Production News

Over 600 Robe Moving Lights help Dazzle at 2023 Eurovision Song Contest

UK – Award-winning lighting designer Tim Routledge and a hugely talented team of creatives and technical specialists working across multiple disciplines helped deliver a dazzling, slick, streamlined and highly emotional 2023 Eurovision Song contest event at Liverpool Arena on 13th May.

All the glamour, craziness, and sheer ebullience of the 67th Eurovision Song Contest was embodied in the event that was shifted to the UK after 2022 winner Ukraine had security concerns related to the ongoing war with Russia which has raged since being invaded by its neighbour in February 2022. As the 2022 runner up, the UK stepped in and stepped up to ensure that millions of Eurovision fans worldwide could enjoy Ukraine’s party on UK soil.

Tim utilised over 600 Robe moving lights for his design which comprised approximately 2,500 luminaires plus two kilometres of LED tape, clocking up 17,500 individual light sources when counting the individual pixel cells of the various fixtures, all supplied via lighting equipment contractor, Neg Earth Lights.

For Tim, well known for his sumptuous glossy floor and epic pop lighting designs for television, it was his first ESC. He collaborated closely with set designer Julio Himede, acclaimed for his work on major music broadcast shows like MTV’s VMAs and EMAs amongst others, also working on his first ESC.

Tim and his team created 37 unique immersive lighting environments to showcase each delegation’s songs, keeping each of these micro-shows animated, fluid and energised, curating lighting and video interactively and simultaneously.

This enabled the end-goal of offering the clean, precise shots from multiple angles that resonated with camera directors Nikki Parsons, Ollie Bartlett and Richard Valentine and translated brilliantly on the TV broadcast.

The set effectively surrounded the performance space with video, so lighting placement was challenging and had to be facilitated where there was no encroachment, whilst maintaining the architecture of the space and creating all the right moods.

The results were a feat of synergy as much as technical excellence, in an infrastructure where lighting, video and scenic presentation worked seamlessly as one visual entity.

The lighting rig included a 15-way Robe RoboSpot remote follow system running with 15 out of the 66 Robe FORTES in the building, which were positioned all around the arena, offering the flexibility of picking up artists from any angle, eliminating shadows and ensuring faces looked perfect.

The FORTE parameters could all be controlled via the FOH grandMA3 consoles, leaving the operators free to concentrate on following the artists.

Other Robe elements included 152 LEDBeam 150s, 84 PAINTES, 123 Spiiders, 190 TetraXs, 12 Robe BMFL Blades and 12 Robe PATT2013s, a fixture that Tim invented, and that he used on this occasion to light Latvia’s performance.

A back wall of TetraXs worked brilliantly as stun-and-amaze effects for several artists. They were on the reverse side of seven LED columns making up the back wall of screen which rotated 360 degrees revealing the TetraXs, and made their presence felt during the performances of Israel, France, Finland and others.

An upstage wall of PAINTES was revealed when the screens were rotated at 90 degrees.

Tim’s FOH team included Ukrainian LD and programmer Zhengyi Kostyra – a regular at Kyiv based rental company Alight – who worked as the overnight associate LD when on site, with James Scott as the overall lighting design associate.

Lead programmer was Tom Young and the other two main programmers were Marc Nicholson and Alex Mildenhall.

Followspots were called by Louisa Smurthwaite, and Morgan Evans worked with Tim and Tom during the pre-viz period which included four weeks at Neg Earth’s studio ahead of the get-in in Liverpool, when the process continued onsite as each delegation’s lighting looks evolved and were finessed.

Seven students on stage and lighting design and technical courses at two locally based academies – the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA) and Cheshire College – had the opportunity of working on Tim’s crew for the duration the event was on-site at the Arena. Five were RoboSpot operators and the other two were lighting technicians, all recruited via Robe UK’s NRG (Next Robe Generation) programme.

Additionally, Tim’s team co-ordinated with four vision engineers in the truck, and at the centre of ensuring all things lighting ran as smoothly as the surface of the best polished Eurovision glitterball, was gaffer Keith Duncan.

Tim elucidates that around 79,000 lighting cues were programmed into the consoles over the course of the three live broadcast shows, which included two televised semi-finals from which the last songs from the 37 participating countries were chosen and went forward to the final.

The finale line up comprised 26 stonking pop anthems from 26 countries covering a diversity of genres from thrash metal to hip hop.

With 50-second set changeovers, all delegations with their own creative directors and demands and the sheer intensity of creating that many individual performances, several very complex, in a short space of time, challenges abounded and everyone delivered a superlative show.

Tim was “thrilled” to be involved, even admitting that designing a Eurovision final event was one of his professional bucket list items!

He is also the first to credit the “massive” teamwork that made it all happen, together with the fusion of skills, experience, personalities, and camaraderie of all involved. “It is the most joyous show I have worked on, with a team who just wanted to be there and give it their all, and of which Ukraine could be very proud!”

The annual pop extravaganza is one of the biggest entertainment broadcast events of the year.

It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) on behalf of UA:PBA, Ukraine’s public broadcaster.

The live shows were presented by British singer Alesha Dixon, British actress Hannah Waddington and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina, who were joined for the final by Irish TV personality, Graham Norton.

The 2023 winner was Sweden with “Tattoo”, performed by Loreen who became only the second performer in the history of Eurovision to win twice, following her success in 2012 with another banger, “Euphoria”.

Coming a nail-biting second was Finland’s flamboyant Käärijä with “Cha Cha Cha” which stormed home with the biggest public vote.

 

photos: Sarah Louise Bennett and Corinne Cumming, courtesey EBU / BBC 

www.robe.cz 

26th May 2023

AV Stumpfl screens are the gold standard for Greta Van Fleet

USA – AV Stumpfl’s industry-standard Monoblox projection screens helped deliver visual impact for Dreams in Gold, the latest, critically acclaimed world tour by Grammy-winning rock revivalists Greta Van Fleet.

The Dreams in Gold tour, in support of Greta Van Fleet’s acclaimed 2021 album The Battle at Garden's Gate, kicked off in the band’s home state of Michigan in March 2022 and concluded at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, on 28th March 2023.

For the final North American leg of the tour, Missouri-based Gateway Studios & Production Services (GSPS) provided a 4K video production package comprising equipment from Ross Video, Panasonic, Canon, Fujifilm (Fujinon lenses) and Barco (4K projectors). GSPS also supplied projection screens for the shows, choosing Monoblox projection surfaces and frames from its existing inventory of AV Stumpfl screens.

Andy Gerber, president of production services for GSPS, says it was a “bittersweet” moment to see Dreams in Gold come to an end, having “supported the tour with video since last August”, but praises the work of the GSPS video team, who used all the AV tools at their disposal to deliver an electrifying production worthy of the band’s brand of “classic rock and roll at its finest” (concert review, 8th March 2023, QRO).

For the Dreams in Gold tour, the 671cm × 377cm (22’ × 12.5’) Monoblox screens were used for IMAG purposes, allowing the band to be visible to the crowd even in large arenas such as the 19,000-capacity Golden 1 Center, the 19,000-capacity AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas and the 21,500-capacity AMALIE Arena in Tampa, Florida (which Greta Van Fleet played on 5th November and 10th March, respectively). Gerber explains that GSPS rear projected the video content, with a throw distance of between 35’ and 65’ (approx. 11–20m) depending on the size and lay-out of the venue.

Manufactured in Austria, AV Stumpfl’s lightweight, portable Monoblox displays are the mobile projection screen of choice for the world’s leading rental–staging companies. Monoblox offers users easy handling, a quick set-up, low operating costs, and great image quality. It ships with a variety of different surface types, as well as an industry-leading five-year warranty.

“We had a blast on the Dreams in Gold tour providing our 4K video production package to one of the most exciting bands in rock & roll today,” comments Gerber. “When we were also asked to supply projection screens for the tour, it was a no-brainer that we’d turn to our stock of Monoblox, whose reputation for ease of use, superior build quality and high durability means it is rightly regarded as a standard in the live touring industry.”

photos: Gateway Studios & Production Services

26th May 2023

Tour world premiere for EW-DX

Germany – Twenty years of Culcha Candela! The band celebrated this anniversary in March 2023 with an extensive tour of Germany. During the shows, Sennheiser EW-DX wireless systems not only help to provide powerful sound, they ensure the witty song lyrics are clearly understood and give the multi-cultural Berlin band exceptional freedom of movement on stage for their high-energy, full-throttle performances.

On its “Too True to be Beautiful” tour, Culcha Candela’s four-piece core band share the stage with two backing vocalists, a percussionist and several dancers. Almost all the vocals are picked up by Sennheiser EW-DX SKM hand-held transmitters fitted with MMD 945 dynamic microphone heads (super-cardioid), the only exception being percussionist Michael Escuriola, who uses a Sennheiser HSP 4 neckband mic and an EW-DX SK bodypack transmitter. In addition to the six EW-DX SKM, there is also a hand-held transmitter for guests as well as a spare.

Culcha Candela’s equipment includes five space-saving 9.5” EW-DX EM two-channel UHF receivers in the R1-9 frequency range (520 - 608 MHz). Their analogue outputs are connected with an audio splitter to ensure the FOH and monitoring consoles are able to access the microphone signals independently of one another. Two Sennheiser EW-D ASA splitters – cascaded to produce an eight-channel splitter – are connected to ADP-UHF passive directional antennas (470 – 1050 MHz), so that eight channels can be received via the two antennas.

The special features of the new Sennheiser EW-DX series include “Intelligent Switching Diversity”, which enables antennas to be switched between audio frames – a process that guarantees stable transmission without audible artefacts. Latency, which is always a factor in digital systems, is a mere 1.9 milliseconds, making it imperceptible in practical application. In EW-DX systems, the innovative “Sennheiser Performance Audio Codec” (SePac) ensures excellent audio transparency from the capsule input to the system output. A switching bandwidth of up to 88 MHz enables the transmission of up to 146 channels in standard mode and up to 293 channels in Link Density mode.

“We are the first tour production to go on the road with the brand-new Sennheiser EW-DX systems,” reports monitor mixer Yannick Spohr at a tour stop in Cologne, who has been working with Culcha Candela in various roles for some time. “I’m absolutely thrilled by our new Sennheiser systems. For example, when dealing with frequency management, one thing that really impressed me is that your hand doesn’t “seize up” during the sync process. With the EW-DX system, synchronisation is really relaxed and is carried out using Bluetooth, which works without any problems at all even at some distance across the stage.”

