“The Rolling Stones are always a band of the current time and not simply a nostalgia act. I’ve always seen them as a contemporary band,” stated Patrick Woodroffe, Creative Director for The Rolling Stones, as he spoke to TPi over the phone recounting his thoughts on the band’s latest touring production, Hackney Diamonds. Having worked with the group since 1982 on the Still Life tour, Woodroffe has been one of the key creatives responsible for establishing the high bar of production values over four decades alongside the late Mark Fisher. For this latest production, he joined forces once again with Ray Winkler and the team from STUFISH, alongside Lighting Designer, Terry Cook, content creators TREAMENT Studio and Screen Director, Roland Greil.
With all parties having multiple years of experience working with the band, they were all keen to bring something new and exciting for the legions of fans. The result saw the creatives delve into the digital world with a stage set that built out a STAGECO roof and stage with a large LED configured to create real depth and perspective, allowing all involved to lean into architectural motifs and take the band to new realms throughout the two-hour set.
With a mentality of keeping this production “contemporary”, Woodroffe explained how he approached this show in the same way he would for any act promoting a new album. “They have just released a new record [Hackney Diamonds], so it was only natural to want to give a modern stage set and to use whatever modern technology is around,” he said. “The difference is the band these days can only really commit to 19 show per run compared to the 60 of the past.”
This gave the creative team the challenge of ensuring the tour was financially viable for the number of shows while also living up to the high bar the band has set over the years. “We went for a standard STAGECO roof meaning that the team at STUFISH had to deal with very specific geometry. We also opted against spending money on expensive scenery, instead using the LED as our stage set. This might not be an original idea but the way we created the show had a very architectural feel,” stated Woodroffe.
When it came to the suppliers of the US run, alongside the aforementioned STAGECO, the team brought on Nighthawk Video and Upstaging for lighting as well as the tour’s trucking needs. Also onboard was Wonderworks aiding as structural consultant.
“Although the festival roof provided some limitations, we approached this as an opportunity to try something challenging and create something new,” mused Ray Winkler of STUFISH. “Our approach was that this was an opportunity to bring in a high level of digital content in a way that hadn’t been done with the Stones. The huge amount of LED meant that we had the opportunity to make the staging structure behind disappear.”
In the creation of the show, Winkler was quick to compliment Wonder Works. “Jeremy Lloyd from Wonder Works used to work at STUFISH so we have a good shorthand when we collaborate,” he revealed. “There is a real skill in maintaining the original design intent but still making it work with all the containing factors such as the number of trucks and people needed, and Wonder Works pull it off so well.”
Wonder Works Director, Jeremy Lloyd joined the conversation: “There was a lot of heavy equipment downstage, which meant that the rigging loads were concentrated on the downstage edge of the roof. The video header required additional structure for wind bracing. Working with the creative team we made some minor adjustments to transfer some of the loads. We then worked closely with STAGECO; Head Rigger, Antoin Patten and Nighthawk’s Ben Rader and came up with some creative rigging solutions and added some additional structure to wind brace the video header.”
Lloyd recounted an enjoyable experience working with The Rolling Stones creative team again. “We have been working together for more than 20 years, so we understand each other’s processes and there’s mutual trust between all of us.”
Winkler was also keen to extended praise to the team at TREATMENT Studio who had a great deal of pressure on their shoulders due to the dominant role of content in this production. Speaking to TPi about their involvement was Noah Campeau and Sam Brickman from TREATMENT Studio. “From conversations with Patrick, it was clear that for this show they wanted more of a narrative arc to the show to give the audience a bit more structure to what they were hearing,” began Campeau. “This was my third time working on a Stones show. It is really great how they always want to add a modern twist to their show to have a contemporary feel.”
He continued: “We had an opportunity to use the architecture of the screen to frame the band in unique ways with the content. We sometimes used the content as dynamic animation and sometimes even just wallpaper.”
Brickman added that the TREATMENT team also collaborated with several different creatives on the project, from illustrators to 3D artists. One of the duo’s highlights was during the track Sympathy for the Devil where they turned the screen into a palace. “That look came from an original sketch and idea and putting it into Photoshop, but it resulted in us illustrating the entire look and using stop motion to create the look of the whole song,” stated Campeau.
