Barco ImagePRO II Dual

Royal Albert Hall – Teenage Cancer Trust Concerts 2019

27/03/2019 by petermccrea

The annual Teenage Cancer Trust (TCT) fundraising week of concerts and comedy gigs descended on London’s Royal Albert Hall in March 2019 to help support young people with cancer. TCT engaged video solutions specialist Production AV to supply a full video package consisting of LED screens, cameras and mixing, media servers and technicians for the event, which saw crowd-pleasers including Take That, Rudimental and The Script perform over the week. Each performance was mixed with real-life stories of young people affected by cancer and appeals for donations.

Full Concert Video Production Solution for Teenage Cancer Trust

“There are two key video elements that we were required to deliver: one was to display live on-stage action onto IMAG screens, the other to promote how people can donate money to TCT,” said Pete McCrea, Production AV’s managing director. “To achieve this, we supplied Desay M6 LED panels as a central 8m x 4.5 screen flown above the stage and a large, curved 27.9m x 0.9m banner of LED screens across the back of the main stage, displaying information. This was supported with a camera package for the relay of real-life stories and live performances to the screens.”

Production AV supplied Sony HDC 1500R Studio Channels and Agile ARC360 Lite PTZ Remote Cameras, with footage mixed and directed using the company’s Blackmagic ATEM 4k PPU. McCrea and his team also used their Barco S3-4K for switching and disguise 2x4Pro Media Servers for content playback.

McCrea served as Project Manager, taking the helm with pre-production at Production AV’s new HQ near Cheltenham, load-in at the Royal Albert Hall and on-site set-up.

“Pre-production took the form of creating an artist liaison pack, to ensure we had all the screen pixel maps created and resolutions sorted, and the system design clearly communicated,” McCrea said. “Our team was in contact with the artists’ managers prior to the event to obtain assets, pre-program content and test everything well before we were on-site.

“We utilised disguise’s fantastic ‘designer’ software for building and pre-programming all of the content. In the days before the event, we pre-built the control systems and banner screen, patched and programmed the servers to ensure that the get-in went without a hitch. Then it was consigned to the job by our friends at R Jameson Event Transport.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvpo0NLFDQ1/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Somerset House – Summer Series 2018

13/10/2018 by petermccrea

Production AV were delighted to be working for long term client Metropolis Music and having the opportunity to provide the video solution for this year’s Summer Series hosted at the spectacular Somerset House which overlooks the River Thames. The eleven-night series promised an outstanding line-up of established and emerging artists such as MGMT, Flight Facilities and Sigrid so we were looking forward to a showcasing of world class talent across many genres of music.

Music Festival 6mm LED Screen Summer Series 2018

The video solution comprised of a 8m x 4.5m LED screen using our stock of Desay M6 Indoor/Outdoor 6.25mm LED Panels which was flown on the rear of the main stage and acted as a backdrop throughout the series. Content was scaled and fed to the screen using our industry standard Barco ImagePRO II Dual and a pair of Nova MCTRL660 Processors were used to manage the data being fed to the screen with one acting as a fail safe hot back up to the main processor. In video control, two Green Hippo Hippotizer Karst V4 Media Servers were provided to store and manage each artists visual content for their performances.

We were really happy with the performance of the LED which worked flawlessly for the eleven days it was in operation and the content control using the Hippo media servers also made it easy to provide a flexible and responsive service to various artists requests throughout the series. It is always a pleasure to work with Metropolis Music especially when their is such a talented and diverse lineup to enjoy and we’d like to thank them for selecting us to provide the video solution for the Summer Series this year. We’re looking forward to the opportunities next year will bring!

TBS Engineering – CEO Broadcast Event

03/10/2018 by petermccrea

Production AV were keen to put our newly purchased Desay X2i 2.6mm Indoor LED Screen to the test and we were delighted to provide TBS Engineering, a company local to Production AV’s headquarters, an LED screen solution at their production facility using the X2i for a broadcast message from the CEO of TBS Engineering.

High Resolution 2.6mm LED Screen Broadcast Solution

With TBS recently constructing this new facility, the CEO wanted to host an event that would explain the direction and goals for this new operation and its employees as well as thank them for the productive and smooth early performance. Production AV were on hand to provide 3.5m x 2m LED screen using 28 Desay X2i 2.6mm Indoor LED Panels which provided a super crisp display for the several hundred in the audience to focus their attention on. The screen was flown from two warehouse cranes using our rapid rigging system which saw the screen built and raised swiftly enabling the production floorspace to be opened back up for TBS use.

