Aug-Sept Cover:Cover 27/08/2009 13:32 Page 1 Lighting & Sound AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2009 Aug-Sept 2009 entertainment, presentation, communication www.lsionline.co.uk 360% for 360°
UK £3.50 US $6.00 Steve Moles reports on U2’s latest touring extravaganza € 5.00 On Tour: Preview • MA U2 • PLASA09 Lighting • TF: LED Tools & Toys
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“The mind boggles. You might carry 120,000lb of equipment for a major show - we’ve got four times that. That’s the commitment to 360, and it takes 360% from everyone
to make it work.”
Jake Berry, production director
Continued >>> On Tour - U2:On tour.qxd 27/08/2009 08:24 Page 62
Steve Moles reports from the
tour Stade de France, Paris . . . on
The U2 360° tour lays down a gauntlet for the industry. This show, just three gigs in when I saw it in Paris, displays absolute maturity of design, thought through in every detail. Not just the major disciplines - sound, light, video and staging - but even the less glamorous details - barriers, decking and power.
To view this show is to be overwhelmed. There can be hardly a member of the audience who hasn’t seen the structure beforehand somewhere on the Internet, yet the first sight of what Bono calls “our Space Station” still takes your breath away.
I had thought to compare the show’s grandeur to an Olympic opening ceremony, but that’s an unrealistic comparison: this is an entirely different context, and it can be compared to nothing. Frankly, we’ve never seen anything like it. It is a towering achievement for the band, Willie Williams, Mark Fisher, Frederic Opsomer, Jake Berry and every single contractor involved. All are to be congratulated.
360° in broad brush strokes . . . The four legs of the ‘Space Station’ or ‘Claw’ structure span an area The PA, effectively two stadium systems, breaks new ground by roughly one third of a soccer pitch and support over 160 tonnes of resolving a dilemma; how do you fly line arrays side-by-side without equipment. There are three of these structures, leap-frogging from seriously compromising the sound field? Lighting features just one venue to venue. The universal show, common to every venue, type of moving light; is physically never closer than 30 metres from currently takes 42 hours to load in. That will shorten, but at this early its target zone on mainstage, yet embraces every corner of the stage on the tour, it’s tough as hell. stadium.
The LED screen you see hung within is - in true U2 fashion - an All these major elements conspire to produce a show that engages entirely new development, matching a totally flexible pixel system to every audience member directly, no matter how remote - the ‘360’ a transformable structure. Jaw-dropping to view in motion, ethos; there is not a bad seat in the house. Frankly, the nosebleeds staggering in its engineering complexity, it is the perfect are in many ways the best place to be to view the full majesty of the counterweight to the Claw’s massive presence. The stage below, show. This is the towering achievement of Williams’ conceit; it’s his ringed like Saturn, is dwarfed by comparison, yet is larger than any major collaborator Mark Fisher who best describes the evolution stage set ever toured by a rock band. that followed William’s original idea.
360° Crew Credits: FOH Audio Director: Joe O’Herlihy Production Director: Jake Berry Video Director: Tom Krueger Tour Director: Craig Evans Lighting Director: Ethan Weber Show Designer/Director: Willie Williams Lighting Associate: Alexander Murphy Production Architect/Designer: Mark Fisher Lights Crew Chief: Nick Barton online.co.uk Video screen concept: Frederic Opsomer Sound Crew Chief: Jo Ravitch Video screen kinetic design: Chuck Hoberman StageCo Crew Chief: Johan 'Bellekes' Van Espen www.lsi Video screen technical manager: Richard Hartman continued on page 76
62 Lighting&Sound - August-September 2009 nTu U - Tour On once managed,arethentransmitteddownthelegstoground. Engineers amongyouwillseeimmediatelythatforcesatthetop, store equipment;morethan50%ofthetrussfloorisused.” would work.Thetrussalsohadtobebigenoughwalkinand a container[45ftseacontainer].Thenwechosetubesizethat knew tosketchthetrussesonehalfsizeofwhatwillgoin touring todeterminethecriticalengineeringofstructure:“We Fisher workedbackwardsfromthepracticalconsiderationsof the archtopsoff, yougethugeforcestoresolve,”explainsFisher. arch, withthetopremoved;pointswhere‘hips’are, old andstrongashistoryitself. “Butourstructureisatruncated upon closerexamination,apairofarches,anarchitecturaldeviceas The Themerestaurantisstraightoffthepagesof1950ssci-fi.Itis, that picturesomethingratherdifferent.” [Berry, productiondirector]andbothnodded‘yes’.Isketchedoff HeshowedittoHedwig[deMeyerofStageco]andJake LAX. example hepresenteduswithapictureoftheThemeRestaurantat structure muchbigger, sotheaudiencewere insideit.Asan insightwastomakethe was, howtodoitinstadiums?Willie’s We hadplayedarenasintheroundduringtourandquestion at theendof 2 automation specialists automation O tour.qx :On Vertigo 70/0908 27/08/2009 d thanks to the crew and production of andproduction crew the thanks to tour and Willie Williams hadtheinspiration. Williams tour andWillie New Zealand,”beginsFisher. “We were “The SpaceStationhasitsbasicstoryin assessment ofitsevolution. presenting themostcoherentandsober extremely gratefultoMarkFisherfor embellishes thepreviousone,soIwas production team,andeverystory conversation youhavewiththis The structurepermeatesevery Mark FisherofStufish:TheArchitect : 25 Page 63 +44 (0)20 8481 9850•www.kinesys.co.uk looks likesomething:withsuchthingsyouhavetoconsiderit I ventured?“Iwasn’tnervous.Thebandwantedtobeablesayit from theoriginalidea.”Apotentiallycontentiousmoment, lost. Fishersays:“Presentingtheideatobanddiddistanceus force totheskininalldirections,butunbrokensmoothsurfaceis the orangedomespushoutfromsurface,providingatensioning Fisher’s elegantsolutionfortheskinwas‘Polyps’ (seephotos): for transport,”continuesFisher. to doittensile;besides,hardcoversjusttookuptoomuchspace was conceivedasahardskin,thoughitinthebackofmymind was fixedfromtheonsetthatitwouldbesmoothskinned.Atfirst earlyvision,soit “That West CoastModernismwaspartofWillie’s less effective. Stageco’s solutionthere(seeelsewhere)ismoremundane,butno Lighting & Sound photograph ©Stufish - August-September 2009
ontour
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a journey where your job is to make sure all the travellers are transformational structures. “So, over a few beers in a bar in China, comfortable. We ended up with something that is not a copy.” I mentioned Hoberman to Fred.”
