volume 4 issue 8 2011 - Mobile Production Pro

mobileproductionmonthlyvolume 4 issue 8 201110(c) Michael A. Beck16contents4 In the News4 Cases Penn-Elcom Acquires and Integrates CLD Distribution4 FX Katy Perry & Laser Design Productions Create an Out of thisWorld Experience with California Dreams Tour5 Lighting Kaizers Orchestra Plays Oslo Spektrum Using Clay PakyAlpha fixtures from Rubicon / UK Morning Show Wakes Up to ETCSelador® LED Lighting6 Sound DiGiCo SD7 Gets the Green Light For Coldplay’s FifteenFestivals / Trio of HARMAN’s Soundcraft Vi6 Consoles GreetScript’s Aviva Homecoming7 Sound cont. L-ACOUSTICS US Takes KARA & SB18 on the Road7 Transportation Prevost Introduces Service Locator Mobile App8 Video LMG Touring on the Road with Maroon 5 and Train / CreativeTechnology Purchases 40 Barco Projectors10 Staging A Look at Kleege Industries Making MobileStaging Easy12 IT Support TourTechSupport Digitizing Dave Matthews14 Sound Rob Zombie: Monsters, Movies, Mayhem and, Ohyeah, Music18 Int'l Venues ProAudio Ltd. Chooses Community forBulgaria’s New National Sports Arena / Poland's National RugbyStadium Projects with D.A.S. Audio24 Def LeppardMirror Ball TourLife in the Mirror Ball30 Crew Members/Tour Vendors32 UpstagingUpstaging the Competition34 McGuinnessIssues a Call to a Higher Standard of Safety38 Advertiser's Indexmobile production monthly 1

FROM THE PublisherIn this issue of mobile Production monthly, wefeature Def Leppard’s Mirror Ball Tour. ProductionManager Chuck Beckler and his team did a greatjob of using brand new technology to put together a“nostalgic” look on this tour.We also touch base with John Huddleston ofUpstaging to discuss his work on the Leppard tour aswell as a piece on PRG Nocturne’s new V-18 whichis currently being used for the first time on this tour.McGuinness Trucking also gives us some insight intotheir operation and the logistical challenges that occurwhen traversing through Europe with a band itineraryas busy as Def Leppard and their crew.Bill Evans checks in with a nice story on the audiorequirements for the recently completed Rob Zombie/Slayer tour.We hope you enjoy this issue. You can look forwardto our next issue very soon featuring the currentJourney/Foreigner/Night Ranger tour that is making itsway across the US.Larry SmithHOME OFFICE STAFFa 7 3 2ph: 615.256.7006 • f: 615.256.70042961 Armory Dr • Nashville, TN • USA 37204mobileproductionpro.comFor advertising inquiries:ads@mobileproductionpro.comPublisher: Larry Smithlarrysmith@tourguidemag.comManaging Director: Chris Cogswellccogswell@mobileproductionpro.comChief Writer / Photographer: Michael A. Beckgrockit@comcast.netArt Director / Graphic Designer: Kristin Salawayksalaway@mobileproductionpro.comWebmaster: Michael Stalcupmstalcup@mobileproductionpro.comContributing Writers:Bill Abner / bigolbill@comcast.netHank Bordowitz / hank@bordowitz.comRobert Bryson / rlbryson@hotmail.comBill Evans / revbill@revbill.comTodd Kramer / tklites@yahoo.comBill Robison / brobison@greatlakessound.comTOUR LINK BOARD OF ADVISORSBenny Collins, Jim Digby, Jon Nevins, Stuart Ross,Bobby Schneider, Jay Sendyk, Seth Sheck, Nick GoldNicki Goldstein, Chuck Randall, Michelle Freedmantourlinkconference.comPUBLISHED BYAnvil Productions, LLCph: 615.256.7006 • f: 615.256.7004REGISTERONLINE TODAY:tourlinkconference.com/registerFOLLOW USTour-Guide-Publications / Tour-Link-Conference@mobileprodpro / @TourLinkConf©2011 Anvil Productions, LLC. Nothing may be reproduced without writtenpermission of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to edit any andall editorial content included in this publication. The publisher has made everyattempt to insure accuracy and consistency of this publication. However,some listings & information may be incomplete due to a lack of informationprovided by various companies listed. Please send any inquiries to theattention of the publisher. All advertising appears at the paid solicitation ofthe advertiser. Anvil Productions, LLC, can not be held liable for any errors,omissions or inaccuracies appearing in this journal in the form of editorials,listings or advertising.Member of:2 mobile production monthly

615.244.5551OUR TRUCK DISPLAY OFFERS ONE OF THE HIGHEST FORTY METER RESOLUTION SCREEN IN NORTH AMERICA. IT WASFIRST DEPLOYED AT THE BEIJING OLYMPICS FOR THE PANASONIC CORPORATION. SINCE RETURNING TO THE US IT HASWORKED AT THE PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION AND FESTIVAL & MARKETING FOR LIVE NATION.A Truly Mobile MEGA Display:Fitted with a larger-than-life appox.40 square meters LED screen,this option allows you to set up yourpicture where you need it,when you need it.The LED-wall is engaged by the flip of aswitch (lever control).Deploys in 1 hour.High-quality LED screen:The LED tiles that come in this flexibletotal display solution arehigh brightness 12mm.27'-8"15'-1"A PRESIDENTIAL SCREENFlexible and independent:The screen has 360 degree rotation, allowing youoptimal presentation to adjust the display to faceyour audience no matter what the setting.31'-3"Switcher camera packages available inthe control room.60MIN. SETUPSPECIFICATIONS16'-1 1/2"The system is completely self-contained so noexternal power supply is needed. A diesel-fueledgenerator provides 100 hours of continuous, quietoperation (at half load) and power outputs viastandard CEE 32A plugs.Screen (WxH): 27’-8” x 15’-1”PixelResolutionTilesFoot print at venue(LxWxH)24R/12Vmm, 1R2G1B22 width x 12 high Total 264 Tiles45’ x 32’ x 31’Trailer (LxWxH) 45’ x 8’ x 13’-5”WeightDiesel generatorElectrical panelShore powerRequirements704hor x 384vert38,000 LBSOn board, 100 KW , 120/208 VAC,60 Hz, 347 AMP400 AMP200Amp, 5wire, 3 phase, camlockPower consumption15kW/h @ 40Amp/leg/phasei-magvideo.comYOUR IMAGE, REALIZED

In the NewsIN THE NEWSCasesPenn-ElcomAcquires andIntegrates CLDDistributionFlightcase and speakersolutions specialist PennElcom has acquired CLDDistribution, experts in cables,connectors, lamps and LEDlightsources, and has completeda successful integration of CLD -which will continue with its ownoperation, identity and tradingcontacts - under the Penn-Elcomumbrella.CLD Distribution was foundedin 1984 as a wholesale businessdedicated to lamps, lighting,audio and colour components andconsumables for the professionallighting and sound industry, andis a leading supplier to installationand service companies. It is stillheaded by founder Nigel Howesand Sandra Connolly.Starting in Loxwood, West Sussex,UK, the operation moved to thePenn Fabrication site in Hastingsin 2000, when more space wasrequired.Penn-Elcom has been tradingin both directions with CLDDistribution for about 20 years,in a healthy crossover relationshipwhich has also seen Penn-Elcomsupply many of the different componentsand parts offered by CLDto their own client base. Withenormous benefits to both companiesworking in the same industry,each with its individual and differentproduct profile, the duality hascontinued to strengthen and grow.Says Penn-Elcom ChairmanRoger Willems, “CLD fills a largegap in the Penn-Elcom ranges,and their encyclopaedic knowledgein the world of connectorsand lamps will be of great benefitto our clients. It is a perfect matchand it’s very exciting for all ofus to be working together - therehas always been a lot of mutualrespect, andthis is consolidatedwith themerger”.Penn-Elcom isalready proactivein supplyingconnectorsto specificlocations andregions, andwith the CLD merger, the additionalinvestment and the accessto even greater expertise, Willemsexpects the connector rangesoffered by Penn-Elcom to expandas a result.There will also be the additionalconvenience to Penn-Elcom’sclients of being able to purchaseelements like punched metalworkfrom them, and now (via CLD),the connectors and cables to completethe connection, all from oneentity.CLD’s large, comprehensivelyequipped and highly efficientworkshop is currently producingpre-made leads, multicores andstage boxes, along with custompanels and 19 inch products whichare also produced onsite.Main dealers for Neutrik, CLDhas a large stock holding of allproducts and are renowned aficionadosin the somewhat esotericfield of cables, connectors andmulticore cables in particular.CLD manufactures its own cableassemblies, multis and all the standardNeutrik terminated cablesusing only the highest qualityproducts available.On the lamp side of the business,CLD has been specialisingin LEDs for some time, so theirconsiderable body knowledgeand history in this field is ofgreat value as the technologyhas really taken off. Theystill also sell a full range ofGE, Philips, Osram and otherlamps.CLD will continue to tradethrough its existing UK dealers,and internationally willbe established in key areaslike Europe and North Americain its own right. In other markets,products will be distributedthrough the extensive Penn-Elcomnetwork.Says CLD’s Nigel Howes, “Thecombination of Penn Elcom’slogistics and CLD’s stock profilemeans a very strong distributioninfrastructure is now in place forworldwide distribution, which isan exciting opportunity for allinvolved”FXKaty Perry &Laser DesignProductionscreate an out ofthis world experiencewith CaliforniaDreams TourAfter traveling through Australiaand Japan, Katy Perry hasfinally kicked off the NorthAmerican leg of her hugely successful“California Dreams”Tour. Named after her Billboardtopping album, Perry has everythingin place for an unforgettablenight of her biggest hits.The show has everything,including dancing gingerbreadmen, whipped cream, and evenmachines blowing candy cottonscent into the audience creating afull-on sensory overload that onlyKaty can give her fans.Director Baz Halpin, in conjunctionwith Laser DesignProductions have worked to createwhat is undoubtedly one ofthe show’s biggest draws, “E.T.”mesmerizing the audience with it’sunique and intense atmosphere.This stunning multi level visualexperience, provided by LaserDesign Productions consists offive laser systems; one 20 wattfull color laser, two 15 watt fullcolor lasers and two green yagsthat fill the stage with syncopatedbeam and scanned looks. LorenzoCornacchia, President and designerof Laser Design Productionsdecided in order to fully utilizethe lasers he would place the yagsoffstage, and the color lasers abovethe stage. “We have two full colors,right and left of the staircase,and they’re basically up about tenfeet on a vertical truss so they canclear everybody” said Cornacchia.“There’s also one laser that’shanging upstage center, it projectsdown and hits the flap on thedownstage edge,” A full rangeof laser effects is experiencedthroughout the performance;rotating cones, beam chases, morphingscans, mirror bounces, andcolor cycles – all complementingthe choreography and lending aspectacular visceral accompanimentto the popular song.Katy gives her audience morespectacle during “Who Am ILiving For”. Laser operator BrianVan Trigt uses diffraction effectsto harmonize with the hauntinglyrics of the song. An unforget-4 mobile production monthly

