CONCERTS Copyright Lighting&Sound America January 2013 http://www.lightingandsoundamerica.com/LSA.html

Belief Systems

A top design team pulls out all the stops for Justin Bieber’s Believe Tour

By: Sharon Stancavage

44 • January 2013 • Lighting&Sound America The far left and right LED screens are often used for full-body IMAG of the singer. At times, they take on the feel of a full-length mirror, says Nick Jackson, of Chaos Visual Productions, the video gear supplier from Los Angeles.

he phenomenon that is sophomore effort, the situation first outing, My World Tour, and were Justin Bieber can be easily changed considerably. “This time all integral to the creative meetings. summarized by the voice around, Justin wanted to involve New to the Bieber team is Jon M. of an anonymous woman— other people whom he had grown Chu, who directed Never Say Never not a girl—on a YouTube fond of in his time on the road, as and serves as creative director while T video of the opening of the well as several individuals involved in Marzullo continues as production star’s current Believe Tour. his film [Never Say Never],” Marzullo designer and tour production As a barrage of effects is unleashed explains. The list of collaborators manager. Other key members of the before Bieber’s appearance on stage, also included many of his vendors: team are Chu’s associates Cristobal a woman says, in a voice awash with staging suppliers Brian White, of Valecillos and Isabel Aranguren. The awe and amazement, “Oh, my God.” Burbank-based Show Group directive for the show’s theme came It’s only the first few moments of the Production Services (SPGS), and straight from Bieber. “Justin said, ‘I show, and she doesn’t realize that Robert Achlimbari, of Torrance, want it to be fun. It’s going to be a lot many more amazements will follow. California-based All Access; Nick of people’s first concert, so I want it The man behind the production Jackson, of Chaos Visual to almost feel like a Disneyland design of Bieber’s first touring Productions, the Los Angeles-based adventure,’” Chu says. venture is industry veteran Tom E video gear supplier; Robert Roth, of Marzullo says he begins designing Marzullo, the self-described “chief, Christie Lites’ Atlanta office; and by focusing on “the physical footprint cook, bottle washer, and everything Mark Grega, of Chicago-based of the stage, and then I build from

All photos: Todd Kaplan All photos: Todd else” on that production. For Bieber’s Strictly FX. All were part of Bieber’s there.” The tour’s stage is a combi-

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nation of prefabricated and custom end. The stage has three levels: 6'6", another big effect,” which became the elements. Key to the process was co- 14'6", and 22'6". The video wall at the telescoping stage arm. It appears set designer Achlimbari. Marzullo top level extends 18'. during the “Fall” and “Be Alright” explains, “He’s just a really brilliant The thrust includes a 40' medley. Based on a Bryan Hartley guy and understands so much about telescoping stage arm integrated into inspiration, “Eric Pearce [owner and how to make that stuff work.” its floor. It was supplied by ShowRig, lead engineer at SGPS] designed the Photos don’t really represent the a division of SGPS. White explains, “It telescoping stage arm,” Marzullo stage’s massive size. Overall, it is 60' started with Tom wanting an elevator reports. The arm is invisible until the by 48', with 12' wings on either side. at the end of the thrust. We integrated sides of the basket appear and are The layout also includes a 40'-long one of our 5' telescoping elevators. attached to the arm’s platform. thrust with an 18'-wide stage at the Then, as the design grew, Tom wanted Marzullo explains, “We have five toaster lifts [from All Access], as well Justin said, ‘I want it to be fun. It’s going to be as a center lift that goes from stage “ level down to the floor, which we use a lot of people’s first concert, so I want it to for the piano and a couple of other almost feel like a Disneyland adventure.’”— Chu props that appear during the show. Upstage, we have a scissor lift that goes up to the tallest level of the set.” Those moments on the lift aren’t just production moments. “When Justin pops out of a toaster, musically we all have to consider how long after he lands do the vocals start,” notes musical director Dan Kanter. Video, in the form of LEDs, is the basis of the entire stage. “From the beginning, the concept was to have a strong video LED product element to the set,” Jackson says. “Once Jon Chu joined the creative team, this evolved into a more cinematic design, incorporating large video walls for content and IMAG display. There is a total of six main video walls—the 51'- wide-by-18'-high WinVision 9, a 9mm wall upstage center that can split in the center, as well as two rectangular WinVision 1875s, 18mm walls upstage left and right. The far left and right LED screens are often used for full- body IMAG of Bieber; at times, they take on the feel of a full-length mirror. There are also eight 4'W x 7'H, 9mm panels on rolling carts moved by dancers throughout the show. “[Chu] directed all the content, edited that content, and supervised Mat Hale, of imag8nineteen, of Los Angeles, who did the graphics for the screen,” Jackson says. The images include vintage Bieber footage and brief inter- views as well as video VU meters, a coral reef, sepia wildflowers, trees at The giant Whirylgig from SGPS has a double rotating system with a 16' outer ring and an 8' inner diameter, an upgrade from the smaller one that first appeared on Bieber’s 2011 tour.

