In recent years, Vectorworks has undergone several software updates, refinements, and enhancements to benefit end users in the transient nature of the live entertainment sector – consolidating a new standard for computer-aided design (CAD).
At LDI Show 2023 in Las Vegas, TPi sat down with Vectorworks CEO Dr. Biplab Sarkar, Chief Marketing Officer Jeremy Powell, and All Access Staging and Productions Technical Designer and Development Manager Joey Brennan, to discover more about the updated software. “It is the foundation of the software which needs to be enhanced to encourage innovation,” began Sarkar, speaking to TPi following the release of the 2024 version of its product line, which includes Vectorworks Architect, Landmark, Spotlight, Design Suite, and Fundamentals, along with 2024 versions of ConnectCAD, Braceworks and Vision.
To save designers time, Vectorworks 2024 features an updated user interface that is more efficient and easier to customise. The reorganised View and Mode bars bring a wide range of tools to the forefront, so users can decide how to organise tools and shortcuts for easy access. “We have been enhancing and making refinements to the software for the past seven years, but I think we have come to a point where everything is paying off, and improvements have been much faster in recent years,” Sakar added. “We are gaining a lot of traction in the live entertainment market because end users can share plots and make changes simultaneously on the fly, making it a collaborative tool.”
Additionally, Project Sharing has been rebuilt to ensure project data and geometry are always current in a project file. Project Sharing+ tracks every change, every time, and improves reliability regardless of the team or project size. Designers will see productivity gain with the ability to save custom viewport settings as “styles,” making them easily transferable between viewports.
For production designers, the Equipment Lists feature brings automated solutions to manual, complex and repetitive tasks experienced by unifying the equipment and inventory tracking process. Equipment Lists streamline the preproduction process by providing the tools to plan and document the equipment needed by a show or production. “We have an incredible set of products and features that start from design all the way up to production that touch on a lot of different roles in that process,” Powell acknowledged. “From LD to console to scenic to audio, we cover a wide breadth. However, to cover all that, we must develop incredibly powerful software and typically people think that power means complexity, so we are increasingly conscious about taking the time and effort to analyse, make refinements based on market feedback and ensure quality, which enhances the overall user experience.”
Joey Brennan, Technical Designer and Development Manager at All Access Staging and Productions, explained how his company uses the software: “Vectorworks is our ‘workhorse’ CAD software. In 2022, roughly 1,400 rental shows went through our LA office and warehouse; around 35% of those went through our CAD department of eight full-time drafters. The bulk of their day is split between rental projects and custom projects and all those rental projects are built in Vectorworks.”
Brennan highlighted the importance of Cloud Services and Project Sharing capabilities built into the latest software iteration. “We can now send a website link, the end user doesn’t need a Vectorworks licence or program, and they are able to open it on their mobile, or any compatible digital device with a web browser and review our work.”
This benefits internal teams and rental project managers who are going to be taking the equipment and loading it in on the floor, giving a preview and meaning they don’t have to wait until the paper is printed and, in their hands, like they used to, according to Brennan. “The same goes for our fabrication teams, account managers, and clients – it allows people to see behind the scenes of what we do, and quite frankly, it is a useful and helpful way of operating because the more feedback we get – the quicker and smoother everything will go,” he explained.
As well as providing the tools for creation, Vectorworks also provides companies with the ability to catalogue and archive materials. “We’ve been using CAD software for a long-time but now everything we do is about managing the volume of information. We add another 500 rental shows that have been built in Vectorworks every year; we have an archive spanning almost 30 years and as CAD team members come and go, we want new recruits to be able to access archive drawings and understand how we operate.”
At LDI Show 2023, Brennan hosted a talk which showcased how Vectorworks allows his company to standardise its back catalogue of production materials, meaning that a package built a decade ago in the software should, ideally, look like a package from today. “Things have changed within the software, but the printed PDFs will look consistent, so the people loading-in to the show understand which page to turn to every time, and you can’t ask for much more than that.”
Words: Jacob Waite
Photo: Vectorworks
