obvious reasons, but were very happy to oblige when the venue asked us to produce this event. They know we’re used to this kind of show and we used something close to our usual team to pull it off.

“Wigwam came in early as the audio company, the first of several to offer their services, but even though everyone wants to help, you only need one PA! We haven’t worked with them for a while but they have a great relationship with the venue and were so keen to help out, as a local company.

“Lighting was from another trusted local company, Adlib, while the entire screen and camera package has come from PRG XL Video. We also have Dexters Caterers, who are doing 200-odd meals a day, and it’s still fantastic! Then there’s Manchester Stage Crew, STS Touring for risers, and GLD for the furniture backstage. Erica Milne-Davidson is calling the show with stage management in the very capable hands of Stage Miracles’ Mike Grove. BPM SFX provided their excellent services, entirely free of charge, as did David and myself from EMO. We really can’t thank everybody enough.

“We’ve have had Neil McDonald and Andy Grey taking care of the heavy lifting on the production advance for us. It’s just so happened that they are both away on other jobs, so I’m sat here taking all of the credit!”

He added: “Everyone has given us a great deal and supported us whenever possible. This is an incredibly important venue for all of us. It’s been a tough one, particularly for the local companies, but we are all so proud to be working on this show.”

The system for the show was essentially a larger version of EMO’s usual touring setup in terms of the lighting fixture count, screen size and so on.

“We ran with a system we knew, as we didn’t want anything going wrong,” Hill said. “We know it works well for changeovers and multiple artist shows.

It’s essentially designed to give best looking and sounding show but still allow fast changeovers. Everybody gets it, and there are certainly no prima donnas.

“We just want a great show. We came in bracing ourselves for a hard couple of days but, thus far, it’s been great. Having a production day yesterday helped and has certainly taken some of the pressure off this morning.”

Although the presence of police dogs and armed officers on site were impossible to ignore, it must be said that the rest of the atmosphere backstage, while busy, was not far from being business as usual.

Hill agreed: “We’ve taken a lead from venue in terms of our attitude. It’s about reopening the Arena and acknowledging what happened. Starting with poet Tony Walsh and Mayor Andy Burnham just allows everyone to have a moment to remember everything and from then on it’s a party!

For the people of Manchester, 22 May will forever be associated with the horrifying events that transpired at the Arena. The following day we discovered that 22 innocent concertgoers had lost their lives, while 250 others remain scarred, both mentally and physically, from that single moment of cruelty. TPi addressed the aftermath of that night in one issue of our magazine, and we shone a light on the life-affirming concert that followed it in the next. Now, as the doors finally reopen on our ‘second office’, we are glad that we can tell you about the future.

We Are Manchester - a special benefit concert to honour those impacted by the atrocities - was to feature a star-studded line up that included Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, The Courteeners, Blossoms, Rick Astley, Pixie Lott, Louisa Johnson, Manchester grime artist Bugzy Malone and poet Tony ‘Longfella’ Walsh all performed, along with a pre-show DJ set from Clint Boon.

Wigwam Acoustics’ Joel Perry, one of the early organisers on board for the event, commented: “This is designed to be a show of strength for the City, for the Arena and the staff who work there, the artists performing and, importantly, those that attend shows and events. Everyone who we approached, not just artists, but production suppliers, crew, technical people, etc, have been selfless in their support, which is testament to all involved.

08

Nobody wants it to be maudlin. This is a celebration of Manchester, the venue truly believe this gig provided the correct message and platform for the venue and music.“ to reclaim its status as one of the UK’s great arenas. May we congratulate Hill concluded: “To be honest, all the extra security means is that we everyone who has worked tirelessly on rebuilding the venue, raising money have to get here a little bit earlier and make sure the crew all has plenty of and supporting all those that have been affected by the atrocity. Welcome warning. We’re happy security is here and it doesn’t back to the touring circuit, Manchester Arena.” affect us. It has been enhanced on the audience

All profits from the concert were used to but that is the case around the world now - it’s for raise money for the Manchester Memorial Fund, everyone’s benefit. Everyone needs to get in the a charitable trust overseen by the Lord Mayor of habit of working this way as it’s the world we live in.

Manchester, which will go towards establishing a There’s no point wishing it was another way because “May we congratulate everyone permanent memorial for the 22 May attack. we aren’t going to go back to that - this is the new TPi who has worked tirelessly on normal.” www.manchester-arena.com As you may already know, the evening was a www.emoltd.com rebuilding the venue, raising rousing success, serving - much like the preceding www.sseaudiogroup.com/wigwam money and supporting all One Love Manchester event - as yet another physical www.adlib.co.uk manifestation of the indomitable human spirit. those that have been affected www.prg.com/uk With the arena now open, it is already back in the www.dexterscaterers.co.uk by the atrocity. Welcome swing of doing what it does best; hosting live events. www.mcrstagecrew.co.uk Both John Legend and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds back to the touring circuit, www.ststouring.co.uk Managing Director at Adlib, Andy Dockerty, www.gldproductions.com Manchester Arena.” summed the events up perfectly: “Manchester Arena www.stagemiracles.com Adlib MD, Andy Dockerty has been sorely missed since the 22 May and we www.bpm-sfx.com

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EVENT FOCUS

10TH KNIGHT OF ILLUMINATION AWARDS Hammersmith again paid tribute to lighting world’s best and brightest with a glamorous ceremony.

Sunday 17 September marked the 10th anniversary of the prestigious Knight of Illumination (KOI) Awards, held at the Eventim Apollo in London. During the dazzling evening event, 24 respected designers were ‘knighted’ - and bestowed with the iconic KOI sword. The winners were honoured in 3 categories: Theatre, Television and Concert Touring & Events.

The 2017 ceremony was skillfully compered by the inimitable Ola Melzig, an internationally renowned technical director perhaps best known for his tireless work on the Eurovision Song Contest - the world’s biggest televised music event. More than 500 entertainment technology industry professionals gathered together to celebrate the achievements of the many international lighting and video designers, whose work on shows across the UK earned them a coveted place on the shortlist for this year’s KOI Awards.

in 2011.

Internationally renowned stage Lighting Designer, Richard Pilbrow presented the Enrico Caironi Lifetime Recognition Award to Rick Fisher, the prolific and talented lighting designer who has won multiple awards and critical acclaim in the West End, Broadway and around the world.

Fisher was recognised by the Award not only for his achievements in lighting design, but also for his altruistic contributions to industry charities, from his help starting Light Relief to his current work with technical entertainment charity, Backup. Fisher has also helped guide the Association of Lighting Designers to its current position as the largest body of lighting designers ever assembled.

To close the evening, Backup was presented with a cheque from KOI Headline Sponsor Claypaky for £5,000.

Pio Nahum, CEO of KOI Headline Sponsor Claypaky, said: “The Knight of Illumination Awards has evolved into the most significant celebration of lighting and video design talent. This Awards ceremony provides the ideal platform for rewarding the hard work, dedication and outstanding creative talent of professionals working in show production on stage and screen. Congratulations to all of the shortlisted and winning designs. We are exceedingly proud of the development of KOI over the last ten years and we are delighted to have seen the event grow and attract the sponsorship and support of almost all of the major businesses in the entertainment technology industry.”

Headline Sponsors of the Knight of Illumination Awards 2017 were Claypaky and OSRAM. The event was also generously supported by KOI 2017 Spotlight Sponsors ADB, Altman Lighting, ArKaos, Avolites, d3 Technologies, ETC, GLP German Light Products, Green Hippo, HSL Group, Light Initiative, MA Lighting, PRG XL Video, Philips Vari-Lite and Robert Juliat, SLX, and by technology and production supplier Hawthorn.

The Knight of Illumination Awards is organised by The ALD, The STLD and The Fifth Estate and produced and delivered by The Fifth Estate.

Lighting Designer Durham Marenghi and his wife Jennie Marenghi cofounded the awards and now serve as coordinators.

TPi www.knight-of-illumination.com

The winners for the Concert Touring & Events category are as follows: Winner of The MA Lighting Award for Club: Louis Oliver and James Scott for You Me At Six

Winner of The HSL Award for Events: Mike Smith and Cate Carter for Samsung x Royal Blood

Winner of The Avolites Award for Stage: Michael Straun for The xx

Winner of The d3 Technologies Award for Video Electronic Content: Liam Tomaszewski, Mark Calvert, Dave Green and Ross Chapple for Eric Prydz: Epic 5.0

Winner of The GLP Award for Arena: Jeremy Lechterman and Jackson Gallagher for alt-J As is tradition, the final KOI Award of the evening was the Enrico Caironi Lifetime Recognition Award, named in memory of Claypaky’s former Commercial Director, one of the instigators of KOI, who sadly passed away 10

EVENT FOCUS

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On 8 September, renowned Austrian tour bussing company, Beat The Street (BTS), celebrated 25 years in business as it remains one of the most prestigious service suppliers in the live event and touring industry.

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The party was a huge success (TPi attended until the early hours and made the 8am flight back to the UK by approximately 93 seconds), and welcomed production veterans and bus drivers into the fold alongside it staff of trusted carpenters and officer workers who keep the company in its first class service status.

Founder, Joerg Philipp said: “Thanks to all our friends, family, employees, drivers, long-time business partners and loyal customers who have made the last 25 years unforgettable!”

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EVENT FOCUS

PINK FLOYD: THEIR MORTAL REMAINS LarMac LIVE broke out from its festival schedule to embark on a new challenge, the Pink Floyd: Their Mortal Remains exhibition at the V&A. The immersive experience takes visitors on a journey celebrating 5 decades of the band. TPi’s Stew Hume spoke to LarMac’s Jo Mackay about the project…

An afternoon at the V&A, exploring a treasure trove of Pink Floyd artefacts offered a welcome respite from TPi’s annual summer antics of wellies, mud and moderately warm beer. Pink Floyd: Their Mortal Remains plunged fans of the prog rock titans into the band’s back-catalogue, showcasing original art work, instruments and original stage elements.

London’s own LarMac LIVE were tasked with handling the production.

Known for putting on large-scale events such as Creamfields (Pg.38) LarMac LIVE faced a fresh challenge in Their Mortal Remains, switching the festival site for the white-washed art gallery.

Jo Mackay, the show’s Objects Logistic Director, told TPi the story behind the show. “Admittedly none of us on the LarMac team had ever worked on an art show like this before,” she confessed. “That being said, the skills we have as a collective turned out to be very transferable for this project. Just like any festival or rock ‘n’ roll tour, there is a load-in and a delivery date. We treated the exhibition as we would any other project.

For instance, I really saw my role as ‘tour manager’ for the exhibition, but instead of dealing with a band I was handling 670 objects.”

LarMac LIVE Production Director, Ian Greenway, was first brought in

by Show Producer Nick Levitt. “Nick’s role in producing the show was to consider the needs of all parties, in particular the band’s management,”

commented Mackay. Dubbing him “the kindest man in the world,” Mackay cited Levitt as one of the production’s greatest blessings, as he dealt with all the management structures to ensure all invovled were happy.

During the process, LarMac collaborated with Stufish which designed the exhibition in close collaboration with Pink Floyd’s Creative Director, Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell and the V&A’s Senior Curator, Victoria Broackes.

“Throughout the process all staff at the V&A were incredibly helpful, although admittedly, it was a learning curve,” recalled Mackay, who outlined the challenges of the institutional setting. “The building has a lot more rules than we are used to with a live show which created an interesting challenge with logistics. For example, we were not able to park on the street with our arctic trucks and we were not allowed to build anything within the site. This was one of the more jarring experiences as it meant the usual process of tipping trucks had to be completely different.

However, with the help of their staff, we were able to come up with a solution that suited everyone.”

LarMac was able to deliver the seemingly impossible, despite the constraints, thanks to its loyal suppliers who were enlisted to make the event possible. These included Sennheiser for audio, White Light, EFM for transport, Blackout for trussing, rigging and draping, as well as 12

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PINK FLOYD

First page: Pink Floyd: Their Mortal Remains took fans on a journey of discovery through the five decades of the bands work.

Below: The exhibit featured original set pieces that were used during the bands various tour; LarMac LIVE’s Jo Mackay.

SetSquare for the majority of the set builds. “Having suppliers that we were comfortable with was a huge reason the event was a success,” explained Mackay. “Blackout, for example, are not the usual house rigger for the venue, but they got in touch with the team that usually deals with the V&A to ensure they did everything they could to keep the them happy.”

Blackout also underwent a learning curve, according to Project Director Kevin Monks: “This was a challenging project, and it’s been great working in this tightly-knit team bringing rock ‘n’ roll artefacts and technology into the necessarily sterile art museum environment. It’s been a learning curve for us all but there’s a real willingness from everyone to adapt and create a show that is justifiably getting fabulous feedback and reviews.” For the show Blackout provided truss, rigging and drapes throughout the multiple zones. Through the exhibition Blackout installed a selection of Prolyte grids that were used to hang several of the suspended artefacts. For example in one of the early of the exhibit that explored the early years of the band, Blackout deployed a Prolyte H30v grid that held Syd Barrett’s bike and mirror ball windmill. Another stand-out zone was the North Court, where Blackout provided ceilings throughout and rigging for video screens plus a Prolyte H40v flown grid that suspended the inflatables, lighting and part of the set for the recreation of the famous Battersea power station images – complete with flying inflatable pig. Not wanting to be a one trick pony, as a last minuet addition to the exhibit, Blackout called in the help of its in house sewing department to provide set dressing for a selection of beds in the later section of the exhibit -a nod to the Momentary Lapse of Reason album cover.

Remaining of the visual aspects, lighting was supplied for White Light.

Simon Needle, White Lights Special Projects Director commented: “We were approached by Terry Cook, Senior Designer at Woodroffe Bassett (who design the show), back in November 2016 about us coming on board.

This was a huge exhibition taking up 3 spaces at the V&A Museum. Having the experience of working on similar projects in the past, we knew we had both the staff and technology to deliver this. With so many artefacts on display it was important that what we provided was not only practical for that space but also offered the right amount of coverage for every single feature.” The company invested in a range of lighting fixtures including several ETC products; Source Four Minis, Irideons, ColourSource LEDs, Four Fresnels. The company also provided Chauvet Ovation LED Profiles, Philips Color Kinetics iW Fuse Powercores, KKDC Global TiMi 504s and Selecon Fresnels.

But, the exhibition is more than a visual treat for the Floyd fanatic; it’s

easy on the ears as well, explained Mackay: “The goal from the beginning of the show was that it would be completely immersive. We had Sennheiser on board as an official partner. They provided headphones for each of the visitors using the GuidePORT system. This enabled them to interact with the exhibit and listen to music and interviews as they walked through the show.”

One of the most anticipated elements of the exhibition is a new immersive mix of Comfortably Numb taken from the band’s Live 8 concert.

Created using Sennheiser’s AMBEO 3D technology in a brand-new format using 25 speakers. AMBEO 3D places sound both around and above the listener, delivering an immersive audio sensation unlike anything visitors have experienced before. “3D audio is the new frontier of sound excellence, set to transform the listening experience for users. We are very happy to bring that special audio experience to The Pink Floyd Exhibition,” commented Sennheiser’s CEO, Andreas Sennheiser.

As well as technical crew, LarMac also called on suppliers from Floyd’s past to provide various pieces of memorabilia. Original set drawings from Stufish’s legendary set designer Mark Fisher illustrated how show designs developed before the days of CAD drawings, hanging nearby an original sound desk provided by Britannia Row Productions. Bryan Grant, Managing Director at Britannia Row discussed the memorabilia it provided: “We have 2 quad routing consoles in the exhibition. The first was commissioned and built at Britannia Row’s original premises in Islington for the Momentary Lapse of Reason tour in 1987. The second was commissioned by Britannia Row and built by Midas for the Division Bell tour in 1994. Obviously it was a pleasure to be able to contribute in some way to the exhibition; after all, without the Pink Floyd, there would be no Britannia Row.” Regrettably, for those who never managed to make it down to the V&A, the show has now ended. But fear not, as Mackay alluded that the show will return. “We are in talks with several other possible venues across the globe including Rome. There is a chance it will not be to the same scale as the V&A exhibition but I’m sure many of the artefacts will be seen again.”

TPi Photos courtesy of Plaster Communications https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/pink-floyd www.larmaclive.com www.sennheiser.com www.blackout.co.uk www.whitelight.ltd.uk www.stufish.com www.setsquarestaging.co.uk www.britanniarow.com 14

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EVENT FOCUS

MLB BATTLEGROUNDS Imagination and Bluman Associates create first live-generated score board system using d3 Technologies gx range and Notch.

Global creative agency Imagination has commissioned Bluman Associates to manage the d3 Technologies programming and screen content at, MLB (Major League Baseball) Battlegrounds, which was held in Hyde Park.

It soon became clear the team needed to collaborate with the content and animation designers at Imagination to develop a custom live scoring system - made possible using d3 gx media servers and Notch.

It was a welcome challenge for Bluman, which recently invested in both the gX1 & gX2 range servers. The racks, available for long and short term hire, come complete with Notch Playback - a powerful software license that allows users to create, simulate, render, composite, edit and play-back in real-time - functionality that was essential to creating the live scoreboard content for the MLB Show.

To overcome the resolution constraints of the conventional 1920 x 1080 pixel display broadcast system, Notch was chosen to render the real time graphics, as the screen was approximately 10k pixels wide.

The scoreboard needed to display data generated by the MLBdeveloped scoring system that predicts home runs and target strikes using data collected by a radar ball tracking system. To interpret the data from MLB and the aggregate scoring script developed by Imagination, a custom piece of middleware had to be created. The middleware repackaged all of the data into a compatible data stream. Using Notch, the team developed a resolution independent scoring system that allowed all of the data from the existing systems to be live rendered onto the screen.

Two d3 gx + Notch systems were installed - one for the main screen and another for the OB truck. Both systems used the same backend but were

reformatted for live streaming.

Bluman’s Kyle Lewis White explained: “It was an interesting project. We had the challenge of live data coming in from MLB in a very fixed way - it was packaged into a smaller system with Doppler radar data attached. We had to discover a way of rendering the live and aggregated data in real time, without any overheads into the media server.

“We had an Internet connection that pinged data from the Doppler radar on stage in the UK, to the US. It then came back and was sent to another server to be aggregated. Finally it was sent back to us where we had to render it in 2 seconds. An interesting situation, but we did it and managed to get the latency to under 2 seconds, which was impressive.”

In addition to the MLB event, Bluman used the d3 servers in the programming of several shows for the British Summer Time festival, including Tove Lo and Elbow.

Lewis White continued: “The d3 gx server/Notch application is an obvious choice for music stage shows and a powerful showcase for the creative possibilities of the technology, but the potential outside of the music industry is significant.

“With the Olympics on the horizon and Tokyo 2020 looking to be the most connected and technologically advanced games in history, data metrics are a hot topic. Fans are looking for a more integrated experience, rich in content, with a desire for the abundance of metrics available to TV viewers to be displayed in stadiums and sporting grounds.”

TPi Photos: Bluman Associates www.blumanassociates.com https://imagination.com 16

EVENT FOCUS

BOOMTOWN FAIR Boomtown Fair, one of the UK’s most immersive musical extravaganzas, returned to the Matterley Estate near Winchester in August for Chapter 9: Behind the Mask, bringing with it diverse musical genres, theatrical games and jaw dropping spectaculars.

The musical highlights were numerous across the 20+ main stages, with over 600 live bands and DJs performing throughout the duration of the weekend. Boomtown’s storyline was brought to life across the ‘city’ with hundreds of actors on balconies, ensuring those wandering through the streets took in the full scale of the sets, scenery and fully immersive environment surrounding them.

Continuing its 5-year relationship with Boomtown, Acorn Event Structures was again contracted to engineer and supply stages and structures for the event. Toby Shann, Project Manager at Acorn Event Structures, commented: “The scope of our work on site has increased year-on-year in line with the growth of the festival. Working closely with the in-house directors and creative designers, in 2017 Acorn has been instrumental in helping to engineer a number of new aspects of the show’s production, which are designed to engage its audience in the world around them, inspiring thought and change.

“In addition to a number of stages, we translated Boomtown‘s visions

into fully engineered bespoke structures, retaining the creative look and feel of the event, by using our modular staging system combined with Layher Event System product, giving us the freedom and flexibility to customise the stage from our stock components.”

Typically first on site for a month’s build, Acorn delivered over 1,000 tonnes of equipment for the various stages across the site including Sector 6, Town Centre, Lion’s Den, Old Mines, bar structures and scaffold façade.

Shann continued: “We always look forward to collaborating with Boomtown. This year the Sector 6 stage has evolved and we have redesigned the staging aspect of Old Town, as well as engineering new aspects to the many structures and miles of street facade.

Although the fabled British summer weather made an appearance towards the end of the festival, it was the high coastal winds that were more of a concern to the Acorn crew on site during the build. Shann continued: “A steep, sloped, rural location exposed to windy weather conditions necessitated alternative installation solutions. Furthermore, having taken 18

BOOMTOWN FAIR

over the construction of a significant number of the Town Centre façade structures, watch towers, FOH structures and viewing platforms we were tasked with recreating structures from artists’ impressions. Our Layher Event System, with its proven engineering credentials, is quick to install and we were able to produce the necessary drawings and calculations with ease.”

Boomtown’s Founder, Lak Mitchell, commented: “Acorn has been supplying Boomtown with structures for over 4 years and we have always found them to be supremely efficient and skilled. Having proved to be a reliable contractor we have increased Acorn’s spec over this period with confidence that they could deliver the project.

We have an on-going, professional working relationship with them in planning they are thorough and proactive with advice, helping us to design large structures for unique set builds and stages. Whilst on site they are flexible and willing to problem-solve new requirements that our challenging design concepts pose.”

Although Boomtown faced issues with lengthy queues due to wet weather leading up to the event, which had a large knock on effect throughout the festival, the resounding feeling afterwards was that a good time was had by many and that the production, the music, the shows, the sets and the scenery did not disappoint.

Boomtown is looking to return to Matterley Estate over the 16-19 August 2018 for Chapter 10: The Machine Cannot be Stopped.

TPi Photos: Paul Whiteley and Jody Hartley www.boomtownfair.co.uk www.acorn-events.com

19

EVENT FOCUS

MAKING BEAUTIFUL THINGS: THE WAITING GAME IS OVER FOR JURLIGHTS AND ALCONS AUDIO Two decades into business, Dutch event production company Jurlights has reached an exciting new era. Established as a major presence in the European event market, recent investments in Alcons Audio’s LR18 and LR28 mid-size and large format pro-ribbon line array systems have seen both companies reach a new pinnacle.