fixture I like. If you want it to be aspot with an absurdly wide zoom,then it is just that. A Wash? Noproblem. Beam? Sure, no stress!The Alpha Spot HPE 1500 isn’tjust a spot, it is any fixture, andI have never before had such acreative playroom. I know I onlyused 20% of the features, so thereis more to come”.table static look is created as lasersfan over the audience’s heads andan array of atmospheric scans andbeam effects are incorporated.Perry’s showmanship partneredwith the intricate and surreal lasereffects created by Laser DesignProductions for her tour havebeen well received by crowds ofdedicated fans. As she continuesher tour into the fall returning tothe UK and Europe, she will nodoubt continue to showcase hertremendous talent and laser effectsthat wow crowds each and everynight. laserdesignproductions.comLightingKaizers Orchestraplays Oslo Spektrumusing Clay PakyAlpha fixtures fromRubiconKaizers Orchestra is recognized asone of Norway’s most prominentrock bands and best live acts. OnSaturday the 9th of April, theband played the concert of theirlifetime in a fully booked OsloSpektrum. An audience of 10,000spectators got to experience aspectacular show and KaizersOrchestra at their very best.“As Norway’s most importantvenue, selling out Oslo Spektrumis a huge step for any Norwegianband and we were glad to bethere to assist Kaizers Orchestrain making it a truly remarkableevening for everyone in the audience.”states Rubicon’s marketingdirector, Nikolai Perminow.Rubicon is Norway’s leadingrental provider of Clay Paky anddelivered a range of Clay PakyAlpha Spot 1500 HPE, AlphaSpot 700 HPE and Alpha Wash700s as moving fixtures for theshow – alongside conventionallighting, rigging, PA and monitoring.Neil Solheim, Kaizers Orchestra’slighting designer was thrilled withthe choice of fixtures. “The ClayPaky Alpha Spot HPE 1500 giveme the option to reproduce any“Rubicon is without a doubt themost dedicated partner I have everworked with. With a thoroughfocus on quality and wholeheartedpassion for their work, they madeit possible for me to focus solely onperfecting the show, and allowedme to delivery a maximum experienceto the audience. This made itone of my best days at work ever,”Solheim summarizes.claypaky.itUK morningshow wakes up toETC Selador® LEDlightingWhen Daybreak, a UK TV‘breakfast show,’ was launched atthe end of last year, it was witha flourish. Not only did the stationspend a great deal of moneyenticing stars from other channelsbut they knew the set needed tolook great.The studio, on the south bankof London’s River Thames, haswindows on three sides, facingiconic St Paul’s Cathedral. Inthe winter it’s dark out whenDaybreak comes on air at 6:00am,but gradually it gets brighter (untilfull sunlight potentially streamsthrough the windows) by the program’send at 9:25am.Lighting director Matt Carterlooked to technology to solvethe lighting problems that thenatural-light changes might present.Employing Stage Electrics,he first had almost £130,000(approx. $212,000) worth of dimmable2.5-meter-high (approx.8-feet-high) glass windowsinstalled, which, when attachedto an ETC Unison® Paradigm®control system, automatically variesthe ambient light levels. StageElectrics’ project manager ChrisPatton explains: “We installed anETC Paradigm dimming systemwith daylight-harvesting sensorsmobile production monthly 5

In the Newson the outside of the building,which monitor the sunlight fallingon each section of glass. Thesystem then dynamically adjuststhe tint to balance the amount ofambient light in the studio.”“For manual operation,” continuesCarter, “we installed touchscreenpanels in the studio and thecontrol room and finally linkedthe whole system into the ETClighting network to allow theSmartGlass to be controlled fromthe ETC Congo jr lighting desk.”Carter had the entire existinglighting rig ripped out and newgear brought in. “Jeremy Roberts,ETC’s associate regional managerfor the UK and Ireland, broughtan ETC Selador Vivid-R LEDfixture and a traditional 1.2k HMIlamp, and we did a shootout,”he explains. “To our surprise, theSelador was brighter. We didn’tbelieve it, so we turned everythingoff and had another go -- and,true enough, the Selador was definitelyoutperforming the HMI.”“We ended up installing around70 Selador fixtures, comprisingabout 95% of our rig. We onlyuse the tungsten for when we wantsomething for live music acts,which take place on a small stageat one end of the studio.”“The Seladors allow me to mixthe incoming natural light withthe studio lighting perfectly, andbecause of the range of colorsthe fixtures output, we know thatthe white balance will always beperfect. These were the only lightsthat we’re aware of that have suchimpressive brightness and saturation.”Because Daybreak hires its studiofrom the London TelevisionStudio complex, the producersnever see the cost savings.“However,” says Carter, “we usedto use 360A continuously throughoutthe three-hour show. Now wejust use 67A for the entire rig. Ofcourse, the added effect of this isless heat and less weight.”There was a rumor in the tabloidnewspapers that the TV stationhad asked St Paul’s Cathedral tokeep the lights on first thing in themorning, so it would be lit up forthe show. This was, reports Carter,nothing more than an idle suggestion-- although, he adds, it’sin the line of sight of the studio,so theoretically they could controlthe lights from their controlroom by wireless DMX.etcconnect.comSoundDiGiCo SD7 GetsThe Green Light ForColdplay’s FifteenFestivalsDiGiCo consoles featureon a range of outdoorshows this summer,including Jessie J,the LED Festival, JudasPriest, the Killers and, ofcourse, Take That. Butwith Coldplay headliningno less than 15 festivalsaround the world, Frontof House engineer DanielGreen’s SD7 is probablythe most travelled DiGiCodesk of all.Coldplay’s busy summer includesheadline appearances at Rock amRing / Rock im Park (Germany),Jammin’ (Italy), Pinkpop(Netherlands), Glastonburyand T In The Park (UK),Where The Action Is (Sweden),Open’er (Poland), Rock Werchter(Belgium), Main Square (France),Optimus Alive (Portugal), BBKLive (Spain), Oxegen (Ireland),Fuji Rock (Japan) and Rock InRio (Brazil).Daniel worked closely withWigwam Acoustics to put togethera brand new, bespoke rig for thefestival tour, designed around aDiGiCo SD7 console.“We have a really good relationshipwith Dan and Tony Smith,the band’s head of sound, so wewere happy to spend time workingwith them to put together what iseffectively a bespoke system,” saysWigwam’s Alex Hadjigeorgiou.“Everything has to be absolutelyright for them to put on the bestshow. As a hire company, it’s reallygood to work with people whosepriority is quality rather than justcost.”The band’s relentless touringschedule meant that they didn’thave a major break for 18 months.But there was finally time for oneearlier this year, so Dan headed toWigwam to discuss a new system.“The band uses a lot of differentinstruments and Dan has a dedicatedchannel for each one. Eventhe bell on Viva la Vida has its ownchannel, despite only being usedon one song. The result was thatthe previous console was full up,”says Alex.“Because Dan is also heavilyinvolved in the band’s recordings,he knows exactly how he wantsthem to sound live,” Alex continues.“He is very meticulous, so hecame to us and spent time listeningto a lot of different options. Itwas a good window of opportunityto go right back to basics andeffectively start from scratch.“With DiGiCo consoles now beingcompatible with Waves, the SD7’scombination of high channelcount and redundancy was ideal.”Waves 8 is running on both theSD7’s engines, the rig includestwo DiGiRacks on stage and someoutboard routed via AES.“We took the opportunity to goright back to basics with Danand, ironically, it has meant thatsome outboard processing hasreturned to his racks. Units likethe Eventide H8000, which havemultiple channels of AES, canbe seamlessly integrated with theSD7 and add versatility to what isavailable from the Waves plug-insand SD7’s onboard processing.”Another feature of the rig isthat every show is recorded viaMADI on to a Macintosh runningCubase.“The band wanted to be able torelease live recordings that wouldbe available from the iTunes storevery quickly,” says Alex. “It’s aslick operation - for example, thehard drives from the Glastonburyperformance went on the helicopterwith the band straight to thestudio and a track was releasedwithin a couple of days.”DiGiCo’s support and backup hasalso earned praise, the companybeing involved in putting togetherthe new Coldplay system from thebeginning.“DiGiCo takes the supportside really seriously. Dave Bigg[DiGiCo Product Specialist]went through it all in detail atproduction rehearsals. Thiswas one of the first tours usingredundant Waves in the realworld, and their additional supportwas very reassuring says Alex.“Everybody has been very happywith the system.Trio of HARMAN’sSoundcraft Vi6Consoles GreetScript’s AvivaHomecomingIt’s unusual enough to find acouple of identical digital consolescongregated in the crowded confinesof monitor world, let alonea trio. But that’s precisely whathappened when The Script playedtheir sell-out homecoming gig atDublin’s Aviva Stadium recently—their first stadium headline concert—whenthree Soundcraft Vi6digital consoles could be seen inthe stage wings, where they weresequentially pressed into monitorduties.PA providers to the Irish trio wereAdlib Audio, and crew chief MarcPeers says the Vi6 is the band’s6 mobile production monthly