Spohr is also highly positive about the innovative battery technology of the new EW-DX systems: “At the moment, there aren’t any matching LM 6070 modules for the L 6000 19” charging station, which is why we are using L 70 USB charging units for the time being,” Spohr explains. “It’s fantastic that the batteries have a life of 11 to 12 hours and I can absolutely rely on the display for the remaining battery life shown in hours and minutes – no comparison with a bar display that is much less accurate. During the show, I always keep an eye on the Wireless Systems Manager. The Sennheiser software continuously shows all relevant parameters, and I don’t have to keep bending down to look into the rack.”

For many years now, Culcha Candela have been using in-ear systems from Sennheiser’s 2000 series, and even though they have been in operation in countless concerts, they still do their job perfectly. The systems used are EK 2000 IEM, which communicate in the AW+ band (470 – 558 MHz) with four SR 2000 IEM units. For the tour, an additional channel was hired for the percussionist. An A 5000-CP passive antenna with circular polarisation connected to an AC 3000 Active Transmitter Combiner completely covers the large performance area of the stage. Sennheiser shotgun microphones at the front edge of the stage pick up the audience’s reactions to the exciting stage show.

Spohr is also highly impressed by the stability of the reception, which for him is one of the many convincing features of the new EW-DX systems: “Even in critical RF environments, there are no problems at all with interference or audible dropouts. But we have to make sure that the carrier frequencies are set at a reasonable distance from one another. For the interconnected system, the WSM software, just like in Sennheiser high-end Digital 6000 and Digital 9000 systems, calculates an equidistant grid that works reliably without intermodulation. I’m very familiar with the WSM software, but I haven’t yet tried the Sennheiser Smart Assist App or Control Cockpit.”

Spohr confirms that the vocalists and rappers on stage are absolutely delighted with the new digital EW-DX products, especially because they can now wrap their hands around the antennas of the hand-held transmitters during their dance moves with no risk of the connection being interrupted. According to Spohr, this is even the case if large LED walls are being used on stage, for example at festival performances, which are known to occasionally cause problems for analogue wireless channels.

“I’m totally satisfied with the new EW-DX systems,” Spohr said after the sound check in Cologne. “And as far as the sound is concerned: absolutely solid! It’s really clear and very defined. And not only that: the hand-held transmitters have already proven to be extremely robust on our current tour. As you know, the band’s dance moves can be a bit wild and sometimes one of the vocalists drops a mic on the floor. When that happens, the noise is not very nice, but the tough metal housing ensures that the show can go on without any problems.”

The man responsible for Culcha Candela’s FOH sound during the “Too True to be Beautiful” tour is Sven Geiger, who is widely known in the industry by his nickname “Samson”. Geiger belongs to a select group of sound engineers who regularly work both in the studio and at live concerts.

Sven Geiger has a soft spot for analogue audio technology, and in his own studio he has a collection of reel-to-reel tape recorders (multitrack, ¼-inch, ½-inch) which can be used to play both historical and current recordings before they are digitised using high-end A/D converters. “It’s still quite common for progressive rock bands today to master their recordings on tape and then later use the tape as the starting material for the vinyl cut,” he says.

“On the “Too True to be Beautiful” tour, FOH mixing is certainly not a trivial matter, even if various stems for Culcha Candela come from a hard disk. The band put everything they’ve got into their shows and my job is not only to make sure the audience can enjoy a powerful sound when they are dancing, I also want them to understand the lyrics of the songs without difficulty and without letting the music fade into the background.”

According to Geiger, the new Sennheiser EW-DX systems have certainly had a very positive impact on the sound: “EW-DX is a quantum leap forward in quality compared to the former analogue systems, and the vocals come through even better now. The sound overall seems cleaner and clearer. By the way, you can also notice this on the recordings of the shows when you listen in to the individual tracks later.”

Geiger uses external analogue preamps and analogue compressors to pre-amplify and process the vocals signals, and this helps deal with the enormous dynamic range of the singers and rappers. After analogue processing, the audio signals are digitised at the mixing console with an acceptable headroom.

With their extremely danceable mix of hip hop, reggae and Latin sounds, as well as their socially committed attitude and consistently positive vibes, Culcha Candela have been inspiring a huge fan base for two decades. The hits by Mateo, DJ Chino, Don Cali and Johnny Strange are all veritable club bangers, but they work just as well on the radio. More than five million records sold, over 30 gold and platinum awards and around 1,500 live shows are evidence of the success of this multi-ethnic band. The tour birthday party in March featured some new material, but of course the set list also included classic hits such as “Hamma!”, “Berlin City Girl” and “Monsta”. The shows could best be summed up as “pure party”.

In Cologne, Candela vocalist Mateo Jasik commented on the new Sennheiser EW-DX systems: “I can still remember the first time we performed with professional equipment. For us, it was a real quantum leap forward when we no longer had to go on stage with wired mics and wedges, but could rely on wireless channels and wireless in-ear solutions from Sennheiser. With the new EW-DX systems, I can’t hear any noise interference in my in-ear headphones, and so far on the tour I haven’t noticed a single dropout. The sound of EW-DX is ace, absolutely wicked!”

“We all know that the pop business is fast-moving and bands come and go, so I’m always really happy to see German acts who are still successful many years after their breakthrough, who are filling huge venues with their concerts, and who are also reaching a lot of very young people alongside their established fan base,” said Thomas Holz, Sennheiser Relations Manager, after seeing the concert in Cologne. “Culcha Candela have always relied on professional wireless systems from Sennheiser, and, together with us and the new EW-DX systems, they are taking the logical step into the digital future.”

Culcha Candela’s “Too True to be Beautiful” tour continues in summer 2023 with a number of open-air shows.

26th May 2023

ChamSys Helps Yannik Klimas Flow with Versengold’s Nacht der Balladen

Germany – “Through music we may wander where we will in time and find friends in every century,” wrote American Helen Thomson Woolley. Though this ground-breaking author and educator lived almost a century ago, she would have undoubtably appreciated the timeless appeal of a Versengold concert if she were around today. 

The chart-topping German band transcends centuries with the ease and grace of a gazelle blending traditional music with more contemporary folk songs, as well as dance and party tunes, all elevated by the artistry of lead singer Malte Hoyer.

The transcendent magic of Versengold is there for all to savour on the band’s current Nacht der Balladen (Night of Ballads) tour, which began on 18 March and runs all spring/summer, ending on 4 November at Barclays Arean in Hamburg. Focusing on the more lyrical and mellow songs in their catalogue, the band is putting on a show that, in the words of one music critic “goes straight to your heart.”

Supporting this evocative music on its journey to the heart, is a richly textured and immersive lighting design by Yannik Klimas. Running his six-universe lightshow on his ChamSys MagicQ MQ250 Stadium, he is engaging audiences while reflecting the music with his deep colours, mellow effects, and crisp key lighting. For songs like the band’s hit “Das Bier ich in der Rechten trug,” when Hoyer connects directly to the audience, Klimas creates engaging crowd lighting. While with other songs, such as “Küstenkind,” which relate to the North Sea, Klimas relies on his lighting to create a more nautical mood.

The flexibility of his console’s MagicQ software has made Klimas’ life much easier on the busy tour,” he said.  “I can program an entire show on a laptop at home without a console, which is very convenient, as is, the app that allows me to control the MQ250M from my cell phone.”

Another thing he appreciates about the console is its compact size.  Weighing in at only 13kg and measuring 680mm wide by 416 mm deep, the console is easy for Klimas to take from show to show by plane.

Most importantly though, is the console’s power and flexibility. The bands give Klimas a great deal of leeway lighting the show. He notes that the ten motorised faders and ten playback encoders open a wide range of creative options for him. The console is also making it easy for him to adjust to the needs of different venues. For example, thanks to the Cue Stack feature tracks very easy to navigate. The ease at which position pallets can be adjusted to fit specific venue configurations is also a great help.

Such flexibility is invaluable when you are lighting a band that not only crosses musical genres, but also travels through centuries.

26th May 2023

Volume.com Streams BeachLife Festival with Avantis

USA – The BeachLife festival in Redondo Beach, CA celebrates California beach culture with multiple days of music performances across four stages. For the second consecutive year, live music streaming service Volume.com was on-site at the festival's Speakeasy Stage, broadcasting audio and video online through their web platform.

"We have a video production rig running vMix," explained Volume.com's Ian Morse, who was part of the Volume.com team at the festival. "That computer takes all our camera inputs and adds graphics, and also pushes our RTMP stream." For audio, the team employed an Allen & Heath Avantis console to capture and broadcast a high quality tailored mix for streaming. "We have a split on stage that feeds into both front of house and our GX4816 stagebox," said Morse. "We then mix it down to two track and feed it into our stream rig to get married with the video feed."

With multiple bands performing on the Speakeasy stage, Morse noted that he often had to make us of the Avantis' drag-and-drop strip assign function to adjust the fader bank layouts. "In a fast-moving festival situation, you don't necessarily get much time to prepare with input lists or stage plots in advance," he explained. "Having fully configurable fader layers was huge, because I could just flip to a new fader layer and drag down exactly what I needed."

Morse also employed some of the Avantis' powerful DEEP processing capabilities for the stream mix, especially the built-in compressor emulations. "I really like the sound of the Opto compressor," he noted. "I used that on the mix bus, as well as the VCA Bus compressor at times." For individual channel processing, Morse made use of the Dyn8 processor, which combines a sophisticated Dynamic EQ and Multiband Compressor into a single insert plugin. "I liked to use it as somewhat of a de-esser, and I use it in conjunction with a standard vocal compressor."

Morse notes that his mixed audio background helps navigate live streaming scenarios for Volume.com. "I have studio experience and live experience, and I feel like mixing for a stream is a little more on the studio side. You have to think about translation a lot more, because people are watching these streams on a variety of devices. This sometimes means adding compression, and also making sure you can get the bass to sit right in the mix."

The BeachLife festival replay stream can be viewed on demand on Volume.com.

26th May 2023

USE SONIDO invests in DiGiCo Quantum consoles for Sergio Dalma tour

Spain – With a career that spans three decades and having topped the country’s national album chart nine times, Sergio Dalma is one of Spain’s best-selling recording artists. Last year saw him tour his latest album, Alegria (Joy), throughout Spain and South America. Spanish rental company USE SONIDO supplied DiGiCo Quantum consoles at both the front of house and monitor positions, purchased from DiGiCo’s Spanish distributor, RMS Pro Audio.

“We started working with Sergio Dalma over 15 years ago,” says Use, USE SONIDO’s owner. “We have worked on many tours whit him always using DiGiCo consoles at front of house, and more recently we have them at the monitor world, too.