A milestone for both Jurlights and Alcons Audio was reached in August, when the Main Stage of Dance Valley (aka the ‘Woodstock of Dance’) at Spaarnwoude, The Netherlands, featured a system that included 48 Alcons LR28’s for the main and delay systems, plus 40 BC543 cardioid subs. 60 LR18’s were used for frontfills, outfills and delays, with VR12 mid-size versatile monitors and BQ211 compact, high-output subs used for the VIP area. 57 Sentinel10 amplified loudspeaker controllers powered the system.

Off the back of the successful release, Jur talked about the history of Jurlights and how the relationship with Alcons Audio has been key to its success. The company was founded in 1997, with Jur determined to share his love of high quality production values by creating “beautiful settings that work really well for our clients.” Since then Jurlights has grown to a core team of over 30 permanent employees, and a network of specialised freelancers working on almost 350 productions each year.

Maintaining those production values has paid off, with the company regularly servicing major events. But it has also benefited its smaller ‘bread and butter’ events, because the core values that drive Jurlights is at the heart of every job.

“I believe in our ideas and we continually improve the company around them,” commented Jur. “We like the best people and the best equipment because of the talent, passion and dedication that drives them. Only great, well-executed ideas really make a difference. Those ideas comes from

people who love what they do and, if they really put their heart into it, magic happens.”

Jur believes that nowadays a lot of people have lost the passion for creativity, because they are more concerned with keeping up with the latest technical developments. “People want to be ‘in the know,’ only approaching things factually and technically, rather than from the heart,” he said. “It’s only when you make both approaches work together that you can deliver events that reach the next level.”

This passion for quality and innovation is what brought Jurlights and Alcons Audio together. Both companies share a driving passion for quality and innovation, so it’s unsurprising that they are a good match.

“There are a lot of similarities between us and Alcons,” said Jur. “We put our heart and soul into production and Alcons does the same with sound.

Neither company wants to do things down to a price, we both want our clients to go ‘Wow!’” Jur identified this shared ethic early in Alcons’ existence, with Jurlights being the first production company in The Netherlands to invest in an Alcons system. “Alcons was recommended to me by an audio consultant, who suggested I check out the VR12,” recollected Jur. “My immediate reaction was that it was different - and very good. The relationship between the two companies clicked straight away, because we were both looking to deliver the best, with no compromise. Although the two companies work in subtly different ways, we complement each other very well.”

20

JURLIGHTS AND ALCONS AUDIO

Opposite: The collaboration of Alcons Audio and Jurlights seen in full force at this year’s Dance Valley festival.

Following the success of the VR12 in Jurlights inventory, the company invested in Alcons’ first line-array - the LR16 - and has continued to add systems for all sizes of production, safe in the knowledge that they deliver the best available combination of audio quality, coverage and power. The Jurlights inventory now includes Alcons LR14, LR16, LR18 and LR28 systems, BF151, BF181, BF362 and BC543 subs and a large stock of Sentinel amplified loudspeaker controllers.

As the largest Dutch partner in the Alcons Pro-Ribbon Network, Jur was close to the development of the LR28, testing the early ‘LR24’ version in rental situations for several years. 2017 saw both Jurlights and the LR28 reach a point of maturity together, making Dance Valley the right event to give the company’s latest Alcons investment its first outing.

“Historically, people believed that pro-ribbon technology is not suitable for large live events and festivals,” said Alcons Co-founder Tom Back. “We designed the LR28 from the ground up, using the ‘LR24’ concept product to get feedback from engineers, which we used to further the development.

In terms of both our readiness and the challenging dynamic range and SPL levels of the music, Dance Valley was the ideal event where we, Jurlights and LR28 could prove the doubters wrong.”

Jur added: “I believe that no other system has the mid and high frequency handling power and potential as the LR28. Dance Valley was followed by the Dutch Valley and Latin Village festivals on the same site, meaning we were able to show how the same system is a great solution for 3 completely different, large scale events.

“The promoters of Dance Valley have always been willing to take an early lead in using new systems and they were so impressed with the LR28 LR18 system at the early sound checks that they immediately booked it for 2018. We also invited a number of sound engineers and clients to hear the system and all made very positive comments about it.”

Indeed, the impact of the LR28 should not overshadow that of the LR18.

As well as being a vital fill component for larger LR28 systems, it’s also an exceptional solution in it’s own right for medium-sized applications.

“Other brands have a huge presence in the Dutch and wider European market, but quality is so important,” said Jur. “There are always clients who want something down to a price, but increasingly we are seeing those who are willing to engage fully with us in working together to deliver the best production possible.

“The LR18 and LR28 both sound terrific, with people going ‘Wow, this is something different’. They are a real leap forward and have a big chance to be ‘the’ next major systems. I genuinely believe Alcons will be ahead of the pack for the next few years.”

Jurlights’ high quality values and sensibly paced growth are now reaping real dividends, attracting major clients and enjoying a welldeserved reputation for going the extra mile to ensure every event is the best that it can be.

Ju said: “We are very critical about every production element and so we know when something is good. We are really happy with the results we get from our Alcons systems. People love the quality and the ‘HiFi-ness’ of them. We are seeing more and more clients who understand how important that is.

“It has been noticeable that I no longer have to explain that Alcons produces better systems than other manufacturers. The combination of Jurlights and Alcons really is proof that you can add one and one to make three!”

TPi Photos: Alcons Audio www.alconsaudio.com www.jurlights.nl

www.litectruss.com

Strutture & Soluzioni Superbly crafted, high quality truss for an extraordinary range of needs.

21

In memory of Chester Bennington, lead singer of Linkin Park 20 March 1976 - 20 July 2017 An [edited] statement from the band: “Our hearts are broken. The shockwaves of grief and denial are still sweeping through our family as we come to grips with what has happened...

“Talking with you about the years ahead together, your excitement was infectious. Your absence leaves a void that can never be filled - a boisterous, funny, ambitious, creative, kind, generous voice in the room is missing. We’re trying to remind ourselves that the demons who took you away from us were always part of the deal. After all, it was the way you sang about those demons that made everyone fall in love with you in the first place. You fearlessly put them on display, and in doing so, brought us together and taught us to be more human.”

Show photos: Giles Smith www.fanaticcreative.com - taken at London’s O2 Arena Words: Kel Murray - interviews conducted at Birmingham’s Barclycard Arena

22

PRODUCTION PROFILE

Chester Bennington: A guiding light to multiple generations of fans.

LINKIN PARK: ONE MORE LIGHT TOUR The first time I stepped back into an arena after the Manchester tragedy, was in Birmingham. Although I wasn’t nervous, knowing I’d be in the safe hands of a production manager at the forefront of live event safety - for the crew, the artist and the crowds - there was an undoubted sense of comfort in the air of the Barclaycard Arena. This was magnified by the presence of familiar, excited and happy faces. There are jokes being told in the corridors, hugs taking place in the canteen and an unfiltered mixture of band and crew. Incidentally, upon arrival, a meet and greet is taking place, and some of the sound engineers are explaining to the eager crowd of fans what their jobs entail.

This venue is where Linkin Park - whose members include Rob Bourdon, Brad Delson, Joe Hahn, Mike Shinoda, Dave Farrell and the late Chester Bennington - would play their last UK show of the tour. The pre-booked and unfortunate lack of venue in Manchester after the city’s arena was forced to close due to a terrorist attack (which Chester emotionally acknowledged during the set, as he showed his fans his Manchester Bee earrings “I’ll wear these until we know our shows are safe,” he stated), meant that this is

where the tour would end. What could not be predicted at the time was that the Birmingham date would also be Chester’s final live appearance, after he took his own life two weeks later.

The founder of the Event Safety Alliance (ESA), Production Manager Jim Digby, is a veteran touring professional, and one who had worked with this band for the last 15 years. If you’re not familiar with his name, just know that he’s dedicated a huge part of his life to putting everything possible in place to ensure that health and safety is the number one priority on live events.

This extends to the mental wellbeing of touring communities. And he is, I would soon find out, like the many crewmembers and suppliers involved with Linkin Park’s touring production, part of their very close-knit and trusted family.

Furthermore, what is exciting about the One More Light tour is the new talent it welcomed on board, offering opportunities to new creatives regardless of age, gender or experience. In a highly competitive, extremely demanding and unique industry, Linkin Park and their team are breaking the mould.

23

LINKIN PARK

The 2017 Linkin Park touring crew; The band performed at London’s O2 Arena during their sold-out tour.

I spoke to Digby backstage: “We have the benefit of working with a very gracious artist and client in Linkin Park. The majority of the core team have been with the organisation for at least 10 years. Of course, we’ve had our high roads and our low roads but I’ve been here for 15 years now, which is kind of unheard of - to stay with one client for that long - but we kind of suit each other’s needs,” he said. “Linkin Park and I, we have very similar values; they’re all family guys and I would like to think of myself as a family guy.

Plus, they’re kind of no nonsense, and I’m full of nonsense!” he laughed.

There are some new - and some entirely fresh faces - on this tour, namely Lighting Designer Celine Royer and Video Director Shelby Cude, and there has also been a change in suppliers. The UK arena tour - which followed on from a European festival run on which Black Box Music provided a lighting package - vendors comprised The Appointment Group, which provided travel arrangements, Gallagher Staging, THiNC Rigging, The Event Safety Shop - led by John Corbishly, Cat Power, Nitelites for lighting and rigging, PRG XL Video, and Clair Global for sound reinforcement. Beat The Street were in the mix for transport alongside Transam Trucking and EFM for global freighting duties.

Digby said of his 2017 supplier choice: “We weren’t intentionally seeking new vendors, rather we had a last minute change of creative direction and our usual go to source for lighting was not available. We typically won’t change vendors unless there’s an issue, I find that building trust and longevity creates a necessary shorthand making the process more enjoyable. At the same time I’m always interested to learn what others have to offer and am excited for the challenge of getting to know a new team.

“We got Nitelites in for the first time through a recommendation from Bullet [Adam Bettley to the postman, AKA Studio and Hire Operations Manager at LS-Live], and I had never heard of Nitelites before, let alone worked with them. Honestly? They’ve hit it out of the park and have

been nothing but fantastic. They were faced with insurmountable odds due to our timing at the start of the tour and not only did they rise to the challenge of getting the equipment that our new LD wanted, but they got a team together, got inspired about it, and came in on price too. They’ve succeeded in every way. They’re a good bunch of people who want to get the job done professionally - what more could I ask for?

“We endeavor to not let the creative challenges infiltrate or interrupt the artists focus, which can sometimes be an exciting challenge. But the most exhilarating fundamental of the role is shepherding a tribe together, some known, some unknown - all with eccentricities! - then finding the tools, patience and desire to cause everyone to click and come together as family.

For me if the attitude isn’t a reflection of how fortunate one is to work in the entertainment business, it’s really not going to be a fit for our team. If you get the human condition of touring right, there is nothing a motivated team can’t overcome,” he concluded.

ARTISTIC VISION & PRODUCTION DESIGN Artistic Director Travis Detweiler is also a new addition to the crew. In charge of stage, lighting, video and production design - working with the band and hearing their ideas to ensure the show is achieving their vision, he’s an important part in the overall look of this tour. “Linkin Park are really easy guys to work with. I started working with them on designs and I have been working very closely with Celine on the lighting aspects, and doing scenic drawings with her but I was brought into the camp by Jim, whom I had met a few years earlier. It’s such an honour to be here; I grew up listening to this band and when I heard the new album, I loved it instantly. It focuses a lot on family, and I think the place where this album derived from, where they are in their lives, is also where I’m at in mine, such as having a young family and figuring life’s challenges out along the way; I really 24

WE ARE PROUD TO BE INVOLVED Headoffice Austria: joerg@beatthestreet.net | klaus@beatthestreet.net | hannes@beatthestreet.net Office UK Buses: tim@beatthestreet.net | garry@beatthestreet.net Office UK Cars & Vans: ian@beatthestreet.net | mark@beatthestreet.net www.beatthestreet.net

LINKIN PARK

connected with the band on a personal and creative level. I really can’t forward. Our lighting design reflects a lot of that. There are times where think of a better group of people to work with and Jim is an incredible guy.

I’m watching the crowd to see how they’re reacting to the show, and I see “The shows had been so video-content heavy in the past, this album them with tears in their eyes. This music really means something to them. was such a pivot from what they’ve done before, it was a very conscious And this band has had an affect on them in a very real way. We want people decision to really focus on light and the band. Making this less of a visual to walk away feeling like there’s hope and there’s good in the world,” he content experience and more about the music concluded. and the people making it and hearing it, I think we’ve created some really amazing moments LIGHTING between Chester and the crowd especially. He Shaun Moore, Project Manager at Nitelites, and the goes out there, sharing the microphone with tour’s Lighting Crew Chief, compiled the lighting fans, and on songs like Crawling, the reaction package, ensuring everything was built to Lighting from the crowd is always really awesome!

Systems Coordinator, Justin Shaw’s specification, “This design is about the manipulation of prior going into production rehearsals at London’s light and really bringing the focus back to the LH2 studios. Nitelites provided the A-rig and arena band rather than the visuals on screen. The system with support from Black Box Music, which new album is really about knowing that things supplied the B-rig lighting package during the are going on in the world, but if you take a European festival appearances. moment and look at what you have around

Moore said: “Overcoming smaller you, you realise there are amazing things venues, such as going from the O2 Arena to Brixton going on, particularly those of us with kids. It’s Academy in London and ensuring Celine got as about loving those moments and appreciating much out of the rig as possible both times, was them. I think gearing the album One More Light challenging. I believe we only cut the 2 upstage helps people go away having had a cathartic towers for this show, but kept all of the flown ones, “If you get the human condition experience. So many young kids at the meet and the automation systems in place.” Nitelites of touring right, there is nothing and greets say things like ‘your music helped also provided rigging for the audio, lighting and me get through some really hard times’, and video departments. “Liaising with Justin and a motivated team can’t in the past, the music has been full of angst, Morgan Prine, our Head Rigger, on a daily basis, we overcome.” but this album has really been about hope made sure every show was a smooth operation.

Jim Digby, Production Manager and about taking a step forward and looking From day one, the Nitelites were welcomed with 26

It’s more than three months now since you left life’s stage.

The fifteen years we spent travelling the globe as part of the Linkin Park family have been a pleasure and a privilege.

Thank you for the memories.

You are missed.

Your friends at EFM. Chester Bennington 1976 - 2017

LINKIN PARK

open arms into the Linkin Park team - or family, I should say! Everyone is an equal here and we help each other every day. We couldn’t have been looked after better.”

French native, Celine Royer took up the story: “There is a lot of emotion in this design, particularly with the lighting. We have to try and tell a sensitive story, and be rock ‘n’ roll at the same time - it’s been very challenging.” Royer, who learned on the job at her local venue following an internship, was soon lighting the support bands for the international acts coming though Paris. “It began like that,” she noted. “But then I was always getting hired by the headliner acts too. I moved to the US 3 years ago to seek more touring opportunities and I met Jim, our Production Manager.”

Digby added: “Celine, was nothing short of an answered Hail Mary. PRG recommended her and with no more than 2 weeks before our first shows took place, she was able to create a show that was largely based on, if not solely based on light. That was a very key thing. The band made a conscious decision to step away from their traditional video style because it’s too much noise, for now; we’re in a place where this show, as the album’s title suggests, One More Light, is about bringing people closer together, finding light and finding hope. And quite coincidentally, we stumbled upon this incredibly talented designer who’s got a beautiful eye - she’s Rembrandt with the lights and we now have an interpretation of this album, solely based on light.”

Royer decided upon a geometric theme for the show’s overall look: “The lighting direction was based on influences from ancient architecture, and we thought that a pyramid style lighting scene would look very different for them. We were able to create a lot of warm and depth within the show.” For the pyramid lighting, Royer predominantly chose Robe Pointe beams and Solaris Flares.

“We wanted to bring the focus to the band, but do something more than standard overhead lighting. We were thinking about something architectural. Travis had this idea to have this overhead pyramid as a

way to direct the focus down at the band and reflect the transformation and emotional journey that happens throughout the night. That pyramid and fixtures we have on this show allowed us to do a lot of architectural geometry. I also wanted to build a box and layers of lights with the side torms and motion to look like vintage camera film pictures, double exposure effects to reflect the artwork of this last album,” she said.

The pyramid is composed of 3 independent trusses on motion control. There were 36 Robe Pointes on this pyramid and 32 on the vertical trusses. To create the box look / layers of light, Royer uses GLP impression X4 Bar 20’s and GLP impression X4 Bar 10’s. To light the band, Royer chose 4 individual overhead moving trusses, each truss utilises 3 Martin by Harman MAC Viper Profiles, 3 MAC Viper Washes & 5 TMB Solaris Flares. We have a front truss with 12 Flares (for crowd lighting), 10 Viper Profile for backup lights on the band, 14 Viper Profile and 24 Solaris Flares on the floor for sides and upstage lighting.

“I also created what I would call a curtain of lights, and for that look I chose some of my favourite fixtures, the GLP X4 Bar 20’s and X4 Bar 10’s. We have over 90 of them! That’s obviously quite a lot of lights,” she laughed.

“But I love them! There’s almost 2 different looks for when we engage the pyramid and when we don’t, we concentrate on the band primarily. I think we’ve been able to find a different effect for each song, so it remains exciting. After all, it is a 2-hour show.”

The mammoth list of lighting fixtures as requested by Royer comprises 52 TMB Solaris Flare Q+, 61 GLP X4 Bar 20’s, 30 GLP X4 Bar 10’s, 12 SGM Q7’s, 68 Robe Pointes, 12 Martin by Harman MAC Viper Wash DXs, 36 Martin by Harman MAC Viper Profiles, 2 Jem ZR45 hi mass smoke machines, 6 DF50 Hazers, 10 Jem AF1 fan, 1 MDG The One Hazers.

For Royer’s control package, she used an MA Lighting grandMA2. “I just love that desk!” she beamed. “It’s the desk that I’d choose to do most shows with. I’ve been working with that desk for about 10 years now, but it’s such a clever console, that I’m still learning every day.”

28

THE NEW

ALTERNATIVE Audio • Lighting • Rigging Inventory now includes L-Acoustics K1 www.nitelites.co.uk

info@nitelites.co.uk

+44 (0) 191 296 0100

LINKIN PARK

Guitarist Brad Delson; Artistic Director, Travis Detweiler with LD Celine Royer.

Nitelites provided a grandMA2 full size, a grandMA2 Light, 9 grandMA2 NPU 4 Luminex Gigacore 16XT, 4 Luminex Gigacore 12 and 8 Luminex DMX 512- A 2.10 Hub. The impressive lighting show runs on a fully redundant network with Luminex Network Intelligence equipment, provided through Nitelites. Justin Shaw, Lighting Systems Chief, has relied on 4 powerful and robust GigaCore 16Xt switches, tailored for harsh touring environments, 2 at FOH and 2 on stage. He stated: “We configure each Ethernet switch in separate groups so we can run MANet, ArtNet and sACN within only one network, using the same switches. This is very easy to set-up through the intuitive web interface where everything is pre-configured. The only thing you have to do is to assign ports to different groups of protocols, and you’re up and running.

“The GigaCore 16Xt has 2 Fibre cages, which allows us to run 2 lines of Fibre between FOH and stage, giving us the highest redundancy and lowest latency on the network. We also use the DMX512-A 2.10 splitter from Luminex to multiply the DMX signals coming from the NPU’s and send them up the entire lighting rig. We have been using this set up for the entire year and it has been absolutely stellar. The nice thing about the Luminex gear is that it’s fully pre-configured and rock solid straight from the box. It works everything and has a very easy set-up. I use it all the time and we’re going to keep it with us for a lot of tours to come.”

Nitelites - which also sourced some equipment from its friends at IPS & HSL - provided full arena top rigging for lighting, audio and video. The rigging team, led by Morgan Prine, was using a 14 Point Kinesys Vector system, Tyler GT Truss 10ft & 8ft, Prolyte S52v square truss, bespoke Skids for floor items comprising haze and smoke machines, as floor lighting, CM Loadstar 1T + 1/2T Motors. The Nitelites team was completed by John Dunn, Trevor Fairclough, Amy Liddington, Mike Sanchez and Alex Huggins.

opportunities to explore new talent, I think because we don’t have to worry about major catastrophic things going wrong in respect to how they perform, ancillary opportunities come along with their performance on stage, such as lighting direction, video direction, and video in itself. We get to try out new blood,” explained Digby, when asked about his current video department.

“I enjoy being with and developing new talent. That to me is the greatest thing we can give back; I think the industry has a history of expecting a lot from young people but not giving them enough room to grow. There are segments of the industry that don’t often allow the chance to challenge yourself, such as with video direction. Where does a video director get their start? As a camera operator, perhaps, but that is a completely different talent. What’s the training ground for new, young video directors? I don’t know that it truly exists. The majority of the smaller bands get their video support from festivals, which is someone who is not a member of their team. It’s a festival video director who probably doesn’t want to tour, so there is no transition from that festival video director to a touring director.

“You can’t just have a great eye, or you can’t just be a great video director, you have to understand what it’s like to live on the road, and that is, oftentimes, the biggest challenge than just the talent itself.”

Shelby Cude, who resides in LA and is typically found shooting music videos and taking beautiful photography (check out Vogue Italia for some of her prime shots), was the fresh eye the band would take a chance on. On the last day of the European campaign, and on what is her very first tour I might add, she sat down to talk about her new role. “Touring is something I’d played with the idea of in the past. It’s one of those things I didn’t know whether I’d like, but was open to trying. I wanted a change in my life, and I travel a lot on my own already, but I wanted to get out and see the world as a shared experience. Crew obviously becomes a kind of family, so that sort of working environment, one I hadn’t experienced before, I really wanted to find. The timing was almost perfect. I left a marketing job - in the industry

VIDEO “The stability of the core team is so strong that it gives us more 30

D I G I C O

A U D I O

A R T I S T

Becky Pell

“I love the intuitive feel and versatility of DiGiCo desks, and their instinctive workflow means that I can keep my eyes on the stage and respond quickly to requests. The warm, clear DiGiCo sound helps me to deliver a great mix to my artist every time.”

