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GORILLAZ<br />
Humanz: Inside a rave for the end of the world.<br />
IBIZA CLASSICS • QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE • ENNIO MORRICONE • DANLEY SOUND LABS DEMO<br />
IMAGINE DRAGONS & SOUND IMAGE • PRODUCTION FUTURES • KATY PERRY • IN PROFILE: LITECOM<br />
FEBRUARY <strong>2018</strong><br />
#222
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EDITOR’S LETTER<br />
CHAIN HOISTS • CONTROL SYSTEMS • SOLUTIONS<br />
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US!<br />
No doubt some of you reading this will remember the very first issue of Total Production - which<br />
coincidentally also featured Damon Albarn on the front cover! - and I don’t mean to make you feel<br />
your age (you don’t look it, honestly - especially you, Damo!), but this is our 20-year anniversary<br />
issue! So much has changed since the magazine’s inception, and we’re so very thankful for your<br />
continued support and readership (and drinking abilities).<br />
Gorillaz grace our front page this issue, and having never watched the band or seen their<br />
production live before, I was more than uplifted upon leaving the arena after I had. It’s such a fun,<br />
emotion-spanning show to witness, that I’d recommend you catch it next time they play near you.<br />
And if you too feel like joining a gospel choir afterwards, well, you’ve got my number!<br />
Ste and Stew have been in full backstage journo mode & deliver articles on the contrasting<br />
concerts of Ibiza Classics and Queens Of The Stone Age, respectively. Not to mention, lots of other<br />
original content including Neuron Pro Audio’s demo day success with Danley Sound Labs, a peek<br />
inside the powerhouse that is lighting rental partner to the Eurovision Song Contest, Litecom, and<br />
a chat with the latest Production Futures interviewees, ON LX, recipients of a <strong>TPi</strong> Breakthrough<br />
Talent Award. Nice one lads!<br />
Speaking of which, this is the last edition before we undertake the <strong>TPi</strong> Awards <strong>2018</strong>! If you’re<br />
attending on 26 <strong>February</strong>, be sure to say hello. We’re hosting our <strong>TPi</strong> Daytime sessions again; the<br />
PSA’s Andy Lenthall will host the talk on Training, Education & Career Development, and I’ll be<br />
chairing the Mental Health & Crew Welfare session. I hope to see you there & I’m excited to see<br />
what positive changes a group of passionate thinkers & debaters can achieve!<br />
Kel Murray<br />
Editor<br />
EDITOR<br />
Kel Murray<br />
Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360<br />
Mobile: +44 (0)7738 154689<br />
e-mail: k.murray@mondiale.co.uk<br />
ASSISTANT EDITOR<br />
Ste Durham<br />
Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8385<br />
Mobile: +44 (0)7891 679742<br />
e-mail: s.durham@mondiale.co.uk<br />
STAFF WRITER<br />
Stewart Hume<br />
Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8385<br />
Mobile: +44 (0)7702 054344<br />
e-mail: s.hume@mondiale.co.uk<br />
ADVERTISING SALES<br />
Georgia Guthrie<br />
Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8399<br />
Mobile: +44 (0)7501 597837<br />
e-mail: g.guthrie@mondiale.co.uk<br />
ADVERTISING SALES<br />
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Mobile: +44 (0)7415 773639<br />
e-mail: l.dyson@mondiale.co.uk<br />
GENERAL MANAGER - <strong>TPi</strong> MAGAZINE & AWARDS<br />
Hannah Eakins<br />
Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360<br />
Mobile: +44 (0)7760 485230<br />
e-mail: h.eakins@mondiale.co.uk<br />
Issue 222 - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2018</strong><br />
CHIEF EXECUTIVE<br />
Justin Gawne<br />
Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360<br />
Mobile: +44 (0)7768 850767<br />
e-mail: j.gawne@mondiale.co.uk<br />
GRAPHIC DESIGN & PRODUCTION<br />
Dan Seaton: d.seaton@mondiale.co.uk<br />
Zoe Willcox: z.willcox@mondiale.co.uk<br />
ACCOUNTS<br />
Lynette Levi / Sarah Miller: ar@mondiale.co.uk<br />
MONDIALE GROUP CHAIRMAN<br />
Damian Walsh<br />
DIGITAL EDITORIAL ASSISTANT<br />
Jacob Waite: j.waite@mondiale.co.uk<br />
EDITORIAL INTERN<br />
Dan Broadley<br />
COVER<br />
Gorillaz by Tony Woolliscroft<br />
PRINTED BY<br />
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TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL is a controlled circulation magazine, published 12 times a year by Mondiale Publishing Limited under licence.<br />
ISSN 1461-3786 Copyright © 2017 Mondiale Publishing Limited. All contents of this publication are subject to worldwide copyright protection and reproduction<br />
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<br />
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ITINERARY<br />
09<br />
18<br />
30<br />
44<br />
56<br />
OBITUARY<br />
08 Noel ‘Rickey’ Ricketts.<br />
EVENT FOCUS<br />
09 Katy Perry<br />
The award-winning pop star makes<br />
use of disguise gx 2 media servers.<br />
10 Danley Sound Labs<br />
Neuron Pro Audio hosts an in-depth<br />
demo day at Manchester Academy 2.<br />
12 Ennio Morricone<br />
The world-renowned composer turns to<br />
L-Acoustics for his 60 Years of Music tour.<br />
14 Equipson Open Day<br />
The Valencia-based company showcases<br />
some of its latest prodcuts.<br />
16 Imagine Dragons<br />
An Adamson E-Series system joins the<br />
2017 Evolve World Tour.<br />
PRODUCTION PROFILE<br />
18 Gorillaz<br />
Kel witnesses Damon Albarn and Jamie<br />
Hewlett’s animated rave for the end of<br />
the world.<br />
30 Ibiza Classics<br />
Ste catches the electronic / orchestral<br />
crossover concert, presented by Pete<br />
Tong and The Heritage Orchestra.<br />
44 Queens of the Stone Age<br />
Stew meets the crew working on the road<br />
for the mighty return of Josh Homme and<br />
the US rockers.<br />
COMPANY PROFILE<br />
56 Litecom<br />
The Copenhagen-based lighting supplier<br />
gives <strong>TPi</strong> a guided tour of its various<br />
operations in and around the city.<br />
PRODUCTION FUTURES<br />
64 <strong>TPi</strong> Breakthrough Talent Awards winners<br />
James Walton & Matt Didon talk<br />
about their blossoming company, ON LX.<br />
INTERVIEW<br />
66 Ste discusses the future of AV with<br />
Barco’s Wouter Bonte.<br />
ROAD DIARIES<br />
68 Tour Manager / Drummer Dan Woolfie<br />
shares one of his favourite tales...<br />
GEAR HEADS<br />
70 Out Board Director, Dave Haydon, talks<br />
<strong>TPi</strong> through the R&D process behind the<br />
company’s RCX SMART Remote.<br />
PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE<br />
72 Ahead of Daytime <strong>TPi</strong>, Andy Lenthall<br />
discusses mental health in live events.<br />
INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS<br />
74 The latest movers and shakers.<br />
BACK CHAT<br />
78 CODA Audio’s Global Marketing Director,<br />
David ‘Webby’ Webster talks shop.<br />
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OBITUARY<br />
RICKEY RICKETTS<br />
28 JUNE 1962 - 16 JANUARY <strong>2018</strong><br />
“It is with immense sadness and heavy hearts that we have to announce<br />
the passing of our colleague, friend, brother, father and partner who lost<br />
his battle with Stage 4 Glioblastoma Multiforme, the most aggressive<br />
form of brain cancer. Rickey was known to many of us as the FOH<br />
Engineer for bands including Rudimental, Orbital, Groove Armada,<br />
Erasure, Labrinth, Freestylers, Alabama3, The Herbaliser, The Bluetones,<br />
The Bays, Roots Manuva, Red Snapper, Terry Callier, Marlon Roudette,<br />
Nightmares on Wax, Beth Orton, Zero 7, Corduroy and Mother Earth to<br />
name but a few.<br />
“Without exception, the tributes to Rickey all mention his positive<br />
outlook and good will, which was his default position. The world is a<br />
different, colder place without him.<br />
Rest easy, dood.”<br />
- Tim Hardstaff<br />
There will be an industry-led Rickey Ricketts’ Benefit Gig on Friday 23<br />
<strong>February</strong> <strong>2018</strong> at Shepherd’s Bush Empire. A celebration produced by all<br />
those who loved and worked with Rickey over the course of his successful<br />
career.<br />
All proceeds will be going to Rickey’s daughters; Mica, 12 and Mimosa, 19.<br />
A percentage will also help Jess Mills set up her charitable foundation to<br />
work towards expanding the range and methods of treatments avaliable for<br />
cancer in the UK.<br />
Event: Rickey Ricketts’ Benefit Gig<br />
Date: Friday 23 <strong>February</strong> <strong>2018</strong><br />
Venue: Shepherd’s Bush Empire<br />
Address: Shepherd’s Bush Green, Shepherd’s Bush, London W12 8TT<br />
Capacity: 2,000<br />
Doors: 7pm<br />
Show: 8pm - 1am<br />
Price: £30.00<br />
Line-Up (in order of appearance):<br />
Redsnapper (Live) The Bluetones (Live) Freestylers (Live ) Orbital (Live)<br />
Groove Armada (DJ set) + very special guests<br />
<strong>TPi</strong><br />
08
EVENT FOCUS<br />
K ATY PERRY<br />
The multi award-winning artist turns to disguise gx 2 media servers for her eye-popping new tour.<br />
A pair of disguise gx 2 media servers, each with 2 DVI VFC cards a piece,<br />
have accompanied Katy Perry on an 89-date world tour in support of her<br />
fifth album, Witness. Along with the disguise software tool kit, providing<br />
a pre-vis environment for the creative show design and powerful content<br />
playback that includes tight Notch integration, the servers will ensure<br />
her tour remains as visually striking until its climax in August <strong>2018</strong>.<br />
The stage design by Production Designer, Es Devlin, takes the form of<br />
a 130ft, eye-shaped LED screen with a 2-part door in the ‘iris’ portion of<br />
the screen. Creative Directors and Choreographers Ant and Ash [Antony<br />
Ginandjar and Ashley Evans] have woven a 1980’s space theme into the 6<br />
acts of the show.<br />
The gx 2 systems from disguise were chosen, “due to the need for<br />
Notch integration as well as the entire team’s familiarity and reliance on<br />
the product over the years,” explained Earlybird Visual’s Eric Marchwinski,<br />
the Associate Lighting Designer and Lighting / Video Programmer. “We<br />
never considered any other solution as disguise is now an integral part of<br />
how we all produce these very large and high-profile shows. The gx 2 is a<br />
workhorse, which is the perfect fit for this project in terms of reliability and<br />
power. We are playing 5K and 2K files and sometimes we layer multiple files<br />
of those sizes.”<br />
In pre-production, disguise was used to “take a look at the content’s<br />
relationship to the screen surround and how things felt in different<br />
positions in the room,” said Marchwinski. “Having a model to look at for<br />
pre-production was key, as well as having the TAIT Navigator automation<br />
integration via UDP. With the moving, bi-part wall and the 8 matrix lifts, we<br />
needed to be able to parallel map the content on both of these surfaces.<br />
The 3D workflow that disguise provides is the only choice for these features<br />
in the set.” He gave kudos to the new system hardware as well: “We push<br />
the system pretty hard with such a large texture size; 8 outputs and 7K<br />
worth of texture would bring most media server to its knees. But the<br />
disguise gx 2 stands strong for almost everything we ask it to do.”<br />
Marchwinski pointed out that the support from disguise was also<br />
integral to the technical setup of the show. “As we have continued to use<br />
disguise on these large shows, the need for some on-site support has<br />
grown,” he commented. “The disguise New York office sent on-site Support<br />
Specialist, Chet Miller, to help Drew and I get everything running smoothly.<br />
“This was invaluable as Chet was able to help tweak the automation<br />
integration and dial in overall system performance - especially as we were<br />
using some of the first gx 2’s in the US market. We also had some direct lines<br />
of communication back to the London office, which helped to document<br />
anything that arose, keeping our rehearsals and the London office working<br />
efficiently across two different time zones.”<br />
The content was provided by Silent Partners Studio. Kirk J. Miller<br />
is the Visual Project Manager for Earlybird Visual and Ryan Middlemiss<br />
the disguise System Designer. For the tour, Jay Schmit is the Production<br />
Manager, J.T. Rooney the Screen Producer, and Gabriel Coutu-Dumont<br />
the Video Creative Director. The Lighting Designer is Baz Halpin and the<br />
Lighting Director is Drew Gnagey.<br />
<strong>TPi</strong><br />
Photo: Steve Jennings<br />
www.katyperry.com<br />
www.disguise.one<br />
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09
EVENT FOCUS<br />
NEURON’S DANLEY DEMO DAY<br />
In order to showcase an array of products from US audio innovator Danley Sound Labs,<br />
UK-based Neuron Pro Audio recently held a well-attended and in-depth demo day at Manchester’s<br />
Academy 2 venue.<br />
Kyle Marriott, Managing Director at Neuron Pro Audio, described the<br />
beginnings of this transatlantic relationship: “I’ve personally been<br />
an admirer of Tom Danley’s work for over 10 years. After hearing the<br />
ServoDrive BT7 and LABsub designs that he made before Danley Sound<br />
Labs was started, I have been trying to get access to his advanced<br />
Synergy and Jericho designs since becoming aware of them. It’s taken<br />
several years for the large body of water between us to cease being a<br />
barrier, with importation and distribution of the systems carrying some<br />
logistical challenges. But we feel the time is now right for us to support<br />
the move back towards a higher fidelity, more efficient point source<br />
approach.<br />
“We became partners with Danley UK after their first demo around 3<br />
years ago, and have been building up a steady following through word of<br />
mouth, gigs and private demos, but there’s been so much interest that a<br />
formal demo day with a broader range of products was needed.”<br />
Neuron showcased a variety of speakers from the Danley portfolio on<br />
the day, including the SM80, SH50 and SH46 from the Synergy Horn series,<br />
the SBH10 from the Paraline lens-based column series, the TH118, DBH218<br />
and BC412 from the various subwoofer designs the company offers, and the<br />
almighty J3-94 from the large format Jericho series.<br />
“The J3-94 is relatively new, at around 18-months old,” Marriott said.<br />
“But all of the products are ‘of the same cloth’ so to speak and adhere to<br />
the same core principles of all of Danley’s work. We do have some exciting<br />
new products in the pipeline though, so keep an eye on our social media for<br />
sneak peeks in the coming months!”<br />
Director of R&D at Danley Sound Labs, Tom Danley, originally found<br />
himself in the world of pro audio having arrived by a less than conventional<br />
path, which has greatly influenced the development of the company’s<br />
products.<br />
Marriott elaborated: “Tom has a long history of handling the more<br />
esoteric and extreme demands of military and NASA acoustic challenges<br />
with aplomb; including things such as subwoofers to communicate with<br />
elephants, simulate the effects of shelling and bombs on large buildings,<br />
silence helicopter rotor noise and acoustic levitation for space station<br />
analysis work.<br />
“This truly allows him to think ‘outside the box’ in his approach, and<br />
the Synergy Horns in particular show that a true ‘next step’ is viable to<br />
overcome the intrinsic shortcomings of the dominant line array approach<br />
in live and installed sound. It also helps that he’s an incredibly humble and<br />
open guy, always willing to go deep on explanations as to how his designs<br />
work and share his knowledge with those who are curious, and that’s<br />
something that Neuron embodies too so it’s a perfect fit for us - and it helps<br />
that the boxes sound great, of course!”<br />
The day itself was a great success for both companies, with walk-ins<br />
bolstering the 250+ registered visitors that made time to visit Academy 2.<br />
Marriott commented: “We welcomed a wide range of people, from venue<br />
owners, event promoters, system techs and engineers to rental houses<br />
and installation companies, plus performers and artists, across all levels<br />
of experience and size. It seems that the word is getting out that we have<br />
something special here.<br />
“The feedback after the event has been brilliant, and frankly we’ve been<br />
a little blown away by how many people have asked us to provide quotes<br />
for sales, installs and events right off the bat. The Jericho in particular really<br />
took people’s breath away, as it’s capable of handling huge crowds with<br />
1 box per side, rather than the normal 12 boxes of line array, but the SH50<br />
and SH46 have also garnered a tonne of interest with their hi-fi sound, ease<br />
of use and SPL capabilities. Even the harshest of critics have humbly stated<br />
that these are incredible products, which is all we could have asked for.”<br />
With the promise of new product “sneak peaks” to come sooner rather<br />
than later from Danley and Neuron, the questions remains - are we likely to<br />
experience them in anger in the near future? “Most certainly!” exclaimed<br />
Marriott. “It’s fair to say that there’s a bunch of interesting projects ahead<br />
for all of the systems on display, so be sure to keep a look out for them on<br />
shows. We’ll keep people informed of these and other events, and we also<br />
plan to host further demos later in the year for those who weren’t able to<br />
attend this time around.”<br />
<strong>TPi</strong><br />
www.danleysoundlabs.com www.neuronproaudio.co.uk<br />
10
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EVENT FOCUS<br />
ENNIO MORRICONE IMMERSES AUDIENCES<br />
IN 60 YEARS OF MUSIC WITH L-ISA<br />
One of the world’s most celebrated composers and conductors, Ennio Morricone, has written over<br />
500 film and television scores during his 7-decade career. The only film composer ever to have<br />
received the honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement, the maestro embarked on his 60<br />
Years of Music world tour with an L-Acoustics system designed by Scott Willsallen of Auditoria Pty<br />
and supplied by Italian rental company, Agorà.<br />
Early in the tour, Morricone’s long time recording and FOH Engineer<br />
Fabio Venturi and Agorà Project Manager, Giulio Rovelli, heard about the<br />
new L-ISA immersive sound system and visited the L-ISA headquarters in<br />
London for a presentation and to test the mixing platform with Venturi’s<br />
own recorded material. “Our normal L-Acoustics configuration works<br />
extremely well. But in places such as arenas, it’s difficult to achieve<br />
exactly what we want, and since the very first concert, we’ve been<br />
looking at ways to make the performance sound even more natural,” he<br />
explained. “When I listened to L-ISA, I felt that it offered a more natural<br />
and detailed sound. I discussed the system with the production team,<br />
and we decided we wanted to use it,” he stated.<br />
The team decided to use the system for both the Bologna and Milano<br />
dates. Sherif El Barbari, Director of L-ISA labs worked with Venturi to design<br />
a system for both venues. At the 8,600-seat Unipol Arena in Bologna, an A/B<br />
comparison between a conventional stereo system, which featured 12 K2<br />
per side, and an L-ISA system featuring 5 rows of 12 KARA across the stage<br />
was conducted. The production team felt that the L-ISA setup delivered far<br />
superior results in terms of localisation, clarity and mix details. Within a few<br />
minutes, it was unanimously validated by the Maestro and his team.<br />
The following day in Milan, the L-ISA system was again deployed in the<br />
12,700-seat Mediolanum Assago arena. There, the L-ISA system comprised 5<br />
arrays of 12 KARA across the stage, completed by 2 side extension to widen<br />
the imaging, with the central cluster also including 2 arrays of 4 KS28. For<br />
the 240° audience seating, 2 side hangs of 8 K2’s and 5 additional KARA for<br />
frontfills were utilised. Frederic Bailly, Applications Engineer at L-Acoustics<br />
was on-hand to lend support. “The Agorà team had an opportunity to<br />
‘rehearse’ the L-ISA rigging deployment for the first show in Bologna,” he<br />
explained.<br />
“For the Milan show the next day, we ran into an unexpected challenge,<br />
as the fixed central scoreboard was not documented in the blueprints<br />
and we had to lower the PA system by 1 metre.” With 112 condenser mics<br />
on stage for the orchestra and choir, Venturi worried about feedback, but<br />
this posed no problems as gain before feedback was in the range of 4 to<br />
6dB. The complete PA was set-up an hour ahead of schedule and system<br />
calibration was completed by Systems Engineer Maxime Ménelec in 30<br />
minutes. This meant that Venturi had plenty of time to tweak his L-ISA mix<br />
and do the sound check, and rehearsal took place with the Maestro at 5pm<br />
without a glitch.<br />
“The system worked perfectly for both dates and was an overall positive<br />
experience,” said Floris Douwes, Producer and MD of the tour’s production<br />
company, GEA. “The L-ISA system guarantees an immersive sound for the<br />
entire audience, which is a tremendous improvement, and offers much<br />
more transparency of sound than with conventional stereo line-array<br />
systems.” Venturi added: “With L-ISA, everyone felt there was a natural<br />
sound coming from the orchestra. The system is very simple to use and it<br />
adds more detail and space to your mix. I would really like to continue to<br />
use this setup.”<br />
“Artists and audiences alike are continuously looking for more<br />
profound live experiences and this technology meets this demand,”<br />
concluded Douwes. “I think this system is particularly exciting in arenas<br />
and large halls, as it enables the entire audience to enjoy an amazing<br />
sound experience. Even those who are in seats that wouldn’t receive ideal<br />
sound with conventional systems. Audiences get to enjoy a sound that is<br />
far more natural and organic in terms of the position of the musicians and<br />
instruments on stage. This system brings the orchestra much closer to the<br />
audience, making the experience more immersive and enjoyable!”<br />
Ennio Morricone himself was pleased with the system, stating: “The<br />
L-ISA multi-channel system adds a sense of space to the sound. This has<br />
made it possible for Venturi and Agorà to reproduce my performance with<br />
a surprisingly realistic sound image of the orchestra. More than ever before,<br />
there was a clear feeling of being enveloped by the music.”<br />
<strong>TPi</strong><br />
www.enniomorricone.org<br />
www.l-acoustics.com<br />
www.auditoria.systems<br />
www.agoraaq.it<br />
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EVENT FOCUS<br />
EQUIPSON OPEN DAY<br />
<strong>TPi</strong>’s Stew Hume was invited to Equipson to take a closer look at some of the latest products at its<br />
Valencia HQ, and what’s in store for <strong>2018</strong>...<br />
<strong>TPi</strong>’s guide for the day was Juan José Vila, COO and CMO of Equipson.<br />
Joining his father’s business back in 2002, Vila has been focussed on<br />
the company’s R&D department, while his father, José Luis Vila, still<br />
oversees the direction of the company as CEO. “In the early days, when<br />
my father started Equipson, we were very much a distributor,” began<br />
the younger Vila. “I then joined the company 6 or 7 years later and began<br />
to create a team to focus on the R&D department. We were already a<br />
leading distribution company so we had the client base and the industry<br />
knowledge to start producing our own products.”<br />
Following a few years of research, the company released its first line<br />
of products including the Digiline Series, BlueLine Digital and the IC 6 PRO<br />
under the company’s WORK PRO banner. Although Equipson’s range of<br />
products are usually associated with the install market, some of its latest<br />
offerings seem to signal a change for the Spanish company.<br />
Enter the LightShark, a new range of hardware lighting consoles. “About<br />
2.5 years ago, the Equipson team gathered around the table to discuss<br />
the possibility of creating a lighting control surface,” said Vila. “We wanted<br />
to design a system that would combine the versatility of the software<br />
solutions with the ergonomics, built-in interfacing, and physical usability<br />
of a hardware console. On the whole you can split lighting consoles into 3<br />
categories - a classic console, a wing and computer set up, and the dongle<br />
and computer combo. Each of these options has their advantages and<br />
disadvantages. A console may be too expensive for a particular project and<br />
using a computer puts you at the mercy of software updates.” It’s here that<br />
Equipson hopes its new solution will offer a fourth option for the market.<br />
The LightShark is the first ever DMX-based hardware lighting console<br />
range to offer wireless, browser-based control from a multi-touch<br />
smartphone or tablet, with support for up to 3 connected devices<br />
simultaneously. The range sets a new standard for features and usability at<br />
its price point. The LightShark range comprises of 2 independent products,<br />
the LS-Core and the LS-1 console, both developed and designed entirely<br />
within WORK PRO’s lighting division. The LS-1 brings together the best<br />
features from the world of innovative software-only lighting control and<br />
marries them to an intuitive, ergonomic hardware control surface. The LS-<br />
Core omits the LS-1’s hardware control surface but offers exactly the same<br />
lighting control software, processing power, and smartphone or tabletbased<br />
software control interface.<br />
Alongside all of the features users expect from a modern, fully featured<br />
lighting control system, LightShark offers intuitive control over a total of<br />
8 512-channel DMX Universes, plus built-in support for an ever-growing<br />
library of lighting fixtures. Because the LightShark control software runs on<br />