Originally, the company had SD7 and SD10 consoles in its inventory, which it relied on for many years, but recently decided to upgrade to an SD Quantum 7, adding the Quantum 338 as soon as it became available to replace its SD10s, ensuring it has the most up-to-date DiGiCo products in its rental stock.

The consoles immediately went out with Sergio Dalma, the SD Quantum 7 taking up the front of house position, manned by FOH engineer Oscar Vinader, and the Quantum 338 with Alberto Cid on monitors.

“Whenever we invest in a new console, we make sure the engineers who are going to use them are fully trained on them, and we’ve had great support from DiGiCo and RMS ProAudio for this,” Use continues. “Once everything is explained – the graphic environment, the layout of the menus, the ergonomics of the encoders, et cetera – it makes them really easy and intuitive to work, which makes everyone understand that a lot of thought there has gone into the choice of our systems.”

This is the second tour with Dalma using the SD7Quantum and Q338 combination, along with an SD-Rack with SD 32-Bit mic preamps. Both Oscar and Alberto are delighted with the consoles. They have the utmost confidence in them and are delighted with both the results and the reliability of the system.

“I usually do the setup with the offline software at home,” notes Vinader. “I start from Sessions where I already have my route of Aux Sends, Groups and FX. If there is something that the SD7 has, it’s the convenience of being able to work with Snapshots with the timecode. This allows me to memorise everything track by track, effects, pans, delays times, and synchronize everything with the stage and lighting.”

“I spent a lot of time to the structuring of the console,” says Alberto. “In monitor world, which is where I usually work, you need to optimise time. For many years, I have put the effect return after the instruments. For example, with the acoustic I have FX AC, all the drums and then FX drum. This saves a lot of time when mixing because for each Send I would have the return at hand and not in a different FX layer as I did before. There are a lot of useful features: aux send in the control group means I can lower the whole band to the artist, for example, with a single fader, whilst Nodal Process, which has allowed me to stop double channelling.”

During rehearsals for Alegria at USE SONIDO, Alberto decided to make more use of the Quantum 338’s Mustard channels. “The result was really surprising,” he concludes. “It achieved a mix with more definition and presence that even the musicians themselves perceived as a notable jump in quality. I also started to work with the Spice Rack, inserting the Chilli 6 in the master mix for mastering and I’m really happy with it.”

25th May 2023

Show & Design Group (SDG) Expands Its Lighting Rental Inventory with the Acquisition of Ayrton Diablo-S Fixtures

USA – Las Vegas-based Show & Design Group (SDG) has made its first investment in Ayrton lighting fixtures with the purchase of 24 Diablo-S units. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton products in North America.

SDG offers live event production and lighting rentals, a complete trucking division, SDG Logistics, Inc., is targeted at expedited entertainment logistics.

“The purchase of 24 Diablo-S fixtures is our introduction to Ayrton, although we have been aware of the brand since they launched MagicPanels,” says project manager Lew Aronoff. “Our core business is trade shows and corporate theatre and we’ve seen Diablos become very prevalent in the cross-rental market. Our B-2-B partners run short of 20K lumen fixtures on a regular basis, so we decided to invest in Diablos since we needed more fixtures of that size. Their size and weight-to-output ratio really attracted us to the unit.”

Ayrton Diablo is a compact, versatile and feature-rich 300W profile luminaire. Featuring output of 19,000 lumens, framing shutters, rotating gobos and an iris, the Diablo is remarkably just 48 pounds

“We expect our acquisition of Diablos will open us up to more live entertainment work, as well,” says Aronoff. “The current plan is to add about 100 Diablos to our inventory within the year. As we get into more markets that specify the use of particular fixtures we’re also considering adding Ayrton Perseo Beams, Huracans and the new laser-source Cobras.”

Aronoff expects SDG’s Diablos to make their debuts at several upcoming Washington, D.C. medical trade shows where the fixture type is always in demand.

“We have a strong relationship with ACT and Eric Abad [in western regional sales], who have been great about introducing us to Ayrton products,” Aronoff notes. “They’ve arranged a lot of demos for us and given us time to play with the fixtures.”

25th May 2023

Jeff Ravitz Reflects Bond Between Bruce Springsteen and His Fans with Chauvet Professional Color Strike M

Worldwide – Remember the first time you saw Bruce Springsteen in concert? If you fall within a certain age group (and a very wide one at that), there’s an excellent chance you do. Such is the depth of the personal connection, that this New Jersey born superstar has made with fans during the course of his storied career.

This connectivity is wonderfully and warmly evident on Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band’s current 2023 World Tour, not just in the legendary artist’s emotive music and stage presence, but also in a lighting design that goes more than the extra mile to join the performance and audience as one.

Jeff Ravitz, Bruce Springsteen’s long-time lighting designer, has been focusing on this special bond from the very beginning, and continues to celebrate it this year. “Bruce feeds off his audience’s energy, the same was as they channel his; that’s what has always made his shows such a personal experience,” said Ravitz. “So many people have said that Bruce brings the audience onstage. Or maybe, instead, he turns the entire arena or stadium into the performance space. That’s pretty powerful: to be drawn right into the force-field! People are singing and acting out the words to every song. Bruce sees that, and it spurs him on. So, you can see why audience lighting becomes hugely important.”

Helping Ravitz create this level of audience lighting on the current tour is the Chauvet Professional Color Strike M, supplied by Christie Lites. The tour rig features 35 of the motorised strobes for indoor arena shows and more of the IP65 rated units will be added at outdoor venues later this year.

Ravitz’s design for the tour’s 360 degree stage has trussing that outlines the four corners of the room. Color Strike M fixtures are positioned on each of these corners, while additional units face straight out into the audience from the edges of the stage.

In addition to lighting the audience, the Color Strike M fixtures are accenting key moments in the show with strobe effects. Calling on the intense output of his rig’s fixtures, Ravitz extends his strobing to every part of the house. “Lots of people are pretty far from the stage, whether it’s a stadium or an arena,” he explained. “So, we try to deliver the effect to the furthest corners of the room.”

At the same time, however, the renowned lighting designer is careful not to over do it with his strobe effects. “The Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band show is not a bumpy-flashy show in general, but it is a rock show, with hard hits and accents, and just the right amount of machine-gun drum fills,” he said. “There are times when a strobe effect is just the right way to match those moments with light. We try to be judicious, so our strobing doesn’t get overused and start to lose its surprise-factor.”

This sense of balance, along with a deft touch at mixing and matching various effects, have been critical in helping Ravitz and his design team (lighting director Todd Ricci, programmer Mike Appel and second console operator Brad Brown), keep looks fresh and varied during the three-hour show, which features 25-30 songs a night.

“It’s not always that easy to avoid repeating ourselves over such an extended period, but we work hard to avoid that,” said Ravitz. “Every Springsteen song is like a mini play on its own, with a story being told. Each one gets its individual treatment. We try to use as much of the available colour palette as feels right for this show, to match the vibe of the music and lyrics, and to create variety and contrast.

“We also work a lot on visual layering and dimension. Some songs are extremely full looking, with colour washes being punctuated by sharp-edged light cutting through. Then, there are those moments where the lighting is more selective and sparse. Plus, we’re always revealing the band members in interesting ways. We also have lights coming from so many different directions, including up through the stage floor, to establish a statement of “directionality” for every song. This helps give every number some uniqueness.”

Of course, as varied as they are, the unique looks for each song, like the music of Bruce Springsteen itself, are always driven by one overriding concept: to reflect the close and deeply emotional bond between this legendary star and his fans.

photos: Steve Jennings

25th May 2023

Bubblebee Industries Help Camera Operators Improve their Audio Game

Denmark - Solo videographers and camera operators are increasingly turning to Bubblebee Industries’ versatile range of microphone accessories to help them capture audio that matches the quality of their film footage.

Often, either because of budget constraints or the need to keep production crews small and agile, the person behind the camera is also responsible for sound. In these situations, having the necessary knowledge, tools and accessories to be proficient at both tasks is vital.

For photographer and film maker Tom Price, Bubblebee accessories have proved a game changer, especially when he is working outside on location where he has to contend with external factors such as wind noise, clothing rustle and unwanted ambient sounds. Price works for numerous NGOs and charities around the world covering social and environmental causes. He recently returned from the Democratic republic of Congo where he was using Bubblebee concealers with miniature DPA lavalier microphones to capture interview footage.

“NGOs and charities need photography and video content for websites, reports, marketing material and so on, and it is my job to supply it,” he explains. “Usually on overseas trips I am working as both cameraman and sound engineer because the budgets in these sectors don’t allow me to take a dedicated sound engineer with me.

“When I’m shooting video, my motivating principle is to be as immersive and authentic as possible. I don’t want people to think about me or what I am doing, therefore I don’t want them to see the equipment I’m using. I also want to do justice to my subject matter. The dignity of the person I am interviewing is really important to me and I want them to sound as rich and clear as possible.”

Price mainly uses Nikon Z6 and Z72 cameras in conjunction with a recorder. He also has a small Røde shotgun microphone for his camera, as well as DPA 4060 lavalier microphones.

“The Bubblebee concealers for my lavaliers are absolute magic and I haven’t found a quicker or more straightforward way of miking someone,” he explains. “They are so simple and straightforward to use and the best thing I’ve found for reducing clothing rustle and vibrations. They are also a very robust way of fixing a mic to someone without it being visible.”

In some areas of the world miking someone with a lavalier can be difficult because it involves touching them and putting your hands inside their clothing.

“Most men are OK about it, but I always get another woman to mic up my female interviewees,” Price says. “Miking up a sweaty person or someone wearing a stiff waxy fabric can also be difficult. People will accept a degree of intrusion but sometimes it is hard to get under layers of clothing and longer robes. Luckily Bubblebee has plenty of accessories that I can use to solve these problems including, if all else fails, really strong tape. No kidding, I once had to use this tape on someone because his chest was covered in thick, tightly curled chest hairs. Taking it off was awful. He was very macho about it, but the guy was nearly in tears!”

Another Bubblebee product that Price uses is the Windbubble, which fits over his lavalier microphones and cuts out any wind noise.

“I was recently filming a UK Government minister in London, outside the Ministry for Health and Social Care,” he says. “The wind was howling, and she wanted to have it blowing at her, so her hair wasn’t in her face. I used a lavalier and Windbubble and the result was fantastic, despite the wind blowing directly onto the microphone. You couldn’t hear it at all. It was such a relief to have equipment I could trust.”

Danish freelance TV photographer and editing technician, Thomas Michelsen, is another camera professional who is upping his audio game thanks to Bubblebee accessories.