He adds: “It’s a very collegiate process and we all have to be From this came the expanding, inverted, cone-shaped screen. tour comfortable. They, the band, have never back-tracked, and we “Chuck made a proposal to Fred, I did the cone, and things then fell needed the time that allowed.” into place fairly quickly. By March 2008 we had the CAD renderings, and the dimensions of those original CAD models are pretty much on It’s not uncommon for clients (fickle rock stars) on evolving projects within a metre of what we have now. This was fed out to Stageco; such as this to frequently back-track: ‘Let’s look at that another way,’ trucking estimates were made - that’s when we did the tensile they might say, to avoid making a decision. U2’s willingness to cladding - and by the end of April, early May 2008, we had the progress allowed enough time to solve the immense logistical and complete proposal in place. Then the band went on holiday and it engineering challenges ahead. From the many conversations I had wasn’t until the first of September that Willie got acceptance.” it’s all too apparent that, had they blinked, we would not be seeing this today. Richard Hartman: The Practical Engineer Fisher continues: “Next came video. Initially, the idea was to project “The screen is the project of Innovative upon the audience, maybe 48 large format projectors. That came Design, Frederic Opsomer’s company, from what Willie had done so beautifully on the Elevation tour. but there were many other people Apropos of nothing I sketched the video screens used indoors for involved, myself included. There are Vertigo; you may recall the Mi-Spheres were invented for that tour? 477,000 pixels individually placed,” says I sketched a cube of those video balls above the stage; Adrian Hartman. Each pixel is mounted in Mudd, who does all the animation at Stufish said immediately, ‘that groups to a tile; either triangular or isn’t going to work because you’ll never know its 3D’. He was right - square, multiples of these two tile we all went to Fred Opsomer’s warehouse to look at a mock-up, shapes form the slightly flattened and it didn’t.” (Opsomer is a blue sky thinker in the video world: see hexagonals that make the screen. These in turn mount to a lattice of elsewhere for his contribution.) “So next I sketched 2D roll-up pantographs that expand to form the inverted cone basket shape screens under the legs.” you see in various stages in the photos. Compressed, the screen is 7 metres deep; extended 22m. In view of what’s hanging above stage now, a 2D solution sounds a poor substitute: fortunately, Fisher was busy with two other “Hoberman Associates in New York have built a reputation for projects that influenced him heavily. “One, I was working in China conceiving transformable structures; it was they that conceived the with Fred Opsomer to do the floor of the Birds Nest”, for the Beijing Iris device you will have seen used for the Winter Olympics in Utah Olympics opening ceremony. “And secondly I was working on 2002. The engineering on the scissors/pantographs was verified by expanding/contracting screens for a building in Las Vegas for Steve Buro Happold; it’s a very complex structure mechanically, as I’ll Wynn. Chuck Hoberman was involved,” Hoberman specialises in explain. But to continue the history, the pixels are Frederic’s design; online.co.uk www.lsi
64 Lighting&Sound - August-September 2009 Adverts 26/08/2009 16:37 Page 65
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D3 DWaWbcaOb>ZOaO ' ! $AS^bS[PS`:]\R]\C9AbO\R 5!! '/dWRBSQV\]Z]Ug7\Q /ZZ`WUVba`SaS`dSR /dWR2WUWRSaWU\2AV]e>`]B]]ZaO\R>`]¿ZSO`SSWbVS`b`ORS[O`Ya]``SUWabS`SRb`ORS[O`Ya]T/dWRBSQV\]Z]Ug7\Q W\bVSC\WbSRAbObSaO\R ]`]bVS`Q]c\b`WSa /ZZ]bVS`b`ORS[O`YaO`SbVS^`]^S`bg]TbVSW``Sa^SQbWdSV]ZRS`a >`]RcQbTSObc`Saa^SQW¿QObW]\aagabS[`S_cW`S[S\baO\ROdOWZOPWZWbgO`SacPXSQbb]QVO\USeWbV]cb\]bWQS On Tour - U2:On tour.qxd 27/08/2009 08:41 Page 66 tour on Compressed (left), the screen is 7 metres deep; extended (right) 22m. he developed them for Barco. They differ from other products in that fact is he’s one of those people with two brains: one thinks laterally the circuit boards live separately from the pixel cluster.” and solves problems by approaching them from unexpected angles, the other is entirely rational and rolls up it’s metaphorical Hartman is routinely engaged by Opsomer to make his creations sleeves when the going gets tough - just one reason why Opsomer tourable in a practical sense, the weather being one of the major has engaged his services since ’92. considerations. “We have already experienced a problem with weather in Milan, but not too serious,” said Hartman. The second Screen Load-In & Assembly show of the tour, Milan was everyone’s first move as the opening Since rehearsals drew to close in Barcelona, rumours have been show was staged at the rehearsal venue - so a hell of a place to circulating the industry that the screen is the biggest, slowest encounter the first problem. “We had two rainstorms, the first very problem for load-in. Look at it closely and immediately the heavy but vertical, the sort of rain you get in Singapore during the difficulties are apparent. It’s not just an inverted cone with the tip cut rainy season. That we survived. The second was accompanied by off, it’s also an ellipse in plan view, mimicking the shape of the high winds. We have rain proofing in the trusses where the main stage, rather than a simple circle. As a 3D structure that’s complex screen electronics live; the vulnerable point proved to be the enough - add the ability to expand and a whole bunch of conflicting exhaust fan ports: fine when they were running, but when we forces begin to weigh upon it. switched off overnight the wind was strong enough to push the flaps, this in turn led to six racks flooding. However, we stripped “The screen modules weigh about 400kg each,” Hartman began. them out, dried them off, and to our amazement the whole lot “They cannot be manhandled. We examined two routes to mounting worked again, so no damage done.” them; a modified powered pallet truck or a counterbalanced machine handling-device; the sort of thing you see in automobile factories for Having worked with Hartman myself in ’89/90 I can vouch that this assembly line workers to precisely manage heavy parts placements, man is unfazed by adversity. He may sound a little off-hand, but the like lowering the engine into the bay. I would have gone for the latter, online.co.uk www.lsi 66 Lighting&Sound - August-September 2009 nTu U - Tour On Strictly Come Dancing,Britain’s GotTalent, War oftheWorlds andmanymore! U2 Tour, TheKillers,Cold Play, Brian Adams, XFactor, DancingonIce, Novalight -thelighting designerschoiceatallthebestshows lower section.For variouscomplexreasonstheCtierhangsfrom Hartman. “Thestructureistiered,fourlayerswithAatthetop,D winches forraisingandloweringthewholestructure,”says 2 tonnes]poweringtheextensionmovement,eightlargedrum raised. “Thereare40chainhoists[KinesysEvo-amixof1and in whateverstateofextensionorcontraction,canbelowered self-contained, hangingfromwirewinches,sothescreencomplete, The wholeassembly-truss,riggingandscreenisentirely hangs.” including thedriveracksaboveandcustomtrussfromwhichit roadworthy aspectstotheelectronics.It’s52tonnesintotal, them tohim.InnovativeDesigndrewitupandappliedthe “Frederic gotintouchwithHoberman’safterMarkFishersuggested least eightbeforelong. Nine hoursisassemblytime,Hartmanexpectsittoreduceat drive thepallettrucks,andguysaregettingbetteralready.” load-out regime.“We’re gettingfaster, it’samatter oflearningto a smallhand-operatedpinextractortoshavesecondsoffthe different lengths.Itlockstogetherwithpitpins;Hartmanintroduced It’s tricky:notwopanelsarethesameandscissorarms pallet trucksworkoutwardineachdirectionfromthem.” assemble wefirsthangthecentrefrontandbackpanel,thenfour B,C,&Dtiersrespectively).Toeach column(5,5,5&4inA, “There are24columnsofscissormechanisms,with19modulesin trucks performallthemotionsdescribedaboveandhavesideshift.” quantity. ThetrucksareItalian;wehadthemmodifiedinBelgium. employed poweredpallettrucksbeforeontoursothey’reaknown a hand-manipulatedmotion,onesingle,fluidmovement.ButU2has down abit,justtolocatethescreenmoduleinwhatwouldbe,for a forkliftyouhavetoshifttheloadrightbit,uptiltout because itgivesthehumandirectcontrol,it’snaturalandintuitive.With 2 O tour.qx :On 70/0908 27/08/2009 d : 42 Page 67 continued Hartman.I’mnotgoingtogointothefulldescription,but “Then there’salignmentconesandhubstabilisersonthescissors,” real-world hoistcontrolmatchedtoHoberman’scalculatedchart. and Kinesysdevelopedsophisticatedalgorithmstokeepthe cares? TheimportantthingisthatK2providesmillimetreaccuracy, It alsomakesaprettyappallingnoisewhenyoushiftit,butwho test, riggedattheSportpaleisinAntwerp,itlookedscary.” works fine,thoughlikeeveryoneelsewhenwefirstencountereditin Hobermans providedaspreadsheettoimportdirectlyK2.)