the console itself, and the Wi-Fi-connected tablet or smartphone is merely<br />
controlling it via a simple web browser, the control software is fast and<br />
responsive, as well as offering the benefits of real-time, multi-touch control.<br />
The console was first shown last year in Las Vegas at LDI and certainly<br />
made an impression. “We were really pleased with the feedback we had<br />
from the trade show last year,” stated Vila. “Since then we have been<br />
inundated with interest and hopefully will see the LightShark in various<br />
places throughout <strong>2018</strong>. We have also got more plans for the console, which<br />
we will showcase at this year’s Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt.”<br />
During <strong>TPi</strong>’s Equipson visit, Vila also demonstrated another new<br />
release for the company. “Audio has always been an important side to our<br />
business,” commented Vila. “Last year we employed Joan La Roda who<br />
now heads up our electro acoustic department. Since joining he completed<br />
our first line array, Arion Series, and control system - a project we have had<br />
in the pipeline for some time.”<br />
The SL 210 A is the latest addition to WORK PRO’s Arion Series. A new,<br />
self-powered 2-way line array, the SL 210 A features remote monitoring,<br />
fully developed by WORK PRO’s in-house audio engineering department.<br />
The system features 2 10-inch FAITAL transducers and an 11.46-inch<br />
voicecoil in a bass reflex enclosure. The 2 low pass cut-off frequencies in<br />
the loudspeakers contribute to an even horizontal directivity. The high<br />
frequencies are reproduced by a 1.4-inch exit BEYMA compression driver<br />
that features a polymer PM-4 membrane, which brings a more natural<br />
sound when compared to other materials commonly used on the market.<br />
The SL 210 A can suit the requirements of different configurations<br />
14
EQUIPSON OPEN DAY<br />
Below: Lightshark Product Manager, Alejo Cervera; Joan La Roda, Equipson’s Senior Loudspeaker Designer in the company’s anechoic chamber;<br />
Equipson’s CEO José Luis Vila and COO/CMO Juan José Vila.<br />
thanks to its powerful built-in DSP. Each unit can be set manually via its<br />
interface and controls placed at the rear part of the enclosure, which allows<br />
for the user to navigate through the menu and the different parameters of<br />
the system.<br />
As well as surveying some of the latest offerings for Equipson, <strong>TPi</strong><br />
also had a chance to meet some of the R&D team that were responsible<br />
for the creations of Equipson’s products. Lead by General R&D Manager,<br />
Olegario Perez, the team located on the top floor of the of the HQ diligently<br />
troubleshoots all products prior to release as well as creating prototype<br />
components for all its products with the company’s 3D printer.<br />
Prior to leaving Valencia, Vila talked <strong>TPi</strong> through one the other major<br />
parts of the Equipson Group, WORK PRO Lifters. “For the last 20 years we<br />
have been producing some of the highest quality lifters within the industry.<br />
The brand has now recognised around the world as a high quality product.”<br />
However, the company almost became a victim of its own success and<br />
saw a sudden, huge demand for its products.<br />
“We knew we needed to expand the business,” commented Vila. “This<br />
coincided with an opportunity to buy out another Valencia-based lifter<br />
manufacturer, Fantek back in 2015.”<br />
Since the purchase, as well as taking on all the experienced Fantek staff,<br />
Equipson has also implemented a whole technical management team to<br />
expand the lifters R&D department. “This was vital as we need such a team<br />
to ensure we could take WORK PRO Lifters to the next level. We also wanted<br />
to improve the manufacturing process to make it as efficient as possible.”<br />
Last September WORK PRO Lifters has moved into a new 4,000sqm<br />
warehouse, down the road from the original Equipson HQ.<br />
<strong>TPi</strong><br />
Photos: Equipson and <strong>TPi</strong><br />
www.equipson.es<br />
15
EVENT FOCUS<br />
IMAGINE DRAGONS CHOOSES<br />
ADAMSON & SOUND IMAGE<br />
Imagine Dragons have gone from playing basements and dive bars to filling major arenas in the<br />
space of 10 years. For their Evolve World Tour in 2017, it was an Adamson E-Series system rocking<br />
the crowds from continent to continent.<br />
“Adamson is always my first choice when it comes to Imagine Dragons,”<br />
began FOH Engineer Scott Eisenberg. “The E-Series offers a perfect blend<br />
of power and musicality and I love the overall impact we get with this<br />
system.”<br />
The tour was the band’s biggest to date in terms of scale and overall<br />
production value and featured a stage design that wrapped the audience<br />
around the band in an almost 360-degree configuration. That necessitated<br />
an equally unorthodox audio system design with a package that, like those<br />
for all of the band’s previous production-carrying tours, was supplied by<br />
Escondido, California’s Sound Image.<br />
The main hangs for the Evolve World Tour were comprised of 18<br />
Adamson E15’s per side, suspended around 30ft further upstage than<br />
usual. Using Adamson’s Blueprint AV software, Systems Engineer, Cameron<br />
Whaley, of Sound Image was easily able to avoid the potential pitfalls of that<br />
configuration.<br />
Rounding out the package were side hangs of 6 E15’s and 9 E12’s per<br />
side, and rear hangs comprised of 8 compact S10 2-way, full-range cabinets<br />
per side. Adamson’s E219 subwoofers handled the low end, with flown left<br />
and right arrays of 12 cabinets and an additional 6 per side on the ground.<br />
Speaking to the low-end distribution, Whaley said the elaborate sub<br />
design produced some very welcome results. “Having a sub array long<br />
enough to achieve some directionality, we can get a good amount of energy<br />
to the back of the room without it being overwhelming in the front,” he<br />
explained. “By playing with the timing of the ground subs to the flown subs,<br />
we can also fill in some of the holes between the power alleys on the floor.”<br />
As far as what made the E-Series the ideal choice for this trek - and every<br />
major Imagine Dragons tour before it - Eisenberg said it’s largely about<br />
power and consistency.<br />
“I really like that it’s got a lot of horsepower, especially in the mains’<br />
lower midrange,” he commented. “The highs are clear but not harsh, and<br />
when the subs kick in, there’s just some really solid energy that hits you in<br />
the best way possible.”<br />
He added that the uniformity when transitioning from the E15’s to the<br />
E12’s and S10’s in different parts of the room is seamless. “I love that the<br />
quality and performance is consistent across the board with the E-Series<br />
and S-Series,” Eisenberg said. “That’s a welcome bit of reassurance that<br />
we’re delivering great and consistent sound to every corner of any given<br />
venue.”<br />
Working together, Imagine Dragons, Sound Image, and their respective<br />
teams provided powerful live rock music for thousands of people around<br />
the globe at a time where it’s seemingly in short supply. Fortunately for the<br />
band’s ever-growing fanbase; they don’t show any signs of slowing down.<br />
<strong>TPi</strong><br />
www.imaginedragonsmusic.com<br />
www.adamsonsystems.com<br />
www.sound-image.com<br />
16
THE NEW REFERENCE POINT<br />
w w w . r o b e . c z
PRODUCTION PROFILE<br />
Opposite: Damon Albarn performs with Little Simz.<br />
GORILLAZ: HUMANZ<br />
The world’s most famous virtual band, comprised of musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie<br />
Hewlett, plus the digital ensemble of vocalist / keyboardist 2-D, bassist Murdoc Niccals, and<br />
American drummer Russel Hobbs, fronted by Japanese singer / guitarist, Noodle, took to the stage<br />
after a 7-year break with their new Humanz World Tour. Their return? A glorious amalgamation of<br />
cartoon enigmas, ethereal lighting, and a touring sound system first. Featuring an ever-changing<br />
cast of special guests including De La Soul and Noel Gallagher, and featuring support from British<br />
rapper Little Simz, Humanz is quite the spectacular. Meanwhile its crew prove to be a collective of<br />
technical and creative friends…<br />
“I’ve never done anything else really,” stated Gorillaz Tour Director,<br />
Craig Duffy upon explaining how he landed at the helm of one of the<br />
most talked-about productions of 2017. “I had a ‘proper’ job for about 2<br />
years in the early 80s at EMI’s radar division, but funnily enough, nobody<br />
wanted to employ a blue haired punk rocker. I used to watch bands play<br />
4 or 5 times a week, and back then you’d just offer to help until you got<br />
a job,” he shrugged, comically. Cementing his career in live music, Duffy<br />
has never looked back, and has worked with Damon Albarn for a mighty<br />
20 years. “Strangely enough, I started touring with blur in 1997 in San<br />
Francisco, and played the same city again 20 years later with Gorillaz; it’s<br />
been quite a journey!<br />
“Damon is all about making music - he’s always writing and creating,<br />
usually with 5 or 6 projects on the go at once and when he started this<br />
one, he began by telling us how great it would be if he didn’t have to tour a<br />
project, if cartoon characters could be the band, essentially. That was his<br />
initial idea. The reality is, that if you’re Damon Albarn, people will eventually<br />
want to see your face.”<br />
The band didn’t come out in front of a live audience until Glastonbury<br />
2010, 6 years after their conception and, in the interim, they had become<br />
a globally talked about act. The 2017 incarnation of Gorillaz live is an<br />
exceptionally well-executed production, and with lots of people to look<br />
at on stage, it’s a far cry from being incognito. From discreet lighting, to<br />
a video world that draws you into a virtual reality, to a mighty powerful<br />
gospel-inspired choir, the band are a sight to behold. In short, Gorillaz<br />
have become something of an iconic amalgamation of 2 worlds, which<br />
tastefully collide and blossom into an almost spiritual, musical project.<br />
Duffy continued: “The lighting design on this show is stunning, it’s honestly<br />
an amazing-looking show. We’re really pushing what can be done on stage,<br />
and as a design team they’ve done an incredible job. Taking those designs<br />
and delivering it on a daily basis, is something Joel [Stanley, Production<br />
Manager] has pulled off on a massive scale. Humanz is run by a brilliant<br />
bunch of people and the artists give us an amazing show each night, I feel<br />
as though everything we do really pushes and challenges each department,<br />
and because we’re working together, the whole ensemble looks, sounds<br />
and flows the way it does.”<br />
PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT<br />
Production Manager Joel Stanley is also a long-serving member of the<br />
Albarn creative machine, and, as he explains, his own journey has had him<br />
wearing many different hats: “I initially met Damon when I was brought in as<br />
one of the drummers on Monkey: Journey to the West.”<br />
For those unfamiliar, Monkey was Albarn’s Chinese Opera & stage<br />
adaptation of the novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en, created by<br />
Actor / Director Chen Shi-Zheng along with Albarn & artist Jamie Hewlett,<br />
co-creator of Gorillaz. He was just 20 years old. “That’s also when I first met<br />
Craig. I was always hanging around, trying to do things in the production<br />
office that was nothing to do with being a drummer! Then the Musical<br />
Director asked me to help him with some spreadsheets & it all sort of<br />
happened from there; they knew I wasn’t going to just turn up, play drums<br />
and go home… turns out I’m a bit of a geek! From there, Craig & I formed a<br />
friendship and I ended up doing the whole show and then went on tour.”<br />
The concept of Humanz began when the visual creators were hired<br />
by Albarn’s management team, elevenmgmt. Block9’s Gideon Berger<br />
and Stephen Gallagher were tasked with animating the digital content<br />
for the touring visuals. The meeting of minds came after Block9 worked<br />
on a Banksy exhibition. The connection between Banksy and Albarn is<br />
19
GORILLAZ<br />
quite strong, with the elusive artist having created artwork for blur’s Think<br />
Tank. “They hired Block9 to help envisage Jamie’s vision,” said Stanley.<br />
“Jamie has his own company, but this time he’s sat down with Block9 and<br />
went through all the back catalogue in order to bring the freshest ideas to<br />
light. Almost acting like his art directors with Jamie being the artist & the<br />
creative, and Damon being the musician. They were a nice creative go-to<br />
from the beginning.<br />
“The first thing I did was hire Matt Pitman, our Lighting Designer. We put<br />
the working content onto Matt’s WYSIWYG for pre-visualisation and turned<br />
it into a movie, and then Damon and Jamie could sit down and watch it as if<br />
they were in production rehearsals; with Gorillaz being an animated band,<br />
the visual content is obviously vital to the look of the show. Matt’s lighting<br />
design is also integral to the overall look; the lighting show very much<br />
complements the video. What I love about the design of this show is that<br />
everything has a purpose, every single cue is there for a reason, and it looks<br />
spectacular.”<br />
So, what does the audience see? “You’re going into the world of Gorillaz.<br />
The album concept is a soundtrack to the end of the world, now that<br />
Donald Trump is president. [Sigh - Editor’s note]. That’s the concept for the<br />
album - a rave for the end of the world, but as a participant, you’ll probably<br />
have your own interpretation too,” he commented.<br />
In total, there are 45 crewmembers, 16 drivers, 13 band members, 10 in<br />
the artist entourage camp plus a variety of featured artists and supports<br />
bands. For Stanley, this job is particularly close to his heart. “I used to play<br />
for the artist, and now I’m on the other side of the fence, so we have a very,<br />
very close working relationship. I’m so proud of it!” he smiled.<br />
As for the personal touch needed on a show of this size? “On every<br />
tour I do, I try to make a conscious effort to get to know everyone. I have<br />
an open-door policy if anyone needs to have a chat or if I notice anything<br />
I think might be worrisome; I’ll chat to them first. I know there’s a whole<br />
support network out there which is becoming more vocal & available at the<br />
moment, but I also feel like roadies will chat to people they actually know,<br />
so it’s important to make yourself approachable for that.”<br />
Holly Sandeman, Production Coordinator and Stanley’s right hand<br />
woman, took up the story: “The day-to-day can be quite hectic, looking<br />
after all the crew. Luckily, they’re all lovely!” she confirmed. “Logistically,<br />
looking after them with hotels, transport and various needs means I deal<br />
with a lot of different personalities, so that’s a really interesting part of my<br />
job. There’s well over 40 crew with our drivers, so it’s always busy, probably<br />
one of the busiest tours I’ve done.”<br />
When I first met Sandeman, she was touring with the late George<br />
Michael in 2011. I remember it because, it being my first year at this<br />
magazine, she was one of the very first women I met who toured. She was<br />
also all smiles and went out of her way to accommodate this ex music<br />
journalist during my first technical journalism trip to Amsterdam’s Ziggo<br />
Dome. How has the industry changed during those 6.5 years? “I think<br />
there’s a new generation of young people coming through the doors, and<br />
I’m definitely seeing more ladies on tour these days. I personally started out<br />
in rigging; I helped my brother at a rave and discovered I could do staging<br />
for a job. I applied at Unusual Rigging and was accepted, I worked there<br />
for a few years & I became the middle person between the riggers and our<br />
clients. I just love touring though, especially on this tour, we’re surrounded<br />
by our friends.”<br />
The tour vendors include Neg Earth Lights, Block9 for visuals, Entec<br />
Sound & Light and Brown Note Productions for audio, Fly By Nite for<br />
trucking, tour busses from Jumbo Cruiser, Mojo Barries, The Pantry Maid<br />
for catering duties, Video Design and Universal Pixels for video rental, Rima<br />
Travel, Global Motion for freighting, All Access Staging & Productions for<br />
band Risers and TAIT for scenic elements & set construction.<br />
VISUAL DESIGN<br />
“The tour started off with some warm ups,” confirmed Stanley. “At the start,<br />
we carried a small production that eventually grew as we added flown<br />
scenic elements of video, more lights and so on; by the time we’d done 3<br />
months in the US the production was fully developed for its UK & Euro run.”<br />
Venturing back home also prompted some changes, including a complete<br />
change in video, courtesy of Video Design. “Coming to Europe with a<br />
different video supplier, somehow all felt very familiar,” said Stanley.<br />
Lighting Designer Matt Pitman had a background in concert video before<br />
finding his way into lighting design, and so has an innate understanding of<br />
how the 2 mediums can best complement one another.<br />
Stanley said: “For Gorillaz we just have a large upstage wall of hi-def LED<br />
and an IMAG screen each side of stage fed by a nice little camera package<br />
and PPU from Video Design. There are 13 performers in the band plus<br />
20
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GORILLAZ<br />
guests; for that reason, the rig looks very straightforward, 4 trusses across<br />
stage, a bit of side and back light, back video wall, some risers. That’s the<br />
only way so many performers and their stuff can be accommodated and<br />
give them the room to work. Dylan and I had some conversations about<br />
IMAG and he is extremely competent, relieving me of that burden. The<br />
original Jamie Hewlett produced content material we use can present<br />
large areas of solid colour at intense levels, or even white so we needed to<br />
temper the lumen output from the back wall, something we now do live<br />
in the show with Glen Jenkins, our touring media server operator, riding a<br />
fader.”<br />
Stanley expressed his satisfaction with the video rental house: “Alex<br />
Leinster from Video Design came out to our production build and first show<br />
in Luxembourg to make sure everything was OK, which was great. The<br />
crew are great too, it all feels very familiar which is just what you want to<br />
happen.”<br />
Dylan Etherington, Camera Director, explained that he “knew little<br />
about this show and kind of went in blind”. His first gig running video for the<br />
band was in Dubai for an outdoor Halloween concert. He told <strong>TPi</strong>: “I hadn’t<br />
seen the show or any rehearsals, and went straight into the UAE to shoot<br />
my first show. I had a video to watch of the show beforehand and I decided<br />
to change a couple of things around. The way the camera plan-up was<br />
structured was 2 long lenses at FOH and 2 in the pit. I personally don’t really<br />
like long lenses as I feel it’s always a flat, 2D image. All the cameras were<br />
forward facing, so everything that was going to the side screen was coming<br />
from the floor perspective of the show. I decided to take 1 long lens away<br />
from FOH and put it on a hand-held camera on stage, shooting both the<br />
band and audience, and it worked really well. We’ve now got 8 cameras in<br />
total; 4 are operated and 4 are mini cams, which I have set up over 2 multiviewers.<br />
I always have it set up as if I’m reading a book; I always go from<br />
stage right to FOH, then to stage left.”<br />
After mastering his camera angles to perfection, Etherington opted to<br />
use a Ross Carbonite 2ME video switcher for control. “We’re using it for it’s<br />
most simple purposes; sending the live IMAG cut straight to side screens.<br />
It can do far more than what we need it for on this occasion but it is a<br />
comfortable and reliable piece of kit to use.”<br />
The video set up is a standard IMAG on either side of the stage, with video<br />
content playing from the upstage wall. “In terms of how we’re shooting<br />
the show, I had the privilege of being able to watch it in Zurich, and it’s<br />
amazingly lit. From the POV of the audience being in the audience, it looks<br />
phenomenal. It’s not lit for video though, it’s very dark. When shooting,<br />
we try and avoid the dark areas. However, we’ve been told to really make<br />
a feature of the dark areas on his show and it’s working out really well. The<br />
content is clearly a big part of Gorillaz, Jamie Hewlett as an artist is half of<br />
the band, so we’re trying to feature that in the IMAG as much as we can. A lot<br />
of the musicians on stage are in silhouette throughout, and we’re trying to<br />
consciously use that - with the screen in the background - when shooting<br />
the show. There’s a lot to shoot on stage, which makes it interesting, and it<br />
keeps the camera guys busy! One thing that I believe can let a gig down is<br />
its video content, but this is spot on. On the song Stylo, for example, we use<br />
a music video with Bruce Willis and that’s been mixed with the animation,<br />
and it’s just so unique to watch.<br />
The video control package was supplied by Phil Mercer’s Universal<br />
Pixels. The MD of the new video rental company - which has made the<br />
shortlist of the <strong>2018</strong> <strong>TPi</strong> Awards in its first year! - told <strong>TPi</strong>: “We’re supplying<br />
the video elements for the global touring package including custom LED<br />
screens for the Oracle structure and disguise media server control surfaces.<br />
I’m very pleased to be continuing a relationship with Gorillaz, which began<br />
over a decade, and several previous touring campaigns ago.”<br />
Automation Engineer, Blane Dracup, utilised a Kinesys Elevation system<br />
running Vector software, with 3 500K motors. He took up the story: “This<br />
show doesn’t need to move very fast; the Oracle itself doesn’t weigh as<br />
much as you might think so it’s quite an easy structure to move. I time it<br />
from the timecode information and I receive from the backline; it’s quite a<br />
detailed set of timings, so I have a timecode feed to myself.”<br />
He worked closely with Production Rigger, Jerry Hough, who added: “It’s<br />
a simple rig, and quite a modest size show from a rigging point of view,<br />
with around 50 points. There’s 4 lighting trusses and the video screen, the<br />
Oracle; a T truss with some Kinesys motors on it and a round video screen<br />
that moves around during the show. I take care of the package of reeling<br />
and lifting equipment, and then everywhere we go I have a team of local<br />
riggers that actually do the rigging, 10 up & 5 down. The locals generally<br />
know their city’s buildings, so I just come in, mark out the positions of all<br />
my points and liaise with them on load in. We’re using Litec EXE hoists,<br />
which have really made an impact, Litec seem to be a very popular choice<br />
for a lot of riggers now.” Weighing in at just under 20 tonnes, Hough<br />
produces the rigging plot which identifies the magnitude of calculations<br />
22
The SL-Series.<br />
More art.<br />
Less noise.<br />
sl-series.com
GORILLAZ<br />
to provide accurate information for the venues, risk assessment files and<br />
method statements to cover the day-to-day check lists, from unloading trucks<br />
to rigging assemblies, planning, working at height and generally making sure<br />
all the equipment is safely maintained with up to date inspections and risk<br />
assessments. We constantly keep an eye on the condition of our equipment;<br />
we really look after it meticulously.”<br />
The moving scenic element is a flying gag comprising a rounded,<br />
automated set piece affectionately named the Oracle due to it representing an<br />
‘all seeing eye’, as if Big Brother has turned up to the party. The circular video<br />
panel - manned by LED Tech Mattie Jobson - comprises both rectangular<br />
and triangular Glux 9mm tiles supplied by Universal Pixels, and enclosed in a<br />
banded frame created by TAIT Towers during a 2-month pre-production phase<br />
at its Pennsylvania HQ.<br />
STROBELITE<br />
Pitman’s lighting design is a sight to behold. He began: “Joel called me in<br />
December 2016 when the album was allowed to be played to people who<br />
weren’t studio staff. He brought it to my house and we sat down, listening,<br />
getting really excited about the project ahead; I’m a massive Gorillaz fan! Joel<br />
and I had wanted to work together on a project for some time, so the fact that<br />
it happened to then be with one of my favourite bands was perfect for me -<br />
what a privilege.”<br />
Having worked with Gorillaz for a year now, Pitman is experienced in<br />
delivering a show sensitive to the band’s large video element. His lighting<br />
design frames the upstage video screen effortlessly, keeping the band in<br />
relative silhouette for almost the entire show, with artist lighting solely via<br />
2 downstage Robe BMFL truss spots. Designing lighting to keep up with the<br />
dynamic stories and messages of the on-stage animation was a key focus for<br />
Pitman. “For the Humanz tour, I was tasked with making a lighting show that<br />
felt relevant to the landscape and style of the Gorillaz artwork,” he said.<br />
“The animation and content for this tour is heavily influenced with grids,<br />
tiles and heptagrams, so this formed the basis for the placement of the<br />
fixtures.”<br />
Pitman continued: “Everything was expertly slotted into cunning length<br />
arrangements of HUD pre-rigged truss by Nic Burlace my Lighting Crew Chief.<br />
I needed everything in exact positions to be able to achieve the shapes which<br />