Becky Pell Monitor Engineer - Anastacia, Shane Filan, Running monitors on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury

Exceelxlpeonsecde

Becky Pell

Monitor Engineer - Anastacia

You’re probably aware that our SD series of stunning mixing consoles feature the DiGiCo hallmarks of Stealth Digital Processing, floating-point Super FPGA technology and a whole lot more. But when combined with the sound engineering excellence of Becky Pell, who’s mixing it up with panache for Anastacia, Shane Filan and others, the result is truly exceptional.

Discover more at digico.biz/excellenceexposed DiGiCo UK Ltd. Unit 10 Silverglade Business Park, Leatherhead Road Chessington, Surrey KT9 2QL. Tel: +44 (0) 1372 845600 Directory of Women in Professional Audio and Production. SoundGirls.org aims to provide a listing of women in disciplines industry-wide for networking and hiring.

Becky Pell Sound Girls Total Production TPi 29-3-17.indd 1

29/03/2017 08:35

LINKIN PARK

Nitelites’ Project Manager and Crew Chief, Shaun Moore; Backline Tech Benjain Young; The production office team: Production Assisant Joe Skarzynski, Production Manager Jim Digby, and Production Assistant Melissa Allgood.

- and the band flew me over to PRG in Birmingham, solo, to learn how to This steep learning curve naturally came with an abundance of on-theuse the equipment. I had to learn from having absolutely no experience, road homework too. “We watch tonnes of video reels and the shows back but everybody I met at PRG was so helpful. I then met up with the rest of every night, and that’s been absolutely exhausting, but it’s really rewarding the team at London’s LH2 studios for rehearsals. It was the first time that I’d at the same time. I’m so incredibly thankful for this entire opportunity,” she met the camera operators who - 3 out of 4 of them - had also never touched added. a camera, so that was interesting!” she laughed. “One of the ops though, It’s all live footage, throughout the 2-hour show. “A lot of the focus has to Mark Wilkinson, was very experienced and he gave an awesome insight into be on the band, with close up shots. Chester jumps into the pit a few times everything we needed. too, so we try to create something out of those random moments that “Saying that, it started out rough, I’m still trying to get my feet wet. Our happen on the fly, and bring those to the people at the back of the venue. first Video Engineer, Melchior von der Decken is an amazing guy - he’s just I’m basically trying to learn as much as I possibly can from everybody who brilliant. He helped us out for 3 weeks, showing is an expert, and develop the show each night. I us the ropes. I think what’s interesting about think it’s come a long way since the tour started. tours is that there’s always going to be politics “We’ve got 2 FOH cameras which are longor differences of opinion, and I think that’s been lens, 2 handhelds, 1 on stage, and another on a one of the biggest struggles; usually it’s just tripod in the pit - which sometimes comes off the me and my camera, but here we’re a team. Our tripod. And then we’ve got 3 cameras stationed second Video Engineer is Oliver Derynck who on the DJ turntable, one on Mike’s keyboard was also very helpful, and our Projectionist for stand and one in the drums.” the arena shows was Luke Butler who is also my PRG XL Video also provided IMAG projection robo cam operator for these last two shows.” comprising 4 Barco HDX-W14’s, 21 x 12 projection She enthused: “I’ve been learning everything screens, a Ross Carbonite Video Switcher with 2 on the fly and in the moment. Throughout the 70XLL and 2 X HH, using Sony HXC-100 cameras, tour I’ve called up friends who’ve had years of 2 Bradley Camball 2 Robo’s and 5 Gnat POV “From day one, the Nitelites were cameras. experience as camera operators and with video directing and have fortunately been able to pick Cude continued: “PRG have been really good. welcomed with open arms into their brains, with the hopes of fixing what isn’t Being in a position where I can ask as many the Linkin Park team - or family, working and gaining a different approach and questions as I need to has been really helpful. perspective.”

And, of course Jim is such a mentor in so many I should say! Everyone is equal Cude noted that the talent she looked to ways; he’s more than a boss, he’s a friend. He’s here and we help each other Scott Delancey and Ryan Rushing, Camera somebody that I respect so much, and he sees Operator and Video Director, respectively, for the good in people. If you’re having a rough day, every day. We couldn’t have country star Luke Bryan, and Leon Roll, Video he’s great to speak to. been looked after better.”

Director for Paul McCartney. “So, every day has “He’s also made me challenge myself a lot been an opportunity for progress.” more and has thankfully been patient enough to Shaun Moore, Nitelites 32

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LINKIN PARK

FOH Engineer Brad Madix; Celine Royer on her grandMA2; Video Director Shelby Cude with her team of camera operators.

let me make mistakes, grow from them, and learn. What he’s stressed to me is that this job is really about the human element. It’s about how you react to people, and he’s driven that home. I think during the last few shows, I’ve been trying to relay that to other people - like a good production manager should be, he’s the lighthouse we all look to for guidance.”

Madix is mixing on an Avid S6L-32D console and is utilising a Lake LM44 with wireless tablet, a digital ProTools recording system for playback for archiving, and a set of Genelec 1031A reference monitors with SMAART Live software. He continued: “We’re using an Avid S6L console, it’s their most recent version of a Venue type mixing desk. I’m really enjoying using it.” Tim Shaynor is the Clair System Technician.

Over in monitor world, Kevin ‘Tater’ McCarthy is using a DiGiCo’s SD7, his go-to mixing console since 2014, due to its power. He said: “It is a very powerful desk and when you’re mixing arena shows like this - that have a lot of varying needs all at once, I need to know I can rely on the tools I choose.

DiGiCo is leader in digital mixing consoles.” Tater also uses a DiGiCo MGB and Waves SoundGrid EXTREME Server.

The setup was completed by Adamson M12 and M212 monitor wedges, Clair CM-22 and SRM monitor wedges, Adamson SX18 Sidefills and Clair R4-III Sidefills. For in-ear transmitters, Shure PSM1000 wireless IEMs were the system of choice, alongside Shure PSM900 hardwired IEMs. Shure ULX-D RF microphones, a Shure ULX-D Guitar RF and a Shure Axient AXT600 Spectrum Manager were also specified.

Tater is also using the new KLANG: technologies 3D in-ear system.

He said: “It benefits in ways you might not think of. I’ve been able to substantially lower levels in the in-ear mixes for the entire band - especially the click track. I just move that right to the front and centre of the 3D field, like it’s right at their forehead, and then I cut its volume in half. The sound kind of sits there in its own little bubble and, since it’s not sonically competing with anything else, it does not need to be nearly as loud.”

The KLANG:fabrik is extremely flexible in that the engineer can determine the best mix of inputs, outputs and sampling rate for the specific act or situation. “I’m running the KLANG at 96 kHz and can use all 8 outputs and have enough processing for 27 inputs,” he said.

Tater continued: “All of our in-ear molds are from Jerry Harvey Audio.

AUDIO “For a period of time Linkin Park was using other great audio companies continually pursuing a PA that represented their sound to the fullest,” stated Digby. “With the advent of the new Clair Cohesion system, we once again find ourselves in the extremely capable hands of Clair Global - and couldn’t be happier. The Cohesion’s acoustic characteristics, it’s revolutionary compact deployment and the worldwide support of the Clair ecosystem make the company a perfect fit for our needs.”

The UK arena system comprised Cohesion CO-12 line arrays, Cohesion CP-218 Sub-lows and Cohesion CO-8 line arrays, powered by Lab.gruppen PLM amplifiers. Mixing the FOH sound is Brad Madix, who recently took over the gig from his good friend Ken ‘Pooch’ Van Druten. Digby continued: “Brad is a world-renowned mixer and he’s doing an amazing job of making the sound unique to him, while maintaining Linkin Park’s authenticity.”

Madix stated: “Pooch and I have known each other for ages; we’ve swapped gigs once or twice before! The band’s new sound is definitely different than their previous works, and that can always make things a little different with a transition into a live performance. We’re not trying to make the show sound less heavy, because they’re still playing their older, heavier material, but some of the new songs are a little more electronic so my approach is basically to get the new songs sounding like they do on the record and then shape the new sound in the context of the mix. You have to be true to all of it, but you also don’t want to whip the audience around from one era to another!”

34

LINKIN PARK

The band and crew use Roxannes, except for Mike [Shinoda, rhythm guitar] and Chester, who both use JH16’s. All of our microphones are Shure too, again with the exception of Mike and Chester’s vocal mics, which are the Sennheiser 2000 Series.”

The backline crew was headed up by Benjamin Young.

like an important cog in the machine and their role is valued. Linkin Park’s production have always understood that there are many parts to producing a successful show and tour. Chester’s passing hit everybody very hard indeed and people close to him are picking up the pieces of their lives. It is still an open wound that only time will help to heal. My thoughts and prayers are with them all.”

TPi A benefit concert will take on 27 October at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. All ticket proceeds will go to Music For Relief’s One More Light Fund in memory of the late Chester Bennington.

If you would like to find out more about Chester’s legacy, or if you or someone you know is struggling with depression / mental illness of any kind, please visit: musicforrelief.org http://chester.linkinpark.com www.musicsupport.org www.linkinpark.com www.eventsafetyalliance.org www.opus.tv www.clairglobal.com www.prg.com www.lh2studios.co.uk www.efmlogistics.com www.nitelites.co.uk www.impactproductions.co.uk www.hslgroup.com www.transamtrucking.com www.beatthestreet.net www.cat.com www.the-eventsafetyshop.co.uk www.thincworldwide.com www.gallagherstaging.com www.black-box-music.de

FREIGHT AND TRANSPORTATION Steve Botting, CEO N. America at EFM Event Logistics, told TPi: “I have worked with Jim for 17 years and we are good friends inside and outside of the Linkin Park camp, though when it comes to working with them or any other act Jim might be on its strictly professional. I have also had the good fortune to work with most of the Linkin Park production team for the 15 or so years and it has been a great honour.”

EFM has worked with the team for the same amount of time, though the band only became a full client in 2005, when EFM USA was founded.

Botting continued: “The European tour 2017 was a mixture of festival and headlining dates. Due to the routing, two sets of festival equipment were required plus additional production out of the UK for the headline shows, which was trucked by Transam. Prior to the EU tour, the band had dates in South America, so one set of equipment around 18,500kg was flown from the last show in Brazil to the UK and cross loaded by EFM UK while an additional set was sent from Los Angeles via ocean to meet the truck departure deadline that was also cross-loaded by EFM UK. “After the tour finished, sets of equipment came to the EFM UK office, one was flown to New York where we stored it until the tour trucks were supposed to pick it up and ship via road to Boston for the first US leg show; the second rig was to be held in the UK and shipped to Japan for the SE Asia run commencing 2 November.

“Of course due to Chester’s shocking and very sad situation, this never happened. Both sets of equipment came back to EFM in Los Angeles where they currently reside.

“Most of the Linkin Park camp have been a family for a good many years including myself and many of the touring vendors. All vendors are treated 36

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CREAMFIELDS 2017 A highlight of the annual dance music calendar, Creamfields rose to the challenge of entertaining crowds and delivering a sterling line up of DJs for its 20th year. TPi’s Stew Hume experiences the goliath production first-hand as the UK festival season draws to a close…

For 2 decades, revellers from the UK and across the globe have descended on Daresbury Estate to witness the most respected DJs go toe-to-toe for 4 days of non-stop music. For 2017, LarMac LIVE was tasked with production and challenged to expand upon the previous year for those on site and the thousands watching Creamfields via social media.

On the ground, TPi sought out a quiet corner from the 70,000-strong army of dance fans enjoying the splendid weather to get the inside track from the Cream Team on its 20th anniversary festivities.

Production Manager, Ian Greenway, summed up LarMac LIVE’s global goal for Creamfields quite simply: “We want to produce the best party around! And when we say ‘the best’ we don’t just mean in the UK. We want to ensure we are one of the top dance festivals in the world.”

The calibre of production at EDM festivals has unquestionably increased of late, a trend of which Greenway was more than aware. He said: “In recent years, our attention to show design has completely changed. As you would expect, we always keep an eye on competitors but we have our own mentality. Whereas other events often spend a lot of money on custom set designs, we invest in rental gear to create stunning stages that are able to host artist’s touring rigs, such as deadmau5’s cube or Axwell Λ Ingrosso’s upside-down V. We also have our gigantic LED ‘bookends’ on both main stages which artists can fill with their custom content. At the end of the day these artists have spent a lot of money and time creating these on-stage

identities and it’s only right they have a platform to showcase them. It also means we get to change the look of the shows every single night.” The LarMac Director believes having such diverse set designs keeps the festival visuals stimulating for the audience and for the thousands watching online.

Greenway added: “This year we have updated our streaming capabilities with the aid of Corrino from Amsterdam. It’s been a natural progression; the Cream Team are consistently on top of social media feeds, ensuring our audiences have the best experience possible. We always listen to their feedback.”

LarMac brought on a lot of familiar faces for the 2017 rendition of Creamfields, including Britannia Row Productions, PRG XL Video, dbnAudile, Adlib, Colour Sound Experiment, BPM SFX and Acorn Event Structures.

THE EXPANDING SITE Last year Creamfields proudly introduced a new structure for the festival site, The Steel Yard. In collaboration with Acorn Event Structures, The Steel Yard offered an alternative to the big top tent and provided the experience that exceeds the traditional nightclub experience both in terms of size and scale of production. Measuring 50m in width, 90m in length and 20m in height, The Steel Yard certainly is an imposing structure and caught the attention of many in the festival scene in 2016; so much so it won the 38

PRODUCTION PROFILE

Opposite: For its 20th year, Creamfields offered a 4-day haven for 70,000 dance music fans.

Innovation Award at the National Access and Scaffolding Confederation conference, Best Stage at Festival Supplier Awards and Best Staging Supplier at the Event Production Awards. Acorn’s Managing Director, Andy Nutter enthused: “The reaction to the Super Structure was phenomenal, demonstrating how the introduction of innovative, boundary-pushing temporary structures address a specific market and provide foundations for great events.” Due to the overwhelming response, The Steel Yard was back again and this time with a younger brother stage, Warehouse.

“For the last few years, we’ve tried to push the boundaries and we achieved a part of this mission to provide an indoor warehouse style rave with The Steel Yard and Warehouse stage,” said Greenway, explaining the advantage of these structures. “You can fly a lot more than you can with traditional big tops. They also have their own identities as venues which keeps things exciting for the crowds.”

The Daresbury site itself also saw extensions backstage, added Greenway: “This site has always had a really tight infrastructure for our suppliers. Traditionally we had to be very smart with the way we loaded in and put on the festival site. But this year, we managed to arrange the site with a double track around the arena.”

changeovers. On the first evening of the festival our team had the video screen split and off stage in 20 seconds! Just an example of what we are able to do here on this festival.”

Scott went on to describe the major workhorses on the rig starting with the eye-catching curved wings of the main stage: “We have made a substitution this year opting with Ayrton MagicPanel-R’s. They have been really punchy during daylight hours and we had some great feedback from the touring LDs. We also upgraded to the PRG Best Boy HP which are much brighter than its predecessor which has been advantageous during the day.”

PRG also handled the monstrous indoor rave of The Steel Yard. “The music in The Steel Yard on the whole is slightly slower than the main stages and requires a slightly different treatment,” said Scott. “As it’s all inside we’re able to hang audience lights which consisted of 38 GS Beams, 26 PRG Bad Boys, 12 GLP impression X4 Bar 20’s and 12 impression X4S. We also have the new Solaris Flare Q+ LRs which are amazing.” This year The Steel Yard also features a set from Richie Hawtin, who opted for a design that certainly stood out during the weekend. “Whereas most go for a strobe and beam look, Richie has opted to use generic fixtures including PARs and Fresnels,” said Scott. “It’s fairly unheard of in this genre and we are all very excited to see how it comes together.”

Colour Sound Experiment also provided lighting services for the weekend supplying fixtures for CF06 and the brand new Warehouse stage. Sam Campbell, Crew Boss of Colour Sound, talked about the design process: “Last year we were involved in The Steel Yard which was a similar space. Conversations for the design of Warehouse began with Ian from LarMac who explained we should recreate a warehouse rave with a real industrial feel.” So, for the new structure Campbell deployed 16 Showtec Sunstrips, 51 Martin by Harman Atomic 3000 Strobes, 18 LightSky AquaBeams, 36 Chauvet Professional Rogue R2 Wash, 56 Claypaky Sharpys and 7 Robe BMFL Spots.

Campbell also operated for most of the weekend using a ChamSys MQ500 for control. “It’s such a great desk and is now my personal preference.

I have been using it for my last few shows which have all been more corporate events so its great to stretch its legs on a festival ground. It’s giant touch screen, is very sensitive and really easy to use.”

For CF06, the rental house provided a lighting rig consisting of Martin

by Harman Atomic 3000’s, Robe Robin 600’s, Robin Pointe, Robin MMX Spot, Spiiders, Chauvet DJ COLORband PiX and i-Pix BB 7 Washlight. Tim Meadowcroft oversaw the lighting for Colour Sound. On top of an already stellar line up for the stage, organisers had a last-minute surprise for punters with grime superstar Stormzy sliding into a headline slot on the Saturday night. To aid his set, and solve the issue of no hanging space of a traditional follow spot operator, PRG assisted by adding a PRG Best Boy spot as well as a GroundControl Followspot System.

Adlib added some colour to the festivities by handling lighting for the Mega Arena, The Curve, the CF10 VIP and hospitality areas. Adlib’s own Ian Tomlinson - the longstanding LD for Swedish House Mafia - designed lighting for all three arenas in which the company was involved. Adlib’s rider

LIGHTS PRG XL Video provided lighting for stages CF01 and CF02, known on site as The Arc and Horizon, along with The Steel Yard. Event Services Coordinator for PRG during the weekend was Chris Scott, a man TPi hadn’t seen since Download Festival when we had the interesting challenge of conducting an interview over death metal. “Well this show is slightly different!” joked Scott, before reeling off the enormous amounts of kit PRG deployed this year.

For The Arc stage wings, PRG XL Video, supplied 48 PRG Icon Beams, 32 Ayrton MagicPanel-R’s, 64 Martin by Harman Atomic 3000 Strobes and a selection of generic 8-lite and 4-lite molefays (18 and 32 respectively).

For the central performance area the company supplied 40 PRG Best Boy HPs, 24 Icon Beams, Claypaky A.Leda B-EYE K10’s, 52 GLP impressions X4 Bar 20’s, 20 Solaris Flare Jrs and 16 2-lite molefays. Meanwhile the Horizon stage wings were made up of 52 PRG Icon Edges, 114 SGM Q7’s and 48 2-lite molefays with the stage hosting 20 Martin by Harman MAC Vipers, 21 Atomic 3000 Strobes and 20 PRG Icon Edges with a further selection of molefays.

All stages PRG took care of were supplied with 2 MA Lighting grandMA2’s with 4 MA2 NPUs for each.

“My role has changed from 2016,” recalled Scott. “Last year I was only looking after FOH of The Arc but this time I have taken over the pre-production of both main stages and The Steel Yard, which we also supply. Admittedly it’s been a challenge and I have certainly learned how far I can push myself, but I’m really proud of what we put together.” Scott described the design goals, echoing some of the sentiments of LarMac’s Ian Greenway: “We are driven to deliver a design that accommodates for artists’ production specifications. As you can imagine this means a lot of work for us on the ground. But we have an amazing crew at Creamfields.

Unlike other festivals with more bands playing, there is next to no time for

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CREAMFIELDS

Chris Scott, PRG XL Video’s Events Coordinator: “We are driven to deliver a design that accommodates for artists’ production specifications. As you can imagine this means a lot of work for us on the ground. But we have an amazing crew at Creamfields.”

spec for the Mega Arena consisted of Martin by Harman MAC Quantums, Claypaky Mythos, Ayrton MagicBursts and MagicBlade-Rs. Chauvet DJ SlimPARs made an appearance for the DJ booth. For The Curve, Adlib supplied Martin by Harman MH7’s and Robe Robin 100 Beams.

Adlib’s Kevin Byatt enthused: “We always love working on this event - being a Liverpool brand, we are very proud it’s earned its place as one of the best loved dance festivals worldwide. We have a great relationship with LarMac LIVE, and Creamfields always involves a lot of suppliers collaborating and working together, with plenty of inter-company camaraderie and teamwork. I think this is partly what makes it a truly unique festival production phenomenon.” dbnAudile also provided lighting for the CF07 stage with a selection of Claypaky fixtures including 24 Mythos, 24 Sharpys and 18 A.leda B-EYE K10’s. Also on the rider were 24 Chauvet Professional Rogue R1 FX-B, 18 Showtec Sunstrips and 36 Martin by Harman VDO Sceptron 10’s.

to bring their own equipment and can just load their files onto our system.”

Cream as an organisation has been aiming to improve the video content across the site. Macca explained how this has altered PRG’s approach to the festival. “The real challenge is to ensure we do not have 8 stages that look the same in terms of the look of the screens,” mused Macca. “This means being fairly creative with the configuration of the screens. The Curve stage for example has been redesigned for 2017. We have a 4.8m wide LED upstage wall and DJ riser at the rear of the tent were flanked by 54 square screens; 27 on either side arranged in rows three squares high. The wings wrapped around the audience creating a high-energy space. We’ve used the Pixled Fx-11 fixture, which is much more punchy then last year’s design.”

Another video highlight this year was the Mega Arena’s wide video screen formed from 15mm LED which spanned the rear of the stage hosting headline performances including Alesso and Armin Van Buuren. The video department also complement the PRG lighting rig in The Steel Yard with a large upstage ROE Visual MC-7 LED screen and matching DJ riser were augmented by PRG’s lighting flown above the stage.

PRG also provided a ‘video HQ’ to ensure all content was up to scratch before hitting the massive stages. Lead by Project Manager Ian Jones and Video Content Expert, Erica Frost, worked on supplying pixel maps of the stages ahead of the weekend. Then during the festival a team of content technicians were on site to support and re-format any artists content, which needed it. “Ian works as a go-between for production and artist to ensure we have everyone’s content before their set starts. If artists don’t have their own VJs we take all their content, which is then launched by one of the several VJs we employ for the weekend. It’s quite a logistical challenge for the team to ensure we have each artist’s content and it’s coded correctly for our screens.”