monitor desk of choice. “TheScript know precisely what theyare looking for,” he notes. “BothMark [Sheehan] and Danny[O’Donoghue] are former producersand they love the soundof the Vi6. Monitor engineerPaul Moore used all the board’sdynamics—and there was no outboardprocessing whatsoever.”At the same time, Adlib provideda second board for fellow Irishband The Coronas, whose foldbackengineer Liam Mullen mixedtheir stage sound. Meanwhile,the main support was TinieTempah—an SSE Audio Groupaccount; and they met stage engineerRaf Williams’ request for athird Vi6—which was overseenby SSE’s monitor tech OwainRichards.The Vi6 is an ideal desk formonitors, not only because of itssuperior sound quality but also itsreduced footprint—a particularadvantage on small stages wherea slim profile desk is essential (andno additional outboard gear isnecessary). Monitor engineers alsocommend the Vi6’s ergonomics,including the Vistonics II touchscreensystem and FaderGlow,which enable engineers to accessall functions quickly and easilywithout the need for tedious paging.The Aviva Stadium is no strangerto hosting equipment from theHARMAN stable; last year theformerly named Lansdowne RoadStadium underwent a completerebuild, with large quantities ofJBL PD Series loudspeakers specifiedfor the main sound reinforcementsystem, and Crown amplifiersand BSS Soundweb Londonfor the network control—as wellas a Soundcraft analogue desk formatch day broadcast mixing.harman.comL-ACOUSTICS USTakes KARA & SB18on the RoadIn response to the many pro audioprofessionals that have requestedto hear L-ACOUSTICS’ newestproduct offerings for themselves,the manufacturer’s Oxnard,California office announces thatit will be hosting KARA andSB18 demos in three US cities –Chicago, New York and Dallas –later this year.were such an overwhelming successthat we’ve decided to returnagain this fall, as well as hostsimilar events in both the Midwestand South,” says L-ACOUSTICSRegional Sales Manager PaulTillman. “These presentationsare an excellent opportunity for aconcise view of L-ACOUSTICS’modular line source and coaxialproducts as well as contact withour installation and touring supportstaff.”The first demos will be held atthe Irish American HeritageCenter (www.irish-american.org)in Chicago on September 27 and28. Then, on October 20 and 21,L-ACOUSTICS returns to NewWorld Stages (www.newworldstages.com)in NYC’s Theatre District.Rounding out the schedule,L-ACOUSTICS will be participatingin the Live Sound CompactLoudspeaker Demo of the 2011Worship Facilities Conference andExpo in Dallas from November 9through 11.The number of participants forthe Chicago and New York sessionsis limited, so to RSVP forone of the dates, please visitwww.l-acoustics.com/demo-karasb18and complete the onlineform as soon as possible to confirmavailability.For those who have alreadychosen to use KARA,L-ACOUSTICS is offering anintensive two-day trainingseminar in its Oxnard officeon September 20 and 21.Details on the training andits related costs can befound by clicking on theTechnical Support tab atl-acoustics.comTransportationPrevost introducesService LocatorMobile AppFinding a PrevostService Providerjust becamemuch easierwith the releaseof the PrevostService LocatorMobile App.The mobile appallows users tofind the nearestPrevost ServiceProvider in NorthAmerica with asimple touch of their smart phoneor other mobile device. Theapp features detailed informationabout the 7 Prevost ServiceIn addition to putting KARAand SB18 through a series ofcomparative listening tests,L-ACOUSTICS will be demonstratingseveral of its other compactsystems, including the coaxial12XT, self-powered 108P andcompanion SB15P sub.“Our initial East Coast KARAand SB18 demos back in JanuaryWe Understand Touringwww.CQNash.com615-859-0200mobile production monthly 7

In the NewsCenters and 133 Prevost-certifiedService Providers throughoutNorth America. No matter wherethey are on the road, drivers canfind the nearest service provider totheir current location, or they cansearch for a provider by state orprovince. When they select a serviceprovider, users can view theservice provider’s address, phonenumber, e-mail, list of servicesand writtendirections.They canthen tap toautomaticallydial thephone number,sendan e-mail,open thewebsite orview a mapshowingthe serviceprovider’slocationand turn byturn directionsfromtheir currentlocation. The app is availablein English, French and Spanishversions. Mobile device userscan download the app for freeat Apple’s App Store or AndroidMarket.itunes.apple.com/us/app/id443371117?mt=8&ls=1market.android.com/details?id=com.volvo.prevost.mobile.locatorVideoLMG TOURING ON THEROAD WITH MAROON 5AND TRAINLMG Touring is currently on theroad with Maroon 5 and Train ontheir summer tour through NorthAmerica, which kicked off in lateJuly in California. The tour willhit over 40 cities including LasVegas, Nashville, Phoenix, Tampa,Winnepeg, and Dallas.LMG Touring is providing lightweightLED and camera supportfor both artists including FL-io11(11.25MM) LED tiles as the mainbackdrop, Catalyst Media Servers,a high end three-camera videopackage including the Ross VisionHD switching system, ThomsonHD LDK-3000 cameras, andSony BRC-H700 robotic cameras.In addition, LMG is providingG-LEC Solaris + pixel spheresfor the Train portion of the tour.LMG recently purchased theSolaris+ pixel spheres to add tothe firm’s vast lightweight LEDproduct line. A 360-degree LEDproduct, the Solaris + spheres arean extremely cost effective way tofurnish video and graphic effectswith creative designs. Solaris+is made with 40MM diameterspheres with white opaque diffusermounted at 120MM on a flexiblecable line.“The G-LEC Solaris+ product isan ideal solution for touring artists– its lightweight, eye-catching, andhas a flexible design that opensup a new world of 360-degreepossibilities for lighting and videodesign,” states Les Goldberg,CEO/President of LMG.LMG Touring, a division ofLMG, Inc., provides state-of theart systems that integrate sound,lighting, video, and satellite-basedInternet connectivity. By capitalizingon LMG’s vast experiencein integrated solutions, artists canput on spectacular shows whileproducing lucrative high definitionlive recordings, Webcasts, videos,artist chats, and more.lmgtouring.comCreativeTechnologyPurchases 40Barco ProjectorsCreative Technology has purchased40 Barco HDX-W14Projectors to add to its vast inventoryof high-end projectors.The HDX-W14 is the world’s firstevents projector to combine active3D and both wired and wirelesscontrol options in a single unit. Itoffers a bright 14,000 lumens lightoutput, 1940x1200 resolution,active 3D capabilities and can becontrolled quickly through smartphones or tablet PCs.“Projection has always been oneof CT’s key disciplines”, statedStephen Gray, COO CT NorthAmerica. “When the time camefor us to look at replacing ourBarco SLM fleet, we looked atthe HDX-W14 and compared itwith other options on the market.The decision was easy. TheHDX-W4 hadall of the featureswe werelooking for;reliable, bright,compact, 3Gand active3D. An addedbenefit was the compatibility withour existing inventory of lenses.“While the HDX-W14 is a heavydutythree-chip DLP projector, it’splatform is 25% more compactthan comparable solutions, andconsumes 30% less power whenswitched to pause mode. Evenwhen fully active, it still consumes15% less energy than competingsolutions.ctus.comSPECIAL EFFECTS • CRYOGENICS • FOGPYROTECHNICS • WATER F/X • CONFETTIFor more information call 631.657.5491or visit www.peifx.com8 mobile production monthly

StagingA Look atKleege IndustriesMaking Mobile Staging EasyIn 1984, Nevin Kleegeconceived, designed, and built his first“plank and ply” stage, resulting in thebirth of Kleege Industries, Inc. Sincethen, Kleege Industries has striven toremain ahead of the curve of performancestage technological development.Kleege was one of the initialcompanies in the US to capitalize onthe quantum leap hydraulic technologymade available to the live entertainmentindustry. They now have afleet of mobile stages that traverseNorth America every year. Kleege’slatest project is proof that their creativeingenuity continues to pioneerthe industry.Over the past 8 years, Sustainable Waves hasrevealed itself to be a trailblazer in the alternativeenergy production field. SustainableWaves, as the name itself eludes, specializes indeveloping equipment that transforms abundant,natural energy sources into sustainableenergy solutions for the entertainment industry.By creating solar powered stages, sound systems,lighting, and a variety of conscious productsand consulting services, Sustainable Wavesallows event and festival producers to stay inline with their patrons’ principles and values.The collaboration of these two innovators hasmanifested as the first of the forefront HeliosStages. The Helios 250 is a state of the art 32’x 24’ solar hybrid stage designed to take thesummer concert season by storm. It housesa 4.83 Kilowatt (4830 Watts) solar array,which supplies sunlight to two 800 amp batteries.They array powers 4 Outback SystemInverters that pump 120 amps of power at 120volts. The stage also houses a 10 kW biodieselgenerator equipped with an auto start feature,making the Helios 250 100% self-sufficient.Because the stage stores the sun’s energy intobatteries, the show goes on, rain or shine, dayor night.Thanks to visionary tour producers like KevinLyman, concertgoers were able to enjoy thebrilliance of the new solar powered stage onthe Country Throwdown and Vans WarpedTours this summer. By using solar powerrather than a diesel generator or grid power,the Helios 250 avoids emitting approximately1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphereper event day. That amount is equivalentto not driving 1,100 miles in a car, or the10 mobile production monthly

“The Helios 250 is invaluable to atraveling festival tour, the fact that it iscompletely self contained means nofuss no muss, get it in place and startthe show. The bands love the fact thatthey are safe from toxic diesel fumesand the noise of a generator bleedinginto their mics. On this year’s Warpedtour we had some amazing bands,everything from rap to electronicand reggae, bands like Foxy Shazam.Big Chocolate and Passafire... pluswith the socially conscious youththat make up a vast majority ofmusic patrons. Having a zero carbonfootprint seriously ressonates withour crowds.” Chris Stella Warped TourStage Managerannual sequestration of 66 trees. The two tourscombined for a total of 66 event days. By usingthe Helios 250 rather than the alternatives, theyprevented the emission of approximately 66,000pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, theequivalent of 67,100 miles not driven in a car orthe annual carbon sequestration of 4,026 trees!With the successful operation of the Helios 250Solar Unit, Kleege will again be setting the bar foradvancement in the industry, raising the standardof energy efficiency in the entertainment productionindustry. In the words of Kevin Lyman,“Kleege and Sustainable Waves’ Helios 250 SolarStage has taken the use of solar technology to awhole new level and could be the standard for thefuture...we have not seen a drop off in availablepower even after running the stage for a full 6 hourshow.” mobile production monthly 11