couldn’t really be compromised by truss joins or rigging problems, so getting<br />
the correct layout of various lengths was a mean feat achieved by Nic. The<br />
main design was realised for the first time in the US by Bob Looney at 4Wall<br />
lighting and then for the European leg, expertly fabricated by Dave Ridgeway<br />
and Nathan White at Neg Earth Lights.<br />
“I had to ensure that the entire rig contained fixtures that gave me as much<br />
flexibility and colour range as possible. Specifying the lighting rig became<br />
more about fixtures that provided multiple tools than eye candy effects or<br />
special tricks. I needed workhorse lighting fixtures that not only delivered<br />
on power output but also provided good colour rendering and various beam<br />
looks to complement the on-screen animation. 36 Mythos2 were the first<br />
fixtures to be drawn on the lighting plan,” said Pitman.<br />
“I’ve always been a fan of its colour temperature, it has a lovely luminance<br />
and sparkle to it. We use an extremely wide colour gamut for the Humanz<br />
show and the Mythos2’s keep up brilliantly. As well as colour, they have really<br />
good output that provides me with not only strong beam looks against the<br />
huge video surface, but also wide gobo looks. We needed this versatility as the<br />
show lighting is quite unconventional at times, extremely theatrical at others<br />
and then all out rave cave for the rest!<br />
“I also needed a second hard edge fixture with huge output for some of the<br />
more theatrical ideas I had, I immediately chose Robe BMFL spots, there are<br />
16 flown and a further 8 on the upstage edge for backlight. They’re such great<br />
lights, power, beam and speed. It’s the upstage row of BMFL’s that give the<br />
stage such a lovely backlight all the time.”<br />
The video wall is framed by 32 GLP impression X4 Bar 20’s and 16 pairs of<br />
Solaris Flare Strobes on 1.5m drop arms create a ‘suspended strobe ceiling’<br />
specifically designed for one song. Pitman added: “I’ve also got another 8<br />
onstage; as they’re so popular, there was a shortage of Flares last year - they<br />
were a little challenging to find!”<br />
All wash lights are from Martin by Harman. “We used 33 Quantum Washes<br />
and 10 Aura XB’s because I need the colour speed of an LED wash light to keep<br />
up with video!”<br />
For control, it’s an MA Lighting grandMA2 Light with a backup, and 2 MA<br />
Lighting VPU Lite (for pixel mapping all RGB fixtures). This is the second project<br />
I’ve used a VPU on, there is a fair amount of pixelmapping going on during<br />
the show. There’s a song called Strobelite where the upstage video content<br />
24
GORILLAZ<br />
is being played back through the Solaris Flares, and if I had to program the<br />
strobe hits into cues to do what happens in the video, it would’ve taken me<br />
about a fortnight, but using a VPU means that we can speed up the creation<br />
of the show with amazing results.”<br />
Pitman is a huge MA advocate: “Some of this show is programmed<br />
like a theatre show, at times what happens on screen literally happens<br />
in the lighting rig. The frames within the animation change so quickly<br />
that some songs feature hundreds of lighting cues - cues that change,<br />
theatrically speaking, the look of the stage, as though the scene on-screen<br />
has fallen off of the video wall and covered the musicians. I need a desk<br />
which gives me the ability to drive a show of this complexity, there are<br />
thousands of sequences in the showfile, the rig is 36 universes, there are<br />
multiple protocols being sent and received, huge amounts of timecoded<br />
information, pixelmapping and live control.”<br />
The show was programmed at Pitman’s Pixelmappers Studio himself<br />
and Dan Crowther using WYSWYG R39. He continued: “As always, the clients<br />
wanted to see the progress of the lighting programming, so we worked on<br />
the songs in WYSIWYG with screen grabbed content playing in the render,<br />
then we could record an entirely finished song and email it to production<br />
and management.”<br />
The look of the show is centred around the content on the upstage<br />
video wall, with the lighting elements often going almost unnoticed<br />
because it’s so cleverly done. It’s as relevant as it is unimposing. “I’d like to<br />
think of it as an extension of the content as opposed to a separate entity<br />
all together; it’s supposed to be entirely complimentary. That’s the real<br />
challenge. The video drives a colour palette towards my design, in creating<br />
songs, I’d always watch the content 3 or 4 times before even assembling any<br />
looks. Jamie’s artwork makes it really easy to immediately put forward and<br />
an idea about how to respond lighting-wise. We’ve been sound-checking<br />
every show day for the last 3 or 4 months, and every day we rehearse a new<br />
song we haven’t done before. There are now 71 songs in my showfile, which<br />
is amusing because I used to hear tales of other bands who didn’t want to<br />
commit to a song list for a tour, meaning that friends in the industry would<br />
have like 45 songs in their desk - I’ve got 71 and we’ve still got another year<br />
of touring to go!” he laughed, clearly relishing the challenge of it all.<br />
SOUNDCHECK<br />
Since Gorillaz first began touring in 2010, Entec Light & Sound has been its<br />
UK audio vendor. Deploying a hat trick of mighty titans, namely DiGiCo,<br />
d&b audiotechnik and Shure, as well as the emergence of a promising<br />
transatlantic partnership with Colorado-based Brown Note Productions,<br />
Entec is once again proud to support the cartoon wonders. In the second<br />
half of 2017, Entec - a long-time d&b rental house - entered into an<br />
agreement with Colorado-based Brown Note Productions to give d&b’s<br />
next generation. The rental house has recently invested in d&b’s new<br />
loudspeaker series, the SL. This tour features its large-format touring<br />
system, the GSL, which made its first touring appearance with Gorillaz at<br />
Luxembourg’s 6,500-capacity Rockhal in November. “We were very keen<br />
to start using it as soon as possible and it was immediately evident that<br />
it’s a really clever design,” stated FOH Engineer Matt Butcher, a mainstay<br />
within the Albarn camp since just prior to blur’s 1994 Parklife tour, who<br />
worked alongside System Tech & Audio Crew Chief [and <strong>2018</strong> <strong>TPi</strong> Awardsshortlister!]<br />
Perttu Korteniemi.<br />
Butcher continued: “My first impression was that it is very quick to rig,<br />
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25
GORILLAZ<br />
Tour Director, Craig Duffy; Road Manager, Orla Clarke with Production Coordinator, Holly Sandeman & The Pantry Maid’s Lucy Bell; Backline Tech, Andrew Hamwee;<br />
Lighting Designer, Matt Pitman; System Tech & Audio Crew Chief, Perttu Korteniemi with FOH Engineer, Matt Butcher.<br />
using the compression mode for flying, and I was bowled over as soon as<br />
we turned it on because the amount of punch you get from the low end is<br />
startling.<br />
“When we first started using it we were playing bottom heavy program<br />
without the subs on and putting a little 60Hz bump in the PA just to see how<br />
much low end we could get out of it, and it was pretty staggering. We then<br />
fired up the new SL-SUB, which is just on another level. I believe it’s almost<br />
a hybrid of the J-SUB and J-INFRA, but the new model goes lower and is<br />
incredibly powerful whilst retaining so much clarity.<br />
“Generally speaking, with sub arrays you can lose that power alley effect<br />
down the middle, making it a little bumpy at FOH while it tails off when you<br />
move away, but I’m not finding this to be the case with GSL. I’m getting a<br />
remarkably smooth, fat and even cardioid dispersion of sub bass across the<br />
entire arena.<br />
“Right from the start of our pre-production, we made the firm decision<br />
to do everything absolutely right and not compromise the audio quality,<br />
and the results speak for themselves. A few of us have known Damon for<br />
so long that we feel able to make a lot of suggestions for improvement and<br />
he respects our opinions. For instance, we were very meticulous about<br />
assembling the kick drum samples from the various Gorillaz records so that<br />
they can be triggered live and they are reproduced so well through this new<br />
d&b system. We’re achieving a very tight bottom end and great articulation<br />
on bass guitar and bass synths.”<br />
The UK arena touring system, which was supplied by Brown Note<br />
Productions’ Ryan Knutson comprised 18 boxes of GSL per side, 18 SL-SUBs<br />
configured as a sub array. Side hangs were 20 V-Series per side, and side fills<br />
were 4 d&b V10P’s. The system was amplified by 40 d&b D80’s and signal<br />
distribution is via 4 d&b DS10’s.<br />
“Our first few days with the system were remarkable,” Butcher said.<br />
“I walked around the back and the sound just disappeared. We ended<br />
up taking the level down by 2-3dB because we no longer had to rise<br />
above the ‘disinformation’ that we had become accustomed to. We<br />
suddenly appreciated how much level usually comes out of the back of<br />
a box. Because there’s no extraneous low end floating around on stage,<br />
everything sounds so much cleaner all the way down the line, so from my<br />
perspective at FOH it’s a perfect situation.<br />
“It’s a complicated show with so much going on at any one time. Our<br />
core line-up consists of drums, electronic percussion, guitar, bass, 2<br />
keyboard players, 6 backing vocalists and Damon who plays piano, guitars<br />
and keytar. We have pretty much reached the limits of what is possible with<br />
an SD7 but, for me, it’s the best control surface for a job of this scale.”<br />
A DiGiCo user since mixing on his first D5 in 2009, Butcher said: “The<br />
symmetry of the SD7’s layout - with left and right fader bays, and a master<br />
VCA bay in the middle - allows me to do 3 things simultaneously, and that is<br />
what makes it so practical. On the left, I have 2 layers of band instruments<br />
with vocals and guests on the right. Dave’s fader layout is fairly similar for<br />
the same practical reasons; we double up 8 radio mics into individual artist<br />
channels.”<br />
Butcher admitted to being a “big fan” of the SD7’s internal dynamics.<br />
The plug-ins he uses include aural exciters on snares, ADT, compressors<br />
and 4 delays with 1 assigned to replicate a CB radio effect. “Alongside those,<br />
I’m also running a Waves SoundGrid package on a laptop for things like live<br />
hard autotune effects on vocals for a De La Soul number and Saturnz Barz,<br />
the Popcaan track from Humanz. Waves also comes in handy for de-essers,<br />
multi-band effects and a gated fuzz box for snares. We’ve always tried to<br />
make things a little more interesting by integrating dub flavours.”<br />
Due to the nature of the show and its ever-changing roll call of special<br />
guests, the input count can differ from one night to the next, however,<br />
Butcher reported that “as a guide, I can just about record the show at 48kHz<br />
on 128 inputs on a Waves MGB interface via 2 MADI streams”.<br />
26
GORILLAZ<br />
A NEW KIND OF AUDIO<br />
The GSL is designed for large outdoor events; it’s bigger than the previous<br />
flagship, the J-Series, with 14in drivers on the front, a couple 10’s on the<br />
outside, a 10 in the mid and then 3 2inchers in the top in an amazingly small<br />
compact package. The GSL sub, which has 3 21-inchers has a tremendous<br />
output from it. I think its 9db more than the low end J-Series.”<br />
The GSL’s rigging needs are described as “very easy”. It can rig in 2<br />
modes; intention mode (typically seen on the J-Series) or compression<br />
mode, where “you bring it in flat and then ratchet it up to make the arc<br />
angle with the pins in position”.<br />
Ben Shapiro, Head RF Technician and part of the Brown Note family,<br />
told <strong>TPi</strong>: “We support Joel in the all of his projects. We had previously<br />
worked with Gorillaz in the US supplying the d&b J-Series prior to the new<br />
GSL system coming out. When we heard the new system & we decided to<br />
purchase it - before any tours or shows were booked with it - I knew it would<br />
be appropriate to put it in the hands of Matt; he’s an exceptional engineer.<br />
That’s how the whole thing came about, the new d&b system, collaborating<br />
with Entec who support us over here and us in the US, so it’s worked pretty<br />
well.”<br />
Both control surfaces specified are DiGiCo SD7’s, provided by Entec’s<br />
Jonny Clark. The powerful machines were the only console deemed<br />
suitable for a mix heavy, complicated production. The overall control<br />
package was specified by Monitor Engineer, Dave Guerin. The audio system<br />
relies on 3 DiGiCo SD-Racks while a Lenovo Thinkpad drives a DiGiCo<br />
Orange Box audio format converter for keyboards and tracks. In total,<br />
there are 28 channels of Ableton playback, 8 tracks of click for various band<br />
members, and 8 channels of digital keyboards with other keyboards such<br />
as piano, Moog and vocoder running off analogue outputs. His 133-channel<br />
count within monitor world further require the use of a DiGiCo SD11i for the<br />
20-channel crew talk back system.<br />
MONITOR WORLD<br />
Guerin generates an average of 20 mono monitor mixes with 30 in stereo<br />
for in-ear feeds, sidefills and Albarn’s piano wedges. Backing vocals are<br />
mixed left and right, with Albarn’s vocal centred. 12 d&b M4 wedges are<br />
distributed across the stage as well as a V-SUB that is added to the drum<br />
fill. Jerry Harvey JH16V2 Pro in-ear monitors are used for the majority of the<br />
performers in conjunction with Shure PSM 1000 hardware.<br />
“It’s a surprisingly quiet stage despite the extensive amount of activity,”<br />
noted Guerin, “and that especially helps when you add the string section<br />
because you’re not battling against the inevitable background sound<br />
pouring down the string mics. You can get them in the sidefill mix without<br />
generating feedback.”<br />
The RF side of the operation is wholly dependent on Entec’s recent<br />
major commitment to Shure’s new high-tier Axient Digital system, which<br />
handles around 50 channels of IEM and AD Series radio mics for vocals and<br />
backline, all of which are monitored from a Waves eMotion LV1 desk via a<br />
patch on the SD11i. “I was taken aback by how clean the Axient sound is,”<br />
commented Butcher, whose opinion was shared by Guerin. “Yes, it’s a real<br />
step up in quality,” he said.<br />
“As we have so many people on in-ears, it wasn’t a problem to stretch<br />
to another seven packs for the BVs who, after previously being tethered to<br />
their mic stands, are now on radio mics and have the freedom to dance<br />
around. We were concerned that we wouldn’t have enough spectrum<br />
available for everything, but we went to Axient for the radio mic systems<br />
and for the guitars and bass, the latter having a much narrower bandwidth<br />
27
GORILLAZ<br />
Production Rigger Jerry Hough; Camera Director Dylan Etherington; Monitor Engineer Dave Guerin; RF Tech Ben Shapiro of Brown Note Productions.<br />
per channel and therefore freeing up more air space for the IEM systems.<br />
I’ve been extremely happy with the results.”<br />
The Humanz tour has been yet another exciting chapter in Entec’s long<br />
history with Gorillaz’ band leader and the company’s support is valued<br />
highly by crew and production management alike. “It’s great having [head<br />
of sound] Jonny Clark at Entec; we’re clearly all on the same side… he’s one<br />
of us,” Guerin pointed out. “I had a problem a couple of days ago and texted<br />
Jonny. He was immediately on the case and had someone here with me this<br />
morning to solve the issue without the slightest fuss.”<br />
Guerin stated: “Damon is still on wedges. It was mostly to clean the<br />
sound up on stage. The more wedges you have on stage, the more sound<br />
sources there are on stage. Some of the band had done it before the ones<br />
who hadn’t got used to it in rehearsals. The only one not on click, again, is<br />
Damon, who is actually singing.<br />
“We’re using Shure transmitters as we found them to be the best, so we<br />
use Shure radio mics too. We had about 47 channels and it was easier to go<br />
to the newer, digital radio mics because they have narrower bandwidths<br />
and you get more within the same frequency range.<br />
Shapiro added: “The whole band is running on IEMs apart from Damon.<br />
There’s 26 channels of our stereo, we also have 20 channels of the Shure<br />
Axient wireless system. We adopted that for the UK tour because we had<br />
a large increase in channel count so it made sense to use a new system.<br />
You can fit more frequencies into a small space, so it was a no-brainer.<br />
We’re running 20 channels on mics and guitars and the whole thing is tied<br />
together with Waves LV1’s.<br />
PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM!<br />
Andrew Hamwee, Playback Tech, is the man looking after all the backing<br />
tracks, which in Gorillaz world, is a mighty task done via the SD11i. “I deal<br />
with the programming and compiling of new songs, mainly. There’s a lot of<br />
new songs on the road and a lot of the time, we rework a old ones too. All of<br />
Gorillaz songs are quite complex; there’s a number of sounds and samples<br />
that come along with their unique sound. We’ve spent a lot of time with<br />
Damon, and a lot of the time with the studio engineers who have recorded<br />
it and mixed the album. Chopping up sounds, sampling keyboards, getting<br />
sounds off the album, recreating them live, so the whole production and<br />
live repertoire sounds as like the album as possible, and even better, that<br />
extra 10% in the flesh,” he smiled.<br />
Hamwee is monitoring over 60 channels. To keep the audio quality true,<br />
a digital signal path runs through all the samples, tracks and keyboard<br />
sounds, as well as the triggered drum sounds. Analogue back-ups are<br />
switched in via a Macro, the main inputs being MADI via an Orange Box to<br />
the Optocore. While Andy has direct control of the SD11i, I control it via an<br />
iPad app. Andy also has a FOH mix into the SD11i and he’s able to check that<br />
everything on the tracks is audible in the FOH mix and advise on any levels<br />
that may need to be adjusted.<br />
“By moving all the shout inputs and outputs to the SD11i, it means<br />
I’m not quite fully maxed out on the SD7, which is why I’m able to fit some<br />
additional performers on there like the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. Having<br />
spare resources on the SD11i means we can split the shout system so that<br />
Andy and another tech can line check all the keys and their MIDI, while at<br />
the same time I can line check everything else with [Entec’s] James ‘Kedge’<br />
Kerridge, our stage tech, without talking over each other.<br />
“In fact, Kedge has been a great ally in all of this. As well as mixing<br />
monitors for the support act, Little Simz [who collaborated on the song<br />
Garage Palace], he is on a headset throughout the show and looks<br />
after the cables. He will often relay stage instructions back to me for<br />
mix adjustments.” Entec’s package also included DiGiCo SD12’s for the<br />
support’s FOH and monitor mixes. The audio team was completed by<br />
James Kerridge, Head of Stage; Chris Speirs RF2, Monitor Tech; Colin<br />
Woodward, Stage Left PA Tech, Kev Smith and Stage Right PA Tech.<br />
Production Manager, Joel Stanley, joined the conversation: “Working<br />
with Entec has been really good and it’s a pleasure to be dealing with<br />
Jonny. No request has ever been too big. Whenever we have identified a<br />
28
GORILLAZ<br />
Stage Manager Ethan Merfy with PM Joel Stanley; Automation Engineer Blaine Dracup.<br />
piece of equipment that we desperately need, Entec has ensured that if<br />
they don’t have it in stock, they will purchase it without hesitation. They’ve<br />
been solid and I feel like we consistently have their complete attention.”<br />
The sentiment was echoed by Monitor Engineer Dave Guerin: “Entec are<br />
great, I wouldn’t go anywhere without them!”<br />
STAGE HANDS<br />
“I was an economics major and took a semester off to build these stages<br />
in Asia… here I am 26 years later!” laughed Stage Manager, Ethan Merfy. “I<br />
guess I’m not a behind-the-desk sort of person and I feel very fortunate to<br />
do what I do.” Merfy was drafted into the Gorillaz camp when the ill-fated<br />
Linkin Park One More Light tour was cut short due to the tragic passing of<br />
singer Chester Bennington. He continued: “I enjoy this camp, it’s made up of<br />
a bunch of really good people. I knew the rigger so I reached out to him and<br />
he told me how welcoming everyone was, so it was a no-brainer. I’m the<br />
only American on this tour, but he was right, everyone was very welcoming.<br />
Joel had wanted to work with me for some time, and vice versa, and for one<br />
reason or another, this time it worked - and it’s been a great experience.”<br />
Merfy’s day-to-day duties include being in control of the floor from<br />
when the first truck door is opened. A lot of the stuff I deal with on a show<br />
of this size actually has nothing to do with being on the stage, but rather<br />
facilitating the end of goal of making the stage come together correctly.<br />
Managing the gear from the trucks, to making sure everyone has a safe<br />
space to work in, to making sure we have storage readily available should<br />
we need it. There’s a lot of equipment and a lot of people involved in this<br />
production, and I believe a lot of my time is spent ensuring that I stay one<br />
step ahead of any problems before they potentially arise.”<br />
HOME COMFORTS AND FAMILY VIBES<br />
Orla Clarke, Tour Director Assistant, has been with the band since their<br />
Return To Plastic Beach tour 7 years ago, and describes it having been like<br />
Wacky Races in the years that have followed. “We went around the world<br />
with Gorillaz, then we did the blur reunion tour before this production, so<br />
we’re sort of like family at this point,” Clark told <strong>TPi</strong>. She first entered into<br />
the lifestyle via the kitchen, and is now clearly a mainstay for a lot of her<br />
touring family, who rightly told me Orla would make me laugh throughout<br />
our interview. [“It’s Orla, don’t let spell checker change my name to Oral;<br />
that happens too often!”].<br />
Her love for home comforts while not in fact being at home has led<br />
here… “I love baking and travelling, and I was trying to figure out how to<br />
bake my around the world. I ended up helping my friend’s mum cater one<br />
year at Glastonbury, and the rest is history. I actually think catering is one<br />
of the hardest jobs on the road; the hours are so long, but it’s also the job<br />
where you get to know everybody and you hear everything. You’re literally<br />
at the heart of it all, like any good kitchen,” she smiled.<br />
“My first ever tour was with Michael Bublé, it was so much fun; I just<br />
used to feed the Canadians cake and they loved me for it!” she laughed.<br />
“I met Craig Duffy during a Russell Watson tour, and he then asked me<br />
to come and work for him.” These days, although Clark enjoys the culinary<br />
delights of tour caterers’ The Pantry Maid, she’ll typically be found looking<br />
after hotel accommodation for the band. “I love hotels, I’m probably a hotel<br />
nerd… I just get so into it. I like finding like cool places for them to stay, and<br />
it becomes a real challenge when the numbers are this big, but I definitely<br />
seek out the little gems.”<br />
Clarke was a gem in her own right when, upon finishing a Duran Duran<br />
tour as a Production Coordinator, she moved to New York after accepting a<br />
job with the band’s management firm. “I missed the road. I just love being<br />
in different cities and meeting new people all the time. I don’t like being<br />
behind a desk, unless the desk is in a different city every day, and then I can<br />
cope with it!” she noted. “Holly Sandeman, our Production Assistant and<br />
I have basically been in each other’s shadows for 3 years now; we spend<br />
most of our time together. I love working with her, she’s the best. I think<br />
most people will tell you that they have solid pal on every tour… I have just<br />
happened to have toured the world for 3 years with mine.”<br />
Home for the bands on the tarmac came courtesy of Richard PriceDeer,<br />
of tour bus supplier Jumbo Cruiser. He stated: “It was a great tour for us to<br />
be involved in, with 6 of our newest vehicles on the road with them. Gorillaz<br />
tour & production management are a great team, and Craig and Joel have<br />
been a pleasure to work with. Logistically there were some long and hard<br />
drives for our drivers, so a lot of planning was involved on our side to ensure<br />
our busses ran to precision; at one stage there were 18 drivers working on<br />
this one tour for us! It all went smoothly, the band and crew reached every<br />
destination ahead of scheduled arrival times, and we were immensely<br />
proud to be a part of such a well-executed tour.”<br />
It seems the sentiment is felt unanimously…<br />
The Humanz tour heads to Mexico for the first stop on its South<br />
American run until the end of March, before beginning the festival circuit<br />
with Rock Am Ring & Rock Im Park.<br />
<strong>TPi</strong><br />
Photos: Andrew Benge, Tony Woolliscroft & <strong>TPi</strong><br />
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29
PRODUCTION PROFILE<br />
IBIZA CLASSICS<br />
While electronic / orchestra crossover concerts seem to be all the rage these days,<br />
it certainly seemed to resonate that little bit extra with punters when The Heritage Orchestra,<br />
conducted by Jules Buckley, was chosen to provide a high-brow twist to a selection of club anthems<br />
curated and performed by the legendary Pete Tong and his hand-picked band of musicians and<br />
guest vocalists.