The content was shown via a large quantity of SACO 8mm screens supplied by Nighthawk Video, the tour’s longstanding video vendor. The supplier also provided the three Disguise GX 2c media servers to drive the content along with a full camera package.
“It’s always exciting when this band goes out on tour,” stated Nighthawk Video Tour Director, Ben Rader who also took on the role of Video Crew Chief. “The biggest reward for us is being involved in the early stages with the incredible design and production teams to then going out on the tour and executing the vision. This design screams video and is all about showcasing the rock legends they are.”
Once again taking on the role of Screens Director was Roland Greil. “I’m responsible for composing all of the beautifully commissioned content together with the live IMAG feeds from our Camera Director, Mike Duque,” stated Greil. “This means programming the media servers, set up as well as running the show live each night.” Greil ran the show with Sockpuppet control via the MA Lighting grandMA2 console.
The camera setup was a mixture of manned long lenses and handheld cameras, a jib as well as automated POV and robo cameras. “Keeping a balance between the two ingredients (IMAG and content) is the key to success – especially with this specific show,” stated Greil. “The goal is to create a visual narrative that works together with the lighting and also gives the audience enough moments to see what they really there for – The Rolling Stones.”
Despite being a key member of the Stones camp for some time, this tour marked the first production where Terry Cook took on the Lighting Designer role, having been an Associate Lighting Designer under Patrick Woodroffe for the past decade.
“When we had the framework of the video, both Partick and I began to work out how best we could enhance the show with lighting,” he explained. One of the key design discussions was the uniform lighting grid made up several Elation Proteus Maximus. “It’s a multifaceted LED fixture that we selected to cut through the LED. Having all the fixtures be the same meant we were able to create a unified look.”
This need to cut through the video also led to the decision to go for the ACME SUPER DOTLINE that were arranged on stage left and right. “We ended up using the battens for several ‘eye-candy’ looks, which we have never really done with the Stones before as it’s more of a ‘pop’ look. But it gave us a fun element to play with.” The battens were also used to extend looks within the screen content with Cook giving special mention to a sunrise scene during Gimme Shelter.
Also on the rig were CHAUVET COLORado PXL Bar 16 that lined the thrust. For follow spots, the production selected Robe iForte LTX, with control coming via Follow-Me. While this was the second tour that Follow-Me was selected for, this time the lighting team utilised more of the software’s features to aid in the overall design.
“Using Follow-Me’s Proximity feature, we were able to program the CHAUVET bars on the thrust so when one of the band walks down the runway, the lights come on and follow them down, creating a great look for those higher in the stadium bowl.”
The Proximity feature was also utilised so that when Mick Jagger was close to the stage edge, the spots behind him would automatically dim for the sake of the cameras so the singer would not be silhouetted. “No audience member would even notice these subtle elements, but it makes the show much cleaner and crisper which is really exciting for us,” enthused Cook.
Having these elements that could react to what the band was doing on stage fed into The Rolling Stones’ general rule where the visual show is reactive to the music. “It is always 100% live with no timecode,” asserted Cook.
“I always say we have Ethan-Code,” he chuckled referring to the band’s longstanding Lighting Director, Ethan Weber. “It’s beautiful to watch him keep time with all the tracks. Sometimes you can physically see the cue arrive from his knees to then travel through his body and to his shoulder.”
The show was controlled via an MA Lighting grandMA2 although Cook joked how he thought the original show file was originally crafted on a High End Systems Hog 1 more than 25 years ago. “There are many, many years of programming on this show file and we have over 100 songs programmed on the file. It’s always an interesting process during the setup of a Stones show. We begin programming some of the songs they are less likely to play before moving onto the bigger hits such as Satisfaction and Sympathy for the Devil. This time round, several of the newer songs also needed to be programmed. The real magic is when we move into the stadium with the band. Being in an empty stadium with just us and the band is a truly surreal experience.”
This need to have so many songs in the chamber comes down to The Rolling Stones’ tendency to only decide on their set list a few hours before doors. “It’s Ethan and I’s job to be prepared for the show as much as we can be,” remarked Cook.
From speaking to numerous parts of the creative team, it was clear that all were satisfied with the result of this latest production and that they could all be part of another chapter of The Stones’ illustrious live career.
Words: Stew Hume