IT SupportTourTechSupportDigitizing Dave MatthewsPAllen Cook spent the last couple of days in Atlantic City.Away from the hub-bub of the casinos and the JerseyShore, he helped to turn the erstwhile local airport, BaderField, into a lean, green scene for latter-day gypsies, the DaveMatthews Band, and the thirty or so other musical entities thatwill play the first of four three day festivals on the DMB Caravanthis summer. Later in the day, as rain falls in sheets and a tornadochases eastbound traffic on Route 80, he has added a hundred orso miles to his rent-a-car to visit one of his vendors in Hackensack.Cook’s role in the DMB Caravan, indeed hisrole in the world of mobile production, didn’texist a decade ago. Pretty soon, though, veryfew tours would let the rubber meet the roadwithout the type of products and serviceshis company, TourTechSupport, offers. Heprovides the digital communications neededto make sure everyone who makes the showhappen can get online, find a phone, be foundby callers, and take care of the burgeoningrole of information technology in concert andevent production. Especially in a situation liketransforming a retired airport into a summermusic festival.For the Dave Matthews Band tour,TourTechSupport has set up 24 phones spreadoutacross the site in over 15 separate offices.When all elements of the production arriveat the site, all that’s there is wide open spacesand empty field. Everything that’s there for theshow has to be created. As Charlie Hernandezobserved at Tour Link 2011, roadies buildcities, every night. TourTechSupport suppliesthose cities with their digital infrastructure.“Everyone has to get online now,” says Cook.“It used to be only a certain number of peoplewho had to have access. More and more crewsneed access backstage to download programmingor updates and artists require accessin dressing rooms so they can engage theirfans online. Internet access is less and less aluxury, the ability to send and receive emailhas become the most important aspect of anybusiness.”The benefits of this technology appeal to thepeople who run the multitude of music festivalsaround the country. This year alone,TourTechSupport will provide IT for the HangOut Festival, Electric Forest, Lollapalooza,and the Dave Matthews Band’s dates. “It’s abit of a military operation,” Mark Campanafrom Live Nation, one of the producers of theChicago Caravan, described turning an emptylot into a festival ground to the Chicago SunTimes, “like we’re dropping the army into atheater of operation.”For another Chicago event, this summer’sLollapalooza Festival in Grant Park, theIT stakes are even higher. “On a site likeLollapalooza, we’ll have 42 mobile offices and68 internet locations throughout Grant Park,”Cook says. “Internet access has become thisubiquitous thing that has to be there, even inthe oddest places.”Cook wound up in the touring world in a sortof roundabout way. Throughout high school,he was one of the guys who spent their afternoonsin the fly-space setting up the lightingfor the theater club. In his spare time, hewould also ‘geek out’ in the emerging world ofthe personal computer. He got an Apple IIcwhen he was in fifth grade, and from then onhe always had a computer. He learned aboutwhat made them tick from a friend on the highschool lighting crew and worked summers atRadio Shack.Cook went to Millikin University and studiedtheatrical lighting design. He helped set upa stage management office, and wanted theoffice to have a connection to the mainframeand the nascent internet. “I went over to thecomputer department, said we want a jack inthere,” he recalls. “They told me it usuallytakes about two weeks to run the wire. So Ioffered to do it for them. I came back 15 minuteslater and said, “It’s done.”They quickly hired him to work for the campuscomputer center. He also collected spare partsto wire up a network in his apartment. Hebecame the guy who knew about computers.Once out of school, he went to Los Angeles,to seek his fortune in film and television. Hespent years as a lighting tech for Merv GriffinEvent Productions working his way up to oneof the position of staff designer.During the dot com days, a friend asked him toopen an office for their company and be theirLos Angeles presence. He left the entertainmentindustry until he got a call to do somecomputer work for the Campus Invasion tour.That tour’s production manager also happenedto manage the production on Phil Collins’tours. From him, Cook learned about thevagaries and dangers of computing and communicatingon the road.“He used to come home and have me fix hiscomputer,” Cook says. “There was always oneguy on the tour who would say, ‘Hey, let meshow you this cool thing I can make your computerdo.’ But to a guy with limited computerskills, it just made it harder to use.”Cook's reputation as a computer doctor startedto spread. Friends on tour would come throughLA and he would help them with their computers.In 2004, TourTechSupport embarkedon its first tour with Phil Collins. Cook startedmaking the computers already on the tourmore secure.In 2005, he joined Collins on his EasternEurope tour. As a matter of course, the firstthing the road manager would do is have thelocal phone company run six lines into thebackstage area, a very expensive proposition.Cook showed the road manager how, insteadof paying to get six lines backstage at everyvenue, they could use this new invention calledvoice over the internet protocol, or VoIP. Itsaved the tour thousands of dollars and theycarried the same phones and numbers everywherethey went.While attending Tour Link in 2008, Cookshowed the system to Live Nation SpecialEvents over at the SuperBowl concert site.“We started talking about the nightmare they’dbeen through in Indianapolis for the NFLKickoff,” Cook recalls. “We talked about theways we could have made that much easier.We put our money where our mouth was later12 mobile production monthly

in 2008 on the NFL Kickoff in [New YorkCity’s] Columbus Circle. There was no copperfrom the phone company. It was all wireless.The main feed was beamed from the top of abuilding in the city to the top of the productiontrailer. From there, we built a networkconnecting each trailer, connecting the phonesto the internet, then we went across the streetto the TV compound. We’ve continued todevelop that into the solutions that power ourfestival networks.” Competitively priced, 7KW to 100KW commercial-grade generatorspowered by a rugged Kubota or Cummins diesel engine. RVIA-approved models and multiple options available. Enclosed units feature convenient single side service and removabledoors for easy access to maintenance parts. Experienced engineering and support staff to help guide you.Generator service in the Atlanta and Charlotte areas. From simple repairs to complete replacements on most makes andmodels, with convenient interstate access. Mobile service available!© 2011, EPSAs technology has become more demanding,TourTechSupport’s footprint has grown.“When we come onsite now, we tow in ourown 25 foot trailer. It transports all the equipmentand then turns into our office onsite, aplace to manage the network from.”You don’t have to be a twelve truck tour toneed TourTechSupport’s services. “If it’s asmaller tour, you don’t have to take the bigrack,” explains Cook. “You can even just takethe phone, and still enjoy all of the features,have the same phone number all over. Thepoint is, we have options.“This part of the industry has blown up, butyou don’t have to go big like Bon Jovi, with twofull size printer racks, 8 phone lines, back stageWi-Fi, the whole nine yards. We have a tourcoming up this fall that already has printersand wireless routers. They just want to roundout their system with a few phone lines.“These days backstage there are more computersthere than at most public high schools.And this doesn’t include the computers thataid in the running of the sound, lights, andvideo. Much of that is still done on closed networks,running off of their own connections,but with the integration of video and lighting,it’s all converging,” Cook explains.This is a digital world, and as so many businesseshave learned, you ignore that fact atyour peril. What TourTechSupport does isoffer a way to make that digital transformationnearly painless in the touring community.Atlanta Area: 3412 Florence Circle ❙ Powder Springs, GA 30127Charlotte Area: 348 Bryant Boulevard ❙ Rock Hill, SC 29732More than 560 attorneys and advisorsin offices across the southeastern U.S.and Washington, D.C., practicing abroad spectrum of business law includingtransactions, contracts, litigation,transportation and entertainment.For more information, contact:Steven J. Eisen615.726.5718sjeisen@bakerdonelson.comJames A. DeLanis615.726.5613jdelanis@bakerdonelson.com“What we do, what we’ve accomplished in oursystem designs, is quite fantastic,” Cook says.“The demand is that it works anywhere it goes,so we worked very hard to make somethingthat fills that need. We’re very proud of that.”The Rules of Professional Conduct of the various states where our offices are located require the following language: THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT. Ben Adams is Chairman and CEO of Baker Donelsonand is located in our Memphis office, 165 Madison Avenue, Suite 2000, Memphis, TN 38103. Phone 901.526.2000. No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed isgreater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers. FREE BACKGROUND INFORMATION AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. © 2010 Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PCmobile production monthly 13

14 mobile production monthly

More than a simple 3dBadamsonsystems.comphone: +1 905 982 0520For a sneak peek visit:www.facebook.com/ADAMSONSYSTEMSCopyright © 2011 Adamson Systems Engineering Inc.mobile production monthly 15

SoundRob Zombie:Monsters, Movies, Mayhem and, Oh Yeah, Musicby Bill EVANSIf you go to the official Rob Zombie Web site, the featuredtune in the player is a little ditty called “Everything Is Boring.”That’s a phrase that is perhaps the polar opposite of a typicalday for Zombie’s house audio engineer, Joel Lonky. Let’s justsay that his idea of relaxation is diving. Both in the water wherehe has a rescue scuba certification and the kind that involvesjumping out of airplanes. After the chaos and unpredictability ofa string of Zombie dates, that is what is known as ‘downtime.’Working for an artist that works in multiplemediums including music, film, and comicsmeans working with an artist who has adeep well from which to draw. And that kindof well means that things can change veryquickly. “I don’t have the luxury of knowingwhat will happen next,” Lonky says. Thismade the choice of vendors and gear for thecurrent Rob Zombie/Slayer tour on whichreliability and a predictable outcome becameparamount.The choice was San Diego, CA based SoundImage who provided a Midas front end(digital Pro 6 for Zombie and classic XL4driven by Tom Quinby for Slayer) feedingan Adamson Y 18/T21 combo tweaked bya Lake Mesa controller and powered by atruckload of Crown iTech HD amps.Lonky is a big fan of the Pro 6 for a fewreasons - not all of which you might expect.Like a number of other engineers, Lonkylikes the Area B function, which allows himto keep one fader group ‘always on top’ at theright-hand side of the surface. “I use it forMr. Zombie’s mics and effects returns,” notesLonky. “I can be all over the console, yet stillhave Rob’s priority channels at my fingertipsin any scene. It’s incredibly convenient.”The other big draw might not be asobvious. While Lonky likes and uses a lotof the onboard dynamic and effect plug ins,Zombie’s vocal sound depends heavily onsome very specific effects that are used bothin the studio and onstage. So, the ability toconnect easily and effectively to outboardprocessors is also important.“I carry two Eventide units to access specificpitch-shift algorithms. I also use the onboardMidas pitch shifter, which makes a wonderful16 mobile production monthly

doubler. I also love having four differentstyles of compressor per input channel.That’s an amazing feature not found in mostdigital desks.”At the other end of the snake, Jared Woodsis driving a Yamaha PM5D-RH feedingSound Image 2 x12 wedges supplementedby L-Acoustic Arcs for side fills and DVsubs for both side fills and drum subs. SI’sAndrew Dowling and Tarick Khan are onthe bus as system engineer and monitor techrespectively.The Adamson boxes have made an impactas a hard hitting system that is the rig ofchoice for acts like Linkin Park. “I had heardgood things about the Adamson systembut had never mixed on it. When SoundImage proposed it for the tour, I said, ‘Whatthe hell? Sure!.’” Supplementing the Y18main hang are Y10s in under hang and sidehang positions and Sound Image SoundPowerLines for front fill.“When we were contacted about thistour, they were looking for high outputin a compact system and Adamson metthat need,” said Sound Image Director ofTouring Mike Sprague.What is that old joke? How many soundguys does it take to screw in a light bulb?Answer no. 1: We don’t do lights. But answerno. 2 is more telling: ten, one to actually doit and nine to stand around and talk smackabout how much better they could havedone it. Yes praise from our peers can behard to come by. And all the more valuablejust because of that fact.Like this quote from Godsmack houseengineer Frank Sgambellone who did a tourwith Joel and Zombie a couple of years ago.“It was no sweat and no drama. A total proand a great guy. And to top it off, it soundedawesome as well. He made me work hardevery night.”Put a great act together with a great rigand a great engineer and it is a powerfulcombination. FOH for Zombie:Midas Pro 62 x Eventide H30001 x TC 2290 DelayOnboard EQ for HouseFOH for SlayerMidas XL4Radial PhazerSystem EQ:Lake MesaItech HD AmpsProcessingITech HD for allcrossoversexcept the SubsSubs crossed over in aXTAPAAdamson Y18 for mainsAdamson Y10 for underhang & side hangAdamson T21 Subs setup in end fireSound Image Powerlines for front fillAmpification(FOH & Mon)Crown Itech HD 12,000Mon: (shared)PM5D-RHSound Image 2x12WedgesL Acoustics Arcs forside fillsL Acoustics DV Subs forside fill and drum fillmobile production monthly 17