IBIZA CLASSICS<br />
Production Manager, Keely Myers, was appointed relatively last-minute<br />
by Tour Director, Paddy Hocken, who has been at the helm since the<br />
start of 2017. Myers began: “Paddy appointed the suppliers earlier in<br />
the year, but they are all ones that we have a long history of working<br />
with. While they’ve been doing festivals in summer and arena shows<br />
in other continents already, this version of the show is quite different<br />
and certainly more evolved. The production has grown in size as well,<br />
particularly since the addition of the automated screens, extra cameras<br />
and a larger stage.”<br />
Although Myers wasn’t that familiar with the recent wave of orchestra<br />
/ electronic shows due to a busy schedule of her own, she soon learned<br />
both the idiosyncrasies of such a production and the market that now<br />
surrounded her.<br />
She said: “Of course there are going to be surprises when 2 worlds<br />
collide but it’s not been too dissimilar from your usual rock ‘n’ roll show -<br />
the fundamentals are the same. It’s true there are certain rules that apply<br />
to the orchestra in terms of unions or working hours but that has been<br />
the case for other shows I have worked on, like Children In Need Rocks.<br />
Essentially it’s just a lot of people on stage and more of a challenge to move<br />
them around in the meantime. Between myself, Jules, Chris Wheeler and<br />
Orchestra Production Manager, Claire Wackrow, we make sure everything is<br />
running smoothly.”<br />
Despite the size of the undertaking for Myers and her team, the crew<br />
were only afforded 4 days of production rehearsals in LH2 while the band<br />
and orchestra were in Music Bank. The entire production then only had a<br />
single day to rehearse under the same roof.<br />
Myers remembered: “We were in a great position after rehearsals, even<br />
though we didn’t have much time. It’s always nice to have opportunity to<br />
finesse things but we’ve done so much in a short space of time.”<br />
Cassius Creative was charged with refining the show’s look from the<br />
previous run, ably assisted by show content from Silent Studios; lighting,<br />
rigging and automation from Neg Earth; video by Video Design; lasers from<br />
ER Productions; and an imposing stage and riser package from All Access<br />
Staging & Productions. The show’s euphoria-inducing audio package came<br />
from Skan PA Hire, while orchestra-specific IEM came from Next Level Audio<br />
and backline came from John Henry’s and Frontline Music.<br />
Logistical support for the tour came from Phoenix Bussing and<br />
Transam, the latter of which supplied 3 52ft ‘Big Boys’ and 6 45ft trucks, with<br />
Bittersweet Catering feeding 150 people per day for dinner. H&S backing<br />
came from Piper Event Services, while Radiotek ensured on-site comms ran<br />
smoothly and The Tour Company got the substantial crew from A to B.<br />
Myers gave her take on the organisational challenges that faced her and<br />
the rest of the crew on this short but complex run of shows. “I came up with<br />
some interesting bus splits and a truck schedule to overcome hold ups<br />
on load-out,” she began. “One bus leaves for the next venue a bit earlier,<br />
so on their arrival next morning can start tipping trucks and markout.<br />
Stage Manager, Dave Murphy and Head Rigger Amos Cotter are part of the<br />
advance team allowing myself, asst. SM Mark Berryman and Rigger Chris<br />
‘Karrit’ Harris to stay back to make sure the load out goes to plan.”<br />
She continued: “Paul at Bittersweet has done a fantastic job as well - it’s<br />
not easy to feed this many people every day! We have a system down for<br />
that too; with allocated time slots to eat dinner for crew and orchestra.<br />
“Our Production Co-Ordinator, Amanda Davies, has been a constant on<br />
this run and fantastic to work with, as has our Production Assistant, Victoria<br />
Bunney, who assists on my other tours. Their support in the office really<br />
has been invaluable for the duration the tour. And I have to say a massive<br />
thank you to all of the crew and suppliers who, as always, offer consistent<br />
support.”<br />
32
IBIZA CLASSICS<br />
CASSIUS CREATIVE<br />
Dates in Australia and the US marked the last outings of the previous Ibiza<br />
Classics look, leaving show Show Designers Chris ‘Squib’ Swain and Dan Hill<br />
of Cassius Creative to conjure the ultimate Balearic nostalgia trip.<br />
Squib explained: “We’ve been involved with Ibiza Classics since<br />
November 2016 and this is its third incarnation. It’s taken us a while to figure<br />
out what exactly it is; we deal with pop stars and bands that usually have<br />
quite a defined visual identity. We’ve taken things that worked before like<br />
the lasers and live video, but everything is more refined, more polished.<br />
“We realised there were three key elements that were important. The<br />
first was Ibiza itself - our crowd are mostly a bit older and have probably<br />
spent some time there, and all the songs are an homage to that place.<br />
There’s an element of nostalgia we wanted to introduce, without being<br />
corny. As management said during production rehearsals; the star of the<br />
show is Ibiza.<br />
Tong was particularly keen to ensure that all aspects of the island were<br />
displayed throughout the night, with almost as much screen time given to<br />
the nature and beauty of Ibiza as to its iconic nightspots. Squib revealed:<br />
“If we started this in May we would have sent a filmographer to Ibiza<br />
with a shopping list of shots to get for us but we couldn’t get over there<br />
before closing parties. We still managed to get some drone footage of the<br />
beaches and old town that’s quite contemporary. We also offset this with<br />
the footage we used for Yeke Yeke, which was sourced from a Channel 4<br />
documentary from 1992; that’s probably the ‘clubbiest’ bit of the show.”<br />
The second factor for Squib to consider was the sheer visual impact of<br />
having so many musicians on stage. “That dictated how much live footage<br />
we used on the screens,” he said. “We wanted to a crowd that might not<br />
necessarily be used to a live orchestra just how each component works.<br />
This ties into the third aspect; which is lighting the show practically. We<br />
have some orchestra moments, some clubby moments, and a few that<br />
are a mixture of both. It’s all about using the lighting to balance those<br />
components and making sure the audience can see them.”<br />
Although there wasn’t a cut and dry narrative that ran throughout the<br />
show, Cassius Creative made sure to add a handful of touchstones during<br />
the set. Squib said: “We start off with footage of a plane landing in Ibiza,<br />
then the second song is of the sunset. The content is a bit more fluid until<br />
the final song, which sees the sun coming up again. It’s not very rigid, more<br />
like little bookends for the show.<br />
“There are no gags during the show as we knew we didn’t need any -<br />
we have the ultimate gag just by having a full orchestra on stage. Even so,<br />
we’ve been conscious to purposely turn the video off a few songs, just to<br />
allow the lasers to breathe and the audience’s eyes to rest a bit.”<br />
The show designer went on to discuss the thought behind the<br />
commanding video presence that loomed large behind Tong and the scores<br />
of musicians below him. He explained: “It always had to be big, but we<br />
wanted something more architecturally interesting than just a massive slab<br />
of video. We ended up going with 4 horizontal screens that could move to<br />
give us some flexibility. We can hide and reveal lights with it and the surface<br />
area means we can make good use of the Notch looks.”<br />
The automated components of the lighting rig consisted of 34 Robe<br />
BMFL Spots, 2 BMFL Followspots, 32 LED Beam 150’s, 31 Claypaky Mythos,<br />
and 72 GLP impression X4 Bar 20’s. Cassius Creative also specified a<br />
number of effect features including 32 SGM Q7’s, 18 TMB Solaris Flares, 5<br />
Martin by Harman 32cm Sceptrons, and 6 100cm Sceptrons.<br />
Lighting Crew Chief, Adam Morris, commented: “It’s quite a<br />
straightforward rig to be honest; we have 4 straight trusses over the stage,<br />
as well as a front truss and side hangs. We have to play nicely together with<br />
all of the other departments during the rig and de-rig because everything is<br />
moving and there’s video and lasers intertwined with the lighting. We’ve got<br />
a nice system going by now, which means that everyone can get on with it<br />
quickly and safely.”<br />
He continued: “Without the rolling stage we’d be working up until doors<br />
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IBIZA CLASSICS<br />
Above: Becky Hill lends her vocals to one of the evening’s subtler moments, Sing It Back.<br />
every night but we fly the rig early and can run out the floor lights before it<br />
rolls. The side hangs and front truss are pre-rigged and all stage Claypaky<br />
Mythos and X4 Bars are outrigged, which saves time again. It’s all clicking<br />
nicely now - when it gets to that point it’s great.<br />
“Interdepartmental cooperation is something that I very much enjoy. I<br />
don’t like gigs where everyone doesn’t see the big picture; but you have to<br />
on this because there’s so much stuff in such a small space. We’ve all said<br />
we’d love to tour this for longer than we are as it’s such a nice crew and a<br />
great-looking production.”<br />
He continued to describe some of the more complex aspects of this<br />
inter-departmental cooperation: “I’ve never seen this amount of integration<br />
with video and the Kinesys system before. The video guys are taking all of<br />
the positional information from the Kinesys software and feeding it into the<br />
disguise media servers in order to map the video content. This makes all of<br />
the on-screen content stay in the same position, relative to the movement<br />
of the trusses - kind of like projection mapping but with LED screens!”<br />
This somewhat complicated the networking side of things for Morris<br />
and his crew, with their Kinesys data being sent to the video crew and<br />
an ArtNet feed coming the other way. “Our rig is being controlled by the<br />
MA Lighting grandMA2, using SACN, and then video is sending an ArtNet<br />
feed, which we merge with some of the universes to control the X4 Bars<br />
above the screens. They are pixel mapped to match the video content<br />
underneath, which gives a really tight beam to bridge any gaps between<br />
the screens as they move. Unfinished Sympathy, for example, has this water<br />
scene on the video content and the X4s make it look like its tricking down<br />
the trusses.”<br />
Another standout in the rig for Morris was Robe’s RoboSpot system,<br />
which was used in conjunction with BMFL FollowSpot. He said: “As well as<br />
making things safer by negating the need for crewmembers in the air, it also<br />
means we don’t lose people on the load-in; not to mention the fact that it<br />
gives the guys at FOH full control.”<br />
The lighting crew was completed by Lighting Operator, Jordon Cooper;<br />
Automation, Andy Beller; Andrew ‘Jurgen’ Munford, Tom Bailey, and Tim<br />
Spilman.<br />
VIDEO<br />
The video content was displayed on a set of moving LED screens<br />
immediately upstage of the on-stage musicians. Veteran Video Director,<br />
Mark Davies, was shooting the show, with all video equipment and camera<br />
system provided by Video Design.<br />
“This was no ordinary arena show,” began Davies. “In simple terms,<br />
there was no room for a camera track in the pit as the subs needed to be<br />
placed in advance of the downstage edge to help isolate the musicians<br />
from low frequency energy. Despite this, a track-based system in that<br />
position was essential if I was to be able to convey all the visual dynamics of<br />
this high-energy show. Fortunately, Video Design has been working closely<br />
with Bradley, using their excellent robocams to produce just the solution<br />
I needed. The new Bradley tracking camera proved a great alternative. In<br />
fact, the experience was so good that if this situation occurs again I would<br />
use even more of them.”<br />
A standard 48mm diameter scaff pipe rigged to the front stage edge was<br />
all that the camera system needed. “It’s that easy to rig,” said Davies, “And<br />
that makes it really useful - it takes up almost no room. Luke Collins from<br />
Video Design operated the cameras remotely for me and he was excellent.<br />
That took care of the pit shots, but the other big difficulty with shooting an<br />
orchestra is that there are music stands everywhere, which blocks angles.<br />
To get clean shots you need to be up high, but a tower camera or a jib of<br />
some size on stage was just not a practical consideration. Again, tracking<br />
robocams rigged high up the sides of stage were a perfect alternative.<br />
Unobtrusive, they were barely visible on stage by comparison with the<br />
conventional alternative. You can also control the cameras using DMX so<br />
it’s a simple thing to hook them into a BlackTrax system for sophisticated<br />
programming of motion and focus if you need to.”<br />
Cutting for such a wide screen format also provided its own<br />
34
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IBIZA CLASSICS<br />
conundrums for Davies. “The screen surfaces were essentially in 2 parts;<br />
IMAG to either side of stage, to which I fed 100% of the show; and an<br />
upstage set of 4 tracking landscape LED screens that moved under Kinesys<br />
control. There were 4 songs where IMAG was used on the stage screens so,<br />
in effect; I needed to think about 2 distinct cuts simultaneously, which took<br />
a while to get my head around!”<br />
He continued: “Otherwise the rear LED ran content, which I have to say<br />
was beautiful. Programmed by Jack Banks and Nathan under the direction<br />
of Dan and Squib from Cassius Creative, the result was really slick. Luckily<br />
for me, between the 2 different cuts, the framing stayed the same, which<br />
made things easier. A lot of what was used on the back screens needed to<br />
be more mid-shot to work, so it was not exactly straightforward. It all went<br />
very smoothly, particularly considering we had just 1 day of rehearsals.<br />
We went straight into 5 flawless shows in 4 venues, back-to-back. That’s<br />
measure of how good the delivery is from Video Design and the great crews<br />
they put together.”<br />
LASERS<br />
Laser system design specialist, ER Productions, has a long history of<br />
working with Pete Tong and his management team on a variety of projects.<br />
Cassius Creative visited ER in 2016 to check the out company’s latest<br />
innovations and flesh out the creative direction for the show. “Having<br />
collaborated with Cassius on countless projects in the past, we instinctively<br />
knew the technologies that would whet their appetite and our latest fixture<br />
Kinekt didn’t disappoint,” said Ryan Hagan, Co-founder of ER Productions.<br />
Impressed by its compact size, capable output and versatility, Cassius<br />
specified 28 Kinekt fixtures to create a central laser feature, which<br />
surrounded the scores of musicians on stage.<br />
To create the look, the Kinekts were split into 2 groups, with 14 attached<br />
to trusses above the stage and 14 rigged across the downstage edge. A<br />
third zone of lasers was installed using 4 of ER’s newly launched Storm<br />
fixtures, which created larger and more detailed aerial effects. With such<br />
a versatile rig at his disposal, ER’s Andrew Turner, who programmed the<br />
lasers, created a range of unique looks for each track in the set list.<br />
“The Kinekts are great, we’re really happy with them,” commented<br />
Squib. “Andrew and Seth [Griffiths, Laser Operator for ER] both did a great<br />
job of programming and the lasers themselves are a big step up; we used to<br />
have just 4 standard heads but now we have them, plus 2 rows of Kinekts.<br />
It’s made the laser looks huge; Pete and his management both commented<br />
how incredible it looks.<br />
“I’ve seen people try and use lasers alongside lights or video, but they<br />
are really at their best when you turn everything off. We light Insomnia<br />
in the classic green - which we wouldn’t usually do, but it’s meant to feel<br />
nostalgic. Kind of a nod to the pre-RGB lasers and that era rather than<br />
something cheesy.”<br />
Griffiths looked after the laser show on the tour, which ran to timecode<br />
using Palgolin software. He explained: “The Kinekts are good for this as<br />
they are so small and compact, and the cabling allows them to be linked up<br />
together, rather than running individual lines to each laser. This means it’s<br />
quicker to rig them and their size means they are less likely to move around<br />
on the truss.”<br />
While laser shows can occasionally be an cause of anxiety for<br />
performers on stage, the Ibiza Classics show had the added twist of<br />
someone on stage [Conductor, Jules Buckley] that was facing the units<br />
for the duration of the evening. Griffiths said: “I zone them up over the<br />
orchestra and terminate on downstage edge, just underneath shoulder<br />
height on Jules. I tweak them so they don’t go too high and, as long as the<br />
person is aware there will be a lot of lasers hitting them, it’s always fine.<br />
I’ve had chats with a few of the musicians that weren’t used to it, to make<br />
sure they don’t move and they are reassured at all times. It’s important that<br />
people feel safe on stage, so they can perform to the best of their ability.”<br />
He continued: “The lasers are always the fun moment and you know<br />
you are always going to see a lot of them on Instagram. I like how balanced<br />
and well thought out the show is; video, lighting, and lasers all have their<br />
36
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IBIZA CLASSICS<br />
Above: Production Manager, Keely Myers; Skan PA’s Lee McMahon; Stage Manager, Dave Murphy; Cassius Creative’s Chris ‘Squib’ Swain; ER’s Seth Griffiths.<br />
moments. Squib is great at keeping the room dark and pumping loads<br />
of smoke in for the laser moment. It’s nice to work with someone that<br />
appreciates what we do.”<br />
A hefty smoke package comprised of 6 ER Viper deLuxes, while 4 Unique<br />
Hazers provided the all-important atmospheric effects. Hagan concluded:<br />
“This show is a trip down memory lane for many of those involved in the<br />
production. It has been loads of fun and we are very proud to be on board<br />
during <strong>2018</strong>.”<br />
STAGING<br />
Stage Manager, Dave Murphy, was tasked with making sure the complex<br />
load-ins and outs went like clockwork each day in spite of the variables<br />
thrown his way. “During the summer we had 47 people on stage, and<br />
to make sure we had a show, sometime back-to-back, with this level of<br />
production was quite bonkers at times. You have to ensure that people who<br />
aren’t used to touring feel comfortable going on stage and performing in<br />
front of all these. The 47 has now risen to almost 70, with a brand new look,<br />
but we don’t do this job for the easy gigs do we!”<br />
Murphy was first on floor each day with Head Rigger, Amos Cotter, to<br />
arrange the trucks, set an unloading order, and coordinate the rigging<br />
process. “We then start bringing out the lights and divide up crew,” he said.<br />
“On this we have a lot of automation, video, and lighting so there’s quite a<br />
lot to manage. We had to work out a system for the 4 moving video screens<br />
as it requires a lot of people to be working in close proximity.<br />
“We decided to stagger them so the lighting and video departments<br />
could leapfrog each other but there are so few shows that there’s not much<br />
chance to develop a rhythm. We’ve had to find where the pinch points are<br />
in a short space of time but it’s been really smooth so far.”<br />
Once Murphy has overseen the build, he then prepares to hand over to<br />
Orchestra Production Manager, Claire Wackrow. Murphy commented: “She<br />
brings the orchestra on in sections, all in space of 15 mins, so it’s a case of<br />
making sure we stick to that. She has a minute-by-minute plan of the show,<br />
and then as soon as Jules and Pete are off stage it’s back over to me.<br />
“As well as the intricate audio gear on stage, there are instruments on<br />
there that are sentimentally important to the musicians and sometimes<br />
worth as much as a house! It’s a daunting task, so we have started letting<br />
the audio boys get on there and take care of it uninterrupted.”<br />
Head Carpenter, Joe Cottrell, gave a more detailed analysis of the 72ft<br />
wide x 40ft deep rolling stage: “As well as the sheer size of it, we have tiered<br />
orchestra platforms ranging from 8ft to 1.6ft. We come in the morning and<br />
build back to front all the way down, at the same time as rigging call. We are<br />
one of the first in and the last out of the arena, as usual!<br />
“The on-stage stuff is where it gets more complicated because of the<br />
height we are working at. There’s are a real focus on safety. It was just a<br />
case of doing everything slower to get technique right, then refining the<br />
process each day.<br />
“The 8ft tier requires platforms to work on, as it’s right at the back of the<br />
stage, so there’s a falling risk. We are lifting a 4ft x 8ft deck over the top of<br />
our heads so there’s a risk of that slipping and going the wrong way. We just<br />
have to be conscious of where we are and who is around us.<br />
“We have 10 local crew guys for the in and out and we have got a good<br />
rhythm going now. Nick Breen and myself are both experienced enough<br />
and it’s been really good<br />
Murphy concluded: “It’s only been a short and sweet tour but it’s been<br />
great to work with and learn from people from different backgrounds.<br />
Seeing how the orchestra managers - what we call the backline techs,<br />
even though they are so much more than that - go about things has been<br />
particularly interesting.”<br />
AUDIO<br />
FOH Engineer Tom Gelissen’s experience of the tour began on something<br />
of a sour note; if only for the fact that he was forced to miss the first day of<br />
rehearsals thanks to the combination of a cancelled plane and the near<br />
shutdown of transport across Europe. He said: “It was a long first day for me<br />
but we caught up thanks to some hard work from everyone involved. The<br />
audience are dancing every night and that’s the important thing!”<br />
Gelissen, something of a specialist in electronic / orchestra crossovers,<br />
gave himself a further challenge when he decided to swap consoles at<br />
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IBIZA CLASSICS<br />
Above: Head Carpenter, Joe Cottrell; Tom Tunney, Tom Gelissen and Ron Peeters; The Ibiza Classics lighting crew; Video Director, Mark Davies.<br />
the last minute - subbing in an Avid S6L only 2 days before we met him<br />
at Manchester Arena. “I primarily did it for sound reasons,” he said. “I’ve<br />
reprogrammed everything now so it’s all working great. We have a full<br />
orchestra to look after, as well as Pete and the band, so it’s a lot of channels<br />
to say the least.<br />
“As well as sounding great, the S6L is very fast and easy to navigate,<br />
even with this amount of channels. You can lay everything out many<br />
different ways and you don’t lose any sound quality if you go to the groups,<br />