“It a chart,”(ofplottedcoordinatesthathavealreadybeencalculated. about thecomplexityofbeast:“TheKinesysK2isjustfollowing I spokebrieflytoRaffaele‘Raff’Buonowhocontrolsit:he’ssanguine Hartman. how itbehaveswe’reabletoadjustthetolerancesonmoves,”said adjustment, sowestartedwithextremelimitationandaslearn of thesensinglimits.Itwasalwaysenvisagedthere’dbesome “In theshorttimewe’vebeenusingitabletorelaxsome it extendsmakesthattopedgeshapeadvantageous. horizontal plane,againthat’sforreasonsofmovement;thefactthat the topofscreenyou’llseeit’sactuallysaddle-shapedin sides oftheellipse,carrymorethanouterones.Ifyoulookto the innerfourwinches,thosephysicallyclosestacrossnarrow potential. Thedrumwinchesare,ofcourse,alsoonload-sensors: Kinesys commander[K2-3Dsoftware]topreventtheoverload are complextosaytheleast.We alsohaveprotectioncodesinthe intermediate positions,16ofthem.Thealgorithmstoshiftthisthing “The 2tonnesareinsetsofeightpertier;the1hang other andtakeontheloadoftierabove. scissor joints,it’svitalthatonetierdoesn’trisequickerthanany 1 tonnemotors.Oneofthecriticalareasiswhencontracting Image courtesyofSteveMoles Nova-Flowers atU2360 0 Tour Earls Court- StandE40 13th-16th Sept. Come andseeusatPlasa www.lightfactor.co.uk E: [email protected] T: 01923698080 and pricing. product demonstrations Contact Lightfactorfor Exclusively distributedintheUKby Lighting & Sound QRYDñRZHU - August-September 2009 ontour 67 www.lsionline.co.uk On Tour - U2:On tour.qxd 27/08/2009 08:42 Page 68 consider this about scissor mechanisms and you’ll get an idea of the challenges. Think of those joke extending Don’t make a crisis devices with a boxing glove on the end, so beloved of cartoonists: the multiple scissor joints facilitate extension, tour out of a drama but laterally they are inherently weak - extended with the scissors flat in the vertical plane, no problem, but with the scissors flat to horizontal, the tip will droop. The cone shape on of the screen tends to want to bow out or in for the same reason. These are difficult forces to imagine. Fully extend the screen, place an indestructible balloon inside the cone and inflate, the sides of the cone would bow out. Got that; Train to work at height now think about the electronic circuit boards and the tile- mounted pixels beyond them that have to live upon the with Lyon Equipment surface of this unstable mechanism. “We allowed 2mm of clearance between the electronics and Lyon Equipment offer training for; the mechanics,” said Hartman nonchalantly. Yes, and there are little tiny wires in there between the electronics and Work at height pixels. Oh, and of course the tiles have to remain horizontally aligned throughout expansion and contraction. Who’d want to solve these problems? That’s what Work at height rescue Hobermans and Innovative Design have achieved. PPE inspection Nick Barton: Lighting Crew Chief Bespoke training available onsite Lights are mounted all over the Station, and most of the control electronics is sited in the Stageco main trusses above: not quite your normal stadium rig? “It’s been well thought out,” says Nick Barton. “There are two lifts to take stuff up into the octagon that forms the structural hub of the beast. We have dimmers and distro’ up there. Yes, dimmers - the spine is full of DWEs and there are lots of bulkhead lights. Everything has to go up in order, there’s no space up there to swap stuff around. “Putting the eight Big Lites on the roof is one of the most time-consuming jobs, here we had a 40m jib crane, which meant moving it five times to get the lights up there: with a 52m jib you can do it from two positions. It took Blaine Dracup five hours in total.” “Andy Beller looks after the Spine,” (built by Brilliant Stages, it’s more commonly referred to as the ‘cigar’). “It’s assembled top down, and hoisted up into position.” In fact it climbs itself, getting re-rigged as it passes the upper limits of the Station so that a good 20m protrudes above the Station. “That goes on while the screen is constructed around it, so you can imagine the restrictions that places on everything: Andy has smoke machines, Bad Boys, bulkhead lights, DWEs, bloody big ripple lights built by Specialz, Sodium floods, and a bunch of Atomic strobes to fit in and on it.” This spine lighting system is architectural in function, it’s the sheer horsepower of the PRG Bad Boys, DWEs and the 6kW MSR Ripple lights developed specifically for Williams by Specialz that make it work. A huge, decorative indulgence, it’s one of the elements that make 360° such a great show for every seat in the house. For more information see www.lyon.co.uk/specialist9 Barton continues: “Alex Murphy calls the spots and runs all the deck LED clusters. A Belgian company made the U2be [pronounced ‘you tube’; they may live to regret that name] Lyon Equipment Limited colour changing LEDs in the Polyps which Alex also runs.” online.co.uk Junction 38, M6, Tebay, Cumbria, CA10 3SS, UK The Polyps themselves are from Steel Monkey; the U2bes were developed in the US by 1212-Studio. “There are LEDs Tel +44(0)15396 26250, Fax +44(0)15396 24857, in everything, all over the decks, the bridges, even in the www.lsi Email [email protected] handrails of the bridges. Andy uses a PRG M-Box Extreme media server to run the LEDs.” 68 Lighting&Sound - August-September 2009 nTu U - Tour On ( DMX signalsviaCity Theatrical’snewShowDMXsystem (Incidentally, those furthestfromthestagereceive wireless stops togetthesemadeintime.” later reducedto196;manufacturing reallypulledoutthe sawenoughtoorderthemthen,240initially,tours. “Willie tireless clientmanagerformostof theirmajorEuropean during thePLASAShow,” explainedRobinWain, PRG’s “We managedtostageafieldtestatWembley Stadium itwasnottaken withoutcarefulconsideration: Williams, heads onstage-196ofthem.Abreathtakingdecisionby moving lights,launchedatPLASA08,aretheonly rig isunique,ifonlyfortheBadBoys.Theselargeformat As withallaspectsofthisshow, thePRG-suppliedlighting de forceoftechnicalchoreography. whilst simultaneouslytrackingthebandmembers.It’satour skilfully movetheirrespectiveoperatorsintothelineofaction spot calling.MurphyandTom Kruegerthevideodirector recognise thisismoreaballetofmovingobjectsthanmere the bandaremovingaround360°andyou’llimmediately be carefulofflare-outifitspillsintothelens.”Rememberthat call spotsoppositethecameraposition,butwedohaveto with threeLycians ineachlegofthestructureIcanalways Murphy adds:“We’re alwaystryingforheadandshoulders: super realandgreatbecauseofit. around him,andthestylisedvideoimageslookedgritty, (photographically speaking)sixstopshotterthanthestage a blastbutitwasrelieftoseethatBonowasn’t used sparingly, butveryeffectively, you’dthink21wouldbe Followspots, becauseoftheimposedkeylightregime,were sighting devicesbecausethey’resoremote.” are usedaskeylight,verytight.TheGladiatorshave cannot standhardedges,”continuedMurphy. “All thespots andvideo proved unnecessaryandwasreduced.“Willie the Station’slegs.Theydidnumber25inall,buttally Above: AlexMurphy. Top: EthanWeber. see Technical L&SIJune2009 Focus, 2 O tour.qx :On 70/0910 27/08/2009 d GrandMA LitesfortheLEDs.“I’m consoles, whileMurphyhastwo Weber hastwograndMAfull-size projects. collusion requiredonmammoth on” alludestoanintenselevelof on theRollingStones,then“wegot for thelikesofPatrick Woodroffe proven trackrecordrunningshows explanation; ifyoutakeWeber’s on, sohereIam.”Anunderstated the band’s3Dvideo,andwegot on “IworkedwithWillie Williams: Ethan Weber runstheshowfor & AlexMurphy:Followspots Ethan Weber: LightingDirector house, andLycians hungbeneath a mixofStrongGladiatorsinthe Murphy interjected.Spotsare now downto21followspots”, ): PRGdeployed four : 14 France. Stade de situ atthe Boys in PRG Bad of the Just two Page 69 Phone: +49-5130-371005·Fax:06E-Mail:[email protected] compact andeconomical 650W, small-sized, The hazer19“sized base base • Fogliquids www.haze Stargarder Straße2·30900Wedemark ·Germany • • • cap hazer Fogmachines • cased • r base pro haze • andevenmore... base base • base Hazer .com Lighting • • touring classic & Sound - to handle. output. Easy Ultra strong fog machine standard 1300 W, August-September 2009 ontour 69 www.lsionline.co.uk On Tour - U2:On tour.qxd 27/08/2009 09:17 Page 70 Jake Berry . . . • There are three truck-loads of Mojo Barrier on the tour: “One section is silver. It’s the Patrick Jordan tour memorial barrier that we carry in memory of him,” said Berry. Jordan, a popular figure in the live on events industry and the MD of Mojo, died suddenly in April at just 44 years of age. • “That piece arrived from the States just as we loaded in to Paris,” said Berry pointing to the rear curved ramp that completes the ring of the B stage, “so we stuck it in straight away to give the band something new to play with.” That’s a telling statement: Berry and his team had just suffered two major downpours in Milan, only their second show of the tour and their first load in/out gig. By his own admission, “we were overwhelmed by it.” Yet he chose to add the extra parts from Tait’s on SHoW DMX transmitters in rack-mount panels and eight SHoW DMX receivers the first day in Paris, when it would be less in outdoor rated enclosures.) pressured had it been done for the