Michelson, who recently returned from Poland where he was filming a documentary about Ukrainian refugees, says: “My first Bubblebee purchase was a short-haired version of The Windkiller: an imitation fur protector with an inner foam core that fits many different types of shotgun microphones, including the Sennheiser ME66 and Røde NTG2 microphones that I use with my Panasonic HPX3100, Sony FS7 MK2, and Canon C300 cameras. It blocks wind noise, and it works extremely well. I tend to use it when I am filming outdoors, especially in situations where a person is talking to camera, and I haven’t had time to fit a lavalier microphone.”

Michelson recently added a Bubblebee Big Windbubble to his kit bag, using it cover his Sennheiser EW 100 G1 handheld microphone.

“It is strong and easy to use, you just slip it over your microphone and it is held in place by elastic,” he says. “I often do interviews in different conditions, sometimes indoors, where there is a need to sort out noise from other people, and sometimes outdoors where there might be wind or ambient noise to contend with. Having a proper fur for my handheld microphone is really useful because it means I can capture much better sound.”

As a Dane, Michelson adds that he is especially pleased to be supporting a company that was founded by his own countrymen. “Denmark doesn’t have a massive film and broadcast industry so it’s great that Bubblebee Industries has made such an impact on the world stage,” he says.

25th May 2023

Allen & Heath dLive System Packs a Heavyweight Punch on Devin Townsend’s Lightwork Tour

Europe – Canadian progressive metal pioneer Devin Townsend recently completed a European and UK tour in support of his latest album, 2022’s ‘Lightwork’, taking in shows from Oslo to Milan, Lisbon to London. Throughout the tour FOH engineer Christophe Edrich and monitor engineer Sam Chadwick handled their mixes on Allen & Heath dLive C1500 control surfaces, sharing a CDM32 Mix Rack between the two.

Supplied by STS Touring Productions and Pulse PA, the C1500s were chosen for their unique combination of small size, comprehensive feature set and excellent sound as Chadwick (who has previous experience touring dLive with Alter Bridge frontman Myles Kennedy) explains: “The C1500/CDM package is incredible for touring. Although the venues we’re playing are similar capacities, the differences in stage size etc are significant. But the CDM is easy to fit in anywhere and I’ve never had a set-up this size that’s so functional and so ‘musical’, for the want of a better word.

“We’ve got the gigaACE networking card in the CDM32 so that we can run both C1500 surfaces on the single MixRack and we’re breaking out into two DX168s on the drum riser (with an additional DX168 at FOH providing additional I/O where necessary), which are daisy-chained. It’s all very streamlined and it’s been totally flawless for the whole tour.”

All dLive systems support MultiSurface mode, enabling the use of up to two surfaces with a CDM MixRack or up to four Surfaces with a DM MixRack. With preamp gain tracking and compensation, plus flexible options for each Surface’s access to the MixRack’s 128 input channels 64 busses and 500 scenes, MultiSurface is ideally suited to sub-64 channel FOH/MON applications, parallel mixing (for instance, discrete main stage and B-stage control surfaces), or multi-operator sub-mixing on larger shows.

While Chadwick has programmed scenes for each song in the set and sometimes switches between scenes every few bars to ensure the perfect IEM mix, Edrich takes what he describes as a “more old-school” approach at FOH.

“I really like mixing in a very hands-on way,” he says, “I have an IP8 Remote Controller working in conjunction with my C1500, I love having those few extra faders for my FX returns and tracks that I need access to regularly. Even though it’s a small-format surface I find the C1500 very tactile and great to mix in this way with.”

Neither Edrich nor Chadwick rely on external effects, preferring to use the dLive’s impressive built-in processing capabilities, with both singling out the Dyn8 EQ/multi-band compressor for particular praise. “I love the Dyn8,” confirms Edrich. “I have them on inputs, sub-groups, it’s really useful for Devin’s vocals because he uses a lot of head-voice, which adds a lot of resonance, so the Dyn8 keeps it really controlled and clear.

“I have a subgroup with Dev’s voice that I can use to compress everything between 350Hz and 4kHz - that band is compressed by Dev’s voice, so they’re ducked when he sings. Super-useful. I’m at the point where I really have no need for external effects because the dLive is so good and everything’s rock-solid, with no added latency at all. It’s a really fantastic all-in-one touring system.”

25th May 2023

Tom Jones Takes Bandit Lites on the Road

USA – Legendary performer Tom Jones kicked off his international tour with 16 North American performances lit by Bandit Lites. The “What’s New, Pussy Cat?” and “She’s a Lady” performed two shows at the Hollywood Bowl before making his way to Nashville, Texas, Florida, New York, Charleston and Atlantic City.

The tour relaunched a previous production design from Mark Cunniffe as well as programming from Tim Fawkes. Bandit Lites provided a floor package comprising Claypaky B-EYE K20 fixtures and a grandMA 2 console for control.

“The Claypaky Eye K20 unit has quite a bit of versatility within itself that makes this a great unit to use as a floor light,” explained LD Keith Hoagland. “We have 29 of these doing just that: they are part of a beautifully designed floor package that has so many looks for this show.”

Jones’s Ages and Stages Tour is a nostalgic turn through all his hits, and for Bandit Lites, it’s a return to supporting the legend. Bandit illuminated the Welsh star for many years, beginning in the 1980s.

“Matt King has done a great job of prep and direction,” finished Hoagland. “Jemma has been an amazing asset to making this system work every day for our performances.”

Following the Atlantic City performance, Jones will head over to Europe, where the tour extends into August.

24th May 2023

Ayrton fixtures feature in Tim Routledge’s Eurovision dream

UK – In a unique collaboration, the 67th Eurovision Song Contest, that annual extravaganza of music and lighting, was hosted in Liverpool by the UK, on behalf of last year’s winners, Ukraine; this is the first time that two countries have co-hosted the event. Two semi-finals on 8th and 11th May saw 37 acts whittled down to 26 finalists for the spectacular Grand Final on 13th May at the Liverpool M&S Bank Arena. The show reached record UK viewing figures and was broadcast globally to over 160 million viewers.

In what he calls ‘a dream-come-true project’, multi award-winning lighting designer, Tim Routledge and his team were, in addition to all 37 performances, responsible for every aspect of the lighting including presentation states, commentator boxes, voting sequences and the half-time and opening shows for the two semi-finals and Grand Final. This massive undertaking was based on briefings, renders and notes – mostly delivered remotely – and a 20-minute meeting with each of the countries’ delegations in March. “We had to focus on the key points from each to realise their design wishes, and work fast to deliver everything within the time frame,” says Routledge.

With such tight time schedules and high-profile exposure, Routledge needed equipment that was fast, accurate, versatile and reliable. He chose Ayrton’s new Zonda 9 FX, Karif LT, MagicBlade R and the laser-sourced Cobra as key components of his lighting inventory.

Ninety Zonda 9 FX were used to create ten ‘Svoboda 3000’ pods, Routledge’s modernised recreation of the classic Svoboda batten, which he says were a ‘massively important feature’ in the show.

The pods were mounted on independent automated hoists, and tessellated within the three concentric rings of oval lightboxes above the centre stage to form one big curve, and could each be lowered and raised at will.

“I’ve always loved those Svoboda lights, plus it was a kind of nod to my late father who first gave me a book on Josef Svoboda when I was young,” says Routledge. “We wanted to create a Svoboda pod that was epic and could fly in and out individually.”

Zonda 9 FX’s large face was ideal for providing the eye candy and dressing looks that Routledge was after, as well performing as a punchy wash light. “Zonda 9 FX has great power, but we chose it mainly for the clever matrix effect (LiquidEffects) on the front,” he says. “These gave really cool looks to fill the shots when they were dropped in low, and also had the ability to create something pretty without having to blow the shot with loads of powerful light, they looked great without even having to use their punch. They proved very popular with the delegations and fulfilled the brief of what I was trying to do with the pods perfectly.”

Ninety-six MagicBlade R were rigged in the central chandelier feature that filled the space between the oval light boxes in the centre of the arena. These were used for “fun stuff and sky eye candy filling the centre spot above the oval stage.”

Fifty laser-sourced Cobra, which can narrow down to the tightest of beams at 0.6°, were rigged down the sides of the arena to provide big beam looks for all the audience ‘down-the-room’ shots and dressing shots for camera reverses. “The Cobras were used really well on several numbers, especially France’s prop which was edged in a mirror ball fascia and during the Semi-Final 1 half-time show when the performers opened up their costumes to reveal a mirrorball textured heart jacket,” says Routledge. “We pointed the Cobras at those with phenomenal effect.

“At another point, Spain wanted their artiste to scoop up a beam of light in her hand; one Cobra was aimed at a specific spot for a close-up on her hand bathed in high intensity light that looked she was literally holding light. The punch and the tight beams the Cobras gave us shooting from 80 metres, well they were brilliant in every sense of the word!”

Thirty Karif LT were rigged around the arena on goal posts to provide back beams for the audience shots and add background texture to the oval stage’s left and right wings. “To avoid compromising audience sightlines we were quite restricted for space and height, so I needed a compact beam light that would work well in those tight spaces. Finding the right LED fixture that was small and fast was the challenge, and Karif LT fitted the bill really well.”

“I want to heap praise on my programmers Tom Young, Alex Mildenhall and Mark Nicholson who programmed over 79,000 beat-perfect precise lighting cues and my associate LD, James Scott, for helping this dream come to fruition,” concludes Routledge.

Neg Earth Lights was the official lighting supplier for Eurovision Song Contest 2023, with great technical support by Ambersphere.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was organised by the BBC, together with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), in consultation with UA:PBC, Ukraine’s public broadcaster.

photos: © EBU/Chloe Hashemi

24th May 2023

German Space-Rockers H.A.S.A. Take Off with Allen & Heath ME-1 Personal Monitoring System

Germany – South Germany-based band H.A.S.A. (Heiner’s All Star Attraktion) recently updated its entire live sound inventory with an Allen & Heath SQ-6 digital mixer, two AB168 AudioRacks and five ME-1 personal mixers. Assisting with the incorporation of the ME-1 system into the band’s set-up was engineer Klaus Bröckel (whose CV features Miles Davis, Till Brönner, Klaus Doldinger and festivals including JazzOpen Stuttgart, Jazzfest Rottweil and Bayern 3 Dorffest Open Air amongst many others). As a long-term ME-1 devotee, Bröckel has introduced many artists to the personal monitoring solution and was well-placed to ensure the band enjoyed a smooth transition to the new system.

While the five members of H.A.S.A had used IEM systems previously, the move to the ME-1 units brought a welcome new level of individual control and, as Bröckel describes, the switchover was straightforward. “At the first rehearsal with the ME-1s once the input levels were set on the SQ-6 everyone got into dialling in their mixes and within just a few songs everyone had a perfect in-ear mix,” he says.