with everything staying time-aligned.”<br />
The engineer’s mantra for mixing the show was: “Balance, balance,<br />
balance.” He added: “I create a pyramid in how I control everything; from<br />
channel level, to groups, to the full orchestra. It’s all about the layers of<br />
detail. On one hand you have to make everything audible but you also have<br />
to create a certain impact. We still want to make people dance, which is a<br />
special thing about this show.<br />
“Some people expect to sit down and watch the orchestra but our<br />
crowd want to move, and to help facilitate that you need kick drum and you<br />
need bass. With that in mind, you still can’t get carried away chasing a loud<br />
groove because you want to hear all the details; both from the orchestra<br />
and the additional specifics that are key to each record. I programme<br />
more and more but I like to balance on hand because it means you are still<br />
creating music and push things on the spot, particularly if the crowd react<br />
to a certain theme.”<br />
The majority of these iconic hooks were either triggered by Tong or<br />
the live band, who were armed with a selection of Roland SP-DSXs, drum<br />
machines, synthesisers, and a hard-working Ableton rig.<br />
With the new show design came a number of new songs, which pushed<br />
Gelissen to be more economic with his time. “It’s so expensive to rehearse<br />
with an orchestra that you have to be very well prepared. Mixes are already<br />
done on monitors before they play the first note. Lighting, video and lasers<br />
are all running to timecode but we just have the musicians going to a click;<br />
which is enough of an achievement in itself.”<br />
Audio Crew Chief, Tom Tunney, gave a rundown of the system: “We have<br />
a full d&b audiotechnik SL-Series, with main and side hangs of 16 boxes,<br />
and an additional 4 GSL12’s on the bottom of main hangs to get wider<br />
coverage in the centre. We also have some Y10P front fills and 16 SL-GSUBs<br />
in the pit, underneath the stage in a sub arc.<br />
“With the new boxes you get a wider usable dispersion than with the<br />
older ones because it’s the same frequency response all the way around<br />
now, as apposed to being a bit more woolly round the sides. We use<br />
ArrayCalc and ArrayProcessing to sculpt the room more than we have<br />
before.<br />
“The subs are brilliant as well; I love how smooth the top end is. This is<br />
nice and smooth throughout without ripping your head of. It might sound<br />
a little less sparkly, which some people might have to get sued to, but it’s<br />
definitely more accurate.”<br />
Gelissen interjected: “I like it for that reason! Most PAs sound really<br />
bright and that impresses you at first, but you start mixing and have to take<br />
things out or clean up the top end because there’s too much happening.<br />
Now you have a nice smooth PA and if you want to boost one source like a<br />
vocal or specific instrument, you can do that.”<br />
He continued: “A great feature of this new system is that it’s a cardioid<br />
box, so it cancels more sound on the back, which in turn benefits all of the<br />
stage inputs. We have 140 mics open on stage, so everything in the room is<br />
being picked up by them - including the crowd noise - so whatever we can<br />
cancel on stage is a plus.”<br />
Other new toys included in the crew’s SL-Series package were humidity<br />
and temperature sensors attached to the flying frames. Tunney explained:<br />
“Directly above the first few rows it gets hot and sweaty but above that it’s<br />
completely different. ArrayProcessing relies on temperature and humidity<br />
for its algorithms so this addition has made life a lot easier. There is also<br />
a laser from the top of array that shows exactly how high in the bowl it is<br />
firing.”<br />
As single racks were unlikely to cut it on a gig of this scale, everything<br />
was built up into carts that both simplified and sped up load-ins and outs.<br />
The patch cart itself was 4ft x 6ft x 2.5m and contained all stage racks for<br />
the consoles, all 144 channels of patch in the middle, and all of the sat<br />
looms on top, coiled up and ready to deploy on stage. The substantial RF<br />
inventory and additional amp racks were housed in a separate cart.<br />
Skan PA’s Lee McMahon, who looked after the carts, RF, monitor world<br />
40
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IBIZA CLASSICS<br />
and served as stage fire-fighter during the show, gave an insight into this<br />
intricate set up. He began: “We build the stage right from the load-in; get<br />
every mic and stand out and work our way down from the top tier. There are<br />
about 50 DPA 4099’s just in the first 3 rows - we leave that until last where<br />
the foot traffic is the least. There are so many inputs, mics and stands that it<br />
becomes a team effort to get it all ready, but once the stage rolls I can focus<br />
on looking after the RF, mic handling and spotting for Ron [Peeters, Monitor<br />
Engineer]; essentially trying to pre-empt any issues that might arise.”<br />
He continued: “I don’t have a tech mix during the show so I just listen to<br />
Ron; we’ve got a really good working relationship now. As soon as we hear<br />
a squeak, pop or rustle, and providing I can get in there, we can respond<br />
accordingly. He’ll mute the channel, inform FOH and I will try to isolate it.<br />
“I have a box of spare DPA clips, 4099 preamps and XLR cables,<br />
but sometimes, if the problem is right in the centre, it’s just physically<br />
impossible to get to it. Then it’s a case of waiting until the load-out to try<br />
and resolve the problem.”<br />
He concluded: “You just have to say hats off to the team at Skan for<br />
designing a really efficient system that makes this gig easy. I’ve done<br />
similar shows where a standard line system configuration has been ratchet<br />
strapped together and it’s a pain - you’ve still got multiple racks, multiple<br />
splits - it’s just chaos. Obviously there’s always room for refinement but a lot<br />
of that is based on muscle memory and, unfortunately, we’re nearly finished<br />
already!”<br />
MONITORS<br />
Monitor Engineer Ron Peeters, who works for the Heritage Orchestra<br />
year-round, was already well tuned in to how the show was going to work.<br />
The keystone of his setup was the orchestra’s use of the myMix system - a<br />
decentralised, network-based, audio mixing system for up to 500 audio<br />
channels that is based on having a dedicated user interfaces for each<br />
musician. The system, provided by Next Level Audio, allowed each orchestra<br />
member to fine tune their individual IEM mix from their own chair, and<br />
meant Peeters could channel his attention.<br />
He said: “There are a lot of people on stage but the myMix system means<br />
I can focus on the band, Pete, Jules, and any soloists or guest vocalists. The<br />
orchestra are used to it now as we introduced it 2 years ago and use it on<br />
other projects besides Ibiza Classics. The great thing is that it enables us to<br />
deal with so many channels; not many systems are capable of handling this<br />
many.”<br />
Peeters opted for a DiGiCo SD7 at monitors with an additional SD11 to<br />
pre-mix the strings and orchestra. “I feed a few stems and they can make<br />
their own mix, dial in their own instrument and click to each section on the<br />
interface,” he said.<br />
Peeters continued: “It’s around 140 inputs and maybe 70 mix buses. We<br />
have the 2 desks in an Optocore loop so I can send mixes from the orchestra<br />
into the SD7 and also have direct outs from all the DPAs on the string section<br />
over fibre to the desk, and then merge them into the monitor system.”<br />
The band and guests were on Sennheiser SR 2050 IEMs, while a<br />
smattering of wedges were used for Tong and Buckley. For Tong in<br />
particular, an ingenious method was used to mimic the iconic (and neckstraining)<br />
headphone swapping that is synonymous with the DJs in Ibiza’s<br />
prime.<br />
Peeters said: “For Pete we have a radio pack that he can switch to<br />
engineer mode in order to pre-listen to a separate channel. It’s a nice<br />
feature.”<br />
He continued: “The band’s mixes aren’t that specific; it’s just a case of<br />
striking a nice balance. It’s more the whole setup that is complex, but the<br />
component parts are relatively simple. I’m really familiar with the SD7 and<br />
it’s fast, efficient and flexible; not to mention the fact that it sounds great.”<br />
The audio crew on site was completed by Onno Ooms, Alvin Russ, and<br />
Fred den Dulk, who managed the myMix system.<br />
<strong>TPi</strong><br />
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42
44
PRODUCTION PROFILE<br />
Opposite: Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme once again led his band of faithful musicians and crewmembers on the Villains world tour.<br />
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE<br />
There are many reasons you may want to pursue a touring career; pure wanderlust, a passion for<br />
live events or just a rejection of the traditional 9 to 5 lifestyle. Some who call the road home embark<br />
on this journey in the hopes of perhaps one day working for their favourite band. Late last year,<br />
Stew Hume’s <strong>TPi</strong> got to meet a handful of men and women who achieved this particular goal.<br />
For over 2 decades, Queens of the Stone Age (QOTSA) have been labelled<br />
everything, from stoner rock to alternative, producing 7 studio albums<br />
and garnering the praise of critics and the wider rock community.<br />
Despite several line-up changes, one constant throughout the various<br />
renditions of QOTSA is the devil-may-care attitude of frontman Josh<br />
Homme who, once again, led his band of faithful musicians and<br />
crewmembers on the Villains world tour. After 2 American legs, the<br />
band made their way to Europe, playing an array of venue sizes, and<br />
culminating in a UK arena run. As <strong>TPi</strong> met the various components of<br />
the QOTSA touring machine, it was clear just how many of the crew were<br />
fulfilling a dream by collecting this particular tour laminate.<br />
...LIKE CLOCKWORK<br />
Rob Highcroft led the production. No stranger to the pages of <strong>TPi</strong>, the PM<br />
was last seen with British metallers Bring Me the Horizon. As Sheffield’s<br />
finest take a break, Highcroft took up QOTSA’s management offer to<br />
oversee the Villains tour. “I got a call just over 2 weeks before the first tour<br />
of the cycle started,” began Highcroft, backstage at Manchester Arena.<br />
“Admittedly there was a lot to catch up on but we soon got in the swing of<br />
things. The last few months have been great. The band are a pleasure to<br />
work for!”<br />
For the UK run, Highcroft employed the services of Eighth Day Sound,<br />
Christie Lites, Creative Technology, All Access Staging & Productions,<br />
Outback Rigging and Bittersweet Catering. For travel and logistics, the PM<br />
used Rock-It Cargo, The Appointment Group, Beat the Street and Transam<br />
Trucking.<br />
Highcroft wasn’t the only member new to QOTSA. Two other fresh faces,<br />
who <strong>TPi</strong> met in the production office, were Stage Manager, Jack Dunnett,<br />
and Production Assistant, Vanessa Correa. “It was great to get the call to<br />
work for Queens when Rob rang,” began Dunnett. Correa admitted she still<br />
couldn’t believe her luck to be on this tour. “I’ve been with the band for the<br />
last 3 weeks, afer meeting Rob when the band passed through this year’s<br />
Cal Jam,” she said while unpacking her brand new, bright pink, Peli Case<br />
- who said touring can’t be stylish? “The tour so far has been amazing. It’s<br />
great to be touring Europe in these arenas.”<br />
GOD IS IN THE RADIO<br />
Those who witnessed QOTSA’s latest UK invasion were bound to notice the<br />
massive wall of vintage guitar cabinets on stage. “In total they have about<br />
5,600kg of backline equipment,” stated Highcroft. “The gear they have is<br />
incredibly specific with vintage cabs and heads making an A and B system<br />
almost impossible. It’s key to the band’s sound, so we plan around this from<br />
the set design to our logistical planning. With many productions you will<br />
have to work around some elaborate stage designs but it’s nice for a band<br />
to put their music and equipment at the forefront.”<br />
Both Highcroft and Dunnett have worked towards maximising the<br />
efficiency of handling such a bulk of vintage gear. “I remember when<br />
Rob and I rocked up on our first day in the States we got a feel of just<br />
how much backline the band had - most of which was still in individual<br />
cases,” commented Dunnett.<br />
One of the 3 backline techs for the band was Wayne Faler who handled<br />
guitarist, Troy Van Leeuwen and keys player, Dean Fertita. Starting out<br />
last year while QOTSA toured with Iggy Pop, Fertita lent a hand during the<br />
recording of Villains and “naturally transitioned” to their road crew.<br />
The wall of amps certainly had some elements that would excite any<br />
vintage guitar lover, including several from EchoPark’s line, and even a<br />
reissue Magnaton. Discussing the impressive arsenal, Faler outlined some<br />
of the technical challenges for the backline team. “During the show all the<br />
amps are live, which can create some issues with gain structures. Also<br />
touring with vintage gear can lead to some surprises.” Although, as Faler<br />
45
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE<br />
Production Manager, Rob Highcroft; Stage Manager, Jack Dunnett; LD Emmanuelle ‘Gigi’ Pedron; Production Assistant, Vanessa Correa, and her famous pink Peli case.<br />
stated with a smile; “that’s all part of the fun.”<br />
He continued: “QOTSA are the furthest thing from a digital amp band.<br />
They like to have control of their volume and have the ability to tweak their<br />
tone without having to put their head into a rack unit. There are certainly<br />
flaws in some of this older gear but that’s all part of the charm and very<br />
much in keeping with the guys’ style. It’s the imperfections that add the<br />
flavour!”<br />
IN THE FADE(RS)<br />
Tending the Eight Day Sound PA was FOH Engineer Stuart Bennett. The PA<br />
consisted of a complete d&b audiotechnik system with 18 J-8 and 2 J-12’s<br />
per side, and 6 J-SUBs flown per side. Also included were 2 stacks of 3 B22<br />
ground subs and 16 J-8’s per side for side hangs. For those fighting for their<br />
place at the barricade, there was a centre cluster of 8 V8’s and lip fills of 8<br />
Y10’s. Across the board, d&b D80 amplifiers were used to power the system.<br />
Out front, Bennett utilised a Solid State Logic L500 Plus console alongside<br />
Waves Soundgrid and a Waves MGO MADI optical to Soundgrid interface for<br />
input and outputs. To replicate several of the effects from the album, the<br />
FOH Engineer used the Eventide H9 effects processor. Aiding Bennett each<br />
day was the Eighth Day crew, consisting of Andrew Gilchrest on FOH Audio<br />
Tech duty, and PA techs Daniel Buckley and Ben Sliwinski.<br />
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QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE<br />
Guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen and multi-instrumentalist Dean Fertita, both of whom were looked after by Backline Tech Wayne Faler; Monitor Engineer, Spencer Jones.<br />
mixes was Monitor Engineer, Spencer Jones. Another long-time fan of the<br />
band, Jones pulled out all the stops to secure his space on the crew roster.<br />
“Earlier in the year I had already put myself forward for the FOH Engineer<br />
role but once I heard Stewart was already in place I asked if they had found<br />
a Monitor Engineer. There was a few weeks of silence but then got a call<br />
to see if I would like the gig and fly out to LA the next day for rehearsals - I<br />
dropped everything and bought my ticket!”<br />
On stage Jones handled the mixture of IEM and side fills for stage sound.<br />
The band and 3 techs used JH Audio JH16 with Shure PSM 1000’s. For side<br />
fills, Jones had 2 d&b audiotechnik V-8’s and a J-SUB each side with a<br />
further J-SUB for drummer, Jon Theodore. “After 5 months we have settled<br />
into a nice rhythm and I know what each of the guys likes,” commented<br />
Jones. “But I still like to try new things, especially with Jon behind the kit, as<br />
it gets fairly loud there. For each song I have a snapshot - although the mix<br />
doesn’t vary a great deal apart from the keys that can be more dominate<br />
in certain tunes. Josh’s in-ears, in particular, I treat more as a FOH mix,<br />
altering to the venue we are in and reacting to certain crowd moments.”<br />
Jones explained there was little need for wedges thanks to the wall<br />
of guitar cabinets on the upstage. “A lot of the band are using smaller<br />
cabinets rather than full stacks but they still pack a punch,” commented<br />
the engineer. “Through the tour we have worked out positioning for each<br />
cabinet to minimise as much bleed as possible to the vocal microphones.”<br />
Mike Veres, Monitor Tech, added: “Stewart, our FOH Engineer, came up<br />
with another solution to minimise spill and slap back by deploying a foam<br />
product behind the amp. Especially between Troy’s 2 rigs this helped<br />
isolate each of the mics.”<br />
The Telefunken M80 was chosen for vocal microphones across the stage<br />
due to its “tight pattern and condenser-like HF,” according to Bennett.<br />
“They have worked out great,” added Jones. “They were using another<br />
brand on the last cycle but were open to change.” The Monitor Engineer<br />
went on to talk about the rest of the stage. “On most of the guitar cabinets<br />
we have Telefunken M81. The roll-off on its high end means the brighter<br />
guitars can sound slighter darker and warmer, which fits QOTSA’s sound.”<br />
“DiGiCo is always my go-to,” continued Jones, who handled around 90<br />
inputs and 24 outputs (8 stereo and 15 mono). All RF management was<br />
handled by Veres who used a Shure Wireless workbench to ensure clean<br />
transition for all IEMs. “On this tour we have several LED elements on the<br />
stage [more on that later] which I was originally concerned about,” said<br />
Veres. “However they haven’t affected the guitar rigs in the slightest.”<br />
GO WITH THE FLOW<br />
During the initial design of the Villains tour, the band and management<br />
brought in world-renowned Show Designer, LeRoy Bennett, who came up<br />
with concepts, recalled Highcoft. “In the initial design he had this idea of<br />
LED bars on stage giving a prison bar effect, as well as an overhead beam of<br />
light.” Upon approval, the show was handed over to LD Emmanuelle ‘Gigi’<br />
Pedron, who took the concept and “ran with it!”<br />
Very much at home in the world of rock ‘n’ roll, Gigi has already made<br />
a name for herself working with the likes of Jack White, Jimmy Eat World<br />
and At The Drive-In. Being at the helm of QOTSA’s rig was another tick on<br />
her bucket list. “I have been a fan of them for several years and I know their<br />
back catalogue inside out,” beamed Gigi. “It’s definitely been a dream tour.”<br />
As already stated, backline was of paramount importance to the band.<br />
Many LDs may see this as an issue, working around such a large bulk of<br />
equipment - but not Gigi. “It’s kind of my speciality,” laughed the LD. “I seem<br />
to have specialised in acts like Jack White who don’t have set lists and have<br />
loads of backline across the stage. A concert it should always be about the<br />
music first and then lighting should be built around it.” <strong>TPi</strong> asked the LD if<br />
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QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE<br />
For the UK tour, Creative Technology supplied the tour with a complete IMAG package;<br />
LD Emmanuelle ‘Gigi’ Pedron behind her custom-taped MA Lighting grandMA2; Video Director, Blue Leach.<br />
she was using any timecode or cues for the show, to which she had the best<br />
response: “Over my dead body!” She elaborated: “The last thing I would<br />
want from my light show is to limit the creativity of the band on stage. This<br />
is why nothing is cued and I ride the show live. It gives the band the freedom<br />
to play whatever they want and at any speed. I’m right there with them. It’s<br />
like their song - I just Go With The Flow.”<br />
Christie Lites’ new UK operation provided the lighting rig for the<br />
European tour. In total it provided Gigi and the crew with 41 GLP impression<br />
X4 Bar 20’s, 21 Martin by Harman MAC Quantum Profiles, 70 Martin Quantum<br />
washes, and 40 Elation Professional ACL 360is. Also on the rig were TMB<br />
Solaris Flares and Elation Professional CUEPIX Blinders. “I was incredibly<br />
happy with the service given by Christie Lites,” commented Gigi. “All the<br />
gear they supplied was brand new out of the box which was a rare treat! I<br />
was also very excited to have a full LED rig. Ever since I saw Andi Watson’s<br />
work on Radiohead’s 2008 tour - when he had the first all-LED show - I<br />
always wanted to tour with one. 8 years later and I finally have!”<br />
Commenting on Christie Lites’ involvement with the tour was Roy Hunt.<br />
“Working with Gigi was a pleasure,” stated Hunt. “We worked with her on<br />
utilising the design to suit the large stock of fantastic equipment we have<br />
at our new UK shop in Coventry, and along with the outstanding crew, led<br />
by James Such, we were proud to have a provided a service that is second<br />
to none. Nothing short of what Rob Highcroft and the production team<br />
deserve!”<br />
Along with the sizable lighting rig, the design also featured 7 custom<br />
LED poles with an industrial spring base, which were scattered around<br />
the stage. “This was an idea from LeRoy’s original design to have an LED<br />
product across the stage replicating a ‘prison bar’ look,” commented<br />
Gigi. In the first rendition of the show in America, Upstaging provided<br />
the production with 8 I-Beams complete with LEDs. “However, Josh and<br />
the guys like to have a bit of danger on stage and want to interact with<br />
the gear around them,” explained Gigi. This meant they needed a slightly<br />
more robust solution that could keep up with the band’s stage antics. In<br />
a very short time, Upstaging produced several prototypes of the new LED<br />
product until they found a solution for both the band and Gigi. The tubes<br />
themselves contained an RGBW LED strip light, which survived the rough<br />
handling of the guys on stage, as well as allowing Gigi to mimic the other<br />
colours being used in the rest of the rig.<br />
Gigi described the changes made to the design throughout the<br />
campaign: “For the first shows in the States the main colours we used<br />
were red and white, echoing the album cover and conveying the idea of<br />
angels and demons - a theme QOTSA often explore within their music. More<br />
recently I have been throwing in some other colours too keep the show<br />
fresh.”<br />
The LD stated that the biggest challenge for the UK run was moving<br />
this show into large spaces. “The design of this show is very theatrical and<br />
intimate,” she explained. “I also use a lot of haze, which can be tricky in<br />
these massive arenas when the AC kicks in. But the addition of the IMAG<br />
screens have certainly helped make the show look good for people at the<br />
back of the arena.”<br />