second show. It’s decisions like that, which qualify Berry’s nom de The Bad Boys performed a remarkable service. Weber said: “Even at the kind guerre of Mr Showbiz. “I’m also sending Fisher of ranges we’re shooting - the closest lamps are around 80 feet away - we away, so he can’t keep adding things,” Berry can still narrow the beam down on the band to pin-point sharpness. I don’t added, with a laugh. know any other lamp that can do that.” Does anyone? Charming Security . . . Frederic Opsomer: Video Screen Development • Scott Nichols of Sequel Tours handles all security. “When Willie first showed me a sketch of the Claw This charming man from Michigan made a major he asked me to think about it; what can we do with responsibility look very comfortable. He also made this? I had always had a dream about an a lowly hack from England, figuratively speaking a expanding video screen, like on the screen of your fly on the hide of an elephant, extremely welcome. PC, where you can grab the corner of a window, There is no substitute for ease of access; without click and drag and expand it to fill the screen. So his co-operation much of this report would not have some time a lot later I’m in a bar in China with been possible. Mark Fisher when he told me about Jack Hoberman.” Audio . . . • There are two racks adjacent to Joe O’Herlihy’s “I met with Hoberman and we agreed to set up a project.” Fisher revealed matched pair of DiGiCo SD7s. Rack one has a pair Opsomer funded this development himself. “I was committed to developing a of Manley Vox Boxes (Bono & back-up), two Avalon standard commercial product for Barco (the single plug-in FLX 24 Pixel as used 737sps (for Edge), and two Summit Audio here). It’s intended for installed use on buildings or other large structures. Then DCL200s (guitars). Rack two has effects: 2 x at our second meeting Willie called, so we set about designing how this would TC2290 Dynamic Digital Delay, 2 x Yamaha work for U2, we looked at putting it around the legs, but finally settled on the SPX1000 multi effects processor, an Eventide centre cone. Eventually it came to a meeting between us all - Willie, Mark Fisher, H3500 harmoniser, a Lexicon PCM70 digital effects myself, Hedwig, Jake; ‘do we all believe this is possible?’ was the question. processor, and a spare DCL200. “There are two factors really, time and money. It was March ’06; we got the go • i-DL speakers are the delay units for this show, ahead in September.” Mark Fisher’s account (above) also mentioned this a compact I5 to look at them; Ravitch says they’re hiatus, and not without good reason: time was tight. “We had a schedule and a new product from Clair Brothers. we delivered to it, the screen went into the Sportpaleis in May ’09 for testing.” Barco must think themselves blessed to have a developer with such • Joe Ravitch on DiGiCo’s SD7. “No, DiGiCo commercial awareness. haven’t built a fully submersible SD7 - yet.” A sharp reflection on the appalling rainstorms endured in But was the U2 screen the sole impetus for the new Barco FLX LED pixel? Milan for the previous show, but it raised the “The way I see screens going, they will become more and more integrated question, has he asked them? He wouldn’t be into set pieces and structures. If you look at the cost of a screen and the drawn. Ravitch’s maniacal laugh has finally been mechanics, it’s roughly between 80/20 and 70/30 cost split, with the higher attenuated; maybe it was the exhaustion of the tour, costs being the electronics, so you have to recoup the development costs on maybe age. It was a blessing. the electronics somehow, hence the commercial product.” Medialon V5 It should be emphasised that Opsomer’s Innovative Design is directly • A redundant Medialon’s Show Control System, connected to Barco in these commercial developments. “Every tour is Manager V5, is behind the stage in charge of the a different sculpture, so you want a reusable pixel,” Opsomer continued. “The control of the video playback. The Medialon pixels in these panels are 25mm apart approximately, but this pitch does vary Manager V5 is slaved to the MIDI cues and controls panel to panel,” but not as you’d notice. “Yes the processor has to know the media servers and video processors for where every pixel is, at the front end Smasher [Stefaan “Smasher” Desmedt, a perfect synchronization of the video, sound and video technical director] uses a D3, a powerful computer that will install 3D online.co.uk light. This Medialon system for the tour is designed volumes in space.” (Readers may recall this controller appearing on the and deployed by XL Video. Technical director Marco Borsato show last year, used for real-time mapping of video images in Richard Burford says: “Medialon Manager V5 three dimensions. See L&SI December 2008.) enables us to very quickly create a customized www.lsi interface for the show operators.” “Would I do anything different with hindsight? Technically, not really. Next we will look at making the scissors in carbon fibre, but I had just two days to 70 Lighting&Sound - August-September 2009 Adverts 26/08/2009 16:38 Page 71 On Tour - U2:On tour.qxd 27/08/2009 08:43 Page 72 decide that one, and we already knew aluminium engineering and integrated approach this show has received from all contractors, what was possible. There just wasn’t the time then to learn all that including Clair Global. about fibre.” I asked O’Herlihy how the switch into stadium 360° format had tour Watching it work, there is something surreal about this screen; it altered his approach to getting the U2 signature sound? “It’s a huge makes me think of René Magritte (Google his picture ‘Carte functional departure, and it’s involved a year and half’s work of Blanche’ for an example of what I mean). Hobermans have enabled preparation, implementing design, maintaining the criteria. This is on a magical transformational structure, but it would be true to say the done under an inclusive work ethic, design is integrated into every screen’s real magic lays in its application. It’s here we’re presented element; the goal is to not lose the sonic uniqueness that is a U2 with transformational images. Especially when expanded, images show. When you look at the main system and its mirror pointing to pass like ciphers through our field of vision, at times they can the back, there’s two line arrays side by side. Everybody knows you appear to be free floating, transported upon the rays of light can’t do that. So we came up with the idea of splitting the signal. emanating from within the cone. It’s as close as you can get to My biggest fear was not getting the U2 power alley - the big hallucinating without pharmaceuticals. A remarkable feat of volumes of sound the tried-and-tested Clair Brothers S4 produces. presentation and undoubtedly the living, breathing device that That fantastic energy is a lot harder to achieve with line arrays.” makes the structure above so much more than some static monster. “So the only program information going to the onstage line array is Joe O’Herlihy: That U2 Sound Bono Vocals and The Edge: the outer array is bass and drums. Any sound person worth their salt will When you do that, your SPL increases somewhere between 3 and immediately be struck by the photos 6dB in terms of power to the system. So you get incredible clarity showing the Clair Global PA in all its and definition. In the middle of last year we put this system design mighty glory. ‘Line arrays side by side’, into various stadium diagrams and EASE modelled it to check how you’ll ask yourself, ‘can that be right?’. it would function; we used the Stade de France and Wembley as Well, it is and it works. They’ve come up starting blocks.” with a radical approach, though personally I believe the reason it works is The acoustic modelling was effective: the two small delay towers at more complex than they are admitting . . . the Paris show were there to fill the back pitch area and just the first few rows of the first tier; the main system carried the long (and it is With 31 years at the helm as front-of-house mixer for U2, Joe very long) throw to the upper tiers and nosebleeds and was not O’Herlihy is to our world as famous as Bono, so he was the man to found wanting. ask: what’s happening here? “Some of the main PA is there for a physical, visual reason, to look in scale with the whole thing,” he “Then there’s the inner ring, what I call the turbo Club”, he means explained - a marvellously self-effacing and informative admission: the audience sandwiched between main stage and outer ring. the PA had to look big, anything less would have appeared “There are BT218s under main stage with the FF2s on top to pull ridiculous. Again, it’s a statement that underscores the fully the image down to crowd level. Then there’s the B stage ring with online.co.uk www.lsi 72 Lighting&Sound - August-September 2009 nTu U - Tour On that. “Stillrattlesmyteethasmuchitever (Dallas Schoo,Edge’sguitartech’,disputed for the15peopleworkingbelow.” traps understageaswell.It’snowalotnicer acoustic treatment-andtherearebass beneath thestageproper;bothhave might callafloatingfloorinthesub-deck between eachBT218;there’salsowhatyou we hadTait Towers installahardfacepanel looked attreatingthestageacoustically- being transmittedthroughthestage.We Sub energy, particularlyaround160Hz, Historically, we’vealwayshadproblemswith ring emissionstravellingalloverthestage. a methodthatwouldstoptheBstageSub how itwouldworkandparticularlytofigure Skydome foracompletesimulationtofigure “We tookthesystemintoToronto a commodityinshortsupplyonthistour. essential jobthattakestimetogetright- is easytoimagine;butyetagainit’san alignment tosteerandmanagethelowend equally huge.Thecomplexityoftime potential forenormouspeaksandtroughsis of horsepowerit’simmenseandthe main-stage under, andouterring:interms Subs inthreepositions-flownabove, Ravitch.) pairs forcardioidpropagation:seeJoe (By ‘paired’O’Herlihymeansarrayedin get subenergyontothestadiumfloor.” 