Taking place from 9 to 13 November, Production Futures Online is a brand-new platform for students, freelancers and young people all over the world to access training sessions, workshops, webinars, product demonstrations, panel discussions and interviews with live event experts and TPi Award winners. Production Futures will provide the tools, knowledge, advice and contacts needed for anyone to broaden their skills or start their career in live events. It will offer access to people who work in all areas across the live events industry – from production and tour managers, to hands-on engineers across all aspects of sound, lighting, video,…
Author: James Robertson
Hailed as a safe, socially distanced entertainment solution in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, drive-in shows have proven popular both in Europe and the UK, integrating concertgoers back into the live events realm during an uncertain summer. One such event is the aptly titled Car Park Party which, in partnership with The Comedy Store, Massaoke, and Horrible Histories Live on Stage, presents an American-inspired theatre, karaoke, and comedy experience at car parks across the UK. https://issuu.com/mondiale/docs/tpisep20_digitallr/58 Photos: Coalition Agency www.carparkparty.com www.coalitionagency.com www.massaoke.com www.horrible-histories.co.uk www.thecomedystore.co.uk www.adi.tv www.eventtc.com www.eventsoundandlight.com
Within the pages of TPi over the past few months, we have scrawled endlessly about the need for innovation during these uncertain times, to keep music alive. However, the latest venture by singer-songwriter Olivia Dean and her team is a solution that harks back to the true roots of touring – staying out on the road and performing music to as many people as possible. Instead of typical tour trucks and busses, this innovative solution came in the shape of an old van transformed into a certified touring stage, providing the artist with the ability to park up and start…
With an unusual wealth of government-mandated time, Dynamite FX embarked on a series of dynamic lockdown projects, including Liverpool Football Club’s long-awaited Premier League trophy lift at Anfield and two Sam Fender shows at one of the UK’s first socially distanced music venues, the Virgin Money Unity Arena at Gosforth Park, Newcastle. https://issuu.com/mondiale/docs/tpisep20_digitallr/20 Photos: Dynamite FX www.dynamitefx.com
Taking place on a purpose-built site on the beach next to Brighton Pier, The Warren Outdoor Season opened earlier this month, offering a range of live comedy, theatre, cabaret and family shows. Having supported the Brighton Fringe at The Warren for over five years, White Light was called upon to supply the lighting, rigging and power equipment for this brand-new season, which is one of the first to open following the outbreak of Covid-19. The Warren is a pop-up, multi-purpose site which consists of four venue spaces and four bar areas. Annually, it hosts the Brighton Fringe which is one…
PSAV, parent company of Dubai-based eclipse, has named Ben Erwin as Chief Executive Officer. Maintaining his current title as President, Erwin will now be responsible for driving the strategic direction of the company and overseeing the execution of its business plan. Erwin succeeds Mike Mcllwain, who has served as CEO since 2011. “I am honoured to assume the role of CEO during this pivotal time,” Erwin said. “We are focused on positioning PSAV for a return to growth and long-term success as we continue to provide creative solutions to our customers and venue partners.” Erwin continued: “On behalf of the…
The quality of the delivery and the clear communication of the messaging behind an event has always been the driving force in the planning and execution of FIX8Group’s services. In the wake of a global pandemic, there has been a shift in the delivery of those messages, from a live environment to one via an electronic means. The company saw that presenters wanted to be able to focus on delivering their messages but with access to tools to deliver the high production values that they are used to in a live event– that was the driving force behind the development…
Taking place at Festivalpark Werchter, under the North West Walls towers on 2-5 July, the organisers of Rock Werchter launched a series of intimate concerts at the festival’s new Zomerbar to raise funds for Live2020, a solidarity fund to support the Belgian live music industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://issuu.com/mondiale/docs/tpiaug20_digitallr/50 Photos courtesy of Live Nation www.adamsonsystems.com www.live2020.be www.rockwerchter.be
Having cancelled the 2020 show in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, organisers of Wireless Festival turned to MelodyVR to help launch a virtual version – Wireless Connect – from a bespoke location at Alexandra Palace in London and MelodyVR’s studio in LA. The three-day event, which took place on 3-5 July, featured new performances, exclusive footage and previous Wireless highlights. https://issuu.com/mondiale/docs/tpiaug20_digitallr/46 Photos: Luke Dyson www.wirelessfestival.co.uk/connect www.melodyvr.com