Many of the headline artists brought in several elements of their own production such as Chase & Status who had Video Illusions run all video aspects of their new show. Video Illusion’s Dave Whiteoak discussed the company’s involvement with the show. “We oversaw the group’s custom visual content using the new beta Resolume Arena 6 media server software which is more stable than ever before. We plugged into PRG’s dvi matrix to controlling their curved led wall. Together with the rest of the production,

VIDEO As expected, video elements were very prevalent in the designs of the festival stages. PRG XL Video supplied all the indoor and outdoor video elements for the event with Paul ‘Macca’ McCauley leading the charge.

“There have been a few changes this year in our screen set up,” began Macca. “Last year with the Horizon stage we had a 3D design which we have moved away from this year with a more formulaic screen set up.” The Horizon’s video wings consisted of ROE MC-18’s with the on stage, back video wall and a front DJ riser were both formed from ROE Visual MC-7.

Meanwhile on The Arc’s famed curved wings Macca used vertical columns of ROE MC-12’s Visual LED, built into PRG’s custom touring frames with an upstage screen of MC-7’s. Above the stage, the LED header was made up of ROE MC-18 Hybrid LED, enabling designers to have content match to the rest of the screens, as well as prominently displaying the Creamfields’ branding.

Driving all the screens were Barco E2’s. To cater for the VJs on site during the festival PRG utilised Resolume Arena 5 Servers. “We have found that almost 95% of the VJs coming to the site used Resolume so it’s the perfect choice for Creamfields,” commented Macca. “It means operators don’t have 40

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TPi Half Page.indd 1

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CREAMFIELDS

The Steel Yard making a welcome return to the Creamfields site; Chris Scott, PRG XL Video’s Events Coordinator; Tiesto during his headline set; Production Manager, Ian Greenway of LarMac LIVE.

we absolutely smashed the visual experience creating an amazing show.”

premium dance festival experience.

Also supplying a smattering of special effects for the festival was Dynamite FX collaborated with leading techno brand, Paradise in CF07.

The Dynamite team have been involved in Paradise’s UK and European shows and Creamfields is the jewel in the crown of another great year. Joe Knight, founder of Dynamite FX discussed the brief for the show this year.

“Techno is another beast compared to EDM. Instead of having more visual effects we tend to use techniques which compliment heavy techno drops.

For example, we use the Magic FX Co2 Powerjets - as these have a much higher output than normal CO2 jets, creating a dumping effect within the crowd as opposed to them being fired into the air on stage. Combined with customised printed hexagon shaped confetti and lasers, supplied by ER Productions, we suddenly have a hugely visual show without detracting from the music.”

SETTING FIRES Complementing the lighting and video visual assault was site SFX provider, BPM SFX, who provided an army of 70 crew members assigned across 9 Stages and Arenas for both SFX and lasers over the 4-night festival weekend, covering 82 artist provisions! Loaded with 1,100 CO2 Cylinders, 2 tonnes of confetti and streamers, a whole arsenal of pyrotechnics, lasers and flame machines throughout, this always is one of the biggest shows in BPM SFX’s annual calendar.

“Preparations for 2017 started at the beginning of the year with a dialogue and proposals with Cream and LarMac production team who wanted to make sure they’re hearing all the ideas and possibilities for their festival in making it the best it can be from the start of the creative discussion,” said Adam Murray, Managing Director of BPM SFX. One of the key elements for BPM SFX was integrating the headliners and key acts riders into the designs or layouts of the Creamfields stages and arenas, especially The Arc and Horizon main stages. Covering and providing headliners like Axwell Λ Ingrosso, Martin Garrix, Tiesto, The Chainsmokers, Eric Prydz and many more artist’s huge FX and laser riders successfully into the shows. BPM SFX arrived 4 days prior to the first night of the festival with four Fly By Nite trucks of equipment. This included a selection of Magic FX Psyco2 Jets, X-treme Stadium Shots, XL Stadium Confetti Blasters, Flamaniacs. Also present were Galaxis G Flames, Inferno, Hurricane and Chameleon liquid Flame units. For lasers BPM provided 5 stages with multiple laser rigs including Starbeams, Blue Beams, the new Neo 6 Laserblades and the numerous 18 - 35W RGB Laser Projector setups. This also included a monster laser set up in the renowned Steel Yard structure for Eric Prydz and deadmau5 shows. This year the company also stacked up 800 Powershot tubes and over 2000 Streamer sleeves!

“It’s a pleasure and an honour to be working with Creamfields on its 20th Anniversary as SFX site supplier,” said Murray. “The recent upsurge in EDM and dance music sound in general in the last 10 years has been equally matched by Cream’s ambitions and aspirations to always produce a

PUT A DONK ON IT Britannia Row Productions returned to Creamfields to provide audio reinforcement for The Arc, Horizon and Steel Yard stages. Laurie Fradley oversaw the company’s whole operation ensuring the successful deployment of the L-Acoustics PA systems across all 3 stages. The audio specialist provided both The Arc and Horizon with a plentiful L-Acoustics K1 system. The Arc’s PA consisted of 12 K1 per side with an asymmetrical side hang set up made up of 4 K1SB and 8 K2’s on the left and 4 K1SBS and 4 K2’s on the right. Also on the rider were 32 KS28’s subs with 2 hangs of 8 K2’s for delays. There were also 8 ARCs and 18 KARA for front fills.

“One of the challenges we have is providing first class sound whilst not compromising the site lines of the vast video screens,” began Fradley.

“Thankfully the rigging team on site have worked very hard to give us as much clearance as possible with our main hangs covering the majority of the performance area.” To give both stages complete coverage, Britannia Row had two delay towers made up of K2 and several KARA boxes for fills.

Fradley outlined the importance of making the ‘walk up’ sound great for punters as they move to each area of the site too.

Britannia Row opted to update its 2017 amplifier set-up with the 42

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CREAMFIELDS

PRG XL Video’s Paul ‘Macca’ McCauley; A selection of the 70 BPM SFX crew-members working the festival; Sam Campbell, Crew Boss for Colour Sound Experiment; dbnAudile’s Rob Ashworth; Britannia Row Productions’ Laurie Fradley who oversaw the company’s whole operation on site; Tim Meadowcroft handled lighting for CF06 on behalf of Colour Sound Experiment.

L-Acoustics LA 12Xs, which Fradley dubbed “incredible”. He continued: “I think it has been very noticeable. We are still using Lake LM Service to do the Dante network but pretty much all the processing is done within the amplifier. We endeavour to run digital from the output of the DJ mixer up to the speakers and, sonically, I think it has made a real difference this year.”

Control for the Horizon stage came via the Solid State Logic L300 with an L500 for The Arc. Britannia Row altered The Steel Yard’s system significantly as last year there were “a few issues in terms of weight,” according to Fradley. “This year we have cut down our hanging load significantly by altering from K1 to K2.” The main hang consisted of 14 K2 per side with 22 KS28’s and 2 delay hangs of 6 KARA. For fills 6 ARC II’s and 6 KARA were used. “It has been a really good switch and has sounded great,” praised Fradley. Finally, control in The Steel Yard represented a blast from the past with a Yamaha PM5D, a decision that came from a rider spec but has been “warmly received” by engineers throughout the festival according to Fradley.

Adlib also provided audio for the Mega Arena, The Curve and the allimportant CF10 VIP and hospitality areas. On site, the Adlib crew were led

by Hassane ‘Hass’ Es Siahi who also designed the audio in the Mega Arena and Adlib’s Kevin Byatt who was project manager over all the disciplines.

Hass has worked as FOH Engineer for international superstar DJ David Guetta for several years and in that time built up an extensive knowledge of the nuances of dance music and DJ performance. The main PA in the Mega Arena comprised 12 per-side L-Acoustics K2 hangs and 32 of the new L-Acoustics KS28 high power subs all running in cardioid mode. Hass chose cardioid mode due to of the quantity of KS28 subs, and because they needed minimal output sneaking out from behind the stage. For control Hass used a Soundcraft Vi600 due to its “straightforward and simple” nature. Being DJs there wasn’t a need for multiple plug-ins and other magical tricks. “It’s all down to tuning, EQ’ing and controlling the system,” confirmed Hass, for which he extensively used the LA Network Manager.

In the Mega Arena they specified a ‘classic’ DJ monitor set up with two L-Acoustics SB18’s per side and three KARAs sitting on top mixed by Adlib’s Matt Gadsby using a Soundcraft Vi1.

In The Curve, a CODA Audio AiRAY sound system was spec’d with 12

CODA TiRAY for infills and 22 subs comprised 10 CODA SC2-Fs and 12 Coda SC-8’s. The DJ monitors were a mix of L-Acoustics dV-DOSC speakers running with 3, 15-inch dV-SUBs. Control came via a DiGiCo SD9. Finally, for the hospitality areas Adlib deployed another Coda sound system featuring 8 Airline LA12 speakers with 6 TiRAY outfills, running with SCP-F subs for the main system. dbnAudile also took its place on the audio supplier roster handling the sound of CF06, 07 and the Warehouse. The Manchester-based company provided a duplicate set up of 20 d&b audiotechnik J8/12’s, 16 J-SUBs and 4 d&b V12 for both CF06 and 07. Meanwhile, at the Warehouse the company provided a Funktion-One PA consisting of 16 Resolution-5Ts, 14 F221P Subs with 4 Resolution-1’s for front fills. For delays dbnAudile used Resolution4T’s, 6 F218 subs. “It’s a challenging stage to work on,” confessed Rob Ashworth, Director of dbnAudile. “The structure is built across a steep slope which required some head scratching as we were limited to how much PA we could fly on one side without hitting the floor. But the set up we devised sounded great.” For control the suppliers deployed a Midas Venice 240 console for the Warehouse with Midas PRO2 for the other 2 stages.

HERE’S TO THE NEXT 20…

With 2 decades worth of successful festivals under its belt both LarMac LIVE and the Cream organisation show no signs in slowing the progression of their EDM-extravaganza. Each year the sheer size of the festival never seems to taper which is testament the hard work of the crew members who spend their annual August Bank holiday pushing the limits of live production!

TPi Photos: Anthony Black, Charlie Raven and TPi www.creamfields.com www.larmaclive.com www.britanniarow.com www.adlib.co.uk www.dbnaudile.co.uk www.coloursound.com www.prg.com www.acorn-events.com www.bpm-sfx.com www.dynamitefx.com http://videoillusions.net/ 44

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SZIGET FESTIVAL TURNS 25 Sziget Festival returned to Budapest’s ‘Island of Freedom’ from 9-16 August, celebrating its 25th anniversary with its customarily expansive music line-up, film screenings, e-sports, chess, dance, theatre, sports, chill out areas, yoga, fashion shows, a beach, and much more... TPi’s Kel Murray braved the heat, the rain & the sand to become a 2017 islander.

Earlier in the year, Sziget CEO, Tamás Kádár, talked about the new additions to the Sziget site in 2017: “Most people expect a special line-up or something related to our headliners but we will mostly use this anniversary to celebrate the values Sziget has always stood for: freedom, unity and diversity, which make Sziget a real Island of Freedom. This beautiful city turns Sziget into a real special holiday, which is an outstanding asset to have in the festival market. But, as our visitors tend to say, to understand why Sziget is so special, one has to cross the iconic bridge to the island...”

for more than 12 years now. I used to live in the UK, I was a kid actually, when my family moved there. It was just after the fall of the communism here in Hungary, so I went to kindergarten and preschool in London and then when I came home after 4 years, I already had this western-type of thinking of how a society should work, how we should talk to each-other, how we should tolerate each-other, and coming home was very depressing for a young kid because I saw that in Hungary - at this time - this was not a common thing. When my sister told me “we should go out to Sziget because that’s an environment where you feel like you can be open and where everybody is there to be happy and get along”, I’ve been in love with Sziget. This is really my world.

“I’m very proud of where this little youth gathering has come from, and now we’re a very well-known festival. We try to emphasise this also in the Hungarian media that this is something that grew out of nothing. Now, wherever you go in the world, you say ‘Sziget’ and they know what it is. So I think this year we tried to make the people understand and believe that this is

ISLAND CITIZENS Fastforward to August 2017, and the beautifully lit hospitality area where Zsuzsa Kövér, International Communications at Sziget, revealed her story on how this festival is so special to her - so much so that she’s built her career around promoting the event through the media. “I think I was 12 years old when I came to my first Sziget. I came with my sister, and I’ve been a ‘citizen’ 46

PRODUCTION PROFILE

something big, this is something that is happening and this is some kind of life changing experience.

“It’s amazing to be among the staff and working for Sziget. It’s so much bigger than us; we have around 50 people working for a company, but the brand is so much bigger. It’s not a typical music festival where you go just to enjoy music. It’s about living in a way that you should allow yourself to live. To be free, to be open, to talk to people from different cultures, I think. We’re now, after these 25 years, very sure of what our statement is and it really stands for today what we believe in, such as freedom, love, tolerance, accepting each-other and this is a very important message in the world today. We have to stand strong. Get our citizens together as one big community, like the world should be.”

festivals operated in Europe.

“We have an amazing time working here, which is why we want to keep coming back and learning. Our main jobs are to be able to deliver what the artists want when they get here. I deal with the main stage acts, which is 4 per day, for 7 days. Obviously we get some big headlines acts here so that’s always fun. There is pressure but it’s a good pressure. We’ve had some great acts play this year like P!nk, Hurts and Biffy Clyro.”

Paillard added: “I look after the bands at A38, and there are 7 artists per day performing there. You just need to be very organised and able to coordinate a lot of things at once!” A38 enjoyed performances from The Courteeners, Crystal Fighters and Bad Religion. And, although there are hundreds of crew and artists passing though Sziget each day, one thing which has stood out to many of the visiting productions is the amount of women working on the Sziget production. Paillard continued: “Once, Linkin Park’s Production Manager [Jim Digby] came to find us and tell us that he’d had a great experience working with the Sziget team, and that he was so proud that there were so many young women helping to run the show in important roles.”

ARTISTIC INTEGRITY Emma-Lotta Juutilainen and Chloe Paillard are the ladies in charge of coordinating all of the artist needs at the main stage and the OTP Bank Stage (presented by and often referred to simply as A38), the next largest music venue which is situated in a big top.

Juutilainen, part of the artist coordinator team at Sziget, is one of the many international faces at the festival. Her colleague, Paillard, is French, yet the pair are drawn to Budapest for 4 months of the year to work on various festivals for the organisation.

Juutilainen began: “I worked on a festival back in Finland, where I’m from, so that I could get experience of working with festivals and bands.

Then, I came over to Hungary in 2014 to gain further experience of how

Photo Credit: Rockstar Photographers

PRODUCTION PERFECTION Sziget’s Technical Department is headed up by a team of trusted and experienced crew: Daniel Benis – Head of Production, Tibor Horváth – Zsolt Szicsó Technical prod. Managers, Tamás Majó, Dávid Kiss, Tamás Kenesei, Zsolt Balogh – Technical Managers, Ivett Páros, Cintia Sáry, Melinda Zsivkov – Technical Assistants, all of whom work closely with various assistants,

Proud suppliers to Sziget Festival for the last 12 years Capital Sound Hire Limited, Abacus House, 60 Weir Road, London, SW19 8UG | PHONE: +44 (0)20 8944 6777 | FAX: +44 (0)20 8944 9477 | EMAIL: Info@capital-sound.co.uk

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SZIGET

crew chiefs and localised stage managers.

TPi spoke with Horváth about the tasks he faces in his prominent role.

“I’m essentially responsible for all of the stages’ technical equipment, and making sure it’s all correct, of course!” he said. “By the time we get to the build, I’m the person overseeing where the items should be placed or positioning it. I decide how the stage should look, and also down to things like how many dressing rooms we need for the production offices so that people can do their jobs comfortably.

“On an average festival day, I’m close to looking after 300 people, however, I only stay in touch with the chief of each group for each stage, which is about 20 people to help manage. Like any big festival, there is a lot going on at Sziget; we’ve got musical venues and non-musical venues. The kind of entertainment we offer here that have technical productions include a street theatre, movie theatres, and all kinds of weird and wonderful things happening in various places. The number of musical venues we now build is 18 in total, but there are lots other activities around the site which still require sound and lighting,” he explained.

Like many of the people who come to work for this organisation, Horváth is now part of the furniture. “I started my Sziget career in 2009 as stage manager for the main stage, it’s funny to think that’s almost 10 years ago. It’s gone very quickly but the production has improved year on year.

It’s great that they’re celebrating 25 years because I’m only 29 yet I’ve spent most of my working life knowing this festival!”

Márk Bóna, Production Assistant & right hand man to Horvath, added: “I help to take care of the main stage, the A38 stage, and the Europe stage, so it’s a very busy job! I specifically look after the technical specifications and need of these stages - discussing details of what the artists can bring in for their performances, and what will be provided when they arrive on site.

Together, we make sure everybody has what they need in order to be happy with their show.”

Pepei Lotta Arrimo, the festival’s Main Stage Manager has spent the last 4 years working her way up to the position she currently holds: the lady in

charge of stage managing the festival’s biggest and busiest stage. The Finn told TPi: “I started my Sziget career when I came here as an intern, to learn more about the festival was run and to work with the promoters. Then Zsolt Szicsó paid a visit to Finland, and I met up with him. He asked if I’d like to come back to Hungary and help out again, and the rest is history; I love it here!

“Being a part of this crew has really helped me to develop the way I work. I’ve changed a lot over the last 4 years. When I first came here I knew almost nothing about stage-managing, because I was a new stage assistant, not a manager. I was really ambitious but I didn’t really know about handling the stage. I’d even say I was afraid of it! But now, it’s my second home. I’m looking after over 80 crew daily coming in and out of here, however, I’m still very much learning...” she smiled.

INFASTRUCTURE Tamás Kenesei, a Technical Manager for the infrastructure part of the technical department joined the conversation: “My role within the technical department is to be responsible for the complete background information sign off and the infrastructure of the festival site, so a big part of our job is doing the work that is not visible to the visitors. We are responsible for the sewage, electricity, power, a lot of tents, various installations, setting up the buildings, cleaning, waste removal, and gaining permissions from the local authorities that are involved in putting on the event.

“It’s also our job to maintain the site, as it’s pretty large: 70 acres in fact.

It really is a 24-hour job, so we work in shifts which are split between 10 people. Everybody we work with, every assistant, has a very important job who help to make Sziget the success that it is.”

A SOUND SOLUTION Martin Audio PA systems were once again all over the massive 7-day festival. The final leg of a 3-event tour of the country, which included Volt and Balaton Sound. Capital Sound supplied two trucks of equipment, 48

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SZIGET

Head of Production, Daniel Benis; Mojo Barriers’ Rik Beulin and Stanley Jilsen; International Communications at Sziget Zsuzsa Kövér; Part of the production team: Tibor Horváth & Zsolt Szicsó.

including the bulk of the MLA, MLD, MLX and MLA Compact enclosures, while Martin Audio’s Polish partners, Musnicki, provided the remainder of Martin Audio’s flagship PA for the 25th edition of this landmark event.

In addition to main stage, Martin Audio premier PA systems once again featured on the Colosseum and Europe stages, courtesy of the manufacturer’s Hungarian partner, BG Event. Capital Sound has worked the event almost continuously for 12 years and MLA has featured for the past three. Capital’s Operations and Development Director, Paul Timmins, said that the recent creation of a state-of-the-art loading dock backstage, impacting on the coverage area, required different optimisations to be programmed into the proprietary DISPLAY software. “We tweak the system year on year as there’s always improvements that can be made,” he said.

“The beauty of Sziget is that they always want to provide the best when it comes to sound systems.”

Thus Capital made minor modifications to the tried and tested formula.

This largely affected the MLX subwoofer design, with 48 MLX arranged this time in a spaced cardioid array, comprising 16 evenly spaced stacks of 3 enclosures. This provided LF extension to a system that comprised 2 17-element MLA drops and an MLD Downfill at the base.

There were 2 side hangs of 9 MLA and an MLD Downfill, while 16 W8LC Compact Line Array elements were spaced either along the front of the stage and on top of the subs to boost nearfield coverage.

Capital again fielded four MLA delays in different MLA/MLX combinations, 80m back from the stage. They also provided 2 MLA Compact hangs alongside the relay screens behind the main FOH tower,

with four WS218X subs operating in an end-fire configuration further warming up the sound for the audience at the rear of the site.

The PA optimisations were carefully set to avoid sound spillage to the numerous other stages. “The second stage is massive and runs all night, which is why the sub design was so important,” Timmins emphasised.

The pedigree of Capital’s crew matched that of the PA, with Kevin Smith as crew boss, Toby Donovan system teching and Marty Beath assistant PA tech, assisted by Hungarian technical crew, headed by Marco Mezi.

This provided the perfect soundscape for an all-star line-up, including Kasabian, P!nk, alt-J, Tim Odell, and many more. “MLA has now become highly respected for its capabilities at outdoor festivals,” stated Paul Timmins. “The Sziget organisation was happy with the technical production and most visiting sound engineers by now are familiar with MLA, and everyone knows that if Capital is providing the PA then they will have a good show.” He added that having BG Event on site was a further benefit: “Because they are local, if we suddenly find we need extra kit they will be able to find it.”

Capital also provided 2 Avid Profile consoles at the main stage FOH and 2 Yamaha CL5’s for the monitor position on as a flip-flop system.

Meanwhile, BG Event equipped the Colosseum stage with 22 MLA Compact cabinets, 8 WS218X subwoofers and 2 XD12 cabinets for infill. As this was mainly a DJ domain they also provided 4 Martin Audio LE1500 and a pair of WS218X enclosures for DJ monitoring. Over on the Europe stage the company fielded a Martin Audio W8L Longbow system, deploying 10 cabinets and 8 W8LS subwoofers. Onstage were 8 Martin Audio LE2100 floor 50

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SZIGET

Audio Crew Chief, Marci Mezei; Capital Sound’s Paul Timmins; Main Stage Manager, Pepei Lotta Arrimo; Artist Liasion Officers Chloe Paillard & Emma-Lotta Juutilainen; The live video department.

wedges, with a WS18X and LE1500 for drum monitoring.

Donovan stated: “The Sziget production team are brilliant; they are always keen to do whatever it takes to make this festival the absolute best it can be. We prepped in the UK for a few days in advance then we had 3 build days on site here for the 7 show days. In terms of the system, the infrastructure of the MLA rig is pretty modular so in terms of drive racks and distribution, it’s very much the same as some of the other big events we’ve done this year back in the UK such as the BST shows in Hyde Park.”