Two of our newly purchased Novastar MCTRL 4K LED Processors were used to manage the data being fed to the screen with one acting as a fail safe hot back up to the main processor. Content was scaled to the screen using our industry standard Barco ImagePRO II Dual with all the playback and processing kit located in a single flightcase positioned discreetly to one side of the screen. A 2m x 2m stage was also provided along with a lectern and an Soundcraft EPM 6:2:2 Mixer to manage the single microphone used to welcome the audience and introduce the CEO.

The event was a great success and we were very impressed by the performance of the Desay X2i both in terms of the build design but also the superb image quality displayed. We’d like to thank TBS Engineering for selecting us as the to provide the video solution and we we look forward to working on more events with you in the future.

St Christopher’s Place – Spring Garden Digital Activation

17/05/2018 by petermccrea

Production AV were excited to be working with new clients Four Communications to create a spring themed activation event hosted in the centre of St Christopher’s Place Square. The ‘Spring Rituals’ film was created by both floral designer Flora Starkey and Prettybird’s founding partner Juliette Larthe as a captivating and unique digital art installation to mark the arrival of the equinox through the magic of new floral life. The screen was on site for five days and ran from mid morning until 8pm so that members of the public could enjoy seeing time-lapses that offered extraordinary views into spring through the magic of flowers turning from seedlings to full bloom!

Outdoor 6mm LED Screen Art Installation

For this outdoor activation, our waterproof and versatile Desay 6.25mm Indoor/Outdoor LED Panels were used to create four 3.2m x 1.8m screens that would be positioned into an outward facing square to enable 360° viewing angles. The four screens were raised up off the floor on Litedeck and were finished with a custom, white, weatherproof cladding. The control system was set up in a nearby building, with the cabling run safely and unobtrusively into the cube. Two Nova MCTRL660 Processors were used to manage the data being fed to the screen with one acting as a fail safe hot back up to the main processor. Content was scaled to the screens using our industry standard Barco ImagePRO II Dual with content sourced and managed using an Apple Mac Mini. A small but powerful PA system was also installed into the exhibition to amplify the film with a poignant soundtrack representing spring time. Four EV Evid 6.2T Loudspeakers were located in the centre of the cube, with a compact Soundcraft EPM 6:2:2 Mixer and amplifier in the control room.

The design of the cladding and technical system, project management and health and safety planning was undertaken by Pete McCrea, who managed the onsite installation of the screen and cladding. Installation was undertaken over several hours in the morning, and then removed in two hours after the event. Production AV contracted Congo Blue, who are also part of the SFL Group for the fabrication and installation of the cladding.

It was great to see so many people stopping to take photos and appreciating the exquisite range of flowers flourishing into full blooms. Production AV are always grateful when our services are utilised to display such beautiful artistry and positive messages especially about the arrival of spring! We’d like to thank Four Communications for choosing us as the technical supplier for this exhibition, we have really enjoyed making this project a reality and we look forward to working with you again in the future.

Our #SCPGarden is unveiled and on show! Hurry down to watch the magical time-lapse film Spring Rites by @florastarkey – here until Sunday! ?? #StChristophersPlace #London #SpringEquinox

A post shared by St Christopher’s Place (@stchristophersplace) on Mar 20, 2018 at 11:39am PDT

Superdry Amsterdam – Store Managers Conference

29/10/2017 by petermccrea

Production AV were pleased to be involved with Superdry’s Store Managers Conference hosted in Amsterdam on behalf of Tarren. We were tasked with providing a full AV solution to the conference space, catwalk and dinner presentation as well as four break out rooms. Our five strong team led by Olie Goulding were onsite providing the coordination and technical knowhow to assist Superdry in maximising the conference and drive home a strong, positive message for 2018.

Superdry Complete AV Conference Solution

The main conference area provided a space for the Superdry business briefing and a Barco HDX W14 DLP Projector was rested on our projection racking to rear project onto a Stumpfl 16′ x 9′ which allowed the entire audience to fully engage with the presentation through figures and animations. The presentations were loaded onto our PlayBack Pro software and then switched using our Barco PDS-901 9 in 1 Out Seamless Switcher. As this was a complete AV solution, audio was also provided with Sennheiser radio microphones for presenters , l’Acoustic X12 loudspeakers plus l’acoustics SB18 Subs and a Midas M32R Mixing Desk for control.