72 pairedS4subsbelowit;that’sjustto 2 O tour.qx :On 70/0908 27/08/2009 d : 43 at front-of-house (centre). Above: Two viewsoftheClairBrothersarrays(leftandright),twoDiGiCoSD7s band musthaveputtheirhandsin U2 allthoseyearsago-andthefactthat available whenO’Herlihystartedtouringwith modelling -atechnologicaladvancenot solving inadvance,thingslikeEASE before wegotintoit.”Hemeansproblem able toknowwhatthecomplexitywas 25 years.Thewonderfulthingiswewere statement. “Bonohaswantedtodothisfor Then O’Herlihymadeaverytelling really natural,greatsonicvalue.” able togetthebestsoundoffkitIcan, long, deepshellsanddifferentwood:I’m easier. LarryhasanewkitfromYamaha - continued, “thebandbenefit,andmic’ingis “It hashelpedineveryway,” O’Herlihy from thenearestBT218.) did,” hesaid.Buthe’sbarely15ft(4.5m) Page 73 forward. Thisdeskcouldhave10,maybe15 design, comparativelyit’sagreatleap in development;tomeit’salifetimeof SD7 cando,it’snotjustafive-yearadvance able todothis.Andintermsofwhatthe Five yearsagoIjustwouldn’thavebeen And it’sacleaner, moreefficientdelivery. destinations inanyshapeorformIwish. board meansIcanmanipulateaudio of whatthedeskbrings.Thematriceson way wefiguredthemixstructureisheart their newSD7console.“Theconceptofthe DiGiCo D5soutfront:nowhe’smovedupto On theVertigo tour, O’Herlihyhadapairof hang, andhowmuchofit. without afirmpictureofwherethePA would way Stagecocouldhavebuiltthisstructure PA, andinparticularitsrigging,there’sno pockets topayforthepracticaltrials.With Lighting & Sound - August-September 2009 ontour 73 www.lsionline.co.uk On Tour - U2:On tour.qxd 27/08/2009 08:44 Page 74 years ahead of it. I spent time with Webby [Dave Webster], Bob leg, four carts each leg.” (The amp racks all live and travel within 8ft Doyle and James Gordon at DiGiCo, and they listened. It gives me x 4ft carts.) “All digitally driven over AES, there is also an analogue the flexibility to do absolutely anything within the 360° configuration - back-up. There are two DiGiCo stage racks - one takes 40 inputs take a channel and put it anywhere - and nothing is a struggle.” and 7 AES outs, the other 40 ins and 7 Analogue outs, so each tour Structure leg has multiple feeds, and just two fibre lines to FOH, If you consider the eight flown PA locations plus what’s on the dual redundancy as you’d expect.” stadium floor, the zoning alone is by definition complex. O’Herlihy is on using the SD7s to mix sound in the air, rather than at the desk: how “Under stage are BT218 Subs stood on end with an FF2 for front-fill exciting must that be? on top of each, as Joe said. The B stage outer ring has a cardioid arrangement of S4 Subs, paired inner to outer below the deck, 4ft Joe Ravitch: Clair Global Crew Chief (1.2m) apart. Each pair is on 30ft (9.1m) centres to the next, the Joe Ravitch is O’Herlihy’s long-serving inside ring being 4.5ms delayed and out of phase for the cardioid Clair Global crew chief, front-of-house effect. They’re all driven by Powersoft K10s - everything else is off baby-sitter and system tech. I asked him Lab.gruppen.” The Labs are a mix of PLM10000Qs and to expand on the split feed PA and how PLM14000Q: both models have integral Lake processing, a feature the system works in practice. “At to be especially valued with a complex system set-up like this. rehearsals in Barcelona we SMAARTed every inch of Camp Nou. What we have And the two line-array trick? “The onstage column takes Bono and is like four arena systems combined, Edge, the offstage column takes bass and drums, as do the flown front, back and two sides. The basic [I5B] Subs. It’s a trick that gives us tons of headroom and reduces presets are now firm, so we don’t have to distortion because line to line, you’re not asking the speakers to do mess with them, and the PA will hang every gig in exactly the same too many things at once.” position relative to the stage, so the only variable is the building. We have taken PDFs and CAD drawings of every stadium and come up I’m uneasy with the last part of that statement, not asking the with a High and Low building setting.” (High/low grandstands, so speakers to do too many things at once, but maybe Clair’s don’t gigs like Sheffield Don Valley, for example, with relatively low want to let the cat out the bag. To me that added clarity had grandstands, will see the top cabs rigged anyway. Remember, the a natural sound, almost like being in a small club, hearing the band PA’s physical presence is part of the show aesthetic.) perform acoustically. The results are there for all to hear - Bono’s vocal was more distinct than I’ve ever heard, and the Edge could at “It’s not a situation where you can adjust the PA every day like you times decapitate. would on other tours. Just the size is immense. Originally they thought we’d put our amp racks in the Octagon grid of the This configuration works and it has implications for every audio Structure. I never thought that was going to happen, the speaker rental company in the market. U2 may have used a large amount of cabinets alone weigh too much. So when they said ‘Oh, we’re PA but the delays were tiny, just there to lift the mids and highs to 28,000lb overweight’, we put the amps down at the bottom of each the lower seats at the far end of the stadium where the curve of the Functionality isn’t optional. world to develop luminaires Visit the Philips Entertainment Each Selecon product is the that are both fi t for purpose booth at PLASA 2009, Hall 1 result of an ongoing research and that last the distance. – F50 and see for yourself. and development between From Cool Touch to automatic Selecon. Performance Lighting. online.co.uk our design team and theatre power disconnect to Fast Focus www.seleconlight.com Marssteden 152, Enschede 7547 TD, Netherlands Phone +31 53 4500424 Fax +31 53 4500425 technicians from around the beam control; each part counts. Email [email protected] www.lsi 74 Lighting&Sound - August-September 2009 nTu U - Tour On may becomepersuasive. room, butapplythesplitsignalmethodandbenefitsofclarity of stageandyou’dfarexceedthepowerrequiredforanarena-sized 12-14 cabinetsistypical.Hangtwoarraysofsuchlengtheachside of verticalcoveragedictateslinesacertainlength,nominally stadium gigs.Inarenasit’snotsocertainbecauseofcost;theissue line arrayPA systemsasarealbenefitformanagingaudioat tour ofexperimentation)thenwecouldallsoonbeseeingpaired seats. Iftheconceptgainstraction(apopularexpressiononthis main stagearraysprecludedthecouplingneededtoreachthose SD7. IhaveaDigidesignProfileforeverythingelse-drums,bass for TheEdge.AlistairMcMillanismixingBono;bothuseaDiGiCo band membersinshot;it’snotalwayspossible.NiallSlevinmixes “There’s aguyonthevideocrewwhotriestogiveusallfour images. consoles sportsawidescreenvideomonitorwithfoursplit-screen three feedsfromFOHarealittletrickier.” Eachofthethreemonitor just takewhatwe’regiven-thedrumshasafixedcamera,other Video camerateamsuppliesthevitalvisuallinktoartists.We system thatkeepsourareasecureanddry,” hebegan.“TheXL “Taits weatherised thedeckingabove,andinstalledadrainage Dave Skaffexplainedhowitallworksandthedivisionoflabour. 