For control, Gigi put her faith in an MA Lighting grandMA2 desk. “I<br />
have been touring for around 17 years, always using MA. I started out with<br />
an MA Lightcommander and worked my way up. I’ve now been on the<br />
grandMA2 for several years and I really get on well with it. I also have a great<br />
relationship with the team at MA who are always on the other end of the<br />
phone if I have any issues or questions.”<br />
But Gigi’s grandMA2 for Villains has a different aesthetic to others you<br />
might have seen on the road, thanks to the LD’s now-famous custom<br />
tape jobs. Gigi’s customisations have even sparked the interest of the MA<br />
Lighting, which brought the LD out to Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt in 2017<br />
to exhibit one of her tape-masterpieces, a rendition of Piet Mondrian’s<br />
50
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QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE<br />
Composition with Large Red Plane, Yellow, Black, Gray and Blue. “I strongly<br />
believe the equipment we bring on the road is a part of the design itself. So<br />
a few years ago, I started to personalise my boards according to the tour’s<br />
major colour scheme.” For this run, Gigi created her own version of the<br />
Villains album cover, which many eagle-eyed fans spotted and took photos<br />
of as they made their way into Manchester Arena.<br />
The UK run also saw the addition of automation to the set. “In the<br />
States the rig was similar, although we are doing 3 straight truss rig over<br />
the individual pods,” explained Highcroft. “For Europe we have brought<br />
on Outback Rigging who have brought in a Kinesys system for the lighting<br />
pods.” The rest of the rigging for the tour was provided by audio and<br />
lighting vendors Eighth Day Sound and Christie Lites, respectively. Finally,<br />
supplying risers for the tour was All Access Staging & Productions.<br />
MISFIT LOVE<br />
As QOTSA stepped up the size of their European shows, Highcroft and the<br />
band’s management knew IMAG video was going to be a necessity. For<br />
the UK dates Creative Technology provided the complete IMAG and video<br />
package for the shows. Handling Video Director duties was Blue Leach.<br />
His 4-date stint with the band actually coincided with his 50th birthday,<br />
although according to the Director: “I couldn’t think of a better way to<br />
spend it!” Prior to the UK tour, Leach was drafted in to cover the band’s<br />
Antwerp performance and get a feel for the show. “This was the first time<br />
I managed to have a conversation with Josh and Gigi to get a feel of the<br />
aesthetics of the show. Especially as I’m the one coming into the tour I<br />
wanted to make sure I kept in line with Gigi’s vision.”<br />
Creative Technology’s Head of Music and Entertainment, Graham Miller,<br />
discussed how the company first got involved in the UK tour: “The band<br />
were doing a couple of shows in Europe with one of our sister companies,<br />
Faber, providing an IMAG package. Rob the reached out to us and asked if<br />
we could provide screens for the UK shows too - we jumped at the chance<br />
of course!”<br />
Leach said the last 2 shows had gone great, although it was a “roll with<br />
the punches” style performance. “For Queens, no 2 shows are the same.<br />
You have to be prepared for whatever they throw at you. But that’s how I<br />
prefer to direct - reading the band’s movements and reacting accordingly<br />
rather than a hyper-choreographed show.” Jim Liddiard, Project Manager<br />
from Creative Technology looked after the QOTSA tour and even took on the<br />
role as one of the camera crew for the UK tour. “It is always difficult joining<br />
a tour with such an established crew, especially as an entire department,”<br />
commented Liddiard. “We were very conscious of integrating smoothly into<br />
load ins and outs so as to make our appearance seamless. That being said<br />
we felt very welcome from all departments and the addition of video for<br />
those few UK shows felt very successful.”<br />
Creative Technology provided a Grass Valley Kayak with 16 inputs, 3<br />
Sony HSC-300 cameras and 2 Panasonic robo cams. “I have worked with<br />
Creative Technology for a very long time and they were kind enough to<br />
offer a few extra bits including a track and dolly system for the pit cameras.<br />
They’ve enabled us to get some interesting panning shots,” commented<br />
Leach.<br />
The Director also used his short time with the tour to experiment with<br />
some old school editing techniques. “When I spoke to Josh we discussed<br />
the ‘psychedelic’ influences on the record, which I wanted to try and<br />
replicate with the video footage,” explained Leach. “We dug out a vintage<br />
Panasonic WJ-MX50 - the first desk I ever used in my early 20’s. We have it<br />
down stream for the Kayak and then feed it back through before sending<br />
it to the screens. Through the show we have been doing some old school<br />
tricks, such as still frames in a very horror-esque manner. We have also<br />
used some black and white and block colours, which gives a juxtaposition<br />
between aggressive and smooth looks.”<br />
Leach gave his final thoughts on the tour: “Sadly I’m only on this tour<br />
until the O2 so it’s been short and sweet, but a great birthday celebration.<br />
There have been a few bands I have worked with over the years during<br />
which I really have to pinch myself and QOTSA are definitely among them -<br />
the band are ridiculously good and I can’t believe I got the opportunity.”<br />
AUTO PILOT<br />
Bittersweet Catering ensured all the crew were fed on the UK tour. “While<br />
we were going through mainland Europe due to the logistics and tight<br />
schedule we simply used local catering,” explained Highcroft. “But for the<br />
UK shows we have had Bittersweet following us around.”<br />
Ensuring the 29-strong band and crew got from A to B were Beat The<br />
Street and Transam Trucking. “In total we have 2 crew busses and a band<br />
bus with 5 trucks,” stated the PM. Finally completing the travel team was<br />
Rock-It Cargo. “They were already in place before I was brought into the<br />
QOTSA camp,” stated Highcroft. “However, I’ve collaborated with them<br />
several times in the past which made this transition easy, thanks to Joe<br />
Ryan, our account handler.”<br />
As <strong>TPi</strong> goes to print, the QOTSA camp were prepping for the next leg<br />
of their American tour. However, Josh Homme and the guys will be back<br />
in the UK soon enough with the recent announcement of a one off show<br />
in London’s Finsbury park this summer - surely a welcome sight for the<br />
QOTSA’s faithful followers from this side of the pond!<br />
<strong>TPi</strong><br />
Photos: Shirlaine Forrest<br />
www.qotsa.com<br />
www.leroybennett.com<br />
www.50shadesofbluelighting.com<br />
www.christielites.com<br />
www.ct-group.com<br />
www.8thdaysound.com<br />
www.upstaging.com/<br />
www.outbackrigging.com<br />
http://allaccessinc.com/<br />
www.rockitcargo.com<br />
www.transamtrucking.com<br />
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52
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IN PROFILE
LITECOM<br />
LITECOM<br />
Despite boasting offices in Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Georgia [and a few<br />
famous names on its client list] Litecom remains determined - not - to conquer the world.<br />
<strong>TPi</strong>’s Ste Durham flew to Copenhagen to hear the company’s story first hand.<br />
Litecom’s own CEO, Rasmus Bremer Sørensen, was on hand to play<br />
chaperone to <strong>TPi</strong> for the day, as we visited the company’s various<br />
operations in and around a decidedly crisp but sunny Copenhagen.<br />
First stop was Litecom’s secluded HQ in Kastrup (luckily, just in time for<br />
smørrebrød).<br />
“My brother Morten and I started Litecom officially in 2000,” Bremer<br />
Sørensen began. “We had worked together before that, but it was always<br />
‘just a job’ - mainly freelancing in conventional broadcast and film lighting.<br />
More by coincidence than strategy, our business became focussed on<br />
moving light, which gave us a clear direction.”<br />
Litecom, in its current incarnation, is built on the twin pillars of lighting<br />
equipment rental and, perhaps more surprisingly, real estate. Although<br />
these areas of business may seem disparate at first, the company’s decision<br />
to buy and develop property for its own use has allowed it the freedom to<br />
expand (or consolidate) as it sees fit.<br />
Bremer Sørensen continued: “The real estate company only has one<br />
client, Litecom, but it still means we can see a building and immediately<br />
start talking about how we can add to it or develop the area around it. We<br />
are very good at lighting, but I would go as far as to say that this aspect of<br />
our business is even stronger.”<br />
This talent for spotting prime real estate was evidenced quite recently,<br />
when Litecom came across a disused electrical research facility that was<br />
located a short drive across town in Brøndby. This imposing structure,<br />
which has been affectionately dubbed The Cube, was snapped up by<br />
Litecom to serve as the city’s new go-to rehearsal studio. While this was an<br />
exciting new venture for the team, reality quickly set it once the doors of<br />
this building were reopened.<br />
“When we first came, the place was rubbish,” laughed the company’s<br />
gregarious CFO, Torben Merrilgdgaard. “It had been abandoned for 5 years<br />
due to bankruptcy and had 1.5m of water in the basement! Even so, we<br />
knew it was going to be perfect for us. There is soul there, and a sense of<br />
expectation that is clear as soon as you walk through the door.”<br />
Although it took 2 years of hard work to whip the neglected building<br />
into shape, the facility is now as enthralling as it is functional. The company<br />
has worked to retain as much of the laboratory’s former glory as possible;<br />
with each piece of apparatus and instance of anachronistic décor conjuring<br />
(most likely inaccurate) visions of Nikola Tesla-esque scientists their hairraising<br />
experiments.<br />
From the subterranean tunnels used to circulate heat around the<br />
cavernous main studio to the reinvigorated observation boxes that<br />
overlook it; many of the building’s idiosyncrasies have been refreshed and<br />
repurposed to complement facility’s new function.<br />
The main studio in particular, which was earthed to within an inch of its<br />
life for obvious reasons, benefits from phenomenal acoustics and natural<br />
soundproofing that would have otherwise cost Litecom a small fortune.<br />
“It has been a long and hard journey to establish The Cube, but we are<br />
almost there,” said Merrilgdgaard. “We have never built a rehearsal space<br />
before, so it was important that we did it the right way. We had to present<br />
our case to the mayor, who was very supportive; to ensure that what we<br />
were planning would be for the benefit of the surrounding community. We<br />
57
LITECOM<br />
Above: One of the preserved breakout rooms in The Cube; Eurovision 2017 in Kyiv was another massive undertaking by the Litecom team.<br />
think this has international potential, particularly given the local amenities,<br />
so it is just a case of making sure we do everything properly and on our own<br />
terms.”<br />
SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL<br />
It’s this steadfast refusal to settle for anything<br />
below the company’s own high standards that<br />
is at the core of Litecom’s day-to-day outlook<br />
as well. Bremer Sørensen continued: “We are<br />
a small company and very happy about it. We<br />
don’t need to conquer the world.”<br />
Despite this stance, the company has<br />
experienced enviable growth in recent years;<br />
growth that Bremer Sørensen and the rest of<br />
Litecom’s management have approached with<br />
caution. “That last 4 years have not been healthy<br />
for us,” he said. “We’ve had lots of opportunities<br />
but we grew so rapidly that we became in<br />
danger of becoming a corporate shell with<br />
nothing inside it. Prospects arise and you run to<br />
them because you just expect that they aren’t<br />
going to come around too often. By doing so we<br />
perhaps forgot our core values - we remembered<br />
the clients but we forgot ourselves.<br />
“It’s like in a relationship; you need to cherish<br />
them at all times, but the fact is that, when you<br />
lose something you love, you quite often only<br />
“Prospects arise and you run to<br />
them because you just expect<br />
that they aren’t going to come<br />
around too often. By doing so we<br />
perhaps forgot our core values -<br />
we remembered the clients but<br />
we forgot ourselves.”<br />
Litecom CEO,<br />
Rasmus Bremer Sørensen<br />
58<br />
realise once it’s too late.”<br />
He continued: “We have around 50 or 60 people in the group but only<br />
about 20 rainmakers, so when we are all out of the house in China, the<br />
US, Germany, Sweden, or the UK, then there’s no one back here to pull<br />
the strings. We decided the best thing to do was to try and shrink a little<br />
bit - the old feeling of Litecom is coming back<br />
day-by-day.<br />
“That’s why The Cube is such a good<br />
opportunity. If we can get a client in there then<br />
we can care about them from start to finish;<br />
whether that is solving any technical issues or<br />
coming down to barbecue with them!”<br />
As well as attempting to recapture the<br />
more personal side of its day-to-day business,<br />
Litecom has also had to develop the corporate<br />
maturity and self-assurance to say ‘no’;<br />
particularly when saying ‘yes’ has the potential<br />
to jeopardise the company’s cherished core<br />
beliefs.<br />
Bremer Sørensen explained: “We had a<br />
German client come in during our busiest time<br />
- a client we really care about - but we didn’t<br />
have the ability to succeed with them. We tried<br />
to lay out our options, but we discovered we are<br />
fooling ourselves and we decided it was better<br />
to say no. It’s taken 17 years to have the balls to<br />
do it, and it sucks at the time, but it’s definitely
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LITECOM<br />
been good for us in the long run.”<br />
Morten Bremer Sørensen added: “We like growth as much as the next<br />
guy but our core values need to be built up again or we will be just like<br />
everybody else. We want to be doing things together with the client, on our<br />
terms, instead of not having the time and saying, ‘just sign here’, which is<br />
rubbish. We want to make people feel safe with us and be assured from the<br />
start that they will have their expectations met.”<br />
Bremer Sørensen agreed: “This year our Sweden office has gained<br />
some of the best productions available and our German operation has<br />
doubled their inventory. For the right job we can move anywhere - we<br />
have such good supplier relationships the world over - and we will strive to<br />
provide that service that gives clients security.”<br />
The “right” jobs that Bremer Sørensen alluded to have included some<br />
incredibly prestigious and high profile shows over the years, including<br />
one of the most widely viewed broadcasts on earth, the Eurovision Song<br />
Contest (ESC). “The ESC is a landmark relationship for sure, particularly in<br />
terms of spectators and so on,” he said. “They’re certainly the biggest jobs<br />
we’ve had in terms of the sheer amount of items we supplied but there<br />
other jobs that are smaller in scale but even higher in expectation, such<br />
as the Victoria’s Secret show in Shanghai where we supplied our remote<br />
followspot, the SpotDrive. To be involved in something like this, where a<br />
huge company’s life is essentially on the line for a 40-minute show, is great<br />
for us.”<br />
One of Europe’s most iconic festivals, Roskilde, is another of Litecom’s<br />
regular haunts, and a recent involvement in the world of sport has<br />
added yet another string to the company’s bow. “The most complex<br />
thing we’ve done is providing full production for the World Boxing Super<br />
Series,” enthused Bremer Sørensen. “We had to travel around the globe,<br />
coordinating equipment from different suppliers and getting everything<br />
into one venue in time for doors each night on a show of this scale - quite<br />
an achievement.”<br />
WORKING 24/7<br />
The final stop on our tour was in the north of Copenhagen, where Litecom’s<br />
full film equipment cache could be found in an unassuming nook of TV<br />
studio Twentyfourseven, where shows such as Denmark’s Got Talent and<br />
Wonderkids (whose production rehearsals were currently set up in The<br />
Cube) were filmed. “We always make sure what they have is state of the art<br />
and we regularly come close to maxing out our inventory here,” explained<br />
Bremer Sørensen.<br />
As well as strategically distributing its considerable stock around<br />
Copenhagen in order to maximise its use, Litecom also has its other<br />
branches to think about as well. Bremer Sørensen said: “While the Sweden<br />
office is more or less equipped to the same level as us, our German<br />
operation is mostly concerned with rigging. All of our Cyberhoists are there,<br />
as well as a large proportion of our MX1 trusses, which are manufactured in<br />
house.<br />
“Our Georgian office is more or less servicing the same kind of think as<br />
we do in Denmark, but on a smaller scale. This includes their version of The<br />
X Factor, Georgia’s Got Talent! and some small festivals. It’s still a limited<br />
market because of budgetary constraints, but Litecom Georgia is having its<br />
own good life out there.”<br />
In addition to its own line of truss, Litecom has pioneered a number<br />
of in-house inventions that can be seen on some of its most prestigious<br />
shows. For instance, the company’s SpotDrive remote followspot system<br />
was used to full effect at the aforementioned Victoria’s Secret and on<br />
a number of high-profile tours and other events; often to considerable<br />
praise. “It was really fun to develop the SpotDrive as it basically came out<br />
of nowhere and was built from standard items,” said Bremer Sørensen.<br />
“We never intended to develop a full system; we just wanted to put it<br />
together as a remote that could be used by any desk on any fixture. I think<br />
we accomplished that really well and we’re already working on a V2 that’s a<br />
totally different approach.<br />
60
Ramco’s Annual<br />
Specialist Stage & Lighting Auction...<br />
On behalf of various TV production & event hire companies<br />
Held at the massive Cardington hangar by kind permission on Elstree Light & Power<br />
Auction close: 20th March <strong>2018</strong><br />
Viewing: Thursday 15th March 9:00 - 18:00 | Friday 16th March 9:00 - 21:00 | Saturday 17th March 10:00 - 18:00<br />
Professional Lighting, Staging & Audio to include:<br />
DiGiCo SD7 console, Yamaha PM5d console, 16 berth tour bus, 3 outdoor mobile stages, SBC 12mm video wall, Gtec 37mm video wall, Lodestar<br />
motors, ChamSys M200 console, Wholehog 3 console, Vari-Lite VL3500 moving heads, Robe 700e moving heads, d&b C4 cabinets, d&b Q1<br />
cabinets, d&b D1200 amps, complete Meyer MSL3 PA system, complete L-Acoustics V-Dosc system, trussing, rigging, cabling, flightcases, and<br />
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Collections: Thursday 22nd March - Thursday 29th March 08:00 - 18:00 (Not Saturday or Sunday)<br />
Matt Carpenter: mattcarpenter@ramco.co.uk | 01754882206 / 07483016871<br />
Steve Sunderland: stevesunderland@ramco.co.uk | 01440783557 / 07836661980<br />
View the Catalogue: www.ramco.co.uk
LITECOM<br />
Above: At the time of <strong>TPi</strong>’s visit to The Cube, the Wonderkids production rehearsals were taking shape.<br />
“Having the height and distance in The Cube means we can ensure that<br />
the accuracy is representative of what it would be like in bigger venues. The<br />
system is getting more and more precise and further removed from being<br />
just a remote followspot. It’s certainly exciting to see where we take it in the<br />
future.”<br />
Another of the company’s innovations, spearheaded by its Network<br />
Manager, Michael ‘Havdrup’ Nielsen, is the Litecom app. When production<br />
starts on a job such as the ESC, so does the app; essentially serving as a<br />
communal space to share designs, video maps and lighting plots, preproduction<br />
records, fixture information, crew history and so on. As well<br />
as helping to coordinate production before the crew’s arrival on site and<br />
during the job itself, the app can serve as a treasure trove of information<br />
for production managers, manufacturers and rental houses on how every<br />
single component performed throughout.<br />
As Bremer Sørensen explained: “This means that every part of the job<br />
can be broken down and analysed after the job. Fixtures’ performance<br />
can be assessed, and the timing of each part of the load in and out can be<br />
recorded. This will allow anyone to break down an event in terms of hours,<br />
how many crew are needed to accomplish each task, and which tools are<br />
best for the job.<br />
“Every time you feed the app, you can retrieve data and grow the<br />
catalogue. This makes quotations become more precise as well. This is<br />
invaluable when working on big jobs and, while you don’t always get that<br />
production where the app fits, production value can be improved and<br />
other costs streamlined in the right situation. It’s in constant development<br />
and has proven another great tool at our disposal when pitching these<br />
larger jobs.”<br />
UNTIL NEXT TIME...<br />
With such an enviable arsenal of unique tools at its disposal and an<br />
unshakable ethos at its core, it is clear that Litecom remains in the position<br />
to act as the architect of its own future.<br />
Bremer Sørensen concluded: “We’ve invested a lot to get into the<br />
position where we can have this control over our business, particularly<br />
in the last 5 years. We haven’t spent the money on cars or flights to the<br />
Maldives or holding companies for our pensions. This company is our future<br />
and it is so important that we can point to where the money has gone.<br />
“It’s important for us to be respected for our quality, transparency and<br />
reputation and still be among the best in the market. That is fulfilment to<br />
us.”<br />
<strong>TPi</strong><br />
Photos: Ralph Larmann & <strong>TPi</strong><br />
www.litecom.dk<br />
www.spotdrive.net<br />
62
Photo: Johannes Krämer<br />
Vero is a large format sound system, which has been<br />
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performance. It was designed and developed by<br />
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Vero’s unique flying system ensures absolute driver<br />
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Its meticulously crafted proprietary waveguides<br />
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This month we speak to <strong>TPi</strong> Breakthrough Talent Award winners Matt Didon<br />
and James Walton about their blossoming company, ON LX, and what the<br />
future has in store…<br />
Before enrolling at the<br />
University of South Wales,<br />
Matt Didon and James<br />
Walton already had business<br />
nous. But after being paired<br />
together for High End<br />
Systems’ Hog Factor in 2014,<br />
the duo thought they would<br />
apply their skills to the live<br />