Int'l VenuesProAudio Ltd. Chooses Community forBulgaria’s New National Sports ArenaBurgas, Bulgariabasedaudio specialistProAudio Ltd. hasrecently completed thedesign and installation of theaudio systems for the newBulgarian National SportsArena in Sofia.the audience and participant areas. Theseare supplemented by twelve twin 15-inch,3,000W program Community i215LVS subs,which dramatically extend the low frequencypower and impact of the system.Stanislav Petrov, Managing Director ofProAudio Ltd., comments, “We haveused Community R-Series on many largeprojects in the past and knew they wouldbe ideal for Arena Sofia. With excellenthigh intelligibility sound quality, accuratecoverage patterns, high SPL capabilityand proven reliability they have given usexactly the results we expected. We alsoget outstanding technical support fromCommunity’s TAG (Technical AudioGroup) team, which gives an added level ofassurance to our design.”The Community loudspeakers are drivenby Powersoft M50Q amplifiers and mixingand DSP is handled by a TOA D-2000.The system also incorporates a D-2012Cremote console and two D-2008SP digitalmixing processor units with 32-in and 32-outconfiguration. CobraNet interface modulesare also used. The microphones are TOAwireless, with power antenna distributor, andAudio-Technica PRO 45’s for hall ambience.Located near the Pliska Hotel, east ofthe city centre, Arena Sofia is the largestand highest standard multi-disciplineindoor sports venue in Bulgaria. As wellas providing a national facility for sports,the arena has also been designed to hostmusic concerts. With a 12,000+ capacity,the 172,000 square feet venue is built onfive levels, one of which is underground. Inaddition to the main sports hall, the venueincorporates dressing rooms, training area,fitness center, spa center, restaurant, a pressconference hall and underground parking fornearly 1,000 cars.The training area is already in operation andthe first major sports event was a volleyballtournament between the national teams ofBulgaria and Serbia at the end of July. ArenaSofia will host its first concert in Octoberwith Jean Michel Jarre.Construction of Arena Sofia was awarded tothe major Bulgarian construction companyGLavbolgarstroy AD who appointedProAudio Ltd. to complete the audiorequirements of the venue.ProAudio Ltd. designed the system forthe main hall of Arena Sofia based onCommunity R2, 12-inch, three-way fullrangeloudspeakers. A total of twenty-fourR2-694Z, twelve R2-474Z and four R2-77Zprovide complete and consistent coverage forProAudio Ltd. also designed and installedthe public address systems throughout thevenue, including a separate VA systembased on the TOA VM-3000; however theirmost immediately noticeable installation forevening visitors to Arena Sofia will be thetwo Griven Sky Rose HMI 2500 MkII DMXwide angle multi-beam sky projectors whichare mounted on top of the building and arevisible from up to 6 miles.“Arena Sofia was a very important andprestigious project for our company and itwas important for the design and productsto meet specification.” concludes Petrov. “Iam pleased to say that we and the client areboth impressed and very satisfied with theresults.” 18 mobile production monthly

POLAND’S NATIONALRUGBY STADIUMPROJECTS WITH D.A.S. AUDIOGdynia MunicipalFootball stadium is thehome to Poland’s ArkaGdynia football club. With aseating capacity of roughly15,139 spectators, the newfacility recently received alarge, networked audio-drivensound reinforcement system. Toensure even coverage acrossthe stadium’s multiple zones,loudspeakers from the catalogof Valencia, Spain-based D.A.S.Audio were placed into service.Sopot, Poland-based Mega Music’s audio-visualinstallation division was contracted to handle theGdynia Municipal Football stadium’s new soundsystem. Mega Music’s Piotr Nowiñski managedthe project and discussed the challenges of thejob, which involved the deployment of D.A.S.Audio’s DR-12 2-way, full-range loudspeakers,the BiDriver Plus, which is a 2-way, mid-high unitdesigned for long throw applications, and the company’sCL-6T ceiling speakers.“The D.A.S. DR-12’s were our loudspeakersof choice to cover the audience seating areason this project,” explained Nowiñski, “as theyprovide perfect speech intelligibility. Further,the uniform dispersion characteristics ofDR-12’s enabled us to provide even coverageof the audience seating areas with a minimumnumber of boxes. The high sensitivity andflat frequency response of the loudspeakersenabled us to achieve a high SPL level with nocompromise to sound quality. For the field, theBiDrivers Plus were the right tool, as they provideextreme throw distance while maintaininghigh sound quality.”The stadium’s grandstand areas were dividedinto 44 zones and for these areas, a total of 84D.A.S. DR-12 enclosures were placed into service.With its rugged Polypropylene enclosure,the DR-12’s used for this project were custombuilt by D.A.S. to the IP54 rating for outdooruse.The football field was divided into 4 zones and,to cover this area, 8 D.A.S. Audio BiDriverPlus loudspeaker systems were placed intoservice. The Bi-Driver Plus incorporates a coaxialspeaker built into a special horn unit andis particularly well suited to applications wherea high level of speech intelligibility is required.“With its long throw characteristics, this wasthe perfect choice for the field areas,” notedNowiñski.”Coverage for the stadium’s corridors andselect outside areas were addressed by forminganother 30 zones. For these areas, D.A.S.Audio CL-6T ceiling speakers were deployed.Equipped with a multi-tap line transformerfor distributed audio systems, the CL-6T is acontinued on 34Shred yourguitar, notyour hands!xperfectHand CAre FORguitar players... studio, live,& touring !www.guitar-hands.commobile production monthly 19

VideoNocturne Just Got BiggerBy Three Very Important LettersBy Michael A. BeckRare is the show that tours without massive video presenceeither in the form of B-roll content or I-MAG. Such isthe case in today’s production design ethos that lightingand video are all but inseparable, therefore it made sense forPRG’s touring division to lay in a video arm to compliment itsalready powerful lighting services.However, the move had to meet specificcriteria. Although the money mayhave been available to tool the additionfrom the ground up, such a movewould be prohibitively time consumingand would most certainly involve theuse of “off-the-shelf” LED gear. Whenthe job was completed it’s an oddsup chance whether or not the endproduct could compete in an alreadycrowded market. PRG’s President ofConcert Touring Mickey Curbishleyexplained, “No matter how muchmoney we threw at the project there isno way we could have competed withNocturne and what Bob, Ron, Paul andTodd have achieved with the company.There’s just no way.”The obvious answer was to acquire a companythat was already up and running. There arecompanies that claim to have “proprietaryproduct”. However, Nocturne is the onlycompany to have its own in-house R&D andmanufacturing operation in cooperation withMontreal based LSI/Saco, which is the companythat invented the use of LED displaytechnology.Between its strong market share and its exclusiverights on its “V” Series LED technology,Nocturne was the only company in the industrythat fit the bill. “Proprietary product hasalways been a big part of PRG’s success,” saidCurbishley. “With the purchase of Vari*Lite[Production Services] a few years ago wegained the guys who invented the Vari*Lite.So it was an obvious expansion to bring thetalent from Nocturne on board and put themtogether with the talent we already have.”Lest we give the impression that the advantagein the deal was completely on the sideof PRG, it must be said that this acquisitioninstantly gives Nocturne (now PRG NocturneProductions Inc.) the logistical and financialmuscle to spread its wings beyond USborders. Nocturne Co-Owner Bob Brighamlaid out what the deal means for Nocturne.“Ron Proesel, Paul Becher and I wantedto go into Europe, South America andAustralia. To do that we’d need tremendousinfrastructure in the form of warehouses,staffing and payroll management just toname a few items, PRG already had facilitiesin place everywhere we wanted to go. We hadbuilt the company into a strong business andhad a very small amount of debt. We wereasking ourselves at this point in our careers ifwe want to raise a considerable sum of moneyto carry out the expansion that we felt was thenext step. PRG had the desire, the financialresources, the facilities and the infrastructureto do it.”The answer came, not so much, in the formof a burning bush as in a fortuitously timedoutreach from Curbishley in February of 2011asking if Brigham, Proesel and Becher wouldbe willing to sit down and discuss the matterof a PRG acquisition. After a very comfortablevisit with Jere Harris (PRG Chairman& CEO), Kevin Baxley (President and CEO,Entertainment) and Curbishley it was decidedthat all parties seemed to have the same ideaabout how this should go forward and forwardit went with remarkable ease. “I never had anyidea it could have happened that smoothly,”said Brigham. “Everything was positive energyfrom day one”The first new territory that the video arm ofPRG will be expanding into will be Europe,which means new camera and LED inventorywith be showing up in the London location inthe not so distant future.But that raises a whole other question. As ofthe writing of this story Nocturne was enjoyinga sensational year with 22 tours currentlyon the road. To just start shoving inventoryout the door to gear up the London operationwould punch a serious hole in the NorthAmerican work flow. That means a powerfulmanufacturing push has to now be mountedfor the proprietary products in the ultra successful“V” Series, which includes V-9, V-9Lite, V-Brite, V-Lite, and the recently releasedV-18. The manufacturing campaign most likelywon’t slow down until the entire global expansionis up to speed.The aforementioned V-18 is an 18 mil productthat was first seen on the current Def LeppardMirror Ball tour. While the 18 mil gap hadexisted in the V Series for some time whereother manufacturers had been filling it withproduct brought in from overseas, Nocturnetook a patient approach. Brigham describedthe process, “There are those out there whowould buy up the whole line of a new productjust so they could say they have it all and if youwant it you have to come to them. What we’vehistorically done is we’d sit back and look atmarket demand. We look at the new producton the market and see how it’s doing and thenRon designs our new product. We’ve done verywell with that system.”As is discussed in the Def Leppard featurestory in this issue, the overall production lookis wildly powerful with V-18 being the centerpiece. That being said, lighting designer KenjiOhashi wanted the lighting element of theshow to resemble the huge beam heavy rockshows of the 80s. Ohashi’s idea fit the bandperfectly but it had to blend with the equallymassive video content designed by JonathanBeswick and Mark Devlin of Mark DevlinVisual Designs. The original model displayedthe content on 28 mil V-Brite. When thedesign team came into Nocturne’s Dekalb,Illinois facility Nocturne staff were workinground the clock in a full court press to get V-18manufactured. Beswick and Devlin saw what20 mobile production monthly