The ME-1 is a 40-channel personal mixer that enables performers to take control of their monitor mix with level and pan controls, master three-band EQ and limiter, aux input for external devices, plus a top panel ambient microphone to keep the performer in touch with their surroundings. The ME-1 works out of the box with Allen & Heath’s digital mixers and can also be used with third-party mixers and audio interfaces via the use of a ME-U hub and optional Waves or Dante cards.

Initially the ME-1s were simply connected to an AB168 AudioRack and daisy-chained with a power supply for each unit. Ultimately the band’s audio engineer Nils Ott built a half-rack sized enclosure with a POE switch fed from an AB168 and Ethercon connectors at the front to allow the ME-1s to be powered over Ethernet, simplifying set-up and minimising cabling.

Bröckel summed up the move to the ME-1 system as: “Extremely easy, with each of the members getting to grips with it very quickly. The musicians have their own USB sticks to save their own set-up and I think everyone’s been amazed at the sound, ease-of-use and the level of personalised control that the ME-1s offer.”

24th May 2023

Bad Weather Productions spellbound by Blackmagic Design solutions

South Africa – Bad Weather Productions, a creative technical studio based in Cape Town, South Africa, has enjoyed a busy season utilising a custom broadcast solution focused around Blackmagic Design (BMD) equipment, a Stage Audio Works technology partner. Notable projects include Comic Con Africa, the Imagine Dragons and Lumineers South Africa tours, Rocking the Daisies and several Boiler Room events.

Another noteworthy project where they deployed their Blackmagic Design solution was the BTC (Botswana Telecommunications Company) Digital Shift Summit, which brought together local and international leaders to share knowledge on digital transformation. The project required a live camera feed for the in-person attendees as well as a mixed feed for the online viewers.

While Bad Weather’s briefs are diverse, the quintessential takeaway comes down to their ability to deliver a complete broadcast solution that is quick to deploy, scalable, and logistically viable. The ability to integrate with other systems and adapt to the challenges that the live environment demands is key to the success of their solution.

Bad Weather specialises in creating unforgettable visual experiences through complete broadcast solutions for live performances, recordings, and streaming platforms. The term ‘cinematic broadcast’ best describes the type of solution they are offering.

“It’s all well and good to have high-resolution cameras, but if you’re not connecting with your audience both in the venue and online, then essentially we’re not doing our jobs,” explains Jonathan Bandli, creative director at Bad Weather.

While the 2020 pandemic called for a focus on live streaming and online events, Bad Weather has since shifted its focus to live performances with additional streaming capabilities in order to provide the best of both worlds to a hybrid audience. Their Blackmagic Design products have created the central pillar for their solution allowing scalability and integration with many other systems and applications.

Bad Weather’s international projects include touring shows which come with rider advances from touring directors. This requires the delivery of specific requirements while still considering the practicalities of swift deployments to create a seamless experience for the foreign team, ensuring the show can move on to its next destination with ease.

“BMD products have given us the flexibility to try new things and build unique solutions at a good price point,” remarks Bandli. “With enough understanding of the equipment, we can squeeze maximum usability out of everything we own.”

Bad Weather has specified everything from compact fly kits using the ATEM SDI Extreme combined with studio cameras to their flagship 12G Constellation racks which feature BMD’s URSA Broadcast G2s, a 1ME Advanced Panel, an ATEM Camera Control Panel, scopes and everything in between.

“We’re very pleased with our investments in BMD and consistently hear positive feedback from various clients regarding the performance of the systems, which only further cements our belief in their technology,” confirms Bandli. “The kit has handled any challenge we have thrown at it, and we have found BMD systems to be reliable and stable.”

Blackmagic Design products has been key for Bad Weather and their clients, allowing them to provide flexible options and build unique systems across all project sizes with the highest quality at various price points across almost any application, including virtual production projects, live-to-screen events, broadcast projects, film interviews and cinematic projects.

23rd May 2023

Robe Tetra2s a Gift for Wedding Events

Indonesia – Bobby Therry is a lighting designer at the Lasika Productions Group, a busy rental company based in Surabaya, Indonesia, supplying lighting, LED screens, audio, trussing and rigging to many different events. He personally specialises in lighting the very specific and joyous field of weddings, together with some corporate shows.

Sixteen Tetra2s have recently joined the company’s rental stock and Bobby has really enjoyed incorporating these fixtures into his designs where possible. He recently utilised them for the wedding of Larry and Felicia at the Westin Grand Ballroom, Surabaya.

Bobby was working for wedding planner and concept initiator Nuansa Group. They produced a series of bespoke elements for the event in collaboration with a scenic / décor designer and a team from DFactory (also part of the Lasika Productions Group) who are visual animators which were based on the couple’s brief.

Bobby then lit the various different spaces to accentuate the drama, emotion and great vibes of this very special day, using his creative flair and imagination to craft many unique lighting treatments.

The wedding format in Indonesia – especially Surabaya – will often resemble a gala dinner or awards night with a main stage, a dance floor area, banqueting tables, etc, complete with live artists to entertain the guests. It is a busy, high-energy environment, and the performances and excitement are frequently amped up with pyro and SFX, all adding to the sense of spectacle to which lighting is also vital.

The Westin Grand Ballroom does not have a house lighting rig, so for Larry and Felicia, Bobby chose around 200 lighting fixtures including the 16 Tetra2 moving LED bars to ensure that the whole experience would stay etched in everyone’s memories of the day.

Positioned upstage, the unique effects created with the Tetra2s included a fantastic evenly spread linear wash, mainly to highlight the elaborate décor, as well as a series of dynamic beam effects as the action dictated.

“Tetra2 produces excellent colours for lighting up decor, and can also do these amazing beam effects when used in pixel mode, and this can completely transform the nature and feel of the space,” noted Bobby.

He also loves the Tetra2’s flower effect, mainly for the prism-like characteristics that you might usually get from a standard moving head light. “The fixture also works and blends well with almost any type of other light,” he stated. “It is so ultimately usable.”

This was the fourth time Bobby used Tetra2s in a design, and this is a trend that looks set to continue. It also enables him to continue adding stand-out creative elements to his wedding scene repertoire.

One of the keys to successfully lighting wedding events is having the flexibility in the rig to be able to tweak everything on setup, and also to maintain overall good quality lighting throughout all areas of the event.

There are also many components involved: client’s taste, the producer / conceptor’s core ideas, theming, décor and its placement and also logistics like load in, rigging and programming times together with numerous other practicalities.

Bobby uses a grandMA3 full size to programme and run lighting for all his events.

photos: Alvan Christian

www.robe.cz 

23rd May 2023

KLANG brings natural sound to Sarah Brightman tour

Worldwide – Global sensation and world-renowned soprano Sarah Brightman delighted millions of fans worldwide with her highly anticipated tour. The iconic Grammy Award-nominated artist embarked on a magical journey, which kicked off in the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas and saw her journey through Mexico and across Asia, dazzling audiences with her powerful vocals and spreading joy through the power of music. Brightman’s final performance marked a triumphant end to a whirlwind tour that left fans both enchanted and in awe.

The tour also marked a significant milestone for Lewe Redlin, Brightman's monitor engineer of six years, as this was the first time he had used KLANG's immersive in-ear monitor mixing solution, selecting a DMI-KLANG card-equipped DiGiCo Quantum 338 monitor console supplied by Capital Sound, a leading UK audio services provider. Incorporating the KLANG system created ample space in the monitor mix and a more manageable audio environment onstage, resulting in a much more enjoyable and natural sound.

As a seasoned touring engineer with over two decades of experience in the industry, Redlin rolled out KLANG for the musical director on the tour, Ollie Cunningham, as well as Brightman’s band, guest singer Jay Dref and for Redlin’s tech and backline-tech.

"The complexity of this production, with its large number of inputs – around 90 in total – made for an extremely dense mix,” he explains. “To address this, I opted to incorporate KLANG’s immersive technology. Its ability to create new layers within the mix, beyond just left and right, allowed me to carve out more space for all the signals. The result was that I was able to lower the overall level of the mix for everyone involved to enjoy a more natural, balanced sound.”

Of all the positive feedback received on KLANG's system, one comment that stood out to Redlin was from Ollie Cunningham. “After experiencing KLANG's system during the tour, Ollie approached me and remarked that he simply could not imagine going back to stereo. It was a testament to the transformative impact that KLANG had on our production," he shares.

One of the most valuable resources for Redlin was the support he received from KLANG’s Phil Kamp. He recalls: “During prep for the tour, Phil helped with best practices in how to set up the system and initial mixes. Once everything was up and running, I didn’t need of any more support, it just worked flawlessly every single day.”

With KLANG 3D in-ear mixing technology bringing a noticeable difference to the production, Redlin says the team were able to turn down their packs, resulting in less fatigue and more comfort even after a full day of rehearsal and a show.

“The sound was also more natural and organic, providing a superior listening experience,” he says. “I even created my own little KLANG mix for when I’m cueing, and I am definitely sticking with it in the future.”

Redlin is already preparing for the next tour and has plans to incorporate KLANG into the setup for everyone on the Brightman crew. He is also excited to explore the capabilities of the KLANG:konductor, which is considered the most powerful, flexible, and immersive in-ear mixing processor available on the market. "I'm eager to see how the KLANG:konductor can enhance our audio experience even further," he adds.

"I'll always want to spec KLANG from now on, even if it's just for myself,” Lewe concludes. “KLANG has made my life so much easier, and it's been a game-changer for keeping artists happy on stage. After all, if they're happy, I'm happy!"

23rd May 2023

Susan Roses Brings Colour to Alabama Theatre’s ICONIC with Chauvet Professional

USA – Music tells the story of our lives, not only through its melodies and lyrics, but also in the rainbow of colours it evokes in our minds. This is beautifully evident in “ICONIC,” a cutting-edge multi-media production at the Alabama Theatre (the venue is named after the legendary band), that takes audiences on a captivating journey through the music that has shaped our sense of time and place, from country hits and Broadway show tunes, to power rock anthems and pop ballads.

While a group of talented performers on stage told this magnificent story through music and a large video wall supported it with vivid imagery, the shades of colours so important to its telling was provided by an enchanting rainbow of a lighting design created by Susan Rose.

Helping Rose work her magic was a collection of Chauvet Professional COLORado fixtures. “This show is very edgy and contemporary and definitely a major step up from the typical production shows,” said Rose. “It was especially fun for me to light, since I had such a wide variety of music to light. Creating a rainbow of colours with my Chauvet fixtures was a key part of achieving my vision for this design.”