46 • January 2013 • Lighting&Sound America The show emphasizes the party atmosphere during “All Around the World,” with pyrotechnics, confetti, and airbursts.

sunset, and a complex sequence where stage, wearing Vacuform wings, flying “The bottom of the Whirlygig has Bieber is chased by ninja-esque out over the audience, via a propri- one Martin [Professional] MAC III paparazzi during the song “She Don’t etary SGPS product called a Profile, four Mac 2000 XBs with the Like the Light.” Whirlygig, which first appeared on the beam kit, and 12 Clay Paky Sharpys, The imagery is controlled live by a singer’s 2011 tour. “Last time we had while the top has six Sharpys,” media server system put together by a small Whirlygig, now we have the explains lighting co-designer and the Chaos team. “We custom-built the giant Whirlygig, which is 16' in director Chris Kuroda. The Whirlygig [Green Hippo] Hippotizer media server diameter,” Marzullo notes. moves up and downstage on a double system, incorporating the Vista The Whirlygig is more than just a run of SGPS medium-duty KB Effects [Systems] Spyder to allow full flexi- flying machine. It consists of a double track truss. It also rotates and has bility of routing of any media content rotating system—a 16' outer ring and hidden powers, as Kuroda discovered. or IMAG to any display surface,” an 8' inner ring. “Each unit rotates “The bottom of it goes up and down Jackson explains. “Since this was independently of the other—the same like a yo-yo,” he notes. “When we put such a huge visual element of the direction or completely opposite,” the Sharpys, which have those nice show, we built in an extensive array of White says. “The 16' ring also has four little beams, in a nice aerial position backup devices so that the video independent winches for the design and the Whirlygig spins around, it would always continue to run in the team to hang whatever they wish looks great.” event of any hardware failure. We underneath. The unit had been used Based on the original concept by brought in Loren Barton to supervise before as a flying platform for other Marzullo, White says, “[Pearce] all content programming and to be tours; Tom asked to have the lower designed six custom tracking lighting part of our team to create the content section replaced with a circular lighting sleds that are pretty heavy with all delivery system.” On the road, Mark truss. We’re also using a new state-of- power supplies; lights, including Stutsman directs the IMAG. the-art RF control system, so you don’t several Syncrolites; and tracking Bieber first appears from behind have to worry about lighting control trolleys, all in one small space.” The the bifurcated LED wall high above the cables while the unit is spinning.” sleds allow Marzullo and Chu to break

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the invisible wall between Bieber and the key lighting, because they’re the band Phish, has created an the audience, turning the arena floor quite a distance from the stage,” intricate, cue-intensive show. He into one giant dance club. Two sled Kuroda says. programmed it on his personal MA tracks run 120' from the downstage The production also has two Lighting grandMA2 console, with the edge of the stage. The 10'-long-by- parenthetically shaped trusses over assistance of his longtime 4'-wide units travel on an SGPS Buss the stage. Kuroda notes, “On each programmer, Andrew Giffin, who is Bar KB Effects track truss. “The lights side, there are 12 Mac 2000 XBs with also out with the show. Kuroda admits, on the moving carriages are powered the beam kit and 11 Mac III “Andrew and I literally program things by a buss bar embedded in the track Performances. There are also three where we’re editing timing to the truss. The buss bar avoids dragging short trusses with four Mac III 1,000th of a second. When we sat massive amounts of cables to power Profiles, four Mac 2000 Beam XBs, down to do this, we approached it as the lighting,” Marzullo says. and 12 Sharpys over FOH.” a sort of über-hardcore, very elegantly The automated sleds give Kuroda For his workhorses, Kuroda cites programmed show.” the opportunity to light the production the Clay Paky Sharpy and the small, The team of Kuroda and Giffin—