the new product could do and immediatelydecided that a change in plans was in order.Unfortunately, this meant a re-rendering of allof the video content, but in the end all agreethe outcome was worth the head press. The 18mil pitch is small enough to present a tightlyresolved image while allowing lighting upstageof the walls to blow though adding to the largelighting look. It was a brilliant blend as the twowildly prominent visual elements that so oftenfight for dominance became inseparable.There is no point in denying the muffled whispersabout PRG that include such words asconquest, assimilation and world dominationin the same way that it is difficult to imagineanyone doing that whispering passing up theopportunity to have the success PRG hasachieved. Now that Nocturne is officially PRGNocturne Productions Inc. the whispers havestarted up again and include speculation thatBob Brigham, Ron Proesel and Paul Becherare about to get their gold watches. Nothingcould be farther from the truth. “That’s justrumors spread by some competitors doinga little wishful thinking. Ron, Paul and I willbe here a long, long time. We really like thepeople. I have a job now. I work for PRGNocturne. Ron and I are co-presidents andPaul is the vice president and everyone herewill be staying on.”CYRO FLOGOS TM SNOWTMTMWe specialize in Evaporative Snow , Flogos , foam,cryo & fog effects, bubbles and scent technology.Visit our website to see our entire product line!The absolute upside to this venture is whena concert tour moves overseas it will have theability to send precise specs ahead and thesystem will be waiting when the productiongets there. That might not be the best news forfreight handlers, but you can bet productionmanagers won’t have a problem with it. mobile production monthly 21

Def LeppardBandRick Allen - DrumsVivian Campbell - GuitarsPhil Collen - GuitarsJoe Elliott - VocalsRick Savage - Bass22 mobile production monthly

Lifein theMirrorBallBy Michael A. BeckDef Leppard’s Mirror Ball Tour came out of thegate this year at full speed, with band rehearsalsin Europe that led directly into three backto-backshows from which the tour flew fromLondon to Miami where production rehearsalsbegan. By the time the production was intoshow mode, the band and crew weren’t justdealing with jet lag, but they were also fightinga 40 degree weather change with a comparabledifference in humidity which took the breathout of everyone on the tour. After taking threedays to get the show up and running in Miami,the Mirror Ball tour was off on yet another threeday back-to-back run going from Miami toTampa to Atlanta. The distance from Tampa toAtlanta dictated the tour would be pulling intoAtlanta’s Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewoodan hour late. This didn’t bode well given thatthe already crispy crew was still dialing in therhythm of the load in and out.It didn’t take long for the crew to make-up the time for thelate arrival. Production Manager/Designer Chuck Becklerexplained, “Everyone was pretty drained when we got toAtlanta but they did a great job getting the show up. CrewOne did a real good job and it all went up in a nice timelyfashion and then BAM! Here comes the storm.”The weather service had been tracking an inbound systemthat looked to drop a good amount of rain on the day butit looked be gone in time to do a show. When the storm didshow up, it came with Biblical force.This was a bit of a disconcerting moment for Beckler andhis team as they had gone through a storm in 2008 in ashed in Raleigh, North Carolina that tore the roof off ofthe stage and deposited it on the roof of the loading dockas well as the trucks and busses. While the seating area wasstill covered, there was no protection over the stage andhigh winds had blown plastic covering off of the stage gear.A torrential downpour then proceeded to drench the stageand everything on or above it for two hours.mobile production monthly 23

(c) Michael A. Beck24 mobile production monthly

Everyone was pretty drained whenwe got to Atlanta, but they did agreat job getting the show up. CrewOne did a real good job, and it allwent up in a nice timely fashion andthen BAM! Here comes the storm.”– Production Manager - Chuck Beckler“We’d been through this before,”added Beckler. “When ithappened in Atlanta, we had itgoing through our minds and wewere a bit gun shy.”As it started to let up, there wasa gaggle of people standing onthe stage preparing to do a vocalline check when Def Lepparddrummer Rick Allen walkedup and asked if anyone saw thelights flicker. Everyone shruggedand said no. However, he insistedthat not only did they flicker, butthey even browned a little. Asthis part of the conversation wastaking place power went downeverywhere in the entire facility.The power came back on acouple times and then finally ataround 6 p.m. went down anddidn’t return. It didn’t take longto get deeply into “What are myoptions?” mode. Option one wasto postpone and move on to theAlabama show the next day withplans to reschedule Atlanta forthe next break in the itinerary. Ifthat was the move, they wouldhave to get a generator broughtin to run the rig down for loadout as well as lighting the strike.Option two was a reversal ofoption one wherein the tourwould stay in Atlanta and do theshow the next day thus pushingthe Alabama show back. This would eliminate the need for thegenerator as they could leave the gear in the air. It wouldn’t betoo hard to let the public know about the postponement giventhat the entire crowd was waiting in the rain in the parking lot.The final option was to gut it out and do the show, assumingthey could get the power up in time.As all of these conversations were going on among the band,Beckler and Tour Manager Malvin Mortimer, everyone elsewas milling around killing time however they could. Therewas one aspect of the production that was undeterred bythe blackout. The catering operation at the facility is run byAtlanta based caterer All About Taste owned and operatedby Lawrence Thart. When the lights when out, Thart and histeam simply adapted and served dinner by candlelight. “Wewalked people through the line with candles and flashlightsexplaining what we were serving,” recalled Thart. “We’reready for anything that might happen and losing power is justone of them. By the time the lights went down, we alreadyknew what we were doing in the kitchen so we actually had funwith it.”The deadline was set that if power didn’t come back by 8 p.m.postponement would be definitively explored. At 8 p.m. itstarted to look like power would be restored and there could bea show. Now it had to be decided how the show would happen.After a little more conversation it was determined that EvanWatson, who was to open the show, would not play (althoughhe would be paid) and Heart would cut back from 70 to 45minutes while Def Leppard would do their full 90 minute set.The only administrative task left was to get the local officialsto allow the show to go beyond the 11 p.m. curfew. Localpromoters took care of that in short order and off it went.After a very quick line check, Heart did their set and DefLeppard finished their line check during the set change.When the show opened, it had the look of yet anotherproduction that was all about video content and lighting wouldassume an increasingly standard role as ancillary illumination.Nothing could have been farther from the truth. Video contentwas delivered via PRG Nocturne’s newly released 18 milproduct christened V-18 (used for the first time on this tour) inthe form of seven video panels measuring 8.8 feet wide x 17.9feet tall flying over the upstage line. Additionally there weretwo levels of risers that were faced out with 28 mil V-Lite.The original plan was to use PRG Nocturne’s 28 mil V-Liteproduct. Beckler pushed for that because the blow-throughmobile production monthly 25

functionality of V-Lite would allow for dramatic lightingeffects. This was not just design speculation on Beckler’s part.V-Lite was used on the three shows in Europe prior to comingto the States. However, when Video Director Jonathan Beswickshowed up at the PGR Nocturne facilities to start work onJourney’s video array which was also plotted to use V-Lite, helooked at how the lower resolution product was handling thecontent that he and partner Mark Devlin (Mark Devlin VisualDesigns) designed for the show and it didn’t look right.Beswick described the situation, “At the time they were in thesteep of building V-18 with a manufacturing effort that wasliterally working around the clock in their shop in Dekalb[Illinois]. They almost had enough V-18 to do the [Journey]show. We had V-Lite hanging for that show, and we weren’tgetting the clarity we were wanting for the graphics that Markand I designed. I went and spoke with Bob Brigham and hesaid, ‘Well, I think I have enough V-18 to do the whole thing.”The decision was made to go with the new product. Two weekslater when Def Leppard went into the Upstaging rehearsalfacility, Beswick had decided that he wanted to go with V-18video look as well. However, that was more easily said thandone. Beckler and Lighting Designer Kenji Ohashi both hadtheir eye on V-Lite for the aforementioned blow though.Unfortunately, they didn’t have the advantage of havingseen V-18 in action. But Beckler wound up trusting his videodirector who simply said, “You’ve got to trust me; it’s going tobe much, much better.”It was as important to Beswick as anyone that the blowthrough element be preserved. “There is 63 running feet ofvideo up there and without some sort of blow through it isway too dominant,” said Beswick. Nevertheless, despite thehigh level of trust Beckler has in Beswick, he was skepticalabout the outcome. However, at the 11 th hour, a happy coincidenceintervened.At the time, all of this was going on, several tours were suckingup resources from everywhere including PRG Nocturne.Thus Beckler got a call from Co-President Bob Brigham advisingthat there was a bit of a rub regarding the V-Lite Becklerhad his eye on. There may not be enough to do the shows onboth sides of the pond. Brigham let him know he had a new18 mil product line called V-18 if Beckler was interested intrying it. After a photographic comparison, Beckler saw thatthe amount of lighting Ohashi was driving through the panelswas washing out the video and noticed that while V-18 has atighter resolution than the 28 mil V-Lite it still allowed for apowerful blow through.The decision was made to go ahead with the V-18. Whilethis was exactly what Beswick and Devlin wanted, it alsomeant a lot of work. All of the video they’d created for theshow was created to play on a 28 mil wall and now had to bere-formatted to fit the tighter resolution of V-18. This sameprocess had to take place a couple weeks before when the samedecision had to be made on Journey (which we will be coveringin our next issue).Beckler had in mind a system of 12 torm ladders spread outupstage of the video panels that were intended to fire throughthe video as nothing more than an esthetic lighting effect thatwould add texture to the to the look. However, Ohashi tookit well beyond that and actually used it illuminate the stagethrough the video rig. The look was fantastic but it would haveweakened the video display had the decision been made tostick with V-Lite.Obviously, when you do that, have astrong video director and an equallystrong lighting designer who bothwant their own look, it’s going totake some work to get it completelytogether. – Lighting Crew Chief - Seth ConlinWe tried to get a conversation with Ohashi, but because hedoesn’t speak English, which necessitated bouncing questionsoff of his interpreter in Japan in order to get an answer fromOhashi in the States. So we chose the next best option andspoke to Lighting Crew Chief Seth Conlin. According toConlin, Ohashi sought his inspiration from Def Leppard showsof the 80s wherein the music was punctuated with massiveshowers of light from every direction. “He spent a lot of timewatching those old music videos from back in the 80s, and ifyou watch them and then watch his execution you’ll see a lotof those elements coming through,” Conlin explained.That nostalgic look was acquired through the use of a mixedbag of Martin Entertainment’s newest gear including 2K XBBeams, Mac III’s, 101’s and Super Cyc’s. That being said, inorder to stay connected to the old school Ohashi also includedten banks of ACL’s.Of course this massive lighting design had to be woven into themodern day presence of video. Conlin addressed that issue,“This is the first year that Def Leppard used a media server. Abig part of the overall design of the show was to incorporatelighting and video together as seamlessly as possible. Obviouslywhen you do that and you havea strong video director and anequally strong lighting designerwho both want their own look,it’s going to take some work toget it completely together. ButBeswick and Kenji each gave upa little and it turned out lookinggreat.”One issue that was high inOhashi’s design ethos was thefact that in Japan there really isno such thing as a “white glove”LD. Coming from a backgroundwherein he was a member ofthe crew that loads the showin and out, he designed it tobe as efficient as possible. Healso designed the rig to be asmodular as possible becausethe show would be going intosheds for most of the shows onthe tour and varying venue sizewould be an issue.One of the trademarks ofDef Leppard has always beena huge vocal sound. Theperson charged with the taskof wrangling that sound isFOH Sound Engineer RonanMcHugh. McHugh started asthe band’s studio engineer in1998 and became their livecontinued on 3426 mobile production monthly