Most critical of all though, was the help Rose received from David Hart, the theatre company manager/production manager, who designed the set house, and house LD Lance O’Connor. “I was fortunate to work with some very talented people at the Alabama Theatre,” said Rose. “As the LD/technical director, Lance put together a very excellent rig, including the Chauvet fixtures.”

Although Rose opened a box full of vivid colours for this show, she usually kept her palette simple for each particular song. “For the most part, I generally lit each song with only a two-colour palette, which changed from one number to the other,” she said. “The ‘less is more’ type of look is often my favourite.

Rose was also mindful of the colourful costumes on stage when selecting her palette. She positioned 12 COLORado 1 Solo units stage left and right to accent the colourfully dressed dancers.

“It was so important that my lighting help bring out the vibrant colour and beauty of all these beautiful costumes,” she said. “I relied on colour to complement the colours, as well as create the mood of the song and make people ‘see the music.’ Also, the video content in this show carried a lot of the visual stimulation, so I had to be creative and achieve a good balance to avoid having things become too busy.”

At other times, however, Rose unfurled multi-coloured looks to capture the mood of a song. She also used colour changes during specific songs to underscore their story-telling dimensions. Such was the case with two of her favourite looks in the show.

“For the intense powerful beamy moments in the balled, ‘The Prayer,’ I included dramatic builds and intense hard stop moments to enhance the incredible emotional impact of this song. Also, in ‘Somewhere over The Rainbow’ we built the songs from dark and moody into intense multiple colours, created the mood of the vibrant story told by this song.”

It was through such storytelling that the performances on stage became more alive, and in the process connected audiences more closely to the music of their lives.

23rd May 2023

Claypaky Xtylos Deliver Post-Apocalyptic Look for Muse’s “Will of the People”

USA – British rock band Muse has hit the road with its North American tour, “Will of the People,” for which more than 150 Claypaky Xtylos enhance the band’s post-apocalyptic staging continuously.

The tour is named by the band’s most recent ninth studio album, which gave Muse its seventh consecutive No. 1 on the UK albums chart and topped Billboard’s Alternative and Rock Albums tallies. The “Will of the People” tour began in Chicago’s United Center on 25 February and concluded the US portion of the tour on 20 April in Salt Lake City, after which it will move on to Europe.

“The band and I really wanted to go in a very different direction from their previous tour to give this one its own identity,” notes Jesse Lee Stout, creative director and co-production designer. “We developed a post-apocalyptic, near-future world as a metaphor for our ‘New Normal.’ In the past couple of years a pandemic wreaked havoc, an insurrection stormed the Capitol, anonymous activist hackers attacked governments and corporations, and people began tearing down monuments across the globe. We all quickly grew accustomed to wearing masks and proposed a story of an extreme leftist group of vigilantes resetting the world to ground zero: The Great Reset.”

Lighting designer Sooner Routhier of Sooner Rae Creative, who also served as co-production designer with Stout, created a rig that echoes “the skeletal nature of a post-apocalyptic, near-future world. It consists of grids of the same lights that put the band inside a deconstructed building: simplistic, industrial and homogeneous. This became the visual identity of the [limited] underplay [theatre] tour that Muse did last October and has carried through into their arena tour in 2023,” she explains.

Routhier chose Claypaky Xtylos to deliver the vast majority of the show’s looks because she “wanted beams of light to extend beyond the stage to help further the idea of the skeletal building structure. They needed to be strong with minimal degradation in the beam shape and brightness.

“We also have tons of mirror products on the show,” she notes. Mirrors are “a theme of the current album cycle, and the Xtylos fixtures are able to bounce off the mirrors and create a near perfect beam reflection. With the mirrors moving overhead in the rig, we’re able to create different bounces and geometric shapes.”

The production developed a set consisting of two inflatables, each more than 30-feet high, a clear stage that exposes gear, lighting and other industrial materials, a 15-foot animated flaming monogram logo of “Will of the People” and six giant kinetic mirrors suspended from the ceiling.

“One inflatable, dubbed ‘WILL,’ wears a Perspex mirror mask,” says Stout. “I immediately knew I wanted to bounce light off of these mirrors as an identity for the show. We later added the ceiling mirrors to continue the theme. The content helps explain a narrative of vigilantes unifying after witnessing a non-violent protester brutalised by a pack of authoritarian figures adorned in golden armour and bull skull-shaped masks. This figure appears as a 40-foot inflatable for the encore.”

Routhier set a series of vertical ladders in a horseshoe configuration around the stage, which track around the band to different positions upstage. Each ladder contains the same number of Xtylos fixtures for a total of 128. “When everything is on together it forms a massive grid that creates three walls of our skeletal building,” she explains.

“We also created a stage that’s 75 percent Plexiglass. The entire floor lighting package, including 24 Xtylos, sits below the decking, which has a grid of structure for support. It makes for a very clean stage surface, and when lit from below adds to the skeletal feel of the stage.”

The Xtylos offer Routhier and her team a number of unique advantages they can’t find in other fixtures. “I love the mirror bounce we get with the Xtylos,” says Routhier. “The beam bounces with very minimal beam degradation and great saturation in all colours. I’ve never been able to achieve that with any other fixture.”

Associate lighting designer and lighting programmer Aaron Luke finds that “the Xtylos’s laser engine, combined with great optics, produces a beam that just seems to keep going. It feels just as bright at the back of the arena as coming out of the front of the fixture. The laser engine also allows for great saturated colors without compromising on intensity,” he observes.

At the tour’s halfway mark, Luke says the Xtylos have been a “great success. With 152 fixtures, we’ve had very limited issues. Since this is my first time working with a lighting fixture with a laser engine, I’ve had to learn their ‘personality,’ so to speak.”

He notes that Claypaky’s strategic marketing manager for entertainment lighting solutions, George Masek: “Has been a very valuable resource. From sending literature about the specialised handling of ‘safe zones’ and answering my questions to making himself available around the clock, I’ve felt like he and Claypaky are doing everything they can to ensure the success of the show.”

Routhier concurs, saying: “George Masek is incredible. He’s always such a great resource for information and guidance about the regulations surrounding the fixtures.”

Claypaky’s George Masek concludes: “It’s such a pleasure to work with Sooner and her teams; they always embrace the latest technology and are willing to take the time to learn about it. Aaron picked up the specifics of running the Xtylos immediately and this ensured that no time was taken away from the creation process. Sooner’s shows always have a powerful, unique element to them; this time, the most dramatic one is the kinetic mirrors which give the Xtylos beams a very particular look and feel unlike anything I’ve seen before.”

Joe Lott is the tour’s lighting programmer and John Bahnick and Josh Wagner at Upstaging are the lighting vendors.

photos: Todd Moffses

www.claypaky.com 

23rd May 2023

Outline’s largest sound system so far used for a major American tour

USA – Winner of six Country Music Association Awards (including their 2021 & 2022 Entertainer of the Year award), four Academy Of Country Music Awards and three Grammy nominations, 33 year-old Luke Combs is one of country music’s brightest stars.

The American singer-songwriter is presently undertaking a major tour across North America in support of his fourth album Gettin’ Old, released in March 2023. The Growin' Up World tour runs March through July and features Combs plus support acts Riley Green, Lainey Wilson, Flatland Cavalry and Brent Cobb.

The popularity of Combs and contemporary country music in general is evidenced by the scale of the venues; the tour is playing principally in NFL football stadiums, accommodating crowds of up to 65,000 per night and every show is already sold out.

A touring production on this scale demands not only a technical infrastructure able to deliver the show (including a colossal stage provided by G2 Structures) but also an audio system that can handle all the nuances of modern country music, which swings freely between gentle acoustic ballads and powerful country-rock. Special Event Services (SES) of Mocksville NC are the sound and lighting contractor for this tour and are deploying the largest Outline loudspeaker system so far used for a major American tour.

Jason Farah of SES describes the system: “The size and layout of the venues plus the audience numbers led us to design a system using our Outline GTO inventory because we knew it had the combination of horsepower and accuracy needed to fill these stadiums, with the fidelity that Combs’ music demands. We have to be able to cover an audience width of 220 degrees from the stage, so the design is somewhat unusual in that the main L&R hangs are actually slightly smaller than the side arrays.

“The left and right hangs each comprise 16 Outline GTO line-array boxes over a single GTO-DF (downfill cabinet) with eight GTO-LOW (bass extension elements) hung behind them, while the side LL / RR arrays include 20 GTO over one GTO-DF. Beyond them there are outfill LLL / RRR arrays, each comprising 26 Mantas 28 loudspeakers. We also deploy three delay towers, each loaded with six GTOs flown over eight GTO C-12 cabinets. The low-frequency support comes from 40 LAB21-HS subwoofers, while 20 LIPF-082 lip fills cover the area immediately in front of the stage.”

FOH system control and power is via two Outline Newton 16+8 FPGA processors which also accept the outputs from the five mixing consoles used for the headliner and various support acts, while the loudspeaker system overall is powered by 90 Outline TTM12K4 amplifiers.

Farah continues: “Thus far, having completed shows in Arlington, Indianapolis, Nashville, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Chicago, every component of the system has performed flawlessly; at the first show at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington Texas, the house audio engineer remarked that he had never heard a PA throw so far and so effectively as our Outline GTO system.”

“Outline's OpenArray 3D simulation software has accurately shown how to deploy the system to yield consistent results from stadium to stadium, and it sounds fabulous for the entire audience no matter where they are seated. This set-up also demonstrates again how easy it is to integrate different Outline loudspeakers to create a uniformly-voiced, totally consistent and very musical overall solution in a challenging environment.”

Key tour personnel: systems technician Joseph Lefebvre, production manager Jerry Slone and FOH engineer Todd Lewis all echo Farah’s comments about the system and its performance.

Joseph Lefebvre: “Deployment of the Outline system has been an absolute breeze. There are a lot of elements to the rig and my team can get it in and out of the venue effortlessly which gives me plenty of time to tune and align the system. The Armonía control software combined with the Newton processors on the front end have provided all the tools I need to accurately dial it in with minimal effort.

“Sonically, the PA has everything we’re looking for. The low end is tight and punchy, and the high end is crystal clear without being fatiguing for the listener. Luke’s vocals combined with the 8 inch drivers are a great combination. At distance, the PA provides clarity in droves and with the TTM amplifiers we have all the power and headroom we could ask for. All this in addition to the incredible stereo imaging of GTO makes for a memorable concert experience for everyone from the front of the venue to all the way in the back.”