events industry. Three years<br />
later and ON LX provides<br />
bespoke lighting, video and<br />
technical services for events,<br />
installations and everything<br />
in between. <strong>TPi</strong> spoke to the crack team about what the future holds for their fledgling<br />
venture and the challenges of juggling a new business and university work.<br />
“Both Matt and I worked in the live events industry when we met,” began Walton, who<br />
worked for Shock Solutions, which was acquired by White Light about 4 years ago, while Matt<br />
started his own rental mobile DJ package company. With several years’ experience under their<br />
belts, Didon and Walton enrolled at the University of South Wales for a Bachelor’s Degree in<br />
Lighting Design and Technology. In their first year, both continued to work on extracurricular<br />
ventures. Walton explained: “Matt was already building the foundation of what would become<br />
ON LX while I was working on my own business called Spektrum Systems where I would build<br />
custom media server packages. After our successful collaboration on the 2014 Hog Factor, we<br />
decided to join forces, effectively merging Spektrum Systems with ON LX.”<br />
Since the dawn of the partnership, Didon and Walton have been walking the line between<br />
live events specialists and startup tech company. From providing the visual package to The<br />
Giant Tree at Glastonbury 2017 to producing a custom control systems for gym studios,<br />
the brains behind ON LX have certainly proved themselves in several fields. “We are really<br />
focussed on keeping both sides of the business going,” commented Didon. “It’s been really<br />
great working on the app side of the business and we have certainly got people’s attention.”<br />
The goal of their app venture is to provide an “incredibly simple interface that can control<br />
some fairly complex operations”, with features including the ability to “analyse audio in a live<br />
scenario and simultaneously sync and operate lighting automatically.” But Didon and Walton<br />
are both determined to keep in touch with what’s going on in the field rather than pigeonhole<br />
their skills into an exclusively software company.<br />
“Glastonbury was certainly one of last year’s highlights for us,” recalled Walton. ON LX<br />
supplied a bespoke lighting solution with 40 universes of WS2811 pixels with which festivalgoers<br />
could interact. “I had worked in the Greenpeace part of the site for the last few years<br />
and have known Ben Bailes, who oversees the project, for some time. This year Matt oversaw<br />
the all the programming of the show and I handled all the servers and networking of the<br />
event. It was certainly an intensive few days but it looked fantastic.”<br />
Having graduated last year, Didon is now working full time for the company while Walton<br />
finishes his final year of university following a placement year in Australia with Enttec. “To say<br />
it’s been tough is an understatement,” laughed Walton, as he described the balancing act<br />
of holding down a new business as well as a full time degree. But he credits the University<br />
of South Wales’ course as being “incredibly helpful” in developing their business. “As well<br />
as having experienced lighting professionals as lectures, we also have guest lectures from<br />
industry professionals who come in throughout the year. We have both been able to learn a<br />
great deal from these individuals on the business side.”<br />
Looking to the future, the dynamic duo already have some interesting projects on the<br />
horizon. Didon and Walton both recently completed their Notch training and are hoping to<br />
provide even more options for clients, both in the install world and in live touring. “I think<br />
because of how specialised our skill sets are, there is no limit to how big ON LX will grow and it<br />
being our own company means we have the freedom to pursue a myriad of different projects!”<br />
As winners of this year’s <strong>TPi</strong> Breakthrough Talent award, both Didon and Walton will next<br />
attend this year’s <strong>TPi</strong> Awards in <strong>February</strong>.<br />
<strong>TPi</strong><br />
www.productionfutures.co.uk<br />
www.onlx.co.uk<br />
64
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TPI MAGAZINE HALF PAGE.indd 1 06/06/2017 07:40
INTERVIEW<br />
BARCO’S WOUTER BONTE<br />
The Belgian manufacturer’s Strategic Marketing Director, ProAV / Events, discusses the future<br />
of AV with <strong>TPi</strong>’s Ste Durham, and gives a glimpse into the thinking behind Barco’s quest for<br />
immersive simplicity.<br />
Given the incredible change your corner of the industry has experienced<br />
over the past 5 years, what has Barco done to remain at the forefront?<br />
What we do is make sure designers can continuously rely on Barco<br />
technology to put their ideas into reality, as well as bring far more<br />
simplicity into this space. We aren’t here to throw 75 new technologies over<br />
a wall and hope that people like them; and creatives are not waiting for 75<br />
new technologies anyway. What we want to do with Barco moving forward<br />
is to provide simply immersive solutions.<br />
What does “simply immersive” mean in real terms? For us, it’s a world<br />
where any surface can become a canvas for an AV experience. It’s a world<br />
where the lines between real and virtual experiences become irrelevant. A<br />
world where more pixels, brightness and colours help create unforgettable<br />
moments, in an “immersively simple” way.<br />
But of course, “simple” means different things to different people<br />
depending on whether you are an integrator, a supplier or an end client;<br />
simplicity in setting it up; connecting it together; avoiding multiple<br />
conversions and manual interventions; having fewer links in the chain;<br />
being easy to transport - all of these things are part of being simple.<br />
Is this being driven by new technology?<br />
From the Barco perspective, the heart of the processing is a key part of<br />
the value proposition to enable new immersive experiences as well as to<br />
simplify the whole chain. This is driven by the outcome, not just by the fact<br />
that it has creative technology inside. Just look at what happened over the<br />
past few years with projection mapping. The same thing happened where<br />
we’ve added LED technology to almost every situation where you have<br />
light.<br />
Having more light means you can show things in far more situations. But<br />
it also gives us the opportunity to think about the ambient environment, or<br />
situations where you want to have some other action going on. That I think<br />
is a big move.<br />
In Barco’s thinking, offering more brightness and processing power is<br />
going to drive more simplicity in the way we accomplish things, as users will<br />
have extra capacity to play around with. This gives people more freedom<br />
when developing their projects and when choosing the best technology<br />
to get the job done. It’s all about making it accessible, manageable, and<br />
simpler.<br />
What is the industry telling you?<br />
What’s interesting is that this is not just a Barco thing. There really is a<br />
demand for smarter technologies that handle a lot of things that might<br />
have been done manually before. So again, simplicity is the way to go. Less<br />
human intervention leads directly to faster set-ups, to give one example. Or<br />
the same size team can provide more sophisticated mapping.<br />
Let’s push this idea further, as simplicity could sound like an empty<br />
catch phrase. What would it change for you if the projector could be placed<br />
66
BARCO’S WOUTER BONTE<br />
Opposite: Carl Rijsbrack, VP Events, and Wouter Bonte,<br />
Strategic Marketing Director, ProAV / Events.<br />
close to the screen - and behind any speakers or performers - rather than at<br />
the back of the hall? That way, you skip the need to work around projected<br />
shadows and the set-up has a smaller footprint. What about being able to<br />
project files in their native format? Wouldn’t that save time and preserve<br />
the content’s integrity? How about being able to reduce the number of<br />
projectors you need to just one that is bright enough? How about being able<br />
to put projectors alongside fireworks or smoke machines and not have to<br />
worry about them?<br />
The common theme here is simplicity and immersion. More pixels, more<br />
brightness, more freedom and more simplicity; we maintain that they all go<br />
together. It seems obvious when you think about it.<br />
How do you see these trends specifically influencing the way in which<br />
touring show designers and crews select and apply technology moving<br />
forward?<br />
The speed at which new show requirements are adopted forces production<br />
companies to include a longer-term perspective in any of their investments.<br />
Futureproofing equipment has become increasingly important. Even<br />
if certain video requirements or installation flexibilities are today not<br />
common, they still expect the AV equipment to be ready. At the same<br />
time, reliability is essential for any touring designer. They will select the<br />
technology that enables new future experiences, while not compromising<br />
on reliability for their shows.<br />
Does achieving immersive simplicity in relation to concert touring and<br />
live events also mean looking at other disciplines, such as lighting, audio<br />
and special effects, for guidance / trends?<br />
Absolutely. Interoperability and simplification should be looked at from<br />
a holistic AV perspective. Disciplines can learn from each other, yet at the<br />
same time should synchronise. One example: rushing the VideoOverIP trend<br />
to reduce the number of fibre converters and simplifying connectivity is of<br />
little value if each discipline is using a different ‘language’, IP protocol for<br />
instance. Standardisation across disciplines will be critical to accelerate<br />
simplification.<br />
Is the seemingly inevitable move towards energy efficiency also an<br />
important factor for Barco’s R&D teams to consider when looking ahead?<br />
Sustainability has risen on the R&D agenda of likely any technology<br />
company, including the teams at Barco. Power consumption of visual<br />
display technology and its recycling (lenses, for example) are listed by<br />
customers as new important evaluation criteria, not only because of the<br />
direct implications for their total cost of ownership but also to match with<br />
the sustainability objectives that many brands have set themselves.<br />
<strong>TPi</strong><br />
www.barco.com<br />
67
ROAD DIARIES<br />
DAN WOOLFIE<br />
Tour Manager & Drummer<br />
In my pre-Tour Manager days, when I was a drummer (circa 2013), my<br />
band had just finished our first night on an European support tour. It<br />
was my first ever ‘proper’ tour, one of those tours where, due to the<br />
routing, we should have had forked out for a tour bus rather than a<br />
splitter van and hotels. We roped in an ex-ambulance driver (because,<br />
well, you can’t get safer than that!) to help us drive the splitter<br />
while the rest of us took turns in the driver’s seat too. He was also<br />
coincidently a huge fan of the headliners, so on the promise of getting<br />
to see them play every night, he was more than keen to be there. Until<br />
show number 2...<br />
We’d arrived in Salzburg, Austria, and got some sleep before our<br />
drive to Geneva. After lunch we were accompanied by a whistling sound<br />
coming from the engine. We pulled over, opened the bonnet, couldn’t see<br />
anything obviously wrong. And we blew, with 200 miles to do in 4 hours.<br />
After a bit of back seat Googling, we’d figured out that the sound we were<br />
hearing was a rip in the turbo hose. “Sorted,” we thought. “Gaffa tape,<br />
we’ve got tonnes of the stuff.” We were of course, wrong. We plastered<br />
the hose with gaffa, convinced we were mechanical geniuses and were<br />
quite pleased with ourselves for the 5-or-so-miles we got before the<br />
whistling noise came back. Even louder. We located an SOS phone at the<br />
side of the road and managed to call a local mechanic. ETA unknown.<br />
We were contemplating making the call that we weren’t going to make it,<br />
and possibly opt to go to Milan in time for the next show, but by the time<br />
we’d decided to do so, the mechanic miraculously appeared. Hope soon<br />
turned into a “ah, nope!” Though, as what we witnessed (for €450 - that<br />
we definitely didn’t have) was a Swiss mechanic take off our black gaffa<br />
tape and replace it with his silver gaffa tape. Less than half a mile down<br />
the road, his more-inferior-gaffa-job-than-ours blew off and had us back<br />
on the side of the road. We asked for our money back but suddenly his<br />
English was no good.<br />
We made the call to the headliner’s Tour Manager and from what I<br />
remember, the response was “Try to get here… we’ll wait for you.” Now,<br />
try as we might, Switzerland is proper hilly. We had so much hope that<br />
everything was going to be OK while we were going downhill at a normal<br />
speed, then utter misery as we tried to get back up the next!<br />
I woke up in the back of the van around 7:30pm, our intended stage<br />
time. We still had an hour to go. There was another call. We’d now play<br />
at 8:30pm. We were all peering over the front seats and watching the<br />
miles tick away, while simultaneously screaming “FLOOR IT” at our exambulance<br />
driver, who was now having a mild heart attack in the driver’s<br />
seat.<br />
8:25pm. We’d made it. I’ll never forget the moment where the guitarist<br />
& I, loaded with our gear, burst onto an empty stage to a full crowd of<br />
around 4,000 people. No one told us the doors had opened already! It<br />
was so frantic; I was being handed parts of my drum kit fully assembled<br />
by people I’d never met before, I could hear our FOH Engineer through<br />
my wedge “Woolfie, gimme kick, gimme kick… snare, gimme snare!” We<br />
played. And we were only 6 minutes late. I remember very little from the<br />
actual show other than it was one of the best we’ve ever played.<br />
As soon as the headliners had finished playing, we had to set off as<br />
early as we could to give our best chance making it to Milan with our<br />
broken van. Our FOH Engineer had been pretty quiet on this part of the<br />
journey, he was trying to figure out how we could fix this turbo hose if<br />
we couldn’t get the part from a Mercedes garage. We needed a solution<br />
to finish the tour. As soon as we got into the venue in Milan, he was<br />
rummaging around for a beer in the fridge. He came back out, opened<br />
the bonnet and said: “Woolfie, get me a knife and some more gaffa.” He<br />
opened the beer, necked it, chopped both ends off the can, slit it down<br />
the side, wrapped it around the turbo hose, gaffa’d both ends and shut<br />
the bonnet. Now, I know you might say it’s no good drinking on the job,<br />
but I swear, that bloody can of crappy beer got us from Milan to Madrid<br />
via Toulouse, then to Lisbon and Luxembourg before landing back in our<br />
hometown of Manchester. 3,500 miles. Full speed, zero problems. Forget<br />
the rip off mechanics, turns out gaffa tape and a desperate beer can solve<br />
all.<br />
Dan Woolfie<br />
68
After its successful launch in 2017, Daytime <strong>TPi</strong> returns<br />
with a new home at the Pestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel.<br />
This is an exclusive event for all attendees of the <strong>TPi</strong> Awards <strong>2018</strong> dinner.<br />
The panellists will discuss current issues affecting the live event and touring industry,<br />
with encouraged audience participation, followed by an afternoon of networking.<br />
<strong>2018</strong> Programme:<br />
11.00 - Registration and coffee<br />
11.30 - The PSA AGM<br />
12.30 - Networking lunch<br />
14.00 - In Discussion: Training, Education and Career Development<br />
Host: PSA General Manager Andy Lenthall with special guests Backstage Academy’s<br />
Glen Rowe, Talks on Tour’s Estelle Wilkinson, Adlib’s Andy Dockerty, Clock Your Skills’<br />
Denise Stanley<br />
15.00 - Coffee Break<br />
15.30 - In Discussion: Crew Welfare and Mental Health<br />
Host: <strong>TPi</strong> Editor Kelly Murray with special guests Production Manager Jim Digby,<br />
Tour Manager Andy Franks of Music Support, The Fifth Estate’s Sarah Rushton-<br />
Read and the PSA’s General Manager Andy Lenthall<br />
Demo Rooms courtesy of Sennheiser and HD Pro Audio.<br />
To register for Daytime <strong>TPi</strong> please contact Hannah Eakins: h.eakins@mondiale.co.uk
GEAR HEADS<br />
OUT BOARD RCX SMART REMOTE<br />
Out Board Director, Dave Haydon, discusses the R&D process behind the company’s latest venture<br />
into user-friendly digital rigging control.<br />
What was the original goal for RCX SMART Remote rigging control<br />
handset?<br />
We’re fortunate that Out Board LV & DV motor controllers have become<br />
something of a staple workhorse for belt and braces tour, event and venue<br />
rigging over the last dozen or more years. In that time we’ve learnt how<br />
much lighting, staging, video, audio and studio riggers value their reliability<br />
and simplicity, but are also being faced with larger numbers of channels<br />
to manage at one time, and quite often more complex lift configurations.<br />
We had been servicing this demand with 16- and 24 channel variants of our<br />
traditional ‘analogue’ RC handsets that use straight multichannel 24Vdc<br />
control, but these were becoming increasingly unwieldy and inelegant in<br />
terms of heavy handsets, splitters and remote cables. RCX is specifically<br />
designed to deal with these higher channel counts in a more convenient<br />
and handy package. Most importantly, it can be retrofitted to every 6-, 8-, or<br />
12-channel Out Board LV or DV controller already out there in the field, not<br />
just for new purchases.<br />
What are some of the key features that were included in this new product?<br />
The RCX is digital with a robust serial comms protocol, but uses switches<br />
and LEDS for programming and display as opposed to a touch-screen, in<br />
order to make it more instantly familiar and straightforward for hardpressed<br />
riggers to learn and use quickly.<br />
There was a desire to move on from the expensive, heavy and trash-able<br />
24Vdc RC remote handset cables. RCX works with CAT5, ie standard off-theshelf<br />
IT cable, although we do equip the RCX SMART Remotes and interfaces<br />
with Ethercons so they are roadworthy, and most customers use them with<br />
proper armoured touring-grade Ethercon cables.<br />
Being digital meant we could create 16, 32, and 64-channel RCX units<br />
in relatively compact packages, and also add group Memories to make all<br />
those channels more manageable. And because what goes up must come<br />
down, the Memories are non-volatile and reversible, so you can pull the<br />
RCX out of the rack drawer at the end of the show, power it up, double-click<br />
a Memory button and all the channels in that lift will switch to Down for<br />
flying in. This also helps with bumping, where you can temporarily clear the<br />
selection to solo one hoist to bump it, then recall the memory to continue<br />
the lift, or you can double-click the Memory to reverse the lift then deselect<br />
a hoist and bump the rest in the opposite direction. These were subtle but<br />
crucial details came to us through discussion with master riggers we’ve<br />
been fortunate to get to know over the years.<br />
There’s also been a growing interest in Load Cell monitoring, partly due<br />
to the complex lifts and also evolving safety standards, so RCX provides<br />
a data path back up the control CAT5 interconnect that can take status<br />
data from load-cell computers and will instantly flag over- or under- load<br />
conditions on the RCX SMART Remote, by flashing the channel LED’s<br />
70
OUT BOARD RCX SMART REMOTE<br />
Below: Dave Haydon, Out Board’s Director.<br />
and sounding a bleeper. We are currently canvassing opinion on having<br />
a selectable mode to make it automatically stop the lifts until the error<br />
condition has been identified and eliminated. Load Cell status monitoring<br />
is currently implemented for Mantracourt Broadweigh load cells, through<br />
work with our UK Dealer AC Entertainment, but it can be made to work with<br />
any load cell system.<br />
It seems like the linking element of the RCX SMART Remote was a<br />
paramount feature. Can you explain why this is so important?<br />
We had received growing numbers of requests for handsets capable of<br />
increasingly larger channel counts: 32, 48 and 50+ channels. The compact<br />
size of our controllers with 6, 8 or 12 channels in just 3U rackmount<br />
packages is very popular for inventory and deployment versatility, so it<br />
made sense to stick with that and just link them together. You regularly<br />
see 24 and 32-channel LV & DV racks, so a CAT5 link within the rack and<br />
also between racks works really well. We chose to avoid Ethernet in favour<br />
of a more robust serial protocol, and we designed the RCX interfaces to<br />
automatically figure out the channel layout on the RCX SMART Remote in<br />
the order they are plugged up in the rack – avoiding having to prod numeric<br />
displays or DIL switches to address the controllers. We also made them<br />
hot-pluggable, because it would be inconvenient to have to power down to<br />
change a hook-up or add a further controller.<br />
How do you make sure you are developing a product that really answers<br />
the market’s needs?<br />
The RCX SMART Remote System was developed to address the changing<br />
demands placed on our conventional handset systems mentioned earlier.<br />
We have good longstanding relationships with major rigging companies and<br />
master riggers, and their constant feedback has been invaluable towards<br />
evolving the basic concepts and spec details of the RCX SMART Remote<br />
System.<br />
Before the product was released commercially, we tested and retested<br />
prototypes on shows and tours which and this process was invaluable in<br />
drive subtle functional amendments via tweaks to the software. This is a<br />
product specifically developed in the market, for the market.<br />
What has been the initial feedback to the device?<br />
Rigging companies and riggers have reacted very favourably to the<br />
convenience and utility of the RCX handsets. We faced a slight challenge<br />
with switch cap LED diffusers getting washed out in bright daylight<br />
outdoors; it’s a custom component so we were able to re-specify and<br />
re-tool it with virtually transparent lenses – you can now see the LEDs in<br />
direct sunlight even with your RayBans on. These new switch caps can be<br />
retrofitted to all existing RCX units if customers wish. We may also add a<br />
software bright/ mode election mode in due course so riggers can tailor the<br />
LED brightness to their particular environment.<br />
Will there be any features added soon?<br />
Further Load Cell status monitoring will be added for brands other than<br />
Broadweigh as demand arises. We are now also working on a wireless<br />
interface link between RCX and the LV/DV controller racks. We’re using<br />
proven serial data RF technology from the industrial control sector, avoiding<br />
the busy and variable wifi fog that many other disciplines share. We’re<br />
adding our own battery management and failsafe mechanisms for optimum<br />