(c) Michael A. Beckmobile production monthly 27

Def Leppard crew124 536 78928 mobile production monthly

Tour Manager - Malvin MortimerA.I.C. / Tour Accountant - Mark LittenProduction / Stage Manager - Chuck BecklerProduction Coordinator - Caitlin PhaneufBackline Crew Chief / Guitar Tech - SR - Dave“Wolfie” WolffGuitar Tech - SL - Scott AppletonBass Tech (July 26th - August 7th) - Mike “Mcbob”MayhueBass Tech (Returns August 7th) - Aidan MullenDrum Tech - Tod BurrDressing Rooms / Wardrobe - Lesley Mortimer-WallaceFoh Sound Engineer - Ronan MchughMonitor Engineer / System Engineer - Ted BibleMonitor Tech / Sound Crew Chief - Nate KlaeserSound Techs: Mike Murante, Mark LeeperLighting Director - Kenji OhashiLighting Crew Chief - Seth ConlinLighting Techs: Martin Joos, Thomas Walls,Andrew WilliamsonVideo Director - Jon BeswickVideo Engineer - Steve DavisVideo Tech / Camera Op: Tom Braislin, MasonBraislin, Bill “Friend” OverstreetCarpenter / Asst. Stage Manager - Russ VoytaCarpenter - Brian TyndallRigger / Camera Op - Tom CusimanoMerchandiser - Tim WalstonCollen I.L.A.A. Representative - Helen Simmons-Band Bus Driver - George Harris, Kent HardyCrew Bus Driver: Buzz Blauvelt, Floyd Stegal,Merle Williams IiiLead Truck Driver - James “JJ” JohnstonTruck Drivers: Nate Thompson, Bryan Roddy, ChrisFreeman, Tim Faye, Geoff Timbrook, Bill Sowell,John Frederick, Dave Shaffer1. Caitlin Phaneuf - Production Coordinator,Chuck Beckler - Production Manager / StageManager2. Dave “Wolfie” Wolff - Backline Crew Chief /Guitar Tech – SR, Todd Burr - Drum Tech, AidanMullen - Bass Tech (Returns August 7th), ScottAppleton - Guitar Tech – SL Front: Autumn Wolff3. Lesley Mortimer-Wallace - Dressing Rooms /Wardrobe4. Martin Joos - Lighting Tech, Andrew Williamson- Lighting Tech, Seth Conlin - Lighting Crew Chief,Thomas Walls - Lighting Tech, Kenji Ohashi -Lighting Director/Designer5. Mark Litten - A.I.C. / Tour Accountant, MalvinMortimer - Tour Manager6. Nate Klaeser - Monitor Tech / Sound CrewChief, Mike Murante - Sound Tech, Mark Leeper -Sound Tech, Ted Bible - Monitor Engineer / SystemEngineer, Ronan Mchugh - Foh Sound Engineer7. Thomas Berry (left) and Kyle Smith (right) killtime during the rain delay8. Brian Tyndall – Carpenter, Russ Voyta -Carpenter / Asst. Stage Manager9. Jonathan Beswick - Video Director, ThomasBraislin - Video Tech / Camera Op, Bill “Friend”Overstreet - Video Tech / Camera Op, StephenDavis - Video Engineer, Mason Braislin - VideoTech / Camera OpvendorsManagementHK ManagementBusiness Management– N. AmericaProvident Financial ManagementBusiness Management– UK & EUBludgeon Riffola Prager andFenton LlpLegalMichael Simkins LLPPublic Relations - N. AmericaPress Here PublicityPublic Relations - UKDuff PressBooking Agent – N. AmericaArtist Group InternationalBooking Agent – Int'lITB – International Talent BookingTour Promoter - N. AmericaLive NationTour Management DirectionCtc: Malvin MortimerTour Production DirectionCtc: Chuck BecklerShow // Production DesignCtc: Chuck BecklerLighting DesignKenji OhashiTravel Agent – N. America &WorldSOS // Satellite Office ServicesTravel Agent – UK&EURima TravelTouring Service’s // Immigration,Passport’s & Visa’s – N. AmericaKushner & Kushner, P.C.Touring Service’s // Immigration,Passport’s & Visa’s – WorldSOS // Satellite Office ServicesSound – N. AmericaSound ImageSound – UK&EUSkan Pa HireLighting – N. AmericaUpstagingLighting – UK&EUPRG – Production ResourceGroupVideo – N. America & WorldNocturneRigging – N. AmericaFive Points Production ServicesSet Construction – N. AmericaTait TowersSet Modification – N. AmericaAccurate StagingSet Construction – UK&EUAll AccessTrucking – N. AmericaUpstagingBuses – USASenators CoachesBuses – UK&EUBeat The StreetFreightRock–It CargoPassesCube ServicesItinerariesSos // Satellite Office ServicesRadiosAAA CommunicationsTour Phones & Internet SystemCasbah OnlinePower – Ups for StageLegacy Power ServicesPower – A/C for Video TruckCat Entertainment ServicesIn–Ear MonitorsUltimate EarsIn–Ear ImpressionsImpressions By JamiMerchandisingLive NationMerchandising// Local Crew ShirtsTinman Merchandising LlcGraphics & DesignsAlias Designs LtdWebsite - WebmasterCtc: Mark SenffTouring SuppliesTour Supply, Third Encore, SIRConcierge ServiceCarpe Diem Concierge ServicesMain Rehearsal StudioMates Rehearsal & CartageRehearsal StudioCenterstagingMain Locker // StorageMates Rehearsal & CartageLocker // StorageSoundcheckmobile production monthly 29

upstaging thecompetition(c) Michael A. BeckBy Bill RobisonUpstaging is one of the premiere productioncompanies serving the entertainment industry.Robert Carone founded them in 1972to provide lighting for concerts and truckingwas added to their services a short timelater. Since then the company has growndramatically and matured in concert with theentertainment industry. With past and presentclients like U2, Paul McCartney, The Police,Walking with Dinosaurs, Janet Jackson, andColdplay, Upstaging stays at the leading edgeof available technology.We recently spoke to Director of Lighting John Huddlestonwho joined Upstaging right out of high school in1979. “Most of us started out on the road running lightsfor bands,” he explained. In the 70s and 80s event productionwas in its infancy. Being on the front lines of concertproduction, Upstaging was ideally positioned for growth.Its staff developed the kind of expertise found only byworking shows on a regular basis.As the company grew, many of its road technicians movedinto management positions. Insight from first hand experienceguided them to make sound decisions and developinnovative solutions to challenges. Huddleston told us rightfrom the beginning that whenever Upstaging was presentedwith a challenge its attitude was, “We want to do that!”.He remembers they were “fearless” back then and believesthat holds true today and will into the future.When asked what is new, Huddleston spoke of technologiesin the lighting industry. Upstaging has invested heavilyin LED equipment. As these evolve and improve, moreconventional fixtures can be replaced. Beyond lights,LED panels controlled by media servers add a whole newdimension to lighting design such as digital scenery. Additionalbenefits LED offers help both the bottom line andthe environment. LED technology provides the obviousadvantage of long operating life as well as much lowerenergy consumption. Beyond that there is a less obviousbenefit. Many conventional fixtures use lamps that containheavy metals. At the end of their service life these becomehazardous waste. With hundreds of fixtures in its inventory,Upstaging spends many dollars disposing of hazardouswaste created by discarded lamps. LED can eliminatethis cost.Huddleston also described Upstaging’s trucking division.The large fleet consists primarily of Peterbuilt tractors andGreat Dane trailers. These are air ride electronics vansproviding a much smoother ride to their sensitive cargothan conventional trailers with standard suspension. Withthe cost of diesel fuel on the rise and ever increasing rulesand regulations, Upstaging’s fleet staff must stay one stepahead. The company policy is to keep abreast of regulationsand create and implement procedures to conform inadvance of rules taking effect.Upstaging’s trucking division is also on the leading edgeof efficiency. Tractors often idle their engines for manyhours as the rigs sit parked. This is to keep the engineswarm and to operate climate control and accessories inthe cabs as the drivers have down time. On a fleet as large30 mobile production monthly