2 O tour.qx :On laecnatu o oeinformation. more for us contact Please olwd n saalbenw xlsvl rmPRG. from exclusively now, available is and worldwide h aBy uiar slgtn h igs shows biggest the lighting is luminaire BadBoy™ The nrdbewrdtour. world incredible 70/0908 27/08/2009 d qimn o h 230 oradws hman them wish and tour 360° U2 the for equipment R r ru ob upyn h lighting the supplying be to proud are PRG impossibility, thisisasgooditgets. from theband,butwithbeingonstagean more spacetowork.Thesiteisremote area, buttherelocationaffordsthem directly belowthemainperformance backstage area.Previouslytheywere tail thatleadstothe(relativelyspeaking) all nowensconcedbelowthemainstage There arethreemonitormenonthistour, Dave Skaff:Monitors&Vibes : 44 Page 75 around thestage,butpedalboardisrightthere.” slot windowontothestagefloor. Ican’tseeEdgewhenhegoesoff rehearsals; he’shadbuiltformeastepuptodownstagefacing Fairorth] atTait Towers saw the problemimmediatelyhecameto [James I neededdirectlineofsightEdge’spedalboard.Winky capsule inthereanditworksgreat.” would havebeenadisasterforvocalmic,sowepoppedanSM98 hanging fromawirethatheswingson.Thelook’simportantbutit where BonosingsthroughwhatlookslikeaB52hoopmounted vocal micsareallShurewirelessBeta58s.There’salsoasong feeds, andourselvesbelowstage-allSennheiserG2system.The have around60pairsofin-earsincludingalltheback-ups, tech There aretwofeedstothedrummer, thesecond forsubs.Intotalwe Sam O’Sullivan;they’realldrivenbyLab.gruppen,limitedofcourse. hardwired I’vegotLarry, Terry LawlessonKeys, andthedrumtech’ on thatnewmic?It’saquestionIcaneasilyanswer. Monitor-wise on nice tohavethatlibrary;forexample,doIneeduseprocessing myself asatoolforwork;andFOHdotheirownthingwell.It’s tracks running,twofromAlistair, oneasan archive; Idoonefor “Alistair makesamulti-trackrecording,infacttherearefourmulti- downstage ofDallas,Edge’sguitartech. and keyboards.”Terry LawlessonKeys residesbelowstage,just ihigU 360° U2 Lighting Web Email Call “From mypositionbeneaththestage Edge’s guitartech’Dallasexplained. the productionthat’stoughforthem,as demanding oftheircrew-it’sonearea job position-thisbandarenothingifnot restrictive spaces;forsuchavulnerable back linetech’sintoawkwardand The aestheticoftheshowhasforced U2 lore. The Edge,andrepositoryofarcane Dallas Schoo:Guitartechto www.prglighting.co.uk [email protected] 6400 470 0845 Lighting & Sound - August-September 2009 ontour 75 www.lsionline.co.uk On Tour - U2:On tour.qxd 27/08/2009 08:44 Page 76 Dallas has worked for Edge since 1983 and quickly learned the key control for moving each of the two bridges. I spoke to Jeremy Lloyd at to a long and successful career. He has meticulously maintained a Stufish who was heavily involved with Mark Fisher in this production. record of Edge’s every effect and guitar setting as used live at every “The camera track is an amazing piece of work on its own. It’s very gig since 1985, “Eight volumes of it: It’s all there, I put it all on tight in there, in terms of geometry it’s a very good use of space, and tour computer a few years ago.” Why is it so important? “Because Bono the clever part is just how quick and easy it is to install.” might say to Edge, what was that sound you had for such-and-such a song when we played Vienna in 1991? I have to look that up, and I asked Matt Hales (pictured left), Tait’s on I’ve got about five seconds to do it.” project manager for the stage set, to give me a guided tour. “It’s Harken track, Dallas is flanked by Edge’s effects rack: “This is the first time it’s a sailing product,” Hales began, (some ever been below stage, so it’s more important than ever that I get it readers may have come across Harken right.” He admitted that for many of such calls he already knows the at the ABTT Theatre Show in London in answer off the top of his head, “but there’s always one that comes June). “It looks like a tab track, but is out of nowhere”. designed to take bearing pressures in all three dimensions.” Then there’s the space issue: “This is the smallest amount of real- estate I’ve worked in since we played clubs.” It is remarkably tight The runners on the rib track have a ball- where Dallas works, but then Edge uses a lot of guitars so a lot of bearing race that fully encloses the rib (see photo, page 78), the cramp is from parking space. “Winky had all the changes made lubricating pressure from any direction, making them ideally smooth for me that make this workable, they cut the side wall off the whatever load is placed upon them - in this instance camera cables. staircase so I can jump onto it from here and be onstage that little The Harken is enclosed in an outer track; a linear cage frame bit faster.” I lost count of the guitars down there; Dallas said he raceway that provides the runway for the wheel dollies that carry the makes something like 43 guitar changes for this show in Paris. heavier loads of cameras and elsewhere the bridge electronics. Both the wheel race and rib track have carefully engineered joints Stage set: Main elements that overlap in a way that prevents any pair of bearings or wheels Camera tracks and cable management from crossing a join at the same time as any other pair, further There are camera tracks affixed just below the deck on the outside minimising the possibility of jarring. edge of the main stage and B stage ring; the track also doubles for cable management for the cameras. The outside edge of main stage Mark Cruikshank operates camera 4 on the B stage. “On a normal also carries a comparable tracking device that carries the power and tour my camera would be on a typical track and pipe dolly on the 360 Crew, continued . . . Keyboards: Terry Lawless Stage Manager: Rocko Reedy Adam Clayton Guitar Tech: Stuart Morgan Assistant Stage Manager: George Reeves Electronics Wizard: Colm ‘Rab’ McAllister Production Coordinator: Helen Campbell Bono Guitar Tech: Phil Docherty Prod Coordinator: Jessica Berry Monitor Engineers: David Skaff, Niall Slevin, Alistair McMillian Tour Coordinator: Alison Larkin Consultant: Robbie Adams Lighting (Temp Crew Chief through Paris): Rodney Clay Sound Crew: Ben Blocker, Dave Coyle, Hannes Dander, System Crew Chief: Craig Hancock Thomas 'Duds' Ford, Chris Fulton, Kelsey Gingrich, Pascal Lights - Dimmers/Distro: Mick Stowe Harlaut, Joel Merrill, Jason O’Dell, Vincent Perreux, Jennifer Lights - General/Mains: Stuart Lee Smola Lights - Hi Platforms: Russell 'Bits' Lyons Crew Chief CAT Power: Jon Boss Lights - Moving Lights: Andrew Beller, Blaine Dracup, Jake CAT Power crew: Dennis Crespo, Jason McCabe, Erich Sullivan Nemier, Michael Tagliabue,Francsisco Reyes, Jimmy Angerami Lights: Chris Keene, Jessica LaPoint, Alison Triplett, Gareth IT: Joshua Kapellen Morgan, Christopher Davis Frequencies: Joshua Flower Video Technical Director: Stefaan “Smasher” Desmedt Health and Safety: Dave Wilke Video content producer: Sam Pattinson Ambiance Director: James Jacques Video content: Catherine Owens Ambiance Asst.: Mark Caldwell Video Engineer: Bob Larkin Tour Accountant: Ian Jeffery Video Engineer: Myway Marain Security Director: Scott Nichols LED Tech/Crew Chief: Patrick Van Steelant Personal Chef - Sweet Chili: Sandy Hylton LED Techs: Jan Bonny, Jeroen Mahieu Catering: Steve Quinn, Franca Geppert, Joshua Ireland, Camera Operators: Mark Cruikshank, Gordon Davies, Luke Courtney Keene, Tai Lopez, Lindsay McGoran, Rob Mullen, Levitt, Eoin McLoughlin Natalie Parkinson, Chris Ricalis, Christian Streppel, Marisa Video: Olivier Clybow, Tobias Kokemper, Frederik Gomaere, Zoccolan Jan Paulsen Blue Steel Head Rigger: Todd Mauger Site Coordinator: Toby Fleming Riggers: Scott Fremgen, Robert Slepicka, Dion Pearce StageCo Crew Chief: Johan 'Bellekes' Van Espen Carpenters: Flory Turner, AJ Rankin, Gino Cardelli, Johnny Red Steel Gonzalez Mendez, Andrew Johnstone, Hajime “Haji” Site Coordinator: Robert Hale online.co.uk Minatodani, Jesse Thayer, Appy Thörig, “Sox” Shewmake StageCo Crew Chief: Patrick Martens Automation: Raffaele Buono, Jack Richard, Timothy Woo Green Steel Crew Chief & Drum Tech: Sam O’Sullivan Site Coordinator: Seth Goldstein www.lsi Edge Guitars: Dallas Schoo StageCo Crew Chief: Hendrik Verdeyen 76 Lighting&Sound - August-September 2009 Adverts 26/08/2009 16:38 Page 77 perfect alternative perfect colour perfect lumen longer life New BriteArc 700/2 DE S 7500 K BriteArc is the family name for SYLVANIA's range of high pressure short arc lamps. Specially For more information: designed to meet the challenges of the entertainment market. BriteArc features: a very high Tel +32 16 800 366 colour temperature while maintaining excellent through-life stability. Choose your lamp from Fax +32 16 800 367 one of SYLVANIA's special BriteArc solutions. [email protected] Just ask your sample to check the promised BA quality. www.havells-sylvania.com On Tour - U2:On tour.qxd 27/08/2009 08:44 Page 78 floor,” he said. “There is a positive reason - catches a dislodged flightcase advantage having the Tait system along the from the tight storage areas below stage, for edge of stage, for one it exactly follows the example - once it goes 20 inches out of curve of the stage, which is a big plus when square it shuts down.” tour you’re following an artist. And it gains ground because there’s nothing cluttering And if you’re wondering about the up the floor.” expanding and contracting gap between on stages, the bridges sit upon free-wheeling That may seem an obvious statement, but double casters, that’s a centre pivoted with so much of the audience within the triangular plate, with three further centre confines of the performance area, not pivoted wheels, one at each corner, below it, having floor-laid camera track eliminates One of the bridge drives. so the whole thing is free floating. another security barrier issue and keeps the audience closer to the band and in have to deal with expanding and contracting Stage Assembly a coherent mass. Use dollies and a lot of gaps between the two stages as they track “In order - we build the B stage for the video the band’s hopes for an inclusive 360° around. The inner and outer bridge ends crew, then the upstage end of