Jerry Slone: “As an audio engineer myself, this PA has done nothing but impress me. Before we made the switch, I was shown audio coverage maps overlaid into a few of the venues we were playing this year and was caught off guard, to be honest. Our team, which I am extremely proud of, continues to strive for improvements, deploying this system has been just that, an improvement.”

And the final word from Todd Lewis, commenting after the Arlington show and clearly a happy man: “Show number one in the books. I have to say, the PA that we’re using this year stands head and shoulders above the rest. Outline GTO boxes and accompanying C-12, Mantas 28 and LAB 21 subs more than have the goods for the dynamic show that we put on. There’s a very small learning curve to carrying over an existing show file to this PA, but it is well worth a listen. I’m sold on it. 102db-A (at FOH, 170 feet from the stage) with all that headroom, clarity beyond belief and a stereo image that is unrivalled make this the perfect system for this Luke Combs stadium tour.”

22nd May 2023

Media Pro Group invests in Ayrton Cobra laser-sourced fixtures

UAE – Media Pro Group is a premiere audio-visual production company, with more than a decade of experience in providing innovative event technology and creative design solutions for any and every event. The team provides visually impactful experiences, creating a wonderful magic through audio, video, lighting, stage effects, concept and design along with experienced engineers that elevate an event and make it top notch. Media Pro Group recently added to its repertoire of state-of-the-art equipment, the highly compatible Ayrton Cobra laser-sourced fixtures, that provide spectacular projection and flexibility.

Media Pro Group ordered a total of 226 compact Cobra laser-sourced fixtures which were used at sporting events, music festivals, award ceremonies and other events. Cobra is Ayrton’s first laser-sourced, IP65 rated fixture. It is designed for rendering a D65 white point that allows perfect colour reproduction, with an output of 386,000 lux at 20m, an unprecedented 38x zoom ratio and an incredible zoom range of 0.6° to 23°. Cobra is capable of illuminating an object several kilometres away, it also has the famous Ayrton continuous pan and tilt, a highly innovative colour section and unrivalled graphics capability (including 92 gobos, four prisms and an extreme range of focus (XT-Focus) which permits the beam shape to be adjusted according to the operating distance.

Some of Cobra’s key features include a unique optical design that creates laser-like beams which can be controlled and manipulated in a wide variety of ways, it has high output RGB laser modules that provide bright intense colours and sharp beams making it ideal in large venues and at outdoor events. The zoom range enables lighting designers to create a variety of beam shapes, from sharp beams to soft washes, the built-in-effects generator allows for the creation of complex and dynamic effects. Cobra fixtures can be controlled using DMX or Art-Net protocols making them easy to integrate into existing lighting systems and simplifying the set-up process. It is designed to be low maintenance with long-lasting laser modules and minimal upkeep required.

Head of lighting division at Media Pro Group, Christopher Dawson, lauds the Cobra fixtures, stating: “We needed a fixture that had an IP rating and was weatherproof, that can be used during sandstorms, rainfall and diverse weather conditions. It also needed to be capable of long throw distances, with lots of gobo effects and everything else we would expect from a luminaire. We are familiar with Ayrton products and decided to trial Cobra to see if it met our expectations.”

“Cobra was all the above and more. It combined the power of a sky tracking unit with all the extra features: gobos, colours, prisms. The fact that it was a laser source was very helpful because the power consumption is much lower than other sources. The fixture weight makes Cobra easy to use at events and is a definite advantage. We took time to familiarise ourselves with the new safety regulations concerning the laser source, trained the team on the new features and capabilities of Cobra, and once we were up to speed found it easy to install and maintain.”

Technical director for lighting, Semynov Dsouza (Sam) at Media Pro Group also mentioned: “We were extremely happy with the performance of the Ayrton Cobras, for all the days that it was flown on the structures we never once had to replace any fixtures and that makes us extremely satisfied. We were very impressed with the beam production and quality; the Cobras added a perfect look to all the scenes they were used in. The IP65 rating is a bonus, we look forward to using it in our future productions.”

Technical director, Harold Fernandes said: “Cobra fixtures are unique as they have diverse features that can be used during events and its IP rating helps in large outdoor productions.”

Head of lighting department, Christopher Dawson concludes: “When purchasing a new product, part of our stipulation is that technical and service support should always be available to us. In the events world we can run into problems at any time of the day or night. I am pleased to say, we always enjoy good service from Ayrton whether it is in the quick provision of spare parts or technical assistance over the phone. Ayrton has given us great support and continues to do so.”

22nd May 2023

Chauvet Professional Contributes to Patrick Dierson’s Transformative Love Has No Limits Stage

USA – Size matters, doesn’t it? Well, not necessarily, especially when you’re talking about the unlimited – perhaps even infinite – scope of collective imaginations. Proof of this was plain to see in the endlessly engaging lighting and AI looks that transfixed the crowd at “Love Has No Limits – 1 Day Houston,” which was actually a two-day event, that raised awareness and funds for community organisations in the Texas city.

The Activity’s Patrick Dierson, who led the talented creative team, initially planned on working with a much larger stage at The Toyota Center. Unfortunately, (but ultimately fortunately) logistics got in the way, necessitating a change in his design strategy.

“Ultimately, we were forced into having a smaller turntable, which led to a slightly tighter performance area,” said Dierson. “With things beginning to narrow, we started playing with the idea of going with a more elongated look for the project. So, we decided to base the overall design on a series of trusses that would be orientated upstage to downstage at an upward rake. This ended up giving us a much larger overall look.”

Working with this rig, Dierson and lighting director Justin Cheatham created a wide variety of looks for headliners Tim McCraw, Tobe Nwigwe, Tori Kelly and other stars, ranging for soft monochromatic washes, to intense criss-crossing patterns of bright white light. Contributing to the panorama were 32 COLORado PXL 16 motorised battens from Chauvet Professional which, like the rest of the fixtures, were supplied by Gemini Light Sound & Video.

The COLORado linear units were flown on alternating fingers. Drawing on the wide (5.7-47.9degrees) zoom range and 200 degree tilt of the pixel-mappable fixtures, the designers were able vary coverage areas throughout the show. While the linear battens were on one group of fingers, washes, spots and other moving fixtures were positioned on the others.

“I’m not a fan of having linear LED, strobes, moving washes, moving spots, etc. all crammed onto the same trusses,” said Dierson. Much of that is done for efficiency, driven by productions where the budgets require us to eke out every dime in value. After a while, it becomes almost formulaic, and that starts to breed complacency in design.

“Here we had an opportunity to break that habit and thus, we started looking for other options. Being a huge fan of negative space, I wanted to find a way to achieve that without wasting large swaths of airspace, especially since our performance area was compressed. This ultimately led us to take a slightly different approach to how fixtures were used. In this regard, we had our alternating trusses of wash lights and Chauvet PXL Bar 16s both being able to provide a proper even stage wash in the performance area as well as being able to provide aerial effects that were truly unique to each of those types of fixtures’ look.”

Harmonizing beautifully with this lighting rig and creating next level immersion on the stage, was a multi-layered video wall that displayed a plethora of 3D images. Created with AI and Epic’s Unreal Engine, these images included geometric patterns, soft whimsical metaphors, photographs and a host of other visualisations. Dierson credits media director Bob Bonniol and his team at Mode Studios for their work in adding this dimension to the production.

“Mode is always my first stop team for cutting edge technology,” said Dierson. “Bob Bonniol and I have worked together for a little over two decades now and it just gets better each time. For this we wanted to do something a little different. The base edict was that we would need to provide some rather generic content to have standing by for all artists who would not be providing their own. Understanding that that this could be achieved easily with Bob’s hard drives of tricks, the natural geek instinct in us was to see how we could kick things up a notch, and thus the ever-trendy buzzword ‘AI’ started getting thrown around our discussions.”

“It didn’t take us too long to end up shifting almost entirely to AI generated content for the project, all of which was done onsite at very rapid speed,” continued Dierson. “Regardless of the infancy of the technology as it pertains to consumer access, Bob has seemingly mastered how to navigate it and is already considered a power-user. Working with it has been a fantastic experience for us and, personally, I’m very much looking forward to how far we can leverage this digital alchemy to the advantage of productions around the globe.”

19th May 2023

J&C Joel helps create giant mural for Mental Health Awareness Week

UK – A Sowerby Bridge-based business has played its part in the creation of a giant piece of artwork made up of 687 high-vis vests which has been displayed on a construction site in the West End of London to represent the annual number of trade suicides in the UK.

Tragically, an average of 687 skilled trade workers died by suicide each year between 2019-2021, according to the latest government data. This equates to 13 a week, or almost two a day, on average.

J&C Joel, who manufactures stage and theatre drapes, was commissioned to stitch together 687 high-vis vests, symbolising each of these individuals, creating one 12-metre-tall garment.

The mural has been created for Mental Health Awareness Week (15th-21st May) by Jaywing, IronmongeryDirect and ElectricalDirect to highlight the scale of the issue within the industry and ‘give mental health higher visibility’.

For the next few months, the banner is being displayed at the Galliford Try construction site on Goslett Yard, just off Charing Cross London, in the heart of the West End.

In 2021, tradespeople accounted for 15% of suicides across all industries, which is more than any other occupation. In fact, construction workers are nearly four times as likely to die by suicide than some other sectors.

Emma Mamo, head of workspace wellbeing at Mind, said: “In male-dominated industries such as construction, employees are often less willing and able to open up about their mental health and ask for support. This can be problematic because mental health problems often become worse if left untreated, and the consequences can be fatal.

“We urge employers to create cultures where employees can speak openly and honestly about their mental health.”

After finding that 84% of tradespeople don’t feel comfortable talking about their mental health, IronmongeryDirect and ElectricalDirect spoke to tradespeople who were willing to share their stories, with the aim of encouraging others to do the same.

Rebecca Bishop, co-founder at Elite Building, talked about her experiences and shared a positive message for those who can relate.

“I experience burnout regularly, but it started getting serious in 2020 at the onset of the pandemic. I remember asking my husband if it was possible to die from stress as I was genuinely concerned.

“I have often tried to survive it and make it to the other side. Sometimes I share vulnerably on social media about mental health, but I also put pressure on myself to always keep it together, which is ridiculous, because I am human and this is not possible.

“Tradespeople need to understand that they are never alone. Things don’t have to stay the way they are. We just need some brave people to step up and be vulnerable and share, which then might encourage others to share as well.”

Oliver Marns, UK sales director at J&C Joel said: “We were incredibly humbled when we were approached to turn Jaywing, IronmongeryDirect and ElectricalDirect’s ambitious and striking call to action around suicide in the construction industry into a reality.