reliability and safety, and RCX will retain the digital E-Stop. There will always<br />
be users who prefer to stay wired to benefit from our dual-circuit hybrid<br />
digital and DC E-Stop system, but our TV and film customers, for example,<br />
are very interested in wireless so they don’t have to drag handset cables<br />
round large studio sets when asked to make quick changes by the lighting<br />
director.<br />
<strong>TPi</strong><br />
www.outboard.co.uk<br />
71
PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE<br />
IMPROVING OUR APPROACH<br />
TO MENTAL HEALTH<br />
The PSA’s Andy Lenthall discusses the ostensibly different ways in which our industry deals with the<br />
physical and mental health problems faced by its employees; and what we can do to change things<br />
for the better moving forward.<br />
I had flu recently. I don’t believe in man flu. I had flu and some of you will<br />
know what I’m talking about. It was impressive, it had my full respect<br />
and admiration - I was useless. In my case, the flu lasted 5 days; 3 days<br />
off work and a wasted weekend. For others it took longer, perhaps due<br />
to a different strain, perhaps due to their physiological ability to cope<br />
with a viral invasion. So what? Because I managed to shake it in a few<br />
days, does that make me better that someone who felt the effects for a<br />
fortnight? Do they not need to just man up? Who am I to suggest they do?<br />
Physical illness affects different people in different ways, I understand<br />
that and that’s my approach to the physical wellbeing of my family,<br />
friends and colleagues. Can the same be said for our approach to mental<br />
health? We think there’s room for improvement.<br />
Hence the title, we make no apologies for the amount of times we will<br />
repeat that phrase. We’re not raising awareness, we’ve had quite enough<br />
of awareness, too many people have lost too many friends, we’re all very<br />
aware. What we now need is a better understanding of how to be more<br />
open, make it easier to talk and be better at encouraging people to seek the<br />
help that they might need.<br />
The great news is that some of the answers are out there already;<br />
it should be easy to make a positive change. We’re keen to encourage<br />
companies to sign up to the Time To Change employer pledge. As they say,<br />
when you sign the Employer Pledge you demonstrate your commitment<br />
to change how we think and act about mental health in the workplace<br />
and make sure that employees who are facing these problems feel<br />
supported. For those who need more than just the ‘it’s the right thing to<br />
do’ motivation, there are financial benefits. Looking after the mental health<br />
of your employees makes business sense: tackling stigma can make a real<br />
difference to sickness absence rates, presenteeism levels, staff wellbeing<br />
and productivity, and retention. Since signing the Employer Pledge, 95% of<br />
employers said it had a positive impact on their organisation.<br />
This is the point where we throw in a few figures:<br />
• 1 in 4 British workers are affected by conditions like anxiety,<br />
depression and stress every year.<br />
• Mental ill-health is the leading cause of sickness absence in the UK,<br />
costing an average of £1,035 per employee per year.<br />
• 95% of employees calling in sick with stress gave a different reason.<br />
Look at that last figure again. Ninety five percent of people with a valid<br />
reason for absence feel that they need to give another reason. How can an<br />
employer address the cause when employees don’t feel able to report the<br />
true problem?<br />
We do like to think that we’re a caring bunch, our door is always open,<br />
72
PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE<br />
we’re happy to lend an ear. Is that passive approach enough when so<br />
many don’t feel comfortable with sharing the real issue? Perhaps we<br />
could get better at spotting the signs, become more effective at opening<br />
the conversation rather than waiting for the call; maybe populating our<br />
industry with people who can approach,<br />
talk, listen and signpost people to seek the<br />
help they need - there’s a lot of it out there.<br />
Sometimes, a person suffering from mental<br />
illness doesn’t want to bother a friend or<br />
colleague with their troubles - a more active<br />
approach may be needed.<br />
Of course, there’s an answer. It’s called<br />
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), and it’s a<br />
thing. To become a Mental Health First Aider,<br />
you need to attend a 2-day training course.<br />
Companies can and should have MHFA<br />
trained staff as part of their commitment to<br />
improving their approach. This, though, is<br />
where we run into a slight issue: we’re not all<br />
about employers and employees, we have<br />
a huge proportion of self-employed people,<br />
put together in teams to work on various<br />
events. Many of those individuals are in a<br />
supervisory or management position and<br />
could benefit from MHFA training. Of course,<br />
training costs money - in this case, up to<br />
£300. To soften the blow, Stagehand, the<br />
industry charity set up by PSA members over<br />
20 years ago, has committed to subsidising<br />
MHFA training for up to 100 self-employed<br />
members, offering 50% of the cost on proof<br />
of completion of the 2-day course; a serious<br />
commitment that has itself been subsidised<br />
by a significant donation from the PSA’s<br />
reserves.<br />
Of course, the administration of first aid<br />
means that there’s a problem to address.<br />
Physical damage can be caused in the<br />
“Accidents in the workplace also<br />
cause injury, employers apply<br />
resources to reduce the likelihood<br />
of those accidents; our sector has<br />
worked extremely hard on reducing<br />
physical injury, addressing the<br />
causes. Can the same be said for<br />
mental wellbeing?”<br />
73<br />
workplace, mental wellbeing is no different. I could break my leg skiing and<br />
bring that injury into the workplace; I’d hope my employers would support<br />
me through recovery. Mental ill health can be caused by factors outside<br />
work too. Same applies. Accidents in the workplace also cause injury,<br />
employers apply resources to reduce the<br />
likelihood of those accidents; our sector has<br />
worked extremely hard on reducing physical<br />
injury, addressing the causes. Can the same<br />
be said for mental wellbeing? Prevention is<br />
better than cure and we perhaps need to<br />
have a good look at ourselves, perhaps risk<br />
assess our working environment, just as we<br />
should for physical hazards.<br />
We don’t yet have the answers and<br />
different people handle things in different<br />
ways, but night working, long days, long<br />
periods away from home, lack of sleep, lack<br />
of job security, periods of unemployment,<br />
they’re all prevalent and all potential causes<br />
of mental ill health. The pledge and the<br />
training are simple first steps, but only by<br />
developing the conversation can we fully<br />
address the causes.<br />
And that flu? I’m over it now and still<br />
trying to catch up. I think I’m handling the<br />
stress OK.<br />
Interested In Mental Health First Aid Training?<br />
Self Employed PSA members can claim back<br />
50% of training costs. Email gm@psa.org.uk<br />
for details.<br />
<strong>TPi</strong><br />
www.psa.org.uk<br />
www.time-to-change.org.uk/get-involved/<br />
get-your-workplace-involved/employerpledge<br />
www.mhfaengland.org<br />
www.smhfa.com<br />
www.mhfa-wales.org
INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS<br />
Sponsored by<br />
www.interfacio.com • +44 208 986 5002<br />
INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS<br />
Above: AC-ET’s Technical Director, Chris Millard; VUE audiotechnik’s George Dreyer, Jon Garner, and Brandon Rinas; Allen & Heath’s Pat McConnell; TSL acquires Blinding<br />
Light; Creative Technology welcomes Richard Rogers & Chris Jordan.<br />
Absen Europe has announced the appointment of Thomas Klukas to the<br />
position of Business Development Manager for Germany, Switzerland and<br />
Austria (DACH). Prior to joining Absen, Klukas held a Director position with<br />
Shure Distribution.<br />
He will oversee the development of the retail, corporate and DOOH<br />
sectors across the 3 markets, plus sports and rental in Austria and<br />
Switzerland. His remit will encompass the development and extension of<br />
Absen’s partner network of system integrators, consultants, architects<br />
and end customers, also working to define and evaluate key partners. In<br />
setting the sales strategy for the region, Klukas will work hand in hand with<br />
the sales team in addition to the marketing, research and development<br />
and project management groups in order to feedback market needs and<br />
requirements.<br />
A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) has appointed Chris Millard<br />
as Technical Director to the company’s Board of Directors. He joined<br />
AC-ET from his role as Technical Director at Panalux, where he spent 22<br />
years. Millard now oversees the further development and growth of the<br />
company’s Technical Services department and in-house Tourflex Cabling<br />
bespoke cable assembly service.<br />
Adamson Systems Engineering has appointed Lin Buck to the position<br />
of Director of Sales for the United States, working as an integral part of<br />
the team led by Marc Bertrand, Managing Director of Adamson Americas.<br />
Buck will collaborate closely with Adamson’s Partner Network and<br />
manufacturer’s rep firms to continue driving sales and growing the brand’s<br />
profile in the ever-important U.S. touring and integration markets.<br />
“Our comprehensive strategy for building a long-term, sustainable sales<br />
structure in the Americas fits very well with Lin’s experience, as well as his<br />
philosophies with respect to customer relations and the Adamson brand,”<br />
commented Bertrand. “We’re very pleased to have him aboard, and we<br />
expect great results.”<br />
Allen & Heath has appointed Pat McConnell as its Central Regional<br />
Sales Manager. McConnell will promote sales growth and strengthen<br />
existing relationships across the Central Region of the United States.<br />
Tim Schaeffer, Senior Vice President of Allen & Heath USA, commented:<br />
“We’re pleased to welcome Pat to the team. He not only has deep technical<br />
ability, but also firsthand experience of the region and the skills to push<br />
Allen & Heath sales to the next level.”<br />
McConnell was a sales representative for them at a previous company.<br />
He added: “I am excited to contribute to the amazing team at Allen & Heath.<br />
I’ve been using their products for years and I’m looking forward to being a<br />
part of their continued growth and success.”<br />
Creative Technology has recruited Richard Rogers and Chris Jordan to<br />
work as Senior Project Managers in its Audio Team.<br />
Mark Boden, CT’s Director of Audio, spoke highly of the duo: “Having<br />
worked with Richard and Chris many years ago I am really excited to be<br />
working with them both again, bringing with them yet more experience and<br />
knowledge to an ever-growing audio team.”<br />
Chauvet Professional has established Chauvet Germany, a wholly<br />
owned subsidiary to serve the German market. Based in Bremen, the new<br />
subsidiary will distribute and service Chauvet Professional, Chauvet DJ<br />
and Iluminarc products. The opening of the new facility represents the<br />
company’s first direct presence in the German market.<br />
74
www.interfacio.com • +44 208 986 5002<br />
INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS<br />
Below: Elation’s Matthias Hinrichs; Tim McCall, L-Acoustics’ Regional Sales Manager; Paul Mulholland, Jands’ Managing Director;<br />
Outline’s Deputy General Manager Of Sales, Leonardo Dani.<br />
Thomas Fischer, formerly Owner and Managing Director of Fischer<br />
GmbH, has been named Managing Director of Chauvet’s German operation.<br />
He is joined by Henning Oeker, who will serve as Regional Sales Manager.<br />
Green Hippo has appointed ESL France to be its French distributor.<br />
The agreement sees ESL France exclusively distribute Green Hippo’s line of<br />
cutting-edge hardware and software throughout France.<br />
James Roth, Head of Sales and Marketing at Green Hippo,<br />
acknowledged the importance of the French economy: “France is a crucial<br />
market for Green Hippo. We fully recognise not only the size of the French<br />
economy, but also its population’s enduring love of live events. ESL France<br />
brings the necessary understanding of this region - as well as of the Green<br />
Hippo line - to help further grow our brand during <strong>2018</strong> and beyond. And we<br />
thoroughly look forward to helping them succeed.”<br />
Elation Professional has hired Matthias Hinrichs as a Product Manager.<br />
Hinrichs is a well-known face in the industry, having worked as a lighting<br />
and control systems product manager at Martin Professional since 2003<br />
and prior to that as a well-respected freelance lighting director and<br />
programmer. Over the years, the self-described product designer and<br />
innovator has worked in staging, audio, lighting, as a DJ, in technical<br />
support, business development and finally as a product manager for<br />
lighting control and automated lighting fixtures.<br />
ETC’s international subsidiaries, ETC Ltd and ECT GmbH, are now<br />
responsible for the distribution of High End Systems products in Europe,<br />
the Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA), taking the reins from the former<br />
European master distributor, AED Distribution. Meanwhile, ETC Asia will<br />
take control of distribution for the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. ETC welcomed<br />
High End Systems into the family in April 2017 and has already made<br />
significant investments in stocking, personnel and product support. This is<br />
set to continue, with a particular focus on EMEIA and APAC.<br />
L-Acoustics has appointed Jands as its certified distribution partner for<br />
Australia. Jands is set to provide L-Acoustics with an increased penetration<br />
into the Australian marketplace, whilst adding L-Acoustics to its roster<br />
further solidifies Jands’ position as the go to distributor for premier brands.<br />
“My first introduction to L-Acoustics was when, along with Peter Ratcliffe<br />
from JPS, I visited the factory in 2000,” said Paul Mulholland, Jands’<br />
Managing Director. “It was clear from our first introduction to the V-DOSC<br />
speaker cabinet that L-Acoustics was destined to become a dominant<br />
force in live sound. JPS became the L-Acoustics rental network partner for<br />
Australia and I watched as the pioneers of line array continued to develop<br />
ever more innovative products.”<br />
Tim McCall, L-Acoustics Regional Sales Manager, said: “We’re delighted<br />
to have Jands join the L-Acoustics family. We have had considerable success<br />
in Australia over the last decade and aim to build on this strong base. We<br />
have a natural synergy with privately owned, technology and solutionfocused<br />
partners. I think we now have that with Paul and his team.”<br />
Meyer Sound has named Audio Brands Australia as their exclusive<br />
distributor down under, with the appointment also extending to New<br />
Zealand through a partnership with Pacific AV. Audio Brands Australia will<br />
be responsible for sales, technical support and service of Meyer Sound<br />
products across all markets, including touring and AV rental, performing<br />
arts venues, houses of worship, hospitality, cinema and studio.<br />
“In Audio Brands Australia we have found an ideal partnership for<br />
strengthening and extending the Meyer Sound presence ‘down under’,”<br />
said Antonio Zacarias, Meyer Sound Vice President of Global Customer<br />
Engagement. “Audio Brands Australia has a solid, strategic approach in the<br />
product lines they represent, as well as a proven track record of responsive<br />
service and support.<br />
Outline has appointed Leonardo Dani to the post of Deputy General<br />
Manager Of Sales. Dani joins the company during a period of strong growth<br />
and expansion, driven mainly by the success of Outline’s GTO loudspeaker<br />
family in global touring and by the growing number of high-profile<br />
installations of the Stadia Series, including those for the <strong>2018</strong> FIFA World<br />
Cup in Russia.<br />
TSL Lighting has announced that Colin Paxton will now be managing<br />
its busy Dry Hire department as Hire Manager. Alongside Paxton’s<br />
appointment, John Beer, TSL’s previous Hire Manager, will progress into<br />
the role of Operation Manager. Beer now takes a wider responsibility with<br />
an overview of the company’s operations and will be concentrating on<br />
improving and expanding all areas of the business.<br />
The company completes a busy month, having recently acquired<br />
Blinding Light. Both companies and locations will continue to operate as<br />
normal under their respective individual brands.<br />
ULA Group has announced a new partnership with SGM. Cuono<br />
Biviano, Managing Director of ULA Group, commented: “We are extremely<br />
proud of our new partnership with SGM, which came just in the right time<br />
when our company is growing and expanding into new market segments.<br />
The SGM products are of a superb quality, incorporating groundbreaking<br />
technology which makes them unique and a perfect fit for both<br />
entertainment and architectural lighting markets. The core values that ULA<br />
Group has been built upon align with those that SGM proudly represent<br />
throughout their business practice. We are very excited to be able to<br />
partner exclusively with SGM in Australia and New Zealand and to help<br />
grow their network globally.”<br />
VUE Audiotechnik rang in the new year with 3 new hires as part of its<br />
ongoing expansion. VUE has announced the addition of Senior Product<br />
Engineer, George Dryer, and Sales Representatives Jon Garner and Brandon<br />
Rinas. The trio are based out of VUE’s headquarters in Escondido, CA.<br />
According to Ken Berger, VUE founder and CEO, the new hires will play<br />
a key part in the company’s aggressive growth trajectory. He commented:<br />
“Ask any VUE client and they’ll tell you the attention and expertise they get<br />
from our team is matched only by our impeccable product performance.<br />
Thanks to our clients’ continued faith in us, we just wrapped up the best<br />
year thus far. To sustain that growth and our benchmark performance<br />
levels, I’m thrilled to welcome George to our engineering group, and Jon<br />
and Brandon to the sales team. I am excited to have them join the rest of<br />
the VUE family in bringing the future of live sound technology to market –<br />
today.”<br />
Dreyer will lead amplifier and electronic development; Garner, with an<br />
8-year track record in sales management with Powersoft, will focus will be<br />
on expanding VUE’s growing momentum in live sound and touring; and<br />
Rinas’ main focus will be on furthering VUE’s already strong reach into the<br />
house of worship market.<br />
<strong>TPi</strong><br />
www.tpimagazine.com/category/industry-jobs/<br />
75
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<strong>TPi</strong> PRODUCTION GUIDE<br />
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JANUARY <strong>2018</strong> ADVERTISERS<br />
10K Used Gear 15<br />
Adam Hall 43<br />
ADJ 39<br />
All Access Staging & Productions 85<br />
Area Four Industries 17<br />
AVIXA<br />
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Avolites 35<br />
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ChainMaster 5<br />
Chauvet Professional 31<br />
Claypaky 27<br />
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d&b audiotechnik 36 & 37<br />
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89
BACK CHAT<br />
DAVID ‘WEBBY’ WEBSTER<br />
Global Marketing Director, CODA Audio<br />
You’ve changed jobs recently but you’re a familiar<br />
face in pro audio. What are you relishing about your<br />
new challenge with CODA?<br />
Technically speaking, I didn’t really change jobs. I’d retired<br />
last April having thought I’d achieved all my goals - it’s a<br />
long story but when I discovered CODA Audio I knew there<br />
was another challenge that I just had to get stuck into! I’m<br />
relishing unleashing the best audio systems in the world,<br />
on the world. Every so often (in an audio sense, of course...)<br />
something comes along that blows your mind and you<br />
know it’s the real deal. There are all sorts of flashes in all<br />
sorts of pans but this isn’t one of them. The challenge is to<br />
get people to listen - and I will - the systems can speak for<br />
themselves!<br />
You recently attended Tour Link and The NAMM Show<br />
in California. What has the reception for CODA been<br />
like in North America?<br />
I’d say it pretty much chimes with the response everywhere<br />
else in the world - that is to say we’ve had a fantastic<br />
reception in the States and we’re looking forward<br />
to putting serious dents in the market. Our US team<br />
comprises some very experienced and highly respected<br />
figures who knew a good thing when they heard it, and<br />
joined us without hesitation. Three major US Rep firms, for<br />
whom I have a huge amount of respect, have also got on<br />
board after realising what CODA has to offer. Anyone who<br />
hears these products and then looks a little harder at the<br />
advantages they can bring, finds them hard to resist...<br />
How did you initially get into pro sound?<br />
I blame my mother. In her estimation, the majority of longhaired<br />
singer / guitarists (like me) were destined to fail at<br />
that endeavor, so she took it upon herself to line me up<br />
with an interview at Klark Teknik. I got the job and thus<br />
ended another potentially glorious rock ‘n’ roll career…<br />
After a long stint in console manufacturing, what<br />
have been some of your career highlights?<br />
There have been far too many to single out. I’ve been<br />
involved throughout my career in helping to develop<br />
cutting-edge technologies - the products of the future,<br />
you might say - and when you bring them to market it<br />
changes the way people look at and design their shows.<br />
That means that there are several highlights every year.<br />
CODA is already proving to be another case in point.<br />
What are your goals for the brand in <strong>2018</strong>?<br />
To firmly demonstrate that a CODA system is without a<br />
shadow of a doubt the best sound system you can get -<br />
and then to sell truckloads of them all over the planet! As<br />
you might expect, our sights are set very high - when you<br />
have confidence in a product like this, there’s no reason<br />
to moderate your ambitions, so we’ll be pushing hard in<br />
every direction.<br />
When you’re not busy telling the world about PA<br />
Systems, how would we find you relaxing?<br />
Guitar in hand (my mother never completely destroyed the<br />
dream!), sun shining, poolside, in the company of great<br />
friends. Oh and perhaps afterwards, a glass or two of a<br />
fine red accompanied by a cheese of distinction…<br />
78
TOURS | FESTIVALS | LIVE EVENTS<br />
01773 811136 | helenh@kbevent.com | www.kbevent.com<br />
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