as Upstaging’s, this consumes thousands of gallons of dieselfuel each year. As an alternative, small diesel generatorshave been installed in Upstaging's tractors. These units providethe same function as the idling engine, but being muchsmaller consume a fraction of the fuel and are much quieter.This may be one of the reasons Upstaging has hundreds oftrucks out this year with many tours including over 200 supportingthe U2 360° tour.When we asked Huddleston how they decide which newequipment to invest in, he told us “listening” is the key. Hesaid, “When the clients speak, Upstaging listens.” LightingDesigners are well informed as to what new products will bein demand and offer the best features. He told mPm, “Thereis always risk in buying new equipment. It’s kind of like goingto a horse race. But armed with the right informationwe have done pretty well in choosing new products”.Huddleston emphasizes that, while being a large company,Upstaging still tries to maintain a small personalizedapproach particularly within its own staff. A tradition ofa weekly barbeque for employees started many years agohelps to keep a family feel within the company. He tellsus that as the company has grown, the “depth of its organization”has helped to develop into the company thatit is today. Huddleston says, “Slow and steady wins therace.” He hopes, “Our customers see the difference thatUpstaging offers.”When asked what makes Upstaging special Huddlestoncredits long term relationships as an important factor in theWhen we asked Huddleston howthey decide which new equipmentto invest in, he told us “listening” isthe key. He said, “When the clientsspeak, Upstaging listens.”success of the company. Def Leppard is a good example.Upstaging has had a relationship with the band for over 30years. Account executive Paul Costa tells us about the lightingpackage currently out with the band. Lighting designerKenji Ohashi put together a spectacular package using acombination of fixtures including: over 130 moving headunits (50- Mac 101, 56- Mac2k, 28 Mac3), 18- molefays,10- ACL bars, 27- Atomic strobes, 8- Coemar Super Cycs,22- I-Pix BB4 LED wash, 10- Elements KR-15 LEDs, 4-DF-50 hazer, 4- Jem ZR 44 fogger, 2- Grand MA, 1- GreenHippo Media server, over 500’ of truss, and even a coupleof mirror balls. This well designed package can create quitea punch as well as offer a seemingly unlimited assortmentof looks.Back more than 30 years ago, Huddleston went out withCheap Trick and he remembers how excited he was goingout with one of his first acts. Today Upstaging is gearing upto support Cheap Trick once again. With excitement in hisvoice he said, “How cool is that?” lightingtruckingproduction supportsalesservicestoragewww.upstaging.com815.899.9888CHICAGO821 Park AvenueSycamore, Illinois 60178Ph. 815-899-9888Fax 815-899-1080LOS ANGELES415 North Canon Dr., Suite 1Beverly Hills, California 90210Ph. 310-859-9800Fax 310-859-2804mobile production monthly 31

McGuinnessTruckingPacifying EuropeanTrucking NightmaresIn 1991, Frank McGuinness started hiscompany as a one-truck operation providingtrucking for bands around Europe. One of his firsttours was with one truck around Europe for theHothouse Flowers. After 20 years, his businesshas seen a huge expansion. McGuinness andhis management, together with the drivers,work an exceptional business as a team. Thedrivers are an integral part of the businessand are professional, helpful and friendly.This teamwork allows McGuinness to provideoutstanding service and make a long tour on theroad the best it can be.Since starting out, McGuinness has worked with along list of headline bands such as Def Leppard, Pink,Radiohead and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, to name buta few. The last Def Leppard European tour, however,really demonstrated the resourcefulness of his team, asthe tour played in some of the most unusual locationsin Europe. These locations required the additional challengesof crossing international borders while maintaininga tight schedule.For example, the tour included Helsinki, Finland toSolvesburg, Sweden to Kaliningrad, Russia, to Vilnius,Lithuania, to Tallinn, Estonia. That’s six countries andsix show dates in eight days. As if that alone would notbe impressive, they followed later in the tour with Athens,Greece to Tirana, Albania to Sofia Bulgaria to Istanbul,Turkey to Bucharest, Romania, again, in eight days.Those are all difficult crossings and included carnets, customsclearance and air freight.Even when a tour includes festivals, tight schedulesbetween venues, the planning of flights for double driversor extra gear, or when transportation requires charterships, the job is dealt with seamlessly. Shipping and loading/unloadingof sea containers at the start and end ofa tour can be carried out at a venue or cross dock facilitythat is most convenient to the client. McGuinness hastransported tours throughout all of Europe, covering allcountries and trucking tours as far away as Moscow. Thisincludes all paperwork for permits and legalities for eachcountry, making McGuinness a one-stop-shop with officesin England, Ireland and Wales.Special requests are also part of service delivery. For thelast Radiohead European tour, McGuinness suppliedEuro 5 engines; the most fuel efficient available, givingthe lowest possible CO 2 emissions. The McGuinness fleetis constantly being renewed to ensure its clients and drivershave the best equipment available to meet the highdemands and deadlines of touring. In addition, each truckhas an independent air conditioning unit. These run on32 mobile production monthly

a trickle charge from the battery. They provide a comfortableenvironment for their drivers whilst cutting out thenecessity of having the truck engine idling, thereby furtherreducing carbon emissions.Trailers are all tri-axle on-air-suspension with raise/lowervalves for ease of loading and unloading. They are alsofitted with an aluminum honeycomb load lock system,removing the necessity for load lock strips on each wall,making them the widest trailers available in Europe. Theload restraint bars and straps are inserted directly into thesystem wherever required. Loading ramps are carried inunder- slung ramp carriers thereby saving precious loadspace. All of the trailers are also fitted with a unique “daylight”lighting system making nighttime loading a muchsafer task.Concert Trucking is a competitive business all over theword in our global industry. The best ways to evaluateone company from the others are client retention,years of service, attention to detail, and client’s needs.The fleet is replenished often, maintained and servicedto the utmost standards. As proof, McGuinness wasawarded “International Haulier of the Year 2011” by FleetTransport, as voted from within the transport industry inConcert Trucking is a competitivebusiness all over the word in ourglobal industry. The best ways toevaluate one company from the othersare client retention, years of service,attention to detail, and client’s needs.Ireland. However, the best endorsements are those fromwithin the industry.Richard Young, Radiohead Production Manager said,“Great trucks, friendly, helpful drivers and a calm “can do”attitude, even in the most bizarre of situations, continuesto give me the peace of mind that I look for in a company.McGuinness will continue to be my preferred truckingsupplier for a long time to come.” Rocko Reedy, DefLeppard’s Production Manager in 2008, added “All of thedrivers exhibited an attitude of ultra-professionalism thathas become more and more scarce in our business.”Scotty Ross of Celtic Women sums it up nicely, “Trucks aretrucks; big boxes you put gear into. The most importantthing is the support, from the directors to the drivers andyou get that from McGuinness Trucking. mobile production monthly 33

Def Leppard continued from 26engineer in 2001. He has a pretty succinctapproach to managing the sound. “It’s takena while to get a good balance of the guys anda lot of that is compression. But that can onlydo so much for you and then it’s hands onfaders mixing vocals. This bit goes up here,this bit goes down there and that’s how itworks.”That may sound a bit simplistic, however,there is nothing about McHugh’s life that isin any way simplistic. He pulls double dutyas both the FOH engineer and the band’sstudio engineer. This means that when he’snot mixing the show, he’s mixing the nextrecording and that work is constantly ongoing.“This is what we do,” McHugh said laughing.“Yesterday we were in a room recording andI spend days off editing. We’ll go in and doguitar lines and bass lines between line checksand sound checks.”Despite the fact that studio and liveengineering are two completely differentanimals, McHugh says the band has ways ofmaking it a little easier. “A lot of times theysee the songs being played live when they’rewriting and recording them. That’s not thecase with every song, but there are times whenthey are looking with one eye toward the liveperformance of the song.”Def Leppard has always been an icon of thehuge sounds of a time when everything wasbig and incredibly bold. For this band to takeout a production that shows less than it hasalways been would be similar to changing thelyrics of its songs while leaving the tunes thesame. Despite the fact that there are certainlybigger shows on the road in terms of truckspace, this production delivers the same massit always has dating back to the very beginningbut in a tighter and far more technologicallyadvanced package. There is an extremededication to obeying that time honoredcommand…always leave them wanting more.National Rugby Stadium continued from 192-way passive full range ceiling loudspeakerincorporating a 6.5” cone low frequencytransducer and a ferrofluid cooled 1” softdome high frequency unit with integral diffractionring.“The distributed main audio system that wedesigned for this project is managed by aSymetrix SymNet DSP processor, networkedtogether via a 4-node CobraNet setup,”said Nowiñski. “The main system is fed byAshly NE8250PE multichannel, networkedamplifiers. Both the SymNet and Ashly ampsare controlled via a PC application. Audiomixing is handled via a Crest Audio XR20analog mixing desk located in the controlroom. The corridor areas are run by a BoshPresidio network controller and Bosh PRSamplifiers.”With the new sound system in service, Nowiñskireports that stadium management, the players,and the fans are all noticing a dramaticimprovement in the sound quality. “We gettingperfect, uniform sound coverage throughout theaudience stands and across the field,” Nowiñskiproudly notes. “The sound pressure level(SPL-A) ranges between 111 – 113 dB with nosignificant drops to be found anywhere. Equallyimportant, the sound quality is excellent. We’reexperiencing very good frequency range and,remember, there were no subwoofers used onthis project. The folks at D.A.S. Audio were atremendous help with this project—providingquality support in timely fashion— and, together,I believe we’ve created a really impressive systemthat will serve the area’s football fans for years tocome.” MCI’sUltimateSmooth RideDesignworksUSA-styledTOUR BUSNow featuring 450 HP 2010 EPA CompliantCummins ISM, Wide-Ride Suspension,Electronic Stability Control, additional12 or 24 Volt Alternator, and many other enhancements madewith input from our customers.To schedule a test drive today, call 1-866-MCICOACH.J4500 conversion shellshown with 2 optional slide-outs.www.mcicoach.com© 2011 Motor Coach Industries, Inc. All rights reserved.34 mobile production monthly

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ADVERTISER’S IndexAccess Pass & Design.........................36Accurate Staging.................................11Adamson Systems..............................15Baker Donelson...................................13Beat The Street...................................IBCBoulvard Pro........................................14Casbah Online.....................................25Coach Quarters.....................................7Cube Passes.........................................5D&S Custom Coach............................11Engine Power Source (EPS).................13Global Special FX................................21Guitar Hands........................................19I-MAG Video..........................................3Kleege Industries..................................9Master Brian Gates............................11McGuinness...................................33MD Live...............................................21Michael A. Beck Photography..............36Motor Coach Industries (MCI).............34Precise Corporate Staging..................14Prevost..........................................BCPyro Engineering....................................8RN Entertainment................................17Road Radios........................................11Roadhouse Coach.................................2Upstaging...................................31X-Streamers.com..............................1436 mobile production monthly

PROVEN PERFORMER.With so many people counting on you for their comfort and safety on the road, the choice in motorcoaches isclear. Prevost is the leader in the entertainment industry for good reason. We offer unmatched design, handling,performance, and reliability that make everyone’s job easier. Nobody goes the extra mile like we do.Prevost Service Locator Mobile AppAvailable for iPhone and AndroidFor more informationSteve Zeigler, Director of Business Development800.837.0895 or visit www.prevostcar.comThe ultimate class.