“We immediately understood the importance of the project as it represents a cause close to the hearts of many at J&C Joel. The Joel’s team worked tirelessly to ensure the piece closely resembled a hi-viz vest whilst at the same time being safe and durable to hang outdoors.

“We’re incredibly proud to have been involved in this significant project and we hope it encourages people to talk more openly about their mental health.”

19th May 2023

Mixbus Uses a Studer Vista X For Eurovision’s Music Mixes

UK – The final of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest took place in Liverpool on 13th May and attracted a worldwide television audience of over 160 million people. Throughout the week-long extravaganza, music for all of the televised live shows and rehearsals was mixed on the Mixbus, a music and audio outside broadcast facility that now incorporates an Evertz Studer Vista X console.

Owned by BAFTA winner Conrad Fletcher’s SounDesign company, the Mixbus was chosen for Eurovision because it is kitted out with a plethora of high-end equipment, including a Studer Vista X console that has the ability to handle complex and technically challenging live music shows.

A long time Studer user, Fletcher ordered his new console just three months before the event as a replacement for his old Studer Vista 8 console.

“The Vista 8 had always done a sterling job, but I’d been wanting to upgrade to a Vista X for some time in order to carry my business forward for the next ten years,” he explains. “Winning the Eurovision project vindicated my decision to invest. The type of projects we do, especially live to cinema that makes up 50 percent of our workload, are complex and I honestly believe Studer is the only console manufacturer that can handle them. Nothing else comes close.”

Co-operation between Fletcher and Evertz, which had recently moved all Studer manufacturing to its factory in Canada, was key to ensuring the console was built and installed in time for the contest.

“Our build team was aware that this console was destined for Eurovision, so they knew delivery wasn’t a moveable date,” says Mark Hosking, director of international sales, Studer-Evertz Audio Solutions.

“It went flawlessly,” Fletcher adds. “BAFTA winner Andy Tapley, sound supervisor and sound and technology manager at BBC Studioworks was calling me every day to check on progress because he knew he’d be mixing the contest on it. We were all very relieved when it arrived on schedule and was installed on the truck.”

Fletcher’s Vista X has 52 faders and a control surface that weights 150 kilos. It is also 7cm higher than his old Vista 8, which meant the back end of The Mixbus had to be rebuilt to raise the speakers and video monitors above the meter bridge.

Like its predecessor, the console retains Studer’s patented Vistonics user interface and added FaderGlow, along with a new Infinity Core, that provides control of 1,000 or more audio DSP channels with superb sonic quality and more than 5,000 inputs and outputs. To ensure system redundancy that is so vital for live events, Vista X has four processor Quad Star technology and CPU-based DSP that allows two completely independent DSP cores to run in parallel with 'instant' change over.

“While it is operationally very similar to the Vista 8, this new desk has some clear advantages,” Fletcher explains. “I really like FaderGlow because each audio fader type can be associated with a chosen colour, plus it has assignable channel meters with a history function so you can instantly see which microphone is faulty, even in a show with hundreds of them, or spot problems with assignments, which is invaluable in a live situation. This gives you an instant overview of the console’s status.”

Fletcher adds that the console’s configuration system is also much quicker to work because it runs natively on modern x86 CPU processors that are found across Evertz live media production product lines. It also has exceptional system reliability with four independent processors providing the necessary backup for shows as complex as Eurovision.

Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Eurovision is usually hosted by the previous year’s winning country, which in 2022 was Ukraine with the song Stephania by the Kalush Orchestra. But, because of Russia’s invasion of their country, Ukraine was unable to hold this year’s contest, so instead – for the first time in 25 years – it took place in the UK at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, where it was hosted by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on behalf of the Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine.

Costing more than £16 million to stage, Eurovision 2023 involved 37 participating countries and nine television shows including two live semi-finals and a live final, which was ultimately won by Sweden’s Loreen with the song Tattoo.

Throughout Eurovision week, the Mixbus team was responsible for mixing 45 songs live to air, including guest artists such as Sam Ryder, Rita Ora, Rebecca Ferguson and contestants. Once the stereo mixes were completed, they were handed over to another BAFTA winner, sound supervisor Richard Sillitto, who added presentation and audience on board NEP’s UHD1 scanner. He also provided the 5.1 surround mix. Graham Norton’s presentation was added separately and an international feed was provided to each country so that they could add their own commentary.

“Considering the complexity of the final show – and indeed all the live shows and rehearsals – it is testament to a great team effort that everything went so smoothly,” says Andy Tapley. “The Vista X was absolutely the right choice for this event. Its ability to completely reconfigure every parameter on the fly at a touch of button meant it was the perfect choice. It is simply the best console for entertainment and music mixing.''

Conrad Fletcher adds: “We are told that the EBU was extremely happy with the quality of the output from the Mixbus and this is both gratifying and a relief. Some colleagues questioned the wisdom of putting a new desk in just before one of the biggest shows we have ever undertaken. All I can say is the Evertz Studer Vista X console gave us complete and total reliability, from first delivery to completion of a four-hour epic broadcast and everything in between.”

19th May 2023

3G Productions Invests in Kinesys

USA – Las Vegas and Los Angeles-based full production and rental specialist, 3G Productions LLC (3G), has invested in a substantial amount of Kinesys automation kit, adding to its already robust inventory.

The purchase comprises 500kg and 1000kg Kinesys Elevation Liftket motors with Elevation drives, Vector control console, multiple PD-ES Array power distros and all necessary Libra Cell digital load cells, Libra Pro controllers, and networking switches.

3G has invested heavily in all departments since the pandemic, including rigging and automation, explained CEO Keith Conrad, who believes that automation will become an increasingly important element of future visual and stage designs.

The company works across multiple sectors including large-scale events, concert tours, festivals, and corporates, together with “significant” work up and down the world-famous Las Vegas strip.

The initial purchase of Kinesys motors proved hugely popular with a wide cross section of clients, so the decision was taken to expand and develop the automation department with future growth in mind.

Before the latest Kinesys kit had even arrived at the warehouse, it was already booked and specified to fulfil the design requirements of several upcoming shows and events.

For Keith and the team: “Innovation, flexibility, reliability and the potential for the kit being used by clients / artists to differentiate their shows,” are all key reasons for choosing Kinesys.

They use it frequently on ‘turntable’ festival stages for lifting a mid-stage video wall up and down to help mask changeovers happening on the back half of the stage noted Keith, adding that creatives, bands and promoters are always looking for ways to give their shows a unique style and aesthetic.

He reckons that automation “is a great technical element to design around, and using it ensures that shows can keep pushing the boundaries and being cutting edge”.

The 3G crew favour the Kinesys kit for its quality, accuracy and intuitive operation, while coming with all the necessary parts for it to be fully stand-alone.

“We are always looking ahead and anticipating what the next big thing might be and, right now, we believe automation is top of the list,” he stated.

Working with David Bond and others in the Kinesys team has been “great” he says. There’s been a lot of bi-directional communication with the manufacturer which he values when investing in newer technology products and he appreciates that all dealings have been straightforward and honest, even when navigating the universal challenges of supply chain timelines.

The new Kinesys system was recently used on the Calibash Las Vegas and Calibash Los Angeles Latin music festivals and the Super Bowl Music Festival to make video and lighting elements more dynamic and for masking changeovers with a moving video wall.

Most recently, 3G handled full production for K-Pop favourite BLACKPINK: the first all-Asian act to headline Coachella. Their show design, created by a collaboration between Stufish and Cory Fitzgerald from Silent House Production, used automation to deliver a high impact visual extravaganza featuring six lighting pods each controlled by four Kinesys motors.

These could move and pitch on all axes, changing the shape and architecture of the stage.

Another bespoke system design went out on BLACKPINK’s world tour which kicked off in Mexico and Australia soon after Coachella.

3G is in talks with numerous other summer festivals and tours re-deploying Kinesys systems, and based on initial response, Keith is confident the system will have very little down time this year.

photos: 3G Productions

18th May 2023

Robe’s NRG in the spotlight at Eurovision

UK – Five NRG members had the time of their life at this years’ Eurovision as RoboSpot operators.

NRG Manager Jane Monk said: “Lighting designer Tim Routledge created this exclusive opportunity for local students to get involved. Working together, both LIPA and Cheshire colleges hosted NRG Introduction to RoboSpot training days, keeping the reason a secret!”

After weeks of rehearsals and meeting the King, each student took control of a RoboSpot and played an integral role in the team of 15 RoboSpot operators. A once-in-a-life-time opportunity that accumulated in a spectacular grand final featuring over 635 Robe lighting fixtures.

Lighting designer Tim Routledge said: "From my initial conversations with the BBC about taking this project on I wanted it to be as diverse a team as possible and to leave a legacy in Liverpool so that the money spent there gave local people opportunities for the future; this was the cornerstone of what we wanted to achieve. I reached out to Robe NRG who I have a close association with and they jumped on board to help us deliver those possibilities. I met some superb students at both colleges and to be honest I could have taken way more than the seven students I had space for with the great choice available. The students that came to join us, grabbed this opportunity with both hands and gave it their all with enthusiasm, professionalism and a want to deliver a great project – they shone and were integral members of the team – this was no normal student placement. To see them all grown in confidence and be part of the team was one of the true highlights of the project and we will be seeing much more of this team in the future I am sure."

NRG students were LIPA’s Adannae Okeke, Lilac Lovett and Peter Bird, and Cheshire’s Megan Parry and Ben Ashfield.

Adannae Okeke: “This has been an amazing, once in a lifetime opportunity. Not only have I been able to work alongside one of the world's greatest lighting designers, but I also got the privilege to meet King Charles and Queen Camilla. It can only go up from this moment forward. Being surrounded by some of the best creatives, BAFTA, Emmy and Grammy winners I've been able to immerse myself into this crazy world. So happy that I can say I was a part of this wonderful experience. Eurovision 2023 has been incredible.”

Ben Ashfield: “My experience here has been amazing working with so many great people who have taught me so much getting chosen by Tim that day of training was truly life changing and given me so much inspiration and confidence for my future and I’ve had the best three weeks working on the biggest TV show in all of Europe!”

Peter Bird: “A big thank you to Tim Routledge, it's thanks to him that this opportunity has been made available. It’s great to see lighting designers wanting to give knowledge and experience to the next generation of technicians and designers and amazing to see Robe NRG helping to facilitate this. Eurovision has some of the industry's most talented crew members, and I feel I have learnt so much through the chance to work alongside them.”

Next Robe Generation (NRG) is a networking community for all lighting students pursuing a career in the entertainment lighting world. If you are over 18 years old, in full-time education and studying a relevant lighting course joining NRG is for you.

photos: Robe UK and the students

www.robe.cz

18th May 2023