main stage,” audience would have been dashed. have to travel at variable speeds to keep the explained Hales. The Mainstage is bridge in line.” a lollypop in plan view, an elliptical lolly with Does the track eliminate camera shake? a stem that runs to backstage. “That is “Not entirely, there’s still a little shake, There’s just nothing simple about this show: where monitor world lives, so they can get especially when the bridges are moving, but what Tait’s has done to overcome this set up as soon as it’s built. Every part of this Tait’s have come up with a shock-mount inconsistency is typical of their ingenuity, in stage is on wheels; everything.” In itself this suspension system for the camera - a bit that they’ve made something very tricky look would be normal, every arena tour these like a sleep comfort bed, pocket springing - easy. “The off-stage end is friction driven, days builds the stage out in the house while and that dampens the shake a lot. We also a big drive wheel pushes it along the B the rigging goes up, and then rolls into have gyroscopic stabilisation on the Stage deck. Within the Harken we’ve added place later, but consider this statement from Televator cameras.” a rack and pinion that simply drives an Tait’s James ‘Winky’ Fairorth: “The B stage incremental encoder to provide positional alone has more deck sections than the The Bridges information to the motion control system. whole of the stage for the last Rolling “The bridges are driven at both ends,” The onstage end has a drive unit that Stones tour. The main stage is over 4,000 explained Hales. “The difficulty is that the connects directly to another rack and square feet. It’s the biggest thing we’ve ever main stage and B stage are both ellipses, pinion; the two drives then cross-reference done, yet it looks small.” Look at any photo but for reasons of perspective they’re not one another as they progress around the and you’ll gain some perspective, the main regular or parallel to one another; there’s perimeter; the outer speeding up or slowing stage is just over 25 metres at its widest, yet actually four different arcs. So the bridges down accordingly. If the bridge lags for any looks tiny in this context. See us at ROBUST, RELIABLE LIVE RECORDING StandPLASA 1-D10 PCM-H Series As the music industry evolves and looks for new revenue streams from live performance the demands placed upon touring production companies to deliver reliable high track count recording has increased. The SADiE range of recording solutions ensures these demands can be met. 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Now part of the Prism Sound family, SADiE will continue developing products with the Prism Sound Multi-channel location work station philosophy of focusing on performance, technical excellence and customer service. online.co.uk 21 Pine Street | Rockaway | NJ 07866 | +1 973 983 9577 • The Old School | Stretham | Cambs CB6 3LD | +44 (0)1353 648888 www.lsi A Prism Sound Business [email protected] | www.sadie.com 78 Lighting&Sound - August-September 2009 On Tour - U2:On tour.qxd 27/08/2009 08:45 Page 79 “We zero the main stage off the pylon” (the cigar-shaped vertical truss at the centre of the mains structure above) “then we use Tom Mauger: Head Rigger (has the a laser distance finder mounted to the monitor shelf that surrounds whole world on his shoulders) the stage to fine-tune the position to known points off the main “This is great, I’ve got a 160 tonnes to hang structure.” up each show, hooks the size of my head, tour seven and eight tonne wire winches - how At its most distant, it’s just over 43ft (13m) to the inner edge of the B lucky am I?” Mauger’s irrepressible on stage. During the show it’s not till you see Edge and Bono walk enthusiasm for the scale of rigging is along them, and how long that takes, that you start to get some infectious. “The Kinesys system is great; perspective on just how massive this thing is. As for the cigar built I’ve never seen anything that sophisticated before. It takes by Brilliant Stages, assembly of this elegant piece is described someone liker Raff’ Buono to run automation like that.” elsewhere, but note should be made that Brilliant have - in the fashion of this show - produced an integrated, coherent object; If you’ve read of the screen, or the bridges, or considered the everything about it, the way the Bad Boys, DWEs and Ripple Lights PA system and everything else that’s hanging up there, then fit, the Brilliant designed rain hats for the Bad Boys - all are of this is rigging on a huge scale with some extraordinary motion a piece. As such it’s functional without compromise to its elegance. control; Mauger and Buono bear enormous responsibilities, yet in their own enigmatic ways, each makes light of their work. Tom Krueger: Video Director This is big work, seldom acknowledged. The inclusion of a dedicated video director is quite a departure for Williams compared to his previous two touring concepts for this band; but it’s edge light brings emphasis. Doing the show in 360, I have to hand it a welcome one. “My main goal is to to the band, they really go the extra 10 miles for the camera system, make the band look as good as they because they can’t physically be everywhere at once in 360.” can.” Krueger has adopted a single point Key light approach, putting the band into Krueger is relatively new to the job, he only recently met the band as sharp relief. “It’s very challenging in 360, Director of Photography for their 3D movie, but this is a slightly the wild card elements are the band and different metier being totally live. “For this I have 13 cameras,” that’s where they go. Keying from one side allows me to shoot from the a lot of operators and equipment, I interject. “I would have to say dark side.” Yes, it sounds like a quote from Star Wars, but putting Jake Berry has been very helpful in realising the camera system. It’s sci-fi firmly aside, there is a true filmic element to Krueger’s work. a lot more demanding in terms of quantity and quality; these rail cameras by Tait’s are very sophisticated; and I do see the difference “Yes it’s in high contrast, but only in benefit to the artist - it’s much in the image. Most vulnerable is centre stage camera on B; it has more dramatic. I love the way it highlights their movement. Bono’s a longer lens and has to move more and faster to keep with the gestures and the way he moves are a huge part of his performance; band; the addition of gyros has helped, that’s a 10,000 dollar item.” STAND 1-L39 Swiss Army knife® Tannoy VQ Series 1897 2009 MODULAR COMPACT VERSATILE online.co.uk With the addition of six new products the expanded VQ Series offers unrivalled performance in a compact, modular and versatile range VMLUJSVZ\YLZHSSV^PUN`V\[OLMYLLKVT[VJVUÄN\YLZ`Z[LTZMVY]PY[\HSS`HU`HWWSPJH[PVUHUKZJHSLIt’s time to simplify your toolbox. www.lsi :^PZZ(YT`RUPMLPZHYLNPZ[LYLK[YHKLTHYRVM>LUNLY:(HUK=PJ[VYPUV_(. tannoy.com Lighting&Sound - August-September 2009 79 On Tour - U2:On tour.qxd 27/08/2009 08:45 Page 80 tour on Hence the reference to Berry’s support; as has been hinted several Smasher come into his own, pushing the button, to watch him refine times in this piece, Berry will consistently go that extra mile if he his own choreography as he takes what I give him and makes it work thinks it contributes positively to the show. “The thing about the rail on the screen. I can’t emphasise that enough - he makes it work.” cameras is they provide about 80% of our show; cameras one and two on the Main stage are getting images just not seen before. I’ve Johan ‘Bellekes’ Van Espen: looked at all their previous DVDs and what we have here is the band Space Station builder, Stageco looking their most flattering and heroic.” Bellekes, as he is known to everyone, is one of three team leaders for Stageco, the And what does Krueger think of the screen? “It’s far better than demands of this tour dictating that three I thought it would be; even when open, fully extended, it’s a better complete steel structure systems leapfrog image than I thought. The cameras are standard definition; the around Europe. Looks like a tough job. “We screen doesn’t demand higher resolution. I find the band very allow a little headroom, there’s maybe 170 exciting to watch, to anticipate what they’re going to do. As they tonnes of production loaded up there. We refine their show we refine the cameras so I can better emphasise have 38 trucks of our own for the steel and what they’re trying to communicate. We’re learning how best to sub stage, 20 crew plus 10 drivers who rig. capture that now. One thing I should mention is Smasher, (Stefaan “Smasher” Desmedt, credited as Video Technical Director); he’s “The set-up is simple but lengthy. First we build the octagon, that’s working beside me out front with the D3. It’s great for me to watch the ring of large trusses that form the top of the structure. Then, at Projecting Perfection... online.co.uk T: +44(0) 1444 258696 F: +44(0) 1444 258697 www.lsi [email protected] www.wilkes-iris.com Pearlfisher House, Consort