Bieber turns the arena into an intergalactic spaceship for Believe’s opening numbers.

from an endless variety of positions. yet powerful, Martin Mac 101s. with the assistance of programmer “The sled tracks run almost the full “They’re the little guys, they’re bright, Mark Butts—has brought a sophisti- length of the area, so we can park they’re great, and they’re spread out cated show to a very young three all the way downstage where all over the place, and we have a audience. “We don’t just throw up a FOH is, we can park them up by the million effects programmed through look and then throw up another look. stage, we can separate them and all those things.” The units can be The way things transition from one spread them out over the length of found upstage between the rectan- look to the next, the way it follows the the arena, or any configuration you gular video walls; at times, they music is through very detailed timing can think of,” he explains. The sleds resemble the perforations on a strip and programming,” Kuroda says. are comprised of 7K Syncrolites, Clay of motion picture. Aside from the Paky Sharpys, and Martin MAC 2000 lighting gear supplied by Christie Effects Wash XBs with the beam kit. “It has Lites, the Syncrolites are from Dallas- “I think that the most impressive part a special insert that you put in place based Syncrolite. of the lasers is how well we were able of a color wheel. It makes a really Kuroda, who works with Bieber on to integrate them with the lights,” nice tight beam, and it works well for breaks from his longstanding gig with says laser programmer Doug Cenko,

48 • January 2013 • Lighting&Sound America of Strictly FX. There are three-custom out machines, we swapped out stick with it,” he says. fabricated lasers on the show; one ducts, we swapped out fluid, and The 24 Clair i-5 cabinets are hung high-powered RGB laser upstage decking had to be changed out. at a trim height between 36' and 42', center, and one each upstage left and Finally, Tom came up with the idea of an arrangement that is similar to what right in the wings, in addition to two adding Plexiglas to the front of the Bieber had his last time out on the green diodes located on the thrust. stage so the fog didn’t roll over, and road. Mack notes, “There are over There is a rainbow of lasers in it worked perfectly.” 100 rigging points and a lot of special “Believe,” deep purple in “Beautiful,” A pyro waterfall appears in effects, a lot of moving parts, and a and a gridded look in “As Long As “Believe” with a creative twist. “For lot of video—that’s one of the reasons You Love Me.” Justin, we put the waterfall on the we have to get the PA up so high. Pyro, in the form of gerbs and Whirlygig, so it is actually spinning,” Otherwise, the audience would be sparks, appears during the opening; Grega explains. “We haven’t done it looking at two large speaker enclo- during the first song, “All Around the like this before, only because sures in the middle of the video World,” the audience gets a surprise generally there isn’t a structure like screens.” There are also i-5bs and i- in the form of confetti airbursts. the Whirlygig in a show. Once we saw 3s in the rig, plus amplification from Grega explains, “It’s confetti in a that structure and saw what it could Lab.gruppen. different way. It really is festive do, we realized that was a perfect As for the Profile, Mack says, “It’s because you get the pop, the visual, place to do it.” small, it’s versatile to a point, and it’s and then the confetti comes from In the finale, “Baby,” Grega says, easy to set up and break down. At nowhere.” Chu adds, “We go pretty “There’s a lot of pyro going off— the end of the night, it’s down and packed up so quickly that I’m Andrew and I literally program things where probably the first one to shower.” “ Although the Profile has ample we’re editing timing to the 1,000th of a second. processing abilities, Mack doesn’t When we sat down to do this, we approached it make use of most of them. He as a sort of über-hardcore, very elegantly pro- confesses, “I use very few plug-ins— just a couple of reverbs, a delay, and grammed show.”—Kuroda a chorus.” For his microphone package, Mac hard in the beginning of the show easily 200 pieces, maybe more. It’s all relies on a mix of old and new gear. during ‘All Around the World,’ comets and mines, and it’s huge. We Bieber continues to use a Crown because we wanted to create a huge have the single best pyro guy on Audio CM-311 headset mic. Mack party for these kids. Maybe it’s their earth doing pyro here, Reid Nofsinger, says, “It’s an incredible mic, and the first party, and we immediately say, from Strictly FX,” Kuroda says. feedback ratio—you can literally this is something new you’re going Nofsinger, a perfectionist, is still walk in front of the PA, and it won’t to experience.” working on the details of the feedback. It’s incredible. I have During “Catching Feelings,” the production. There’s also a new nothing but high praise for it. It’s audience experiences what looks like electric snow-dispersal system used done me well.” For his handheld mic, thick dry ice fog wafting over the during “Fall,” as well as eight CO2 Bieber is on a Heil Sound RC 22 as second level of the stage, setting the cryo jets and eight flame projectors well as something new: “We brought scene for a mythical, underwater featured in “Never Say Never.” “A wall in The Fin from Heil, which is like an adventure. Grega explains, “It was of flame goes up, and then he disap- old ‘60s- or ‘70s-style mic. It’s a big definitely a mandate from Jon and pears. Your retinas seem to be square mic with a red LED in it that Justin. It was in all of the scripts. It imprinted with that red glow, since it’s lights up. That mic sounds had to be there, and it had to look so intense,” Grega says. absolutely incredible.” The Fin, really, exceptionally good.” Creating which has a tight linear cardioid a dry ice look without dry ice—which Sound response pattern, is featured in “Die doesn’t last as long as was needed Returning to work with Bieber is in Your Arms.” for the song—was something of a Gordon Mack, who is once again On stage, a variety of manufacturers challenge. “We had issues finding behind an Avid VENUE Profile are represented. “I’m using some Heil the right equipment and the console, supplied by Clair Global, of microphones on the snare drums. I positions to be able to achieve that Lititz, Pennsylvania. “When you find have Sennheiser e 904s on the toms effect,” Grega notes. “We swapped something that works, you tend to and Shure SM81s on the high hats.