Donovan stated: “They’ve got it sussed here; there’s so many different elements I enjoy. Firstly, all of the techs who work together are two thirds local Hungarian crew, and we only see them once or twice a year. It’s so nice to work with a whole different team of people. It presents challenges of course, but it’s really nice for us to see those challenges accomplished together, plus, technically speaking, they are absolutely spot on.”

And for Capital Sound, it was a case of drawing on 12 years’ experience at this site. Summing up the event overall, Paul Timmins declared that, “once again the event was a complete success.”

48’s and an abundance of generic molefays. For control an MA Lighting grandMA2 Full Size and grandMA2 Light are set up at FOH. The live video department, headed up by Szabolcs TV and Multicam Director, and Lars Lupige, TV Technical Director, looked after the main stage video content, which is cut from live feeds and screened on a classic L-R IMAG system with an upstage video wall. Gyöngyösi said: “We film every concert on the main stage, and if we have the permission of the band, we also live stream it to Facebook or other media channels. For some of the concerts, we even obtain the rights to record their performance and use it for a coverage on a local Hungarian TV show.”

The video hardware is rented from Aquarium, a local club in Budapest.

He continued: “We provide the camera team, but we use the equipment from the club. We install it at the festival and after the shows have finished, we de-rig and it goes back into their equipment room. They have some good kit because they get some big names going int to play there.

“Sziget is a big operation; we have 5 camera operators, various video technicians and our TV sound engineer.”

For video switcher duties, it’s a Black Magic 2 ME, a model Gyöngyösi highly praises: “It’s good for sound cameras. It has 20 inputs so we can attach 20 videos in 1, we can switch it to multiple outputs, with 5 camera operators.”

VISUAL VIBRANCY Mark Kontra, Head of Lighting at the main stage, as well as the area’s lighting and rigging designer, who also advances the rigging plots for the Stageco roof team, stopped by the backstage area for a chat. Now in his 7th year working with Sziget, he explained how his rental company Colossal, manages the ever-changing, weeklong lighting needs for the performers. “I split my crew into two parts - one that works with the headliner act during the overnight load-in and the other that is here for the daytime to look after everyone else. Kontra also advances the rigging plots for the Stageco roof team.

The fixtures chosen were Vari-Lite VL3500 Washes, Robe BMFL Spots, Robe Pointes, Robe Robin LEDWash 600’s, Robe ColorStrobes, CitySkape

BARRICADE BRAINS For the 3rd consecutive year, Mojo Barriers’ Rik Beulin and Stanley Jilesen oversaw the build and contract management for Sziget’s barricade requirements. Primarily, the design remained the same, changing only with headline acts’ bespoke staging needs.

“Our design changed a bit when P!nk played because she had an extra b-stage put in place, which meant there had to be more crowd barriers too.

Then, after she had played, on the Thursday morning I did a little rebuild to 52

SZIGET

make it the normal festival setup again.

We built the main stage in just over a one-day, but it was tough 40-degree heat isn’t easy to work in! But, it’s all worth it; the production here is just amazing. The teams are very direct but very relaxed, so it’s very easy to get your job done.”

Just over 400m of barricade, 50m of High Fence and 20 line-up gates were utilised. As well as stage barrier within the main stage arena and lineup gates throughout the festival site, Mojo also supplied its high fence to the main stage FOH in order to enhance security and improve the aesthetics of the structure. Beulink installs the elements with a team of 12 local crew.

The familiar barrier design - which sees a crowd breaker installed at the main stage area - allows the pressure to be kept off the people towards the front of the stage, fulfilling the Mojo motto of “safer is always better.”

Last year, Jilsen told TPI: “It’s great to work on such a progressive festival, one which has such a brilliant team and which is constantly evolving, and we look forward to building on our relationship in the future.”

This year, Mojo renewed its contract as Sziget’s preferred barrier supplier.

our international supplier network and involving more knowledge and experience to make Sziget a very unique experience in the festival market.

He concluded by giving his thoughts on the the future of Sziget. “For 2018, we’ve got plenty of new ideas on the agenda, but the most challenging will be the re-design of our Main Stage and a real reduction in our carbonfootprint with the green initiatives we have coming. We want to host a truly green festival in every way possible. We want Sziget to become a sustainable festival on a very professional level; that will be our common goal over the next few years.”

A PERFORMER PERSPECTIVE One of the performance highlights of 2017 had to be from Mancunian electro duo, Hurts. Not only was their production one of the stand-out designs of the week, but offstage, the band were very pleased to be returning to the island venue. Frontman Theo Huthcraft said: “We compare this festival to Glastonbury. It’s in the same league, and I think more people should come and visit it to realise that. We play festivals every week during the summer & the attention to detail here is second to none, for artists & production. We get treated really well and that’s why it’s a pleasure to play at Sziget.”

TPi Show photos: Rockstar Photographers, Crew photos: TPi http://sziget.hu/fesztiva www.capital-sound.co.uk www.colossal.hu www.stageco.com www.mojobarriers.com

THE FUTURE OF PRODUCTION Head of Production, Daniel Benis said: “I’m really proud of my magnificent crew and the marvellous subcontractors I work with - not only do these people work to a very professional standard, but they are also really passionate in the way they deliver. Our common thinking is just perfect; we have a good team, and combined, we create great productions. I am pushing my team to acquire my ‘production trinity’ way of thinking which is health & safety / production professionalism / cost effective implementation. Then we can proceed for the next 25 years by expanding

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Area Four Industries UK Unit 5-6 Beechwood Estate Cattle Dyke, Gorefield Wisbech Cambridgeshire PE13 4NR T +44 (0)1945 410700 info@areafourindustries.co.uk

JOHN LEGEND Blending the spectacle of an arena show with the intimacy of a club night, the Darkness and Light tour saw John Legend lifted to a whole new level, as Pete Brewis discovers...

When the Darkness and Light tour rolled in to Manchester for the sixth show of its 24-date European run, there was an added layer of significance to the night. Having reopened just one week earlier with a star-studded evening of defiant remembrance, Manchester Arena needed the deft touch of a class act to bring things back to business-asusual. A steady hand and a powerful voice to hit just the right note.

Happily, with his perfect blend of date-night escapism and loveovercomes-all sincerity, Legend proved the ideal man for the job. The Darkness and Light tour fulfilled the promise of its name by delivering an evening rich in visual and emotional contrasts, where personal moments were woven into the very fabric of the show, from the singer’s principled pleas for justice and compassion in troubled times, to the candid inclusion of home-movie moments with his wife and child.

Aside from this heightened intimacy, Darkness and Light marked a significant step up in scale for Legend, as Production Manager Chris Stinebrink noted: “At 6 trucks in the States and 11 here in Europe, this is John’s largest tour to date,” he said. “That man can go up with a piano and wow an entire arena on his own - I’ve seen it happen. But it’s nice that we’re bringing in something that’s a complete show so that the audience can see John in a way they haven’t really seen him before. It’s really awesome that the production level has gotten to this point.”

This next-level approach was clear from the very beginning of the show as Legend and his piano made a dramatic entrance by lowering to the stage on a scissor lift platform, before rolling downstage to get up-close with the audience. The lift formed a key element in a dynamic set, seamlessly rolling back upstage to join the rest of the band, but returning when required for 54

PRODUCTION PROFILE

Opposite and bellow: The John Legend Darkness and Light tour in full swing.

solo performances, and to raise the singer in to the clouds for the show finale, So High. Supplied by TAIT, the lift represented a sizable investment in the show, but a worthwhile one, as Tour Manager - and Tour Accountant - John Warren observed. “It’s packaged intelligently and the support from TAIT is world class,” he said. “You get what you pay for; if I’ve got my artist on a piano lift going 12ft in the air, I want to know it’s safe. So, yes: TAIT it is.”

To allay concerns about weight, All Access Staging was asked to supply a special tour deck that could safely support the 5,000lb load and ensure the piece would roll effortlessly downstage. An addition not required for the concrete-slab venues in the US, but essential for the arena-heavy European leg of the tour. A second, alternative kit with a straight riser was also carried for use in some of the smaller venues, where there was insufficient space to allow rolling.

TAIT was also responsible for building the custom rig that supported another of the show’s key stage elements, a series of moving video walls from Screenworks. Three main trusses each carried 2 video walls that tracked on and off stage, as well as rotating left to right. These allowed the set to constantly reform, breaking apart to reveal the band upstage, lining up to hide the back of the stage completely, or coming together to enclose Legend in a tight box of video effects.

With such a kinetic set, and the occasional need to adapt its configuration to suit smaller venues, it was vital that everyone on stage was in the right place at the right time, as Stage Manager Joey Fairchild explained. “I work real close with the band to make sure they know if there are any changes, and we have spotters on stage watching to make sure everything’s clear for the screens. A lot’s happening in the dark and around

the band, so we have to spike the stage very clearly every day too, so that band members are hitting their mark and the screens can come behind them or in front of them without any problem.”

DESIGNED TO SHINE Jonathan Goldstein of Outland Visual took on the creative direction and production design of the show, with programming carried out by Mark Butts and John DaCosta - the latter joining the tour as Lighting and Video Director.

The aim of the design was to keep Legend the central focus at all times - from the moment he arrived on stage, framed by an oval cut out in the upstage video wall pieces, through to the more intimate moments downstage, boxed in by a metallic shimmer of video content; or at the piano, where spotlights were dropped in favour of more theatrical front, back and side lighting.

Lighting, supplied by Neg Earth, was primarily made up of Vari-Lite VL3500 washes for the floor, with Claypaky Scenius Unicos as a base fixture and Claypaky Sharpys used across the rig. Vari-Lite VL3015, TMV Solaris Flares and rows of Ayrton MAGICPANEL completed the picture. The MAGICPANELs used almost 116 parameters each, eating up channels and requiring some hefty processing - which was provided by a line of three MPUs. Control was via an MA Lighting grandMA2, with a grandMA2 Light for backup.

It was a show rich in visual texture, using the giant video wall panels both together as a single surface and as separate pillars of imagery - or solid colours, throwing individual performers into dramatic silhouette.

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JOHN LEGEND

The main PA comprised L-Acoustics K1 and K2; TAIT provided the staging elements for the shows including the piano lift which saw Legend being hoisted 12ft in the air.

Content came from a Frankenbox system, using a PRG Mbox media server, triggered by the grandMA2. A separate automation team responding to cues from FOH, controlled the movement of the videowalls.

Above all the technology, it was the crew that DaCosta credited for the nightly success of the show. “I can’t understate how valuable they are,” he said. “I press the buttons and make it work, but they put it together every single day and they’re just simple amazing at it. It’s really a nice big family out here that works hard every day to give the audience an experience every night. Without them, I can’t do my job.”

For the majority of the show, live video was restricted to the IMAG on either side of the stage, screened in monochrome or colour to match the main stage content. The exception came during 2 songs where a dedicated feed of Legend was sent to various panels. Thus Lay Me Down featured the singer flanked by colossal images of himself in black and white, and Who Do We Think We Are reproduced a piano-seated close-up in a colour-treated triptych of blue and red.

Delivering those images was IMAG Director Julien Hogg, with equipment supplied by Alex Leinster of Video Design. Three camera feeds - 2 long lenses out front and a wide on hand held in the pit - went through a Ross Carbonite Black 2ME desk. “It’s a relatively new desk and it works brilliantly; top quality, top notch and engineered very well. We’ve had no dramas at all.

The equipment was immaculate and expertly put together.”

Though no effects generators are used in the desk, Hogg praised IMAG Engineer Paul Barry for his work adding subtle effects on the cameras.

“We’ve got a black and white effect where I crush the blacks and push the peaks a little bit during the black and white parts of the show, then for some of the more colourful, upbeat songs, we push the chroma up to make it look a bit more funky and vibrant,” Hogg explained.

By keeping the IMAG linked, but largely separate from the main content, it became one of the show’s more adaptable elements, thus included or

excluded without affecting the overall design of the show. Though most of the venues in the States had an IMAG package, the smaller theatres went without. Over in Europe, however, the packed arena dates required that IMAG, provided by Video Design, be added to the itinerary.

“Julien our IMAG Director is doing a fantastic job following along, matching the content on stage with colour cues, and perfectly matched shading,” noted Stinebrink. “Within a couple of days he was on top of all that.”

SCREENED OUT, CONNECTED IN Though the continuously shifting videowalls helped deliver a powerfully engaging visual dynamic to the show, they came with some significant audio challenges. As the stage reconfigured to focus attention on Legend and a shifting selection of his backing band, keeping the musicians connected, both with each other and the monitor desk, became increasingly difficult. Wrangling with the RF was Monitor Engineer Jon ‘J.O.’ Ostrin.

“For the most part we’ve overcome the RF problems,” said Ostrin. “I have 5 wireless vocal mics and 3 wireless horn mics, with horn players going from upstage left to downstage right - sometimes with no video wall obstruction, sometimes the video wall is 3 deep - it keeps moving as the show changes. I try to get down there between the different configurations of the wall in the afternoon, but usually when we sound check they’ll take it upon themselves to walk around and let me know if there’s anywhere they’re drifting.”

Reliability was key; once the night was underway, the unrelenting momentum of the show left very few opportunities for the team to get on stage and fix any problems that arose. “I’ve moved over to Shure PSM1000 mainly for the stronger RF I’m getting with the Shure,” remarked Ostrin.

From his upstage-left position, Ostrin had no direct line of sight with the 56

JOHN LEGEND

FOH Engineer Troy Milner; Lighting and Video Director John DaCosta; Production Manager Chris Stinebrink takes a break with the crew; Monitor Engineer John ‘J.O.’ Ostrin; IMAG Director Julien Hogg.

singer for the majority of the show, so relied on a second monitor with FOH camera feed to check for signs of any problems. Having mixed for Legend for the past 8 years, he has a good sense of what the singer needs to stay in the zone and perform at his best. “He has no visual contact with the band, so he’s 100% relying on me to give certain punches from the horn section, maybe a certain backbeat or tempo,” explained Ostrin. “Then I’ll ride the background singers in and out of his ears, just to keep him in the music.

Because he gets pretty dramatic out there, and I don’t want him to have to fake it; I want him to really feel it.

“When John gets up there, he goes into this mind-set, kind of like a prize fighter. He’s totally immersed in that world, so when anything goes wrong with mic or the piano, it takes him out of it, which takes away the flow of the show for him. That’s why all those little things like RF for wireless mics and in-ears are kept as clean as possible and are of vital importants.”

Future Sonics molds were used as standard with the exception of guitar and percussion, who used their own Jerry Harvey Audio moulds. “I’d prefer it if everyone was on the same unit so we’re all in the same room, but we worked it out in rehearsal,” explained Ostrin. “I use a lot of outboard EQ. I’ve spent 20 plus years as a FOH engineer and I pretty much approach in-ears the same way. I’ll actually EQ the mixes before I start sending stuff to it.

Basically, I got in close, brought my guitar player to the console and said, ‘Here’s your graph, touch it up however you want’.”

Buttkickers - low-frequency servo drivers mounted physically to the risers - acted as a subwoofer for the percussion, keyboard player and drummer, all of who might otherwise have felt disconnected. “Sitting 26ft upstage they’re not feeling the subwoofers from the PA system, so this allows them to feel the low end and that connects them to the music,” said Ostrin. “Believe it or not, when you couple that with in-ears it’s a whole new dimension. When you turn it off it feels like you’re walking barefoot after

strolling around on cushy Air Jordans.”

CONTINUING THE CONNECTION Stationed behind an Avid S6L at FOH, Troy Milner was tasked with doing justice to star’s dynamic vocals. Having used the Profile on previous tours with Legend, Milner was keen to try out this newer console. As an Avid product, the S6L naturally proved very convenient to use with ProTools - with a single Cat 6 cable he could run 64 tracks right off the desk into ProTools on a Apple MacBook Pro, and playback as well. Milner’s verdict was generally positive: “It seems to be great,” he said. “It sounds really good and once it’s up and running its been solid as a rock. We don’t even sound check anymore since I can do the virtual sound check with the previous night’s tracks to fine tune things.

“The other outboard stuff is pretty basic: I’ve got a Bricasti M7 reverb for John’s vocal, which sounds fantastic; I’m using a Summit DCL200 inserted on the piano, which seems to work really well; and then I’ve got a Smart Research C2 limiter over the whole mix, which just glues everything together for me,” said Milner, adding that the desk did a good job of handling everything else. “The reverbs and the effects in the desk sound really nice.”

As a personal preference, Milner used Waves add-ons such as SLL channel strips. The EQ on which was best suited to achieving what he was looking for and the C6 on a few elements to shape things up and keep everything under control. “John’s very dynamic so he’ll go from where you can hear a pin drop and you can hear the quiver in his throat to just full-out power and it’s a little bit of a challenge to keep him settled in the mix to where it doesn’t hurt when he gets going,” said Milner. “But when he goes for it, it’s amazing.”

The main system comprised L-Acoustics K1’s with K2’s underneath, 58

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JOHN LEGEND

L-R: Jon Ostrin (Monitor Engineer), Nick Boulton (Audio Crew Chief / Stagetech), Troy Milner (FOH Engineer), Dan Draper and Tom Woolsey (Audio Techs); The Production Crew from L-R: Cally Harris (Dressing Room Coordinator), Candice Rukes (Production Coordinator), John Warren (Tour Manager), Joey Fairchild (Stage Manager), Yader Mena (Head Rigger), Robin Henry (Automation), Tom Armstrong (2nd Rigger) and Dave Bainbridge (Automation Op); LED crew chief Denny Relf with LED techs Clif Jackson, Eric Wallace and Sam Dicario; Catering Crew Chief Eddie McQueen; Finally the Lighting Crew made up of Andy Beller (Lighting Crew Chief), Jake Whittingham and Davide Palumbi (Lighting Techs), and Lighting & Video Director, John DaCosta..

while the side hangs were entirely K2’s. A centre cluster of 6 L-Acoustics KARAs, directly over the stage, pointed down to better fill the near-stage area, and 4 stacks of KARAs on the subs were used to bring the image down to the audience right at the front. 8 of L-Acoustics’ new KS28 subs were ground-stacked on each side, with additional K1SBs flown directly behind the main hangs. “It’s working great,” said Milner. “Thom, Nick, Dan and Pat from BCS Audio have been doing a wonderful job of getting the rig dialled in perfectly each day. I couldn’t be happier with how Thom tunes and lines up the PA for me.”

All the singers used Shure wireless handhelds with Telefunken M81 capsules, with a standard selection of Shure 52’s, SM57’s and 181’s plus Heil PR 28’s for tom mics and a couple of Neumann KM 184’s for high hats and rides covering the rest of the kit.

reasonably double stacked, so everything can just roll in and roll out at a good pace.”

This practical approach to trucking, twinned with a razor-sharp crew, has helped keep the working day as short and sweet as possible. “Joey is a fantastic Stage Manager,” commented Stinebrink. “He’s whipped this thing into shape to a point where we can do a later load in and still get the show up so everyone gets to sleep a little more.” For his part, Fairchild is quick to forward on this praise. “It’s a great crew,” he said. “Everyone’s just really on their thing.”

This flow of respect seemed a consistent theme of the John Legend tour, one that chimed with the central message of the show itself. Whether it be the audience out front or the crew backstage, Darkness and Light was designed to give everyone involved the best possible experience.

Indeed, love and respect formed Legend’s parting words as he closed the show with an anthem to Martin Luther King’s message of resistance and a nod to Manchester’s recent past. “We know that love conquers hate; we know that love conquers fear as well... I love you Manchester,” he declared.

And, judging by the beaming faces of the departing crowd, Manchester loved him back.

TPi Photos: Andrew Benge www.johnlegend.com www.taittowers.com http://allaccessinc.com www.negearth.com www.video-design.co.uk www.bcsaudio.com www.thepantrymaid.com www.phoenix-bussing.co.uk www.yourock-weroll.com

MEALS AND WHEELS As any PM will tell you, a tour operates at its best when communication flows, the crew gels, and everyone is well fed and rested and by all accounts, Darkness and Light hit each one of these marks with style. On the food front, for example, catering crew chief Eddie McQueen and his team from The Pantry Maid kept everyone fuelled with a menu to satisfy the tastes of both the US and UK contingents throughout the day. Established in 2011, the company has proved themselves a firm favourite with the production team and so were quickly welcomed back on board for this tour.

More familiar faces, this time the tried and tested wheels of Phoenix busses and EST trucks were charged with keeping the tour’s crew and equipment on the road. The provision of 11 trucks on the European leg proved a boon to those loading in and out each day. “We’re very lucky,” said Stinebrink. “We work for someone who respects what we do and wants to make sure that everyone’s happy and everyone has a great day everyday.

As a result, we aren’t ramming trucks top-to-bottom; most of them are 60

KINEKT KINEKT IS A SMALL, LIGHT-WEIGHT, MODULAR S C A N N I N G L A S E R F I X T U R E T H AT C A N C O N N E C T TO ANY NUMBER OF ADDITIONAL KINEKT UNITS. The laser beams emitted by each KINEKT laser fixture, meet on an X and Y axis to create laser scanned effects. As the fixtures are joined together they can create endless array of laser beams as long or as wide as the venue or stage will allow.

KINEKT comes with an FB4 control in-built and works with DMX, Art-Net and BEYOND, the connections on the KINEKT allow for simple in and out daisy chain connection. Each KINEKT has a 3w laser beam comprising of red, green and blue diodes. The mounting system is designed so that the units can be connected on any side of the fixture.

UK +44 1322 293 135 | USA +1 214 2700665 AUSTRALIA +61 403 703 731 | SPAIN +34 938 000291 info@er-productions.com | www.er-productions.com

IN PROFILE

ER PRODUCTIONS

Opposite: ER’s products can be seen everywhere from Ibiza’s clubs, to Robbie Williams’ live productions, to the Tim McGraw and Faith Hill world tour; The new Kinekt and its custom truss at ER’s Dartford warehouse.

IN PROFILE: ER PRODUCTIONS TPi’s Ste Durham visited the company’s Dartford office to discuss humble beginnings, cutting-edge technology and international expansion.

Business partners Ryan Hagan and Marc Webber first began developing lasers together in 1995, constantly experimenting with the fixtures and looking for new ways to push the technology forward.

Webber began: “Ryan was touring with The Australian Pink Floyd Show in Europe and production decided that they wanted a new laser supplier, since the gear they were using was quite dated. They asked Ryan to look for a new supplier in Europe, which inspired us to write a business plan and, using half of our own money and a loan for the rest, start up ER Productions.