Way, Burgess Hill, West Sussex RH15 9TJ 80 Lighting&Sound - August-September 2009 On Tour - U2:On tour.qxd 27/08/2009 08:45 Page 81 the four corners of the octagon where the legs attach, we build eight standard Stageco roofing towers in four pairs, two either side of Tour vendors: where each leg will stand: these we call ‘portal towers’. It means Primary Steelwork Fabrication: StageCo that as we add the leg sections to the structure we can make a synchronised, controlled lift of the whole thing. In build terms, Main Stage, “B” Stage and Bridge Fabrication: Tait Towers tour putting up eight towers is like building for a regular stadium show, Video Screen Fabrication: Innovative Designs just to get the structure up. You couldn’t do it with cranes - there Video Screen Truss Fabrication: Wi Creations on aren’t enough venues where you can get that many cranes in for a start, and it wouldn’t be safe to try and raise it on four cranes. Video Screen Automation: Kinesys Projects Limited Once it’s up you have to dismantle the eight Stageco towers, only to Membrane Fabrication: Architen Landrell Associates have to put them up again for the load-out. Each main leg has Polyp Mushrooms: Steel Monkey Engineering a load capacity of some 70 tonnes.” Motion Control System Design: Kinesys The legs taper down to ground level, where they join to a fairly hefty Cigar/Pylon/Spire: Brilliant Stages ground block: even so the load transfer down to the leg must place PA System: Clair Brothers enormous pressure at the base of the tower, how is that managed? “We have very big base plates, 6m by 6m, then we have Dywidag Lighting System: PRG links diagonally across to stabilise between towers.” Video System: XL Video Dywidags resemble lengths of steel reinforcement, the sort of steel you’d see being wired into frameworks for say, the construction of a Motorway bridge. These particular items are about 30-40mm in one in each corner. They hold 1500kg of water; each tank is diameter, have a coarse thread on them, and span across the base compartmentalised so the water moves in measured fashion.” area with a turn-buckle type device to tighten and load. “We fit these Slosher tanks are a simple, tried-and-tested method for stabilising when the whole structure is still hanging off the eight Stageco significantly heavy structures. towers, before we lower it to the ground. In total it’s about 42 hours to put up, but that’s broken over a longer period, slightly less to get Jake Berry: Master of Ceremonies it out. It’s new, it’s a challenge and we’re enjoying it.” & Production Director When I arrived on the first show day in Bellekes is typical of the Stageco mentality, his response to the Paris, everyone I spoke with mentioned the structure is measured: to him it’s an engineering job, nothing more Hungarian team that pulls the cables up and nothing less. inside the legs. It’s not hard to see why this falls to a special team: lighting alone has The structure is of course, prone to natural forces, wind being the 400A three-phase supplies up three of the major one. “We have slosher tanks up there to dampen movement, legs, audio has a ton of signal cable Faster fitting for more free time. Philips Hi-Brite and Philips MSR Gold FastFit rear load lamps let you online.co.uk change lamps in seconds. So, if you’re looking for a fast fit lamp to save you time, they’re music to your ears. www.philips.com/lighting/entertainment www.lsi Lighting&Sound - August-September 2009 81 On Tour - U2:On tour.qxd 27/08/2009 08:46 Page 82 tour on running between amp-racks at tower “We started load-in 3am yesterday.” bases up to the PA; but that still leaves Berry hadn’t left the building since; his the question, how did a team of assistant production coordinator Helen Hungarians cop for the job? Campbell told me he’d slept a few hours on a first-aid gurney. Yet just a few hours “The question was how long would it later that day I saw him backstage take to get the cables up and down the organising the strip-out of opening act legs?” replied Jake Berry. “We knew Kaiser Chief’s stage gear during we’d get local crew to do it, but until we changeover. The following day I caught got to Barcelona for rehearsals we didn’t him helping to load the Kaisers’ truck: know just how tough a job it would be. shouldn’t he be in the office resting? We quickly decided we needed our own team to do it and someone suggested “Yes, every team has a leader but that’s the local stage crew out of Budapest. what we are, a team and I like to be I called them up and we have 12 of them amongst them.” Look closely at the with us and they’ve proved an absolute photo of him sat between Opsomer and God-send.” Fisher and you’ll see a man smiling, but you can also see the fatigue of long days There was no shortage of production and heavy responsibilities: he is crew people willing to endorse Berry’s a remarkable man with an insatiable statement: Nick Barton for PRG was appetite to make this work. typical: “They’re absolutely brilliant, it’s a lot to haul up and yet when they’re “You look at our show here; at done they just get stuck in and help with a minimum we’ve got at least two of everything else.” Being married myself to everything, two PAs, two camera a Hungarian, I can only agree - systems, double the normal number of marvellous people. followspots. Our B stage has more decks than Bridges to Babylon [Rolling “They deal with every cable you can Stones] - shit keeps coming!” He refers name,” said Berry. “In that one decision to the endless procession of equipment we took away a headache that in turn left loading in. What’s his measure of the people free to be focused on what we logistical challenge? pay them for, their technology. They’re brilliant; I take six of them and do the “The first two moves have been f***ing back line, and it’s great because I don’t overwhelming. My lead truck driver now have to watch them, it’s not like a bunch travels on the bus with the crew of locals asking for guitar picks or drum because he has so much to keep on top online.co.uk sticks.” of he doesn’t have time to drive the truck.” And the secret to managing such The fact that Berry supervises the back- an unbridled beast? “Getting people line load-in caught my attention: on involved: I wouldn’t tell Willie Williams www.lsi Saturday 11 July (show-day one in Paris) what lights to use, or Joe Ravitch and I’d spoken briefly to him and he told me, Clair Brothers what PA to put in. When 82 Lighting&Sound - August-September 2009 nTu U - Tour On be loadingoutnow.” put downplywoodinBarcelonawe’d still it. Ifwe’dallowedthelocalpromoterto you’re goingtogetandyoucanrelyon God-send becauseyouknowwhat 6,000sq.m. Morework,yes,butanother EPS AG]withus,threesetsof stadium flooring[fromGermany-based truck-loads ofMojoBarriersandourown problem’. Butweeventakethree I initiallythought‘36-hourset-up? no half adaylateryou’velostsixhours. thing slowsyoudownhalfanhourand problems compoundveryquickly, one The thingaboutthisproductionis during load-out,thedayaftershow. lunch inthesunshineatBarcelona a hardstartwhenIfoundmyselfeating make itwork.Iknewwewereinfor 360, andittakes360%fromeveryoneto four timesthat.That’sthecommitmentto equipment foramajorshow, we’vegot boggles, youmightcarry120,000lbof Just howmuchkitisthere?“Themind could have.” company wouldhavedoneit,oreven especially. Idon’tthinkthere’sanother Barco, Taits -everyone:butStageco has beenunbeatable,Brilliant,PRG, not this!Thecommitmentofthevendors middle ofthepitchwithafewrunways- round? Ithought,yes,aroofinthe said, canweplaystadiumsinthe Bono cametousfouryearsagoand 2 O tour.qx :On 70/0911 27/08/2009 d www.lsionline.co.uk/Sep09 View U2360equipment listandmoreonlineat: ADDITIONALONLINE CONTENT : thought Berrykeepsclosesttohisheart. best placefortheshow’-andthat’s Now there’sastatementtosavour-‘the But itwasthebestplaceforshow.” that vibe,noonerelishedplayingthere. roadways intobetarmac’d.“You payfor especially sinceBerrypaidforthe better forvibe,andastadium,” Olympic stadium,butNouCampwas for example.Yes, wecouldhavedonethe could play;theNouCampinBarcelona, reduced thenumberofvenueswherewe cranes becauseitwouldhaveseverely of it.We deliberatelysaidnoto150-tonne different tootherproductions,justmore changed hisapproach?“Processisno happening.” Different,andhasthat It’s ahugethrillwhenyouseetheshow and nowI’mseeingsomethingdifferent. along? “I’velivedthedreamfor30years- And whatisitthatkeepsBerrymotoring decadent -askBono. society, andtheWest isnothingifnot Such isthecomplexionofadecadent greater spectaclewasneverquenched. Empire toknowthatthethirstforever- grosser indulgencesoftheRoman sometime. You onlyhavetostudythe presentation isrepeatedsomewhere, don’t besurprisedifthisscaleof again. Well maybenotprecisely, but know better;thatwe’llneverseeit’slike I’ve hearditsaidbymanywhoshould Conclusion 11 Page 83 the Future! Experience Visit usatPLASA Booth 1-E24 www.malighting.com [email protected] London NW66RA·United Kingdom MA LightingUKLtd.·55 LonsdaleRoad Lighting & Sound - August-September 2009 ontour 83 www.lsionline.co.uk