Lost Horizon, recently crowned the world’s largest virtual reality music and arts festival, took place on 3-4 July 2020 to a huge worldwide audience of 4.36 million viewers from over 1,100 cities and 100 countries around the world across VR, PC, iOS and Android mobile app, plus online streams, via Beatport, Twitch and across social media platforms. Behind the feat was a core crew of creatives and VJs with a longstanding relationship with Worthy Farm. https://issuu.com/mondiale/docs/tpiaug20_digitallr/48 Photos: Shangri-La www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk www.shangrilaglastonbury.co.uk www.losthorizonfestival.com www.moreeyes.co.uk
On the 11 August, members of the live events industry took to the streets across the UK to highlight the issues facing the sector in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Manchester, 2,000 people took part in a flight case march through the city centre. A number of other events also took place across the UK. Under the banner of #WeMakeEvents, the goal of the campaign is to raise awareness for technical production professionals in the entertainment industry that have lost their jobs or are at imminent risk of doing so. The campaign came to a close in London with…
This week on TPi Talks, we speak to one of the organisers behind the #WeMakeEvents Manchester March. tube UK’s Melvyn Coote spoke to us about the plan for the protest and what he and the rest of the organisers hope to achieve. He also gives us an insight into the realities of lockdown for one of the city’s largest audio specialists. The march in Manchester was one of many events taking place across the UK under the banner of #WeMakeEvents to raise awareness and shine a light on the imminent collapse of the UK touring, festival and events industry. You…
Subfrantic’s Steve Davies was supposed to be at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas looking after the British Music Embassy with Production Park when the COVID-19 crisis hit. As one of the first major casualties of the pandemic, the festival was cancelled and in the space of three days, the freelance touring professionals involved in proceedings witnessed their future work vanish – gig after gig, tour after tour. https://issuu.com/mondiale/docs/tpiaug20_digitallr/20 Photos: Subfrantic www.subfrantic.com
As early pioneers of the high-end professional lighting control console, stage dimming equipment, and media server market, Avolites has accumulated a wealth of experience and resources, not only in the live events field, but also in technology, legal and logistics. At a time when thousands of creative resources and webinars are available at the click of button, with more eyes than ever before, Shareholder and Original Director of Avolites, Steve Warren, explains why discourse should be at the forefront of innovation. https://issuu.com/mondiale/docs/tpiaug20_digitallr/16 Photos: Avolites www.avolites.com
In our latest podcast series – Crew Call – TPi Editor, Stew Hume and Assistant Editor, Jacob Waite chat to technical production professionals about life in lockdown and the future of live events. All the episodes of the podcast are now available to view here. https://issuu.com/mondiale/docs/tpiaug20_digitallr/10
Throwing its hat into the ring with an alternative panel to make up for the lack of trade shows and gatherings in 2020, Shure proudly launched its new Round Table series with a panel of distinguished audio professionals to muse over the future of live audio. The event’s host, Jack Drury, Market Development and Artist Relations at Shure UK, explained that the topic of the conversation had already been decided before the current state of the live events sector. However, due to the unprecedented times, with the future of live events hanging in the balance, the topic of conversation was…
On July 15 2020, Live Nation kicked off Crew Nation Presenta, a series of concerts at Madrid’s famous Sala La Riviera featuring a line-up of renowned local artists. The concert series is raising funds for the Crew Nation Global Relief Fund, set up by Live Nation to support the countless crew members whose work behind the scenes of live music has been brutally disrupted. Utilising the venue’s permanently installed L-Acoustics sound system, popular Spanish singer-songwriter Guitarricadelafuente headlined the opening concert, which sold out within a day of ticket sales. La Riviera has an illustrious reputation in Madrid with a 30-year…
Berlin, Germany-based full service live event and technical production specialist TSE AG has been utilising the unexpected downtime of the pandemic in a number of constructive ways including professional development and launching a new exercise for all their trainee staff and apprentices called “The Next”. This is designed to encourage their budding new talent in the fields of event management, production and organisation, lighting, visual, production and audio design to shine through. The trainees themselves initiated the idea of setting up and creating a lighting, sound, and visual show environment for use as a series of dynamic live streams and…