“It was a risk at the time, but we were confident in the technology. The rest of the industry back home had invested in older stock and couldn’t justify buying anything new, which automatically gave us the edge. We’ve always reinvested since then to maintain that outlook.”

It’s this shared ethos that has kept the pair together since, taking the company from strength to strength. Webber continued: “We can disagree on some things but we are still really close after all these years. We split most duties 50/50 although, as things have grown, we have started to cover different aspects. Ryan tends to cover the advertising side of things and I tend to look after accounting side, but that’s the only real split in responsibility. We are definitely different characters, but I think we complement each other well.

“We still want to be hands-on and get out to shows as it allows us to understand what we’re investing in. That’s what gives us inspiration for new products, investments and modifications to existing fixtures.”

At the time when Hagan and Webber took their first steps into the industry, lasers were big, cumbersome and difficult to use. Running them consumed lots of power, cooling them required lots of water, and they were unreliable at the best of times. Webber said: “The way tech has improved in this short time is unbelievable. The combination of lower cost and better capabilities means that you can be more creative with laser systems and there’s also a lot less risk involved.”

Surprisingly, given how synonymous lasers have become with electronic music, Webber claimed that ER doesn’t dedicate as much of its stock to the thriving EDM scene as you might imagine. He said: “People often think that, but the majority of our lasers are used on rock, pop, and heavy metal gigs. We even made our first foray into country music for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s Soul2Soul world tour, which was an incredible looking show.”

Despite this, the company has still ensured its place at the forefront of the EDM movement by 63

ER PRODUCTIONS

ER Productions Co-Founder Marc Webber; Carl Cox at Pure with an ER laser display.

opening an office at the wellspring of club culture itself.

“The Ibiza office is a really good training ground for our up and coming operators and it allows us to experiment with new effects,” Webber explained. “When you’re on the road you have to know that what you do is going to work consistently, so you can’t really afford to try new things with the fixtures. The clubs are great for doing that and give great live experience to our younger guys.”

As well as its proving ground on the White Isle, ER has recently strengthened its foothold in the US by signing a new 5-year lease on its 6,000 sq ft office in Las Vegas. Webber said: “We’ve now got the same quantities of equipment in each of our locations, which means we can fully support the same tour without really having to use air freight. We have 4 full time staff in the US now, as well as freelancers, so it’s definitely somewhere we are keen to expand.”

The mounting system and brackets have been designed to enable connection to another unit on any side of the fixture, which means any shape can be created including squares, crosses, circles and so on.

Hagan continued: “When we set out to develop Kinekt, we wanted to design an array fixture that wasn’t restricted to either a horizontal or vertical axis and could be used modularly, allowing us to create different shapes and forms, some of which were not achievable until now.”

Since launching Kinekt this summer, the system has been used to create custom laser designs for DJ duo, Axwell ^ Ingrosso, at Creamfields Steelyard, on the Robbie Williams Heavy Entertainment Show tour and during Italian singer Vasco Rossi’s record breaking show at Enzo Ferrari Park in Modena.

ER already has 500 Kinekts in stock and has just launched a complimentary truss system that streamlines the installation of large numbers of the fixtures, allowing them to be pre-rigged in-house and shipped around the world.

KINEKT In addition to expanding its global footprint, ER has always been conscious of the benefits that come from expanding and improving its inventory.

The company currently has 24 full time staff at its UK office, 15 of whom can be out on the road at any one time, which allows Hagan and Webber a constant source of feedback.

Webber explained: “I think the secret of our success is that Ryan, myself, and our specialist project managers, programmers and technicians, are always out on the road, working on a huge body of creative work. This is fed back into our product development and keeps everyone’s creative juices flowing.”

This verve for developing and manufacturing cutting edge systems is well demonstrated by ER’s latest innovation - the Kinekt modular laser system.

“The Kinekt is an evolution of our Laserblade and Lase-Array products, which dramatically changed the laser industry. They were the first laser fixtures to enable laser beams to project parallel arrays of beams – Kinekt is the next step”, said Hagan.

ER has every right to be proud of the Kinekt; a small, lightweight modular laser system that can connect to any number of additional Kinekt units. The laser beams emitted by each Kinekt laser fixture meet on an X and Y axis to create laser scanned effects. When joined together, the Kinekt units can create an endless array of laser beams as long or as wide as a venue or stage will allow in any direction.

SETTING STANDARDS Another of ER’s priorities over the years has been to ensure that lasers got a fair trial when it came to how they were perceived alongside other, more established, touring departments. Both Hagan and Webber were confident that, afforded the right amount of due diligence, lasers could ultimately be perceived an integral part of any touring family, rather than the industry’s truculent stepchild.

“Essentially we’ve tried to make sure that both our products and crewmembers are held to an incredibly professional standard,” said Webber. “It’s been a steady process, and the perceived risk is still there, but I feel like it’s improved over the last couple of years. People are used to seeing lasers around on site now and they know how many safeguards we have in place. There didn’t used to be laser systems with emergency stop buttons or physical masks, now it’s common practice. We have even manufactured our own bespoke stop circuit and are experimenting with gyroscopic mounts for the fixtures to make them safer still.”

He added: “We work internationally to different guidelines and have even contributed to the rewrite of the PLASA laser safety guidance for the UK. This is something with which we were very proud to be involved.“ TPi Photos: ER Productions and TPi Magazine www.er-productions.com 64

YEARS

ER PRODUCTIONS CELEBRATES A DECADE IN LASERS Founded by Ryan Hagan and Marc Webber in 2007, ER Productions is an award-winning laser specialist providing cutting edge laser design to some of the most iconic shows in the world.

Known for its innovative custom designed laser systems, which have helped to define the look of countless concert tours, one off installations and flagship TV shows including the X Factor and The Voice, the company marks its 10th birthday this year.

It has been rollercoaster journey for the British business, which has risen swiftly through the ranks, making a name for itself as one of the top suppliers of lasers worldwide.

With offices in London, Ibiza, Las Vegas and Australia’s Gold Coast, ER Productions will be showcasing some of its innovations at pop-up events over the coming months.

For more information, sign up to the newsletter at www.er-productions.com.

UK +44 1322 293 135 | USA +1 214 2700665 | AUSTRALIA +61 403 703 731 | SPAIN +34 938 000291 info@er-productions.com | www.er-productions.com

NOVEMBER 30, PRINTWORKS LONDON

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Backstage Academy graduate, Matt Williams, took some time away from his desk at MelodyVR to talk discuss virtual reality and his path into the live events sector.

How did you break into the industry?

I was always interested in electronics and live events but I started to take it seriously when I applied to study at Backstage Academy. The course really appealed to me as it was so orientated around live events. Through the 3 years, but especially in the first, we were given grounding in lighting, audio, rigging and pyrotechnics.

This meant we could really see what our favourite skills and passions were.

Did your focus change during your studies?

When I first started at Backstage Academy, I aligned myself with lighting. Both prior to enrolling and during my studies I freelanced on various corporate projects in my hometown of Gilford. I am still passionate about the field but during my 3 years I got to work on some major events including Radio 1’s Big Weekend where I got to work as an assistant stage manager alongside Joe Clark. So by the end of university I really became interested in the management side of live events.

Since graduating you have taken a position at MelodyVR. How did this opportunity begin?

The team came into Backstage Academy looking for students to help them out for a summer project in Ibiza. Unsurprisingly, the prospect of getting paid to go to the island for a 19 year old was too hard to pass up! During the summer I helped out with filming several of the super clubs out there. After the summer, the company offered me a part-time Production Assistant Job, which I juggled with my studies in my third year. Finally, when I graduated they offered me a job as a Production Manger.

What projects are you working on at the moment?

The next thing on the calendar is Life is Beautiful in Las Vegas. We are providing several VR positions so viewers will be able to move around the stage and be right there with the artists.

My role is to manage the crew we are sending out there, as well liaising with artist management and the festival’s production team. It’s really great work and it’s amazing to think that could potentially be seen by thousands of people.

What advice would you give to students hoping to carve out a career in event production?

The main advice would be not to pass on any freelance opportunities. It’s not only muchneeded experience but it teaches you invaluable people skills. The reality of working in the live events sector is that you will meet a complete stranger then have to work side-by-side for the next 5 days. Even if you end up losing money as a result during the early days, it’s something that should not be overlooked. For me, the combination of both study and real-world application was a winning formula, with the work in the classroom giving me the knowledge of correct procedure. Production Futures seems to offer students a chance make relevant industry contacts, which is vital, especially for those still unsure of what path to take.

What’s your next move after your first summer with MeldodyVR? We’re coming to the end of a busy summer having worked on several festivals including bluedot and Festival N°6 in the UK and Let It Roll Open Air in the Czech Republic. More widely I’m hoping to build my experience as well as my contacts. The world of VR is a great field to work in.

TPi http://melodyvr.com/ www.productionfutures.co.uk

67

FESTIVAL FOCUS

ROSKILDE www.roskilde-festival.dk

The Roskilde Festival Group and Meyer Sound have announced a unique partnership that will leverage its strengths as northern Europe’s largest music festival and a supplier of professional audio systems.

In 2018, all stages at the Roskilde Festival will deploy reinforcement systems exclusively from Meyer Sound, with the supplier assisting with training the festival’s own technical staff in audio system design, configuration and optimisation. The partners also outlined ambitious proposals for audience education and interactive participation, as well as the formation of a new Roskilde Festival Academy for high-level training throughout 2017.

In announcing the agreement, top-level management at both the festival and the company stressed the importance of their common roots and their shared commitment to musical excellence, continuing its focus on developing the audience experience.

Signe Lopdrup, CEO of the Roskilde Festival Group, commented: “The Roskilde Festival emerged from the counterculture of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, a time of astonishing creativity and innovation. As a non-profit foundation, we have maintained that same spirit, as we are driven by a passion for music and not the bottom line. In Meyer Sound, we found a partner with the same cultural heritage and with strong leadership willing to work with us to push festival sound to higher levels of quality and innovation.”

Meyer Sound Executive Vice President Helen Meyer, added: “We feel honoured that the Roskilde Festival reached out to us for a collaboration that is absolutely unique in our industry. Certainly we will offer our extensive technical resources to ensure optimum sound quality at every stage, and at the same time the festival will give us a full-scale field laboratory for new product development and evaluation of audience response.”

The partnership agreement was formed at Meyer Sound’s Berkeley headquarters during early 2017. In addition to Lopdrup, key Roskilde participants included Head of Production Bertel Baagøe, Production Manager Lars Liliengren, Commercial Partner Manager Lars Orlamundt, and Roskilde Festival Academy Project Manager Morten Büchert. For Meyer Sound, Helen Meyer was joined by the Sales Manager for Scandinavia,

Klaus Hansen, as well as members of the company’s education and R&D departments.

A 3-level program of training and education that involves both festival staff and future audiences will also be introduced, with the festival hiring and training its own technical staff for designing, deploying, and optimising all festival audio systems. The festival and the company will also work together on ways to educate audiences in sound technology, and to involve audiences in participatory sonic experiences using proprietary Meyer Sound technologies such as Constellation active acoustics and Space Map 3D panning; focusing on developing the competencies of up-and-coming engineers through a close mentoring and education program.

“We realise that hiring and training our own technical staff for sound and lighting is an ambitious step forward, one essentially unheard of in the festival world,” acknowledged Bertel Baagøe. “But we feel this is essential to make sure we can consistently provide the very best results. We want their Roskilde performance to be the highlight for every artist for their entire summer tour.”

The education components of the partnership will be under the direction of Roskilde Festival Academy Project Manager Morten Büchert, who also serves as a faculty member at Denmark’s Rhythmic Conservatory in Copenhagen.

Baagøe underlines that the experience of both Meyer Sound and Roskilde Festival means that the Academy will have an approach where mind-set and technical skills are equally important: “Greater understanding of sound leads to even greater musical enjoyment, and we are looking at ways to educate festivalgoers in the basics of audio science. With the launch of Roskilde Festival Academy, we will bring in Meyer Sound’s leading specialists, and together we will to offer advanced training to audio professionals throughout the year,” Baagøe concluded.

From 2018, Roskilde Festival’s exclusive Meyer Sound systems will be solely supplied by Bright Group, a leading Nordic provider of audio, video, lighting and staging services. “We are very excited about our role as production partner for Roskilde Festival, probably the most prestigious festival in northern Europe. This collaboration is about so much more than just supplying audio systems, and we are honoured to contribute to this forward-thinking project,” said Bright Sweden CEO Magnus Sjolund.

Photos: Nalle Vikstrom https://meyersound.com www.roskilde-festival.dk 68

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DBNAUDILE A long-standing supplier to Bestival, Audile first worked on the event in 2008 at its old home on the Isle of Wight. Already familiar with the new site at Lulworth through Audile’s equally long-standing relationship with sister event Camp Bestival, dbnAudile this year provided sound and lighting for The Box (previously the Big Top) for the eighth year running, in addition to sound for the Temple, sound and lighting for Bollywood, and lighting for Stacey’s and Reggae Roots. Stev managed sound for dbnAudile, while Nick Todd and Phil Woodbridge headed up the lighting team on site, working to designs by Rob Leach, who also project-managed the show.

In The Box, a d&b audiotechnik V-series system was provided for sound, comprising 24 V8/12, 10 V-SUBs and 4 J-INFRAs, powered by D80 amplifiers.

The system was controlled by an Avid Venue Profile desk with Lake LM44’s.

The monitor system comprised d&b M4 wedges with Q-SUBs for drum fill, and C7 for sidefill, with a Yamaha PM-5DRH in control. Two Shure UHF-R radio mics and 45 Sennheiser EW300 IEM systems were provided, together with a comprehensive stock of wired microphones and Dis. Two DJ set-ups of Pioneer, Allen & Heath and Technics kit completed the spec.

Claypaky fixtures featured heavily in The Box’s lighting rig with 14 Mythos2’s, 18 A.Leda B-EYE K10’s and 12 Stormy CCs in particular.

Effects included 12 Showtec Sunstrip Active DMX, 19 PixRoll 12’s and 12 2-lite molefays, with 12 ETC Source Fours Juniors for key light. A choice of ChamSys MQ-100 or Avolites Expert Pro desks was provided, with associated wings.

Over at the Temple, a d&b J-series system was provided - 20 J8/12’s

with 12 J-SUBs, with V7P and V10P fills, all powered by D80 amplifiers. A substantial DJ monitor system comprised 6 d&b V8’s and 2 V-SUBs, with a Soundcraft Vi1 for control. Two DJ set ups were provided; 2 Pioneer DJM900NXS2’s, 7 CDJ2000NXS2’s, an Allen & Heath Xone92, 4 Technics SL1210mk5Gs with Isonoe isolation feet, and a Serato SL4 system. Two Sennheiser EW935 radio mics were also available.

Bollywood was provided with the same spec of DJ kit, which was front end for a Funktion-One system. Resolution 5T and 4T were specified for front and rear stacks, respectively, with F221P and F121P subs. PSM-318’s provided the DJ monitoring, with MC2 amps and XTA processing used throughout the systems. Control was a Midas PRO1. Lighting comprised 6 Martin by Harman MAC700 Profile, 2 Atomic 3000 Strobes, 10 Aytron MagicDot-Rs, and 4 Sunstrip Actives, controlled by an Avolites Tiger Touch.

Lighting for Stacey’s comprised 6 Chauvet Rogue R1 FX-B LED blades with 12 Spectral 2500 Zoom, controlled by an Avolites Expert Pro. Reggae Roots featured a similar spec - 6 Robe Robin 600 LEDWashes with 8 Spectral 2500 Zoom, controlled by an Avolites Pearl Tiger.

The 2017 event posed a few challenges transitioning to Bestival’s new home, but the greater challenge was the atrocious weather conditions. Rob Leach stated: “Our onsite team of 20 worked tirelessly to deliver top-notch results in conditions that were far from ideal. They did us proud, their commitment was exemplary.

The invaluable support of Andy Grey and the Clockwork team also meant we had a very successful finish to the 2017 festival season.” www.dbnaudile.co.uk

ADLIB Adlib was chosen to provide audio and lighting at Bestival, including an L-Acoustics PA system for main stage audio and substantial main stage lighting rig featuring Claypaky, Martin by Harman, and Chauvet Professional fixtures.

Phil Kielty, Client Manager at Adlib, said: “The organisers required a high quality and reliable supplier who had experience of working on this type of fast-paced live event. This is our second year in a row supplying the main stage with audio and lighting to what is one of our final festivals of the year. Bestival, which extends beyond the UK’s usual festival season, is set in brilliant scenery and has a relaxed atmosphere on site, making the production team an absolute pleasure to work with.”

For audio on the main stage, Adlib supplied an L-Acoustics K1 system that was comprised of 24 boxes of K1, 16 boxes of K2, 12 KARA and 24 KS28 subwoofers, along with 30 L-Acoustics LA8 amplifiers. Sidefills were 4 L-Acoustics ARCS with 4 L-Acoustics SB28’s. Additionally, the company supplied a range of desks including 2 Avid VENUE Profile mixing consoles at FOH and 2 DiGiCo SD12’s for mixing monitors, with all the relevant control, microphones, multis and cabling.

For the lighting the main stage, Adlib supplied 23 Martin by Harman MAC Vipers, 12 MAC Viper Profiles, 16 MAC Quantums, 12 Claypaky Mythos and 10 Chauvet Professional Strike 4’s for the LED effect. The company also supplied a pair of MA Lighting grandMA2 Light desks with 4 followspots and a comprehensive floor package that included 8 Claypaky Mythos2’s.

Keilty continued: “After every project, we welcome a full post-event debrief to ensure the continuous development and improvement of our work. Bestival isn’t any different, every year we take a step back and with a fresh look, we exchange ideas with the production team in order to improve on the year before. Since they know what works best for the site and the line-up, it’s a team effort to put together an audio and lighting package that ticks all the boxes and satisfies everyone’s requirements.

“Except the fast-paced environment that is associated with the quick act changeover times, our experience working on the Bestial main stage was untroubled.”

He concluded: “Bestival is a multi-award winning indie festival that attracts a huge crowd from various age ranges who come to party away the weekend. We are thrilled to have been asked to the party and we can’t wait until the next one.” www.adlib.co.uk 72

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BESTIVAL

ER PRODUCTIONS

ER Productions has worked with Bestival regularly, often supplying and supporting specific stage, as it has done at Port for the last 4 years. For 2017 the company supplied Temple Stage with 5 brand new Kinekt units.

ER has also, in the past, been brought into the festival by artists or as part of a festival touring run, which was the case this year with The xx and Pet Shop Boys.

Co-Founder of ER, Ryan Hagan, commented: “The beauty about supplying multiple acts on the same stage is that the infrastructure stays in place, which lets our technicians focus on the creative aspects of the lasers.”

This year, ER supplied The xx on the main stage with 12 of its new Kinekt units and 11 brand new Lynx fixtures - its first outing in the UK. Hagan continued: “Most of the new fixtures ER Productions manufactures are controlled directly via DMX or ArtNet, so once we have installed, tested and signed off the safety aspects, we can hand control over to the Lighting Director to operate the show using an MA Lighting console.”

For Pet Shop Boys, the company supplied 16 BB3 units and 6 of its new Storm fixtures, which are high-powered RGB units. The BB3’s were controlled directly via DMX and the Storms have a FlashBack4 on board,

which can be operated via DMX and or ArtNet. The Temple stage was a new experience for ER. The company used 5 Kinekts to enhance the stage’s Asian theme. “ER technician, Rob Millard, operated the lasers on Temple for the duration of the festival and it looked fantastic,” said Hagan. He continued to discussed some of the issues faced this year: “The weather hit us hard and for a couple of hours the site was shut down. You need good, fast-thinking crew in these situations that know when to walk away and will pick up again quickly at the earliest opportunity possible. The wind also caused some headaches for the smoke, but having bought plenty of cable we were able to adjust the smoke units’ positions and let Mother Nature do the rest.”

Hagan went on to give his appraisal of ER’s new fixtures: “All of our fixtures are highly stable and robust, performing brilliantly during Bestival.

The new Storm, Lynx and Kinekts really pack a punch, creating standout laser effects that hold their own in a lighting heavy set up. Ultimately, when you have good creative people working as a team on a festival, magic happens.”

He concluded: “Bestival is always a pleasure to work on, from the planning stage to execution, we love it all. It’s a festival that strives to deliver something different and this makes it an enjoyable, collaborative and creative experience for us, which is why we keep coming back.” www.er-productions.com

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V FESTIVAL

V FESTIVAL

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A total of 700m of barricade was supplied to V Festival from a 9-strong Mojo Barriers team, including for stages, bars, FOH structures and the wristband exchange.

This year saw Mojo design a new configuration of the stage barriers to improve egress at the main stage. As well as a new layout, the team created a specific barrier configuration for P!nk’s show, due to the extra thrust added to the stage for her performance. Kosta Chaparov, Mojo’s project supervisor for V Festival commented: “The festival went really well this year, the ground is really good so the install was easy. We always take the profile of the festival goers into consideration when designing our barrier configurations, but the crowd here is very well behaved. With recent events proving that event safety is more important now than ever, we take our job incredibly seriously and take great pride in providing safety equipment to ensure the wellbeing of the public, artists and crew alike.” http://www.mojobarriers.com

Regular supplier Serious Stages provided V Festival’s main stage, which this year took the form of its new TZ four tower roof, with sloping gable design.

The steel stage, designed and manufactured by Serious, featured a 28.8m x 30m deck and side sheds measuring 18m wide x 7.2m deep, offering increased space to house various production elements. Serious also provided goalposts for the video screens and PA either side of the stage, a FOH structure measuring 7.2m x 7.2m for lighting and sound, as well as FOH camera platforms. This year was the second year Serious had supplied the festival, but this was only the third client for the new TZ design used for Glastonbury and the Elton John UK tour earlier this summer.