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Reid Nofsinger, of Strictly FX, programmed the pyrotechnics for the show, which include more than 200 pieces in the “Baby” finale and a waterfall of fire on the Whirlygig during “Believe.”

“Justin has a tendency to bend down and shake the girls’ hands, and, as he’s bending down, they are all screaming, and I get all that in the mic. Sometimes I think it is feedback, because of the frequency that they’re screaming at, but it’s not.”— Mack

Everything is pretty much nuts-and- frequency that they’re screaming at, manager Jon Baden. “I have probably bolts plain,” Mack says. but it’s not.” Key members of the the best crew I’ve ever had in my 40 When the telescoping stage arm sound team include Pro Tools some years of experience. We all get gets out in front of the PA, it can be operator James Stassen and monitor along, and it’s a joy to be out here,” problematic from an audio mixer Alex Macleod. Marzullo says. perspective. But, Mack says, “Overall, The tour also gave birth to it’s pretty easy for me to move around Traveling Marzullo’s new firm, Out of My Mind the arm. I just pan Justin to the side In the end, Marzullo repeated what he Creative Services, which is based in he’s not on and turn his vocal up. It’s did for Bieber’s last tour: create an Atlanta. It is an extension of not like people on the opposite side enormous looking production that Marzullo’s decades of experience and can’t hear him, because he’s the contains many fewer trucks than one offers arena, theatre, corporate, and biggest thing in the room. You’re might imagine. He confides, “For me, special event design and production going to hear him. And, at that point, my goal is always to take a truckload services. Joining him at Out of My it’s an acoustic set, so they’re a little of equipment and make it look like Mind is Kuroda, as well as several more attentive. So I can get away five trucks. We have 18 trucks on this other industry veterans to be with panning him, and they don’t tour—17 trucks with one as a announced at a later date. The notice or don’t care.” leapfrog that goes forward.” company will blend seasoned Bieber likes to interact with his Additional key personnel includes experience with cutting-edge creative fans, which can also be acoustically Vicki Huxel, tour coordinator; Jennifer and production talent, he says. “We’ll problematic. Mack says, “Justin has a Laski, production assistant; Bill be announcing several new projects tendency to bend down and shake Thompson, tour accountant; Steve in the first quarter of this year,” the girls’ hands, and, as he’s bending Sullivan, director of venue security; Marzullo adds. down, they are all screaming, and I Terry Cooley, production and stage Bieber recently extended the get all that in the mic. Sometimes I manager; James Gould, floor Believe Tour to August 10 in think it is feedback, because of the manager; and AEG production Atlanta.

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