The new look TZ tower roof stage draws on 3 decades of experience supplying the world’s largest festivals and concerts and Serious’ tower system allows for much higher weight

loading capabilities. With an impressive weight loading ability of 6,000kg per cross arch, this stage is capable of housing large productions which are becoming increasingly more popular at festivals. The angled design of the goalpost legs allows for clearspan side sheds providing better weather protection and more room to move around with no obstacles. P!nk’s headline show on Saturday required additional elements to support her performance. She arrived by dropping down from a crane onto the stage and proceeded to be flown above the audience in a harness. Serious installed two 15.5m spot towers positioned either side of the FOH structure to fix wire attachments to carry the flying artist far out over the crowd. Two ‘Olympic’ towers were positioned between the stage and spot towers, allowing her to land and sing just above the heads of the audience. A 3.6m x 7.2m thrust was also added at the front of the stage. www.stages.co.uk

Arena Structures’ summer of supplying VIP backstage and site-wide facilities closed with V Festival, where Project Manager Lee Clarke oversaw the installation of over 3,200sq metres of temporary structures throughout the festival site.

A 25m x 25m artist catering area, featuring a 15m x 10m kitchen area, situated behind the Supernova Main Stage provided a contemporary hospitality venue for artists. Across a 9 day build, Clarke and his team also installed a 25m x 20m backstage structure for crew catering and a Press Tent to house national media and photographer briefings.

Festival revellers staying for the event’s duration entered the Essex site through Arena’s 10m x 30m Campsite Wristband Entrance, where security checked tickets and wristband entries, while conducting safety bag searches.

Within Chelmsford’s Hylands Park, Arena installed a further 5 First Aid structures, 2 Greenpeace Cup Return Points, wheelchair charging points, 2 security rest areas, a campsite research tent and refreshment tents. Two 5m x 15m merchandise stores were erected in areas of particularly high footfall, one situated behind the campsite wristband entrance and the second close to the Main Stage. http://arenagroup.com

Determined to deliver visual impact at V Festival this year, Rudimental opted for a video-heavy show. Really Creative Media’s Creative Director Jack James explained: “As fans will know, at a Rudimental gig there’s always constant action - it’s high energy all the way through.

The video design needed to reflect that.”

Show Designers Cassius Creative specified 5 large high-resolution LED Winvision Air 9.375mm towers for video content separated by lower-res LED fixtures allowing lighting and video to complement each other.

“We immediately saw the potential of this design for live cameras, and worked with Dan [Hill] and Squib [Chris Swain] to develop a language of choreographed camera cutting and screen placement that allowed us to support the action throughout without distracting. With any of the nine cameras being able to be placed anywhere on any of the 5 LED screens at any moment, it took a lot of planning -

but it was worth it”, added James.

With 8 cameras onstage and a FOH camera to feed into a single media server, it was clear from the start a custom build was required. One of Really Creative Media’s server racks was modified to facilitate extra inputs and was coupled with one of their engineering racks to form a flexible system. Driven by a MA Lighting grandMA2 which also triggered PTZ presets, the system was then programmed to timecode by Alex Passmore during production rehearsals. Live camera feeds were integrated with pre-recorded footage to give a dynamic high-energy look.

“The design required a careful approach in order to realise the complex real-time requirements, without compromising our ability to make adjustments very quickly, however, the hard work paid off,” he said. http://reallycreativemedia.co.uk 76

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ARCTANGENT & 2000TREES

www.arctangent.co.uk www.twothousandtreesfestival.co.uk

ARCTANGENT & 2000TREES TPi’s Stew Hume sits down with the masterminds of 2000trees and ArcTanGent festivals to talk about the benefits of remaining independent and the potential breeding ground for suppliers and crewmembers.

Two years ago the TPi team made the trip from Manchester to Bristol’s leafy outer edges to witness the 3rd instalment of British boutique festival ArcTanGent (ATG). It graced our cover and remained a firm favourite in outdoor events. In the depths of Somerset farmland, a friendly festival run by a production team totally immersed in music and led by passion and determination was revealed. Now, in 2017, we found ourselves back on a rather boggy Fernhill Farm speaking to the original orchestrators behind ATG, and its older brother, 2000trees.

This time we’re here to discuss not only the importance of independent festival culture, but the potential they hold a starting ground for young production crew and afford an opportunity to new suppliers with a mark to make. In the lofty barn that doubles as production HQ, TPi spoke to James Scarlett, co-founder of both 2000trees and ATG, about how his foray into the festival industry began. “Back in 2007 when my fellow collaborators and I started to think about starting a festival, none of us had any experience in the live events industry,” said Scarlett, chuckling to himself. “Among us was an accountant, lawyer, a pharmaceutical rep and a furniture designer – hardly skills you’d deem obvious when it comes to putting on a festival.”

But what Scarlett and his cohorts lacked in tangible skills, they made up for in vision. With that, they began ‘organising a perfect music festival.’

Several years down the line, 2000trees has established itself as a mainstay within in the independent festival circuit offing a consistently stellar line up geared at the rock community. “The only way to succeed in the independent scene is to really know your audience,” explained Scarlett.

“Admittedly, when we first started 2000trees we didn’t focus on a genre - a lesson we learned from very quickly. We run ‘music’ festivals so if you get the line-up wrong, people are not going to come.” This dedication stood Scarlett and the rest of the team in good stead and the festival is now more punter than tree, having grown from 800 people in its first year to now

attracting 8,500 fans annually.

After conquering one niche market Scarlett, in collaboration with long time members of the 2000trees family, Goc O’Callaghan and Simon Maltas, set about creating ArcTanGent. Catering to a more specific music genre of noise and math rock, the festival is an exemplary case study for the benefits of knowing your target audience. Now in its 5th year, ATG festival has cultivated an international reputation. “When we started developing the ideas of ATG, there was no doubt in my mind that with our combined experience we’d still be here for our 5th year,” recalled O’Callaghan, adding: “But the international interest has taken us all by surprise; this year we have visitors from as far afield as Japan and Chile. For fans of this genre, there is no other festival that offers a line-up like it. It really is Christmas Day for Guitar geeks!”

The diversity is palpable on site, where language barriers are no problem for the universal language of metal horns. To celebrate their successes, the ATG team are now looking at franchising the brand with potentially pub openings and events overseas.

As both events have gone from strength to strength, the independent mentality is still ever present. O’Callaghan expanded: “Recently, more independent festivals have been bought out and sadly have now disappeared. More than ever I think it’s important for festivals keep control of their events, particularly as the independent festivals offer such vital entry points into the industry for fledglings.” Through her work with ATG, O’Callaghan has become a dominant name within the independent scene, taking on the Vice Chairman role for the Association of Independent Festivals that hosts almost 70 independent festivals and a Festival Congress designed to advise organisers in the expansion of their own ventures. O’Callaghan, we raise our horns to you.

TPi were told several success stories of both suppliers and 78

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ARCTANGENT & 2000TREES

Two international acts from this year’s ArcTanGent Festival, Japan’s Tricot and Los Angeles’ Ho99o9; ArcTanGents bosses: Simon Maltas, Goc O’Callaghan and James Scarlett; Stage Manager Ian Whalley.

crewmembers utilising 2000trees and ATG as a gateway into the industry. Peak Hire which provide lighting, sound and power for both events has worked with the production since the first 2000trees. Karl Ashman, owner of Peak Hire praised the “happy marriage” his company has enjoyed with the festivals. “It’s been a fabulous collaboration with James and the rest of the team,” commented Ashman. “As they have increased in size and popularity we have been able to expand our business. We are involved in various sectors of the market but our expansion in the festival scene can be put down to our work with 2000trees and more recently, ATG.” Peak’s development within the rental market has seen the company invest heavily in lighting, audio and power distribution. With feedback from touring engineers and festival organisers alike, Ashman has been able to provide custom setups for each event. For the first time, this year, Peak flew a PA in for the ATG main stage, explained Ashman: “Using an EAW KF740 line array, we were able to create a central sub configuration with the EAW SB 1002. This resulted from speaking to the engineers and the bands last year, who have a very specific goal for their sound as is to be expected from this genre of music. The same goes for lighting, we made significant investments in Robe fixtures in particular, including Spikies that were heavily present on both events. Over the last year we’ve been keen to ensure we keep pushing the look of both festivals.”

For ATG, Peak Hire Robe Pointes, Spikies and DL4’s were the main backbone of the rig with SGM Strobes and eLumen8 Blinders. For main stage 2000trees there due to the bigger size Peak Hire could stretch its legs in terms of the lighting rig with Robe 600’s LED washes with another smattering of Pointes and Spikies.

Collaborating with Peak Hire and at the helm of both rigs this year was Award-winning Lighting and Production Designer, Tom Campbell, who has a special association with both of these festivals and describes them as two of the most important events in the British calendar. “I first came across ATG when I was doing lights for the headline act in 2013 but due to one of the crew having to duck out at the last minute I ended up overseeing the lighting for the whole festival.” Since then, Campbell as attended both ATG and 2000tress for multiple years. “It’s been great to see the simultaneous progression both the festivals as well as Peak Hire through the years. As Peak, have grown it’s great to see their investing in quality equipment. They are a lovely company to work with and they

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Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes’ set at 2000trees; Karl Ashman from Peak Hire.

create such and easy working environment.” As for both festivals Campbell had nothing but good words: “Both ATG and 2000trees are so important for the British alternative music industry.”

Another long-term supplier of ATG has been G-Stages. For the last 5 years the company has provided the festival with its iconic G2 main stage which the eagle-eyed festival goer may recognise from the Glade at Glastonbury. G-Stages’ Dave Fuller gave his opinion on the importance of supporting such festivals. “I feel that many of the independent events care much more about their customers and work harder to provide a quality event,” commented Fuller. “Working for ATG has always been a collaboration between ourselves and the organisers to provide there audience with the best possible stages for the budget available. Being a small independent stage hire firm ourselves, we can relate to how hard it is to compete with larger companies.”

2000trees and ATG have also lent a hand in creating completely new companies such as Neil Marfell’s Event Water. With over 3 decades in the motor industry, Marfell felt he needed a change in career and after volunteering at 2000trees he fell in love with the festival industry. “I had been volunteering with 2000trees team since 2010 and through the years I shadowed the then water contractor. A few years down the line and James gave me a proposition that if I were to set up my own company, he would give us the water contract,” Marfell recalled. Collaborating with business partner Ben Williams, Event Water now offer a comprehensive fresh water solution for outdoor events, having worked Rambling Man, Wychwood festival and the glamping areas of Glastonbury. Despite working through a jam-packed festival season, Marfell has not forgotten who put them on the map: “It’s independent festivals like 2000trees and ATG that make it possible for people like me to get their first step on the ladder in this world,” he enthused. “They’re vital for a lot of people really.”

Marfell is just one of many success stories to use the sibling festivals

as a launch pad to make waves on the circuit. Like Neil, Ian Whalley from Vans For Bands’ worked his way up, checking wristbands at 2000trees to stage managing both festivals. “It’s been a weird ride,” laughed Whalley as he considered his career progression. “People work at these shows for the right reasons and it’s a wonderful community. Thanks to this event I’ve met bands who I subsequently toured with, and got to work other festivals with the contacts I have made here. Sadly, there are not many truly independent festivals like 2000trees and ATG left… most are part of a wider organisation and partnership.”

With both events enjoying successful years, the crack team are already devising plans to ensure their community will be happy with 2018’s offerings. However, as Scarlett is quick to address, the struggle to remain independent is never a simple road. “The sad fact of life dictates costs of running events are always on the up. For both sites there is always going to be an upper limit on capacity and there is only so much we would want to charge for our tickets. Additionally there’s always competition from other events, so we can never rest on our laurels. Having said that we have built a fantastic community here both for the people attending and those working.

We are just excited to see how far we can push both brands!”

Having seen the passion of those involved with both festivals and the success stories from both events, it’s clear just how important the independent scene is for the live community. Many of those from the joint 2000trees and ATG family have very much taken their first steps into the world of live events and we at TPi look forward to see where their careers take them. As for the organisers, we await to see what the 2018 editions have in store…

TPi Photos: Helen Messenger, Jonathan Dadds, Edward Sprake www.arctangent.co.uk www.twothousandtreesfestival.co.uk

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SUNDOWN FESTIVAL

HAWTHORN AT SUNDOWN FESTIVAL

Sundown Festival returned to Norfolk Showground for its seventh year in 2017, attracting its largest crowd yet as 40,000 people witnessed lighting visuals supplied

by Hawthorn.

The Leicestershire based company supplied the main stage flown lighting system, including rigging, drapes, FOH control systems and follow spots. Hawthorn also provided a custom designed lighting package for Saturday’s headline act Craig David, and Pendulum, who brought the festival to a close on the Sunday night.

Hawthorn’s Head of Concert Touring, Mick Freer, led the project and consulted with the lighting designers for this year’s headline and supporting acts to produce a design that brought together all their precise requirements.

“The LDs provided a festival/touring plot in their rider and from this I picked out the key fixtures they wanted. In this case, these were Martin by Harman MAC Viper Profile, Claypaky Sharpy and Atomic Strobes” said Freer.

“Once I’d pinpointed these, I then incorporated them into my design for the flown rig. The key with this was to ensure that any floor lighting packages the acts were touring with could seamlessly merge together with the flown rig to achieve the best possible visual effect for both artists and festival

goers,” Freer explained.

Supplementing the house rig, Hawthorn supplied a custom package for the pop-garage star, consisting of a front truss of Sharpy Washes and MAC Viper Profiles and a back truss with more Viper Profiles and Atomic Strobes.

To support Pendulum, Hawthorn supplied a custom designed lighting setup, including an extensive floor package. This included 32 Claypaky Sharpy, 30 Martin by Harman MAC Viper Profiles, 34 Atomic Strobes, 19 Mac Aura XB and 10 SGM P-5’s.

Usually the last festival of the summer, Sundown was this year followed

by Reload Festival. Embracing dance floor fillers from classic eras of pop, disco and soul, the 2-day festival was held the weekend after Sundown, with Hawthorn’s flown lighting rig staying in place to light up musical legends such as Soul II Soul, Blue, Billy Ocean and Level 42.

Roy Trickett, Sundown Festival Promotor, concluded: “I always know that the production for the festival will be flawless and this year was no different. I have an excellent relationship with Hawthorn and have worked with Mick in the industry for many years now. Not only does he really know his stuff, he always brings along a highly-skilled crew and the product is always spot-on. With 2 festivals at the Norfolk Showground this year, it was more important than ever to get trusted and reliable suppliers on board and once again Hawthorn really delivered.” www.sundownfestival.co.uk www.hawthorn.biz

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GIESSENER KULTURSOMMER 2017

TW AUDIO SOUNDS OUT GIESSENER KULTURSOMMER Few European festivals match the sheer breadth of talent that can be found at Giessener Kultursommer, an event that in just 3 years has become a much loved fixture at the end of Germany’s summer season.

Running from 24 August - 10 September, this year’s event hosted a diverse range of artists including comedian Kurt Kromer, poet Lars Ruppel, singer songwriter Milow, and tribute nights to both Michael Jackson and ABBA. Perhaps the most famous band to grace the stage, however, was Sweden’s Amon Amarth, appearing as part of their Jomsviking world tour. The melodic death metallers played on 25 August, easily proving themselves the loudest of the festival’s many headliners. Giessener Kultursommer takes place in the grounds of Schiffenberg Abbey, which dates back to the 12th century, and Amon Amarth’s songs of Viking adventures felt strangely appropriate in the surroundings.

Giessen’s own PS Sound was responsible for managing the festival’s technical production - no small task for an event with such an eclectic mix of performers. Acting as system tech throughout the Amon Amarth performance was Jan-Niklas Volk, supporting a FOH sound reinforcement system comprised entirely of TW AUDiO, and based on VERA36 line arrays.

Adding more of a challenge was the width of the audience area. “The main PA system needed to provide 160˚ coverage because the audience area in front of the stage was only around 27m deep, but almost twice as wide,” explained Volk. However, the challenge was familiar to PS Sound, whose support for the event goes back to its beginnings 3 years ago, when it was staged inside a big-top style circus tent. Last year it moved to the picturesque surroundings of Schiffenberg Abbey, and the TW AUDiO VERA36 solution was selected.

A total of 16 VERA36 enclosures formed the main FOH system, flown 8 per side. Four T24 cabinets served as side fills, flown 2 per side beside the VERA36, while 4 T20 enclosures acted as near-fills. “It was the ideal solution,” said Volk. “The first couple of rows enjoyed perfect mid-high frequency coverage.”

Low-end extension was courtesy of 16 S33 ground-stacked subwoofers, plus 2 BSX subs. “The S33 subs were set up in a cardioid configuration and the 2 BSX were there to deliver extra punch,” he explained. TW AUDiO C12 and C15 wedges – 4 of each – could also be found on stage, providing foldback throughout the festival.

Lab.gruppen PLM12K44 and PLM20K44 amplifiers provided power with loudspeaker management by Lake, while Volk “very carefully calculated the distances and delay lines that were required to cover the entire width of the audience area.” Those measurements were carried out via Smaart V7.1, but after they were completed and the system was set up, Volk turned to his preferred method of quality control – his ears.

“After setting the EQs and delay lines with Smaart, I always check the settings by simply listening and relying on what I can hear,” he explained.

“It’s never let me down.”

He continued: “With Amon Amarth it was important to have enough

headroom and rich low-mids from the PA, and we had no problems with the VERA36 and S33 subs in that respect. All of the sound engineers who used the system over the course of Giessener Kultursommer wanted a lot of headroom, and they were all very happy to find that there was plenty of it with the TW AUDiO system.”

Amon Amarth’s FOH Engineer, Weston Blaha, was quick to agree. Having been with Amon Amarth since 2013, Blaha has experienced a mixture of cramped clubs, large arenas and festivals while on the Jomsviking tour alone, including some dates with Megadeth. He’s also experienced mixing the band on a variety of different systems.

“What’s important to me is having a system that’s punchy enough for metal, and I liked the headroom that was available in the TW AUDiO system,” he said. While Volk ensured that the system was as neutral as possible for each engineer who stepped up to drive it, Blaha merely tweaked “the high frequencies a little around 1-4 kHz”. The result, he said, was “very pleasing – the overall sound of the system and especially the bass was impressive. The only difficulty came from the venue’s shape as I had to ensure it sounded as good at the sides as at the front. But I like a system like this that has a natural sound.” Blaha mixed the performance on his own Midas Pro2C. Also working hard in the band’s technical team were Tour Manager Chris Parschau, Guitar Tech Coty Allinson, who helped to take care of the initial sound check, and Monitor Engineer Andrew Bennum. Although wedges were available on the stage, Amon Amarth traditionally favour in-ears, and the Kultursommer show was no different. “They use Future Sonics MG6 HX IEMs,” explained Bennum. “They have new moulds which decrease ambient noise. I like IEMs – the quieter it is on stage, the easier it is for everybody on stage to get their work done. When you’re on tour for a long time, you’re regularly exposed to a certain level of noise, and you need to minimise the impact that can have.”

The band’s retinue also included 3 pyro techs – Oliver Jost, Leander Möbius and Thomas Winkel, of FFP Spezialeffekte GmbH Berlin, who deployed 6 liquid flame systems in the front of the stage, with a further 2 positioned in front of the drum kit. An additional 4 ethanol-driven Flamaniac Magix FX units were placed behind the catwalk to create depth, while elsewhere the stage boasted seven flash trays, and a show-stopping shower of sparks.

No less impressive was the show’s lighting design, which was crafted by Martin Müller, who has been with Amon Amarth since September 2016. He selected an expansive system of LED lamps for quick set-up and tear down, including 26 SGM P5 fixtures, 10 SolaSpot Pro 1500s, 10 Martin by Harman MAC Quantum washes and seven Atomic 3000 LEDs from Martin, plus 2 hazers and 8 fog machines.

All of this played out across 5 different backdrops and an impressive set based on the horns of a Viking helmet. Indeed, the final touch to the visual spectacular was added when two large Vikings appeared, whose job was to do battle on stage while the band played. Now that’s not the kind of show element you get to enjoy during an ABBA tribute. www.giessenerkultursommer.de www.twaudio.com 88

TRUCKINGBY BRIAN YEARDLEY

TRUCKINGBY BRIAN YEARDLEY TRUCKINGBY covered a variety of festivals this season including; Glastonbury, Download, Wireless, Lovebox, Kendal Calling, Lytham Festival, Snowbombing, Hellfest, Loolapalooza Paris, Park Festival Moscow, Shine Festival, Bucharest-Hills Of Rock Plovdiv Bulgaria, A2 Green Concert St Petersburg Russia and Kaisafest Helsinki Finland. The command through its summer months, saw the company work with artists such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Three Days Grace, Rob Zombie and even Rick Astley to name but a few.

Kevin Hopper, the company’s Live Event Logistics Coordinator talked about some of the highs from this season: “Taking Canadian band Three Days Grace around festivals in the old Eastern Block was a joy in baking temperatures of between 35/40°C the gigs took the band to Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania, Belarus, Poland and Russia. Both the weather and the crowds were awesome.

“As for some of the lows; it was another year of heavy rain with Glastonbury being one of the only festivals with decent weather. Having said that Kendal Calling and Lytham festival mother nature was kind. For Loolapalooza Paris day one we had fantastic sunny conditions and but on Sunday through the day and evening the load out turned the place into a bog but the job got done regardless of the weather.”

Hopper went on to out line some of the logistical challenges the summer bring which this year included running low ride event trucks on

small wheels has its upsides as regards high volume in the back of the trucks for the clients but in wet boggy muddy!” He continued: “Weather driving them across fields, because they are so low, they can easily get stuck in the mud and get bogged down. During the whole of this festival season we have only had 1 truck which sunk upto its axles and had to be pulled out the following morning. However, we still delivered back to the client same day so everyone was happy.”

The Live Events Logistic Co-ordinator saw the rewards as knowing even with the poor weather and conditions throughout the season. “We have again delivered a quality reliable service to our clients expectations with the minimum of fuss and hassle ensuring equipment and backline was where it should be, at the time it was needed,” Hopper enthused.

Hopper was quick to compliment the company’s “incredible drivers,” who, regardless of the weather, just got on to get each job done, with a smile on their faces.

As for the future, Hopper is pleased to see that so many first time clients have rebooked for 2018. “It’s great to see so many people come back to TRUCKINGBY year on year now a lot of which we now class as friends. TRUCKINGBY are also pleased to announce that due to increased business from existing, new clients that we are putting 7 new trucks and trailers taking our fleet size to 55 satellite tracked trucks as well as 70 low ride flat floor trailers both high security box and curtainsided. This makes TRUCKINGBY one of the most diverse trucking companies in the UK and European live event trucking industry.” www.brianyeardley.com 90

ROAD DIARIES

ROB HEILIG Sound Engineer & Tour Manager

out that each street has a Neighbourhood Watch type office; if anyone is suspected of breaking the law, the locals are expected to report the offender. Good, we thought. This is all above board… nothing to see here.

He eventually asked if we wanted to buy some Cuban cigars, to which we nodded. He excitedly told us that he could take us to buy some for a ‘local’ price, whereas the hotels would only rip us off. Next thing we knew we were being led deeper and deeper into winding streets with no idea which way to get back home. My compadre and I were beginning to sense that things were about to take a bad turn. We got the feeling we weren’t so welcome by some of the locals the more turns we took. Finally, we got to a narrow doorway and went up a couple of flights of stairs. Our new friend told us he’d do the talking and we were not to speak to whomever we were about to meet. He banged on the door in front of us and after a few seconds, it opened.

The man who opened it looked like he cited Mr T & King Midas as style icons. We noticed a camera jammed against the spy hole in the door which was heavily protected with a metal cage & a steel plate. What were we about to step into? Our guide seemed slightly nervous - which didn’t help our mood - as we were ushered into a small & sparsely furnished apartment. The door was closed and bolted shut behind us. We were instructed to sit on a low couch. It was hot and we were sweating as the 2 men talked for a minute in Spanish. Next, the gold clad doorman dragged over 2 large canvas bags, which were padlocked. He took a key off one of his gold chains and unlocked the bags. Either he’s very keen on safety or he’s running a pretty dangerous operation. We didn’t want to stick around much longer to find out which.

There were probably 100 boxes of cigars between the 2 bags. We quickly picked out a couple of boxes. Our knowledge of cigars is limited to around none, so the guesswork was in full swing, much like my desire to leave. We were shown a customs seal for the boxes and told not to break it until we left the country. We still had no idea how much this whole experience was going to cost us, so we asked. $100USD for each box. It didn’t feel like a bartering situation: locked in an apartment behind an armoured door, in Havana, where no one knew us and we knew them even less. $100 suddenly didn’t sound too pricey at all. I still have no idea if the hotel would have been cheaper. Cigars in hand, we were on our way downstairs and back into the public streets. Phew! 50 cigars each, all of our internal organs and thankfully, no mandatory gold jewellery.

We jumped into the first taxi we could find and got back to our hotel.

Our gig went off without a hitch and our suntans improved during an unheard of ‘Roadie Christmas Holiday’.

However, after touching-down in the UK, it turned out that my 50 homemade cigars were not the only souvenirs I’d returned with... After 4 months of thinking I had a wooden splinter stuck deep in my arm perhaps as a result of digging through cigar boxes in a rush - some kind of black parasitic worm worked its way out of my skin during a day off in Bristol.

Almost a year on, I still have the scar to prove it. That, and 49 cigars.

Rob Heilig

When I got a call asking if I was available to mix a band for a one-off show at the Havana Jazz Festival and spend a week in Cuba, it took about 8 seconds for me to make up my mind and say, “Count me in, I’m there!”

Cut to 6 weeks later, and we arrived late at night to our hotel where Obama had stayed during his visit to the island earlier in the year. A couple of beers and a ‘mystery meat’ burger was all I needed for the night and I was off to bed. Next morning I met with our monitor engineer for breakfast and we concocted a plan to check out Old Havana. We had a rough idea of which direction it was in, and set off walking. About 5 minutes into our trip we were stopped by a local who asked if we were staying at the hotel, as he pointed back towards our accommodation.

“Yes,” we answered. He told us he worked there and showed us his ID. We carried on walking with our new friend in tow. We got chatting and he figured out where we were heading for. He told us he lived in the old town and would take us there. We had a free local guide. Perfect!

Over the next hour (walking in the blazing sun), he showed us the Presidential Square where Fidel Castro’s funeral procession had recently taken place. As we got into more residential surroundings, he pointed

92

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CLOCKING OFF

The 2016 West to East Coast charity bike riders.

CYCLING COASTS AND CASTLES An intrepid group of 24 event industry stalwarts will be putting their dubious fitness to the test this October in a combination of fun and fundraising.

The group will glide out of Newcastle on Friday 6 October and take the picturesque but challenging 205 miles Coasts and Castles route atop some of the UK’s most picturesque cliffs and countryside.

Ringleader Paul Ludford has organised similar West to East coast fundraising rides for 7 years, carefully handpicking the team for combined athletic and drinking prowess.

After a busy events summer the former is in serious doubt for many of the group - expect some tears! This year takes on special significance for Ludford, who will celebrate the provision of free medical prescriptions when the group roll / limp into Edinburgh on Saturday 8 October.

The riders are raising money for the Graham Wylie Foundation.

The foundation is based in the North East giving grants to fund equipment, buildings, staff and assets, for the benefit of children and young people. 100% of donations are given to deserving causes.

TPi

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94

November 13-19, 2017

Exhibits: November 17-19, 2017 • Las Vegas, NV

INFORMING, ADVANCING & INSPIRING Live Production Professionals

Register using promo code MNDO17 for a complimentary LDI2017 Exhibit Hall Badge* Exhibit Hall Badge includes admission to: ◗ The LDI2017 Exhibit Hall ◗ New Technology Breakfasts ◗ LDI: Live Outside Training and Demos ◗ LDI Awards Reception ◗ Exhibitor Sponsored Sessions

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GEAR HEADS

ROBE MEGAPOINTE www.robe.cz

KEY FACTS: LIGHT SOURCE Osram Sirius HRI 475/5 W RO LIGHT OUTPUT MEGA bright 2.215.000 lx @ 5 m ZOOM RANGE 1.8°– 21° beam mode, 3°– 42° spot mode EFFECTS Rotating and static gobo wheel, animation wheel, 12 beam and flower effects

After several years of development, Robe has launched its highly-anticipated, multi-functional moving light fixture - the MegaPointe. Ste Durham speaks to Product Manager, Ondřej Hegar.

The Czech manufacturer’s new product follows a series of intriguing teaser videos titled, Now there is MEGA, which generated a huge amount of excitement throughout the global lighting and visual communities.

Using an exclusive 470W short-arc lightsource, Robe’s diligently crafted MegaPointe optics produce phenomenally bright parallel beams, incredible spot gobo projections, together with super-quick movement, smooth CMY colour mixing and a multitude of effects available for splitting and shaping the light in spot, beam or wash modes.

The zoom ranges from 1.8 to 21 degrees in Beam mode - tight, powerful and punchy, and goes from 3 to 42 degrees in Spot mode with crystal clear high-clarity output through a 150 mm diameter front lens, with a stunning total lumen output of 20.375 and an impressive CRI of over 80.

Robe Product Manager, Ondřej Hegar, commented: “We wanted to

bring a completely new level of hybrid fixture that was really professional and even more flexible. It has been in the pipeline for several years, but the whole process required rigorous market research, getting feedback from end users and lighting designers. This also meant sourcing high-end technology and undertaking a lot of fine-tuning before the product was launched.”

Inventive, different in-air projections can be created using the new Effects Engine, pre-loaded with 12 dynamic beam and flower effects, and can be further finessed using the beam shaper which can emulate framing shutter effects and create rectangular shapes as well as being rotatable and indexable.

Utilising the ‘light’ and ‘medium’ frost filters with any combination of colours from the CMY mixing system produces a beautiful, smooth, even 96

ROBE MEGAPOINTE

wash coverage. implement into the MegaPointe.

There is a static, 14-slot plus open gobo wheel fitted with glass gobos According to Robe, this multi-functional, multi-purpose luminaire is for precision surface projections and exciting in-air impressions, and a perfect for live concerts, festivals, EDM extravaganzas, TV productions, second wheel contains 9 rotating, indexable outdoor spectaculars and all types of live events and and replaceable gobos. permanent installations.

These can be combined with a variable The first MegaPointes were live in action a week speed, bi-directional animation wheel that before the launch on the Main Stage production can be used in conjunction with any of the lighting rig designed by Sander den Otter for gobos or on its own to enhance or produce Mysteryland 2017, the Netherlands’ oldest dance “We wanted to bring a exceptionally subtle and detailed effects and music extravaganza, this year staged over 2 days at projections.

Haarlemmermeerse Bos, Amsterdam. completely new level of A remote adjustable hot-spot control MegaPointes also made a big impact on the main hybrid fixture that was really can further influence the appearance of the stage of the first ever New Horizons EDM event at lightsource, and there is yet more versatility Nürburgring, Germany, part of a production design professional and even more with a series of pre-programmable ‘random’

by Andre Beekmans from Netherlands based creative flexible. It has been in the strobe and pulse effects. practice, The Art of Light.

Hegar explained: “We speak with Hegar concluded: “Generally feedback on the pipeline for several years, but customers on daily basis but it was very fixture is amazing and it has been very well received the whole process required important to have a feedback on our existing by lighting designers in particular. The whole fixture Pointe and BMFL fixtures when designing is not only about the brightness. It has a great effects rigorous market research, the MegaPointe. After a few years having engine of prisms for creating fantastic beams, a nice getting feedback from end the Pointe on the market we have seen flat field for spot projection and great colour mixing some missing features, and therefore knew and dimming.” users and lighting designers.” what needed to be improved. There was a TPi Robe’s Product Manager lot of new technology and knowledge we Mysteryland photos: Louise Stickland Ondřej Hegar gained from creating the BMFL that we could www.robe.cz 97

PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE

PLEASE ACCEPT TERMS AND CONDITIONS BEFORE CONTINUING

We’ve all done it, scrolled to the bottom of the 7,000 word terms and conditions document and just hit ‘accept’, usually followed by a Facebook post about how up to date your phone operating system is, followed by a huge data bill after all you apps reset to auto cloud back up and subsequent social media moans about poor battery life. All cynicism aside there’s a purpose to those terms and conditions, they set out the basis on which you do business with that particular supplier and crucially, you can’t use the service unless you sign them. It’s the way we all operate, right?

Wrong! I’m wrong, I know I’m wrong because I get the emails and phone calls.

Of course, you’re not doing business online so you don’t have the magic check box, the portal to the app that’s going to change everything, again. So whose terms and conditions take precedence, because your client might have issued theirs too. Well, it can be as simple as the last to be agreed are the ones that stick, so it’s worth referring to them at every opportunity. Imagine if everyone took a little time to issue a written quote that states acceptance is according to your terms and conditions of trade, as set out etc. It would certainly inject a little clarity into our industry.

Perhaps this has never been a problem for you, maybe you’ve always been paid on time and no job has ever been pulled at the last minute, after you’ve turned down a load of other work. We’ve had calls from people who’ve been let down by regular customers too, work confirmed by a quick call, terms agreed by assumption, relationships soured after cancellation.

Business is a series of risks, people assess them and continue after assessment. It’s common for businesses to check credit scores before entering into a contract. That’s not so easy in some circumstances such as tours or festivals, where a new company is set up for each event so

Q: Tour’s been pulled, where do I stand?

A: What does it say in your terms and conditions?

Ah, I was worried that you’d say that...

We had a call recently asking if there was a ‘contract that could ensure I get paid if my client cancels’. Yes, it’s called your terms and conditions of trade, the document that sets out the basis on which you will do business.

Somewhere in there should be a section on cancellation, how much of the price is payable at a certain point before work was due to start. Book a hotel, car hire, flight... check the cancellation policy. While you’re at it, what about the consequence of non-payment? Added interest and charges are a statutory right under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts regulations your Ts&Cs state that, don’t they?

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PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE

a certain amount of gut instinct and sector knowledge is required.

Take the crown management provider I met over the summer. He was fresh from a brand new festival, organised by an enthusiast at a lovely stately home venue. Errors were made that will be ironed out next year but credit cards were also maxed out; the crowd management people were waiting to get paid, confident of getting paid (I wouldn’t mess) but a little perturbed to find that some suppliers had managed to get paid up front.

Someone had assessed the risk and decided on measures to reduce it. In a previous life, I worked for a magazine publisher. They had a couple of magazines in the, then burgeoning, PC market. Companies were cropping up all over the place, importing components and building machines that sold ‘off the page’ in those pre-internet days. Risky times if you were selling to those companies, so they gave a hefty 20% discount for prepaid advertising. 80% of advertisers prepaid, out of those that didn’t, 80% never paid. They’d set out terms that suited the type of business they were dealing with; magazines in other markets operated on the usual 30 days.

Working directly for a new festival will perhaps have different payment terms to work carried out for a regular client at a rental company.

We’ve often looked at the idea of standard terms and conditions, but different members work in different markets so one standard might not be appropriate. We do, however, have a check list of headings that need to be considered, we’ve covered a couple above but there are more things that appear on the list of ‘what’s the worst that could happen, here’s how we deal with it’ list.

Now to contradict what we said earlier, the bit about you not being an online business. There was a flurry of online concern about the notion of self employed people having to submit quarterly online reports to HMRC. Mistakenly seen by some as quarterly tax returns, a quick adjustment to the proposal, with only VAT registered businesses being required to submit information that they’re submitting anyway until at least 2020, concern has subsided. However, this ‘Making Tax Digital’ idea could actually help when it comes to credit control and terms and conditions. In order to work, online reporting will be driven by online accounting packages, the best of which should provide a system that runs from quote, through invoicing, to statement generation - all the pre and post contract documentation that should ensure smooth passage of funds from your client’s account to your company coffers. Imagine that, couple with constant reference to terms and conditions relevant to the job in question. Add to that an easy to use expenditure log and you’ve got all the information required for quarterly reports which don’t seem so much of a chore after all.

Of course, it’s more than just different terms and conditions for different jobs, there’s the ongoing relationship with a long standing client. How you deal with the late cancellation of a show that takes work away from a rental house that you’ve worked with for years is down to your relationship with the client. We’ve been looking into insurance backed terms and conditions, a product that pays out if confirmed work is cancelled after a certain period. Sounds great but the insurer would then chase the money from your client, something that you may let slip with certain people because there’s more work in the pipeline. Without doubt, a little work on Ts&Cs before can save a lot of pain after, on those relatively rare occasions when things don’t go as smoothly as usual.

TPi www.psa.org.uk

99

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INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

Audio-Technica has appointed Jason Williams to the newly created role of Business Development Manager, Conferencing Professional Audio for the UK and Ireland.

Williams commented: “I’m very pleased to be joining Audio-Technica and working with existing and new customers to build its conferencing business in the UK. As the company expands its activity in this area it’s an exciting time to be part of a dynamic team, and I’m looking forward to some great projects ahead.”

Matthias Exner, Audio-Technica Director of Sales and Marketing EMEA Professional Audio added: “With Audio-Technica’s increased presence in the conferencing solutions market, I’m delighted to welcome Jason to the Audio-Technica UK team. He brings a wealth of knowledge and understanding of client needs and I look forward to working with him in further developing Audio-Technica’s focus in this rapidly expanding and growing market.”

Williams’ arrival continues the expansion and evolution of AudioTechnica’s UK professional audio sales team, following the recruitment of Rich Soper, Business Development Manager for live touring and rental and Tom Macklin, Area Sales Manager North and Alex Farell’s move to Commercial Sales Manager South.

Bedford Guitars has introduced 2 brand new workshops, purpose-built for making cables and repairing guitars.

The Sheffield-based company now has a range of over 3,500 handmade cable products, dispatched from its Bedford workshop within 24 hours of placing an order. All repairs are carried out on site by Dean Rowbotham, a guitar tech with 15 years’ working experience providing backline support for bands such as The Prodigy, Bring Me the Horizon, and You Me At Six, on an appointment basis.

Chroma-Q, a world-renowned brand of premium performance LED lighting solutions manufactured in North America, has appointed Paul

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INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

Opposite: CODA Audio has appointed David ‘Webby’ Webster to the position of Director of Global Marketing; Tom Campbell joins the Mirrad lighting design team.

Below: Chroma-Q’s Paul Pelletier; Steve warren of LDC with the award-winning, ChromaQ Color Force II Batten and Spaceforce studio fixture; Dean Rowbotham Bedford Guitars.

Pelletier as Global Brand Manager.

Jean-François Canuel, Managing Director for Canadian Operations, commented: “Paul Pelletier has built a solid reputation in the lighting industry through product development, brand management and in building business relationships. I am honoured to welcome Paul to the Chroma-Q Team.”

Pelletier is 30-year veteran in the performance lighting industry, and has worked for industry leaders, most recently Martin Professional in the role of Solution Manager.

CODA Audio has appointed David ‘Webby’ Webster to the position of Director of Global Marketing. “I’ve spent many years in the audio industry and been closely involved in some very exciting and ground-breaking developments. CODA is undoubtedly defining a whole new generation of systems that not only sound incredible but also have advantages that translate into tangible benefits for everyone involved in using them,” said Webby.

Paul Ward, Director of Global Business Development at CODA Audio, commented: “There is no question that securing Webby’s services is a great coup for CODA. He is a proven top-level operator whose success and longevity in the industry speaks for itself. Combining impeccable marketing credentials with a strong technical grounding, Webby also possesses a genuine empathy with every stakeholder in the audio chain, from the stage to FOH and with installers and production teams alike. He has a thorough understanding of what is required to be successful in our industry and employing his considerable talents is sure to be of immense benefit to CODA Audio.”

After 34 years in the entertainment lighting industry and 33 years

with Avolites, Steve Warren has changed his role. Moving away from dayto-day operations to focus on Avolites’ business development, Warren has launched a complementary organisation named Lighting Distribution Consulting Ltd, which is exclusively assisting Chroma-Q by developing international sales and distribution channels of its award-winning LED lighting range. Warren looks forward to bulding further relationships in the future.

Tracey Anderson has joined Kinesys USA as Office Manager. Based in the company’s Georgia HQ, Tracey will work alongside David Bond, handling the day-to-day activities of Kinesys’, including, client orders, office administration and payments.

David Bond commented: “We were extremely lucky to find Tracey.

Her enthusiasm, creative flair and multiple skills will be a great asset to the company and we are looking forward to the many organisational and imaginative ways in which she will be involved as we grow and expand further.”

Mirrad has announced that award-winning Tom Campbell will join the lighting design team. Campbell worked at the Bristol Hippodrome before touring large-scale theatrical productions including Evita, Blood Brothers and Cabaret before turning his attention to live music and events, designing for concerts and tours across a wide variety of genres.

The newest member of the Mirrad team won the 2015 Knight of Illumination Award for Anna Calvi and The London Heritage Orchestra, and recieved a 2017 nomination for his work with EDM act Zeds Dead.

TPi www.tpimagazine.com/category/industry-jobs/ 102

ALSO INTRODUCING OUR CHIEF SUPPORT TECHNICIAN ERLWIN DE GANS

The Follow-Me team would like to thank all designers - technicians production managers and lighting suppliers for entrusting Follow-Me on your productions during our first year.

We are proud to welcome onboard Erlwin De Gans as our chief support technician. Erlwin had already been proactive in our first year having completed handover of Follow-Me on Def Leppard and Radiohead tours in the U.S. With 20 years experience in the lighting industry Erlwin brings a wealth of technical and touring experience to our team.

• Follow-Me controls unlimited fixtures to multiple targets from a single system • Supports all standard moving lights • Requires NO sensors or belt packs • Requires NO Proprietary hardware • Fixture control activate & deactivate per lamp from console • Saves trucking space VISIT US AT • Improves show safety LDI 2017 WWW.FOLLOW-ME.NU INFO@FOLLOW-ME.NU

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BACK CHAT

MATTHEW WHITEHEAD Co-Founder of Airworks Inflatables

festivals both in The NL and internationally.

In 2012, we made the chimneys for the London Olympics and developed a great working relationship with many more companies and key players on the international scene. As we have moved more into live music, we have developed relationships with stage designers, in particular Es Devlin has been an important relationship, as has our connection with TAIT. Over the last few years we have been involved with Insomniac and their huge dance event EDC, developing a great partnership with them and Jake Berry.

What milestone events you have been involved in and how did they influence Airworks?

The first inflatable we made for Roxy, a 9m inflatable baby with translucent skin, really set the ball in motion in terms of inflatables as a creative path. Lowlands from 1998 onwards then moved us up to large-scale outdoor events. Euro 2000 pushed our technical limits and gave us a taste of a world live event, before London 2012 Olympics really put us out in the world market, with direct contact with large US artists and production companies.

The MTV Awards then moved us deeper into the US live music market and EDC proved that huge dance music stages can tour on a reasonable budget, and inspired us to up our game both artistically and technically.

Yourself and your business partner Bart Maes began in the arts world. How did you translate this background into creating art for the live events sector?

Was it a drastic shift?

After I graduated from art college I started working in theatre, painting scenery and making props in the UK. I took 6 months out to travel, met a Dutch girl in Mexico and decided to try my luck in The Netherlands. I was 23 and found work making and building scenery as a freelancer and worked in many different fields. I was able to experiment and grow my design and technical skills working for a decade in the nightclub Roxy in Amsterdam, changing the scenery almost every week, with a decent budget and an inspired crew.

Bart travelled a similar path, and was also working in theatre, building sets in Amsterdam having completed an art degree. We met in Amsterdam through various freelance projects in which we were both involved. When I was offered the opportunity to design and build the scenery for the Lowlands Festival in 1998, I approached Bart with the idea that we could start a company together and take on larger and more ambitious projects, and Airworks was born.

What is the company’s ethos and where does this come from?

We are above all an artistic company committed to creating fantastic and amazing large-scale props.

The fact that we use inflatables in our creations is not important for the final result. Our sculptures have to have the look and feel of the objects that they are representing.

The last thing that anyone should recognise is the fact they are inflatables. With our attention to detail we sometimes get carried away, but it’s the small things that make up whole. This ethos comes from our background in the art world and have never been profit-driven. Our inspiration is the magic of art and theatre rather than mass production or profit margins.

Lowlands was a key relationship in the company’s early days. Can you discuss this and any other key partnerships you have had along the way?

Lowlands remained a major client in the early years, coming back each year wanting new ideas and giving us new challenges. Through Mojo, we were introduced to the production company Sightline and Franco Dragone, and were invited to produce a huge figure for the opening of the Euro 2000 in Belgium. This was our first large scale stadium show, and was a great experience.

We also developed a great relationship with ID&T and have been involved with many of their large shows and

What projects do you have coming up that you are particularly excited about?

We are currently making a large piece for an e-sports event. I find the rich visuals in this new media particularly interesting and inspiring.

When you aren’t hard at work, where would we find you?

I’m a family man, so if I’m not at work, I’m usually hanging out with them!

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