A similar setup was used in the catwalk/dinner presentation space where another Barco HDX W14 DLP Projector projected onto an identical Stumpfl screen. Instead of a PDS, our new Roland V1-HD 4 Input HDMI Vision Mixer capability mixed the show and we were impressed by it’s versatility despite it’s small and simple design. Sixteen D&B T10 loudspeakers were flown in arrays of four supported with D&B B22 subwoofers under the stage. and the show was driven using a Yamaha QL1 Mixer. This delivered superb sound for both the presentations and the catwalk where the the newest range of products were being premiered for their Autumn/Winter Collection.

In the breakout rooms we worked with Superdry’s own stock of 3.9mm LED screen modules and created two LED screens. They were being used for more intimate workshops and presentations for 20 – 30 people. Data was scaled using Barco ImagePRO II Dual’s and then fed to the screens using our Nova MCTRL660 Processors. Audio equipment was also provided to these rooms in the form of Sennheiser microphones and loudspeakers. The final area that audio was provided was the mock shops where presenters had Sennheiser radio mics and four D&B M4 loudspeakers were used to relay their voices around the shops.

The conference was a massive success with Superdry store managers feeling positive and prepared for the exciting new developments the company has planned for 2018 and beyond. We’d like to thank Tarren and Superdry for their continued support and we look forward to providing the AV solution for the next Superdry briefing.

Tour of Britain – Cheltenham Festival of Cycling

10/10/2017 by petermccrea

Production AV were looking forward to being involved in a project that was hosted… or pedalled through our local area! We were working on behalf of several clients to provide a range of solutions for the Tour of Britain stage which finished in Cheltenham. For APT Marketing, we were responsible for providing the screens and live feed to the hospitality yurt at the finish line as well as the main LED screen site for public viewing constructed in Pittville Park next to the the final stretch of the race. For Mudway Workman, we provided another LED screen in Winchcombe a couple more kilometres away from the finish line which was erected on the back of a curtained trailer. With the race gaining considerable interest amongst the public Production AV were delighted to playing our part in enhancing this special day for the spectators and Gloucestershire as a whole.

Multiple Outdoor 6mm Livestream LED Screens

The hospitality yurt was provided as a space for the sponsors of race and their delegates to gather and enjoy meeting and listening to well known members of the cycling community, eat fantastic food and enjoy the race as it was presented around the edge of the yurt on four of Production AV’s Samsung ME65B 65″ LED Flat Panels. All of our sites were installed with satellite dishes that provided a reliable Freeview feed of the race and our onsite technician Jimmy Flanders was at the yurt to assist and tweak the setup in the event the feed slipped in quality. The PA, microphone systems and playback capabilities for the screens used before and after the race were also provided by Production AV.

Arriving at 5am on the morning of the race at Pitville Park, the team worked into the morning building a goal post truss structure where a 6.4m x 3.6m LED screen was constructed using our stock of Desay 6.25mm Indoor/Outdoor LED Panels. Line array systems were flown either side of the screen which would project the audio clearly to large crowds expected throughout the day. In a gazebo behind the screen, control was set up to protect it from the elements. A pair of Nova MCTRL660 Processors were used to manage the data being fed to the screen with one acting as a fail safe hot back up to the main processor. The sponsorship content that would play during the races advert breaks was switched using our Barco PDS-901 3G 9 in 1 Out Seamless Switcher with all data being comfortably scaled to the screen using our industry standard Barco ImagePRO II Dual. In Winchcombe, the task was similar as we used our Desay 6.25mm Indoor/Outdoor LED Panels to create a smaller screen four panels wide and two panels high constructed on the back of a Mudway Workman trailer using our ground support system. The screen faced outwards into the local Fanzone that was positioned within touching distance of the road where the race would fly through.

Overall the stage was a massive success with thousands of people lining the streets to support the riders. Mick Bennett the Race Director of the OVO Energy Tour of Britain mentions the overwhelming warmth and unprecedented support shown during Stage 7 and we’d like to thank APT Marketing and Mudway Workman for allowing us to be apart of that support. It was a pleasure having you both as clients and we look forward to continuing our relationship with you in the future.

Bristol Harbourside – Grillstock 2017 BBQ and Music Festival

24/07/2017 by petermccrea

Having been lucky enough to be requested by Utopium Lighting to provide the LED screen solution for Grillstock 2016, we were looking forward to being further involved in the production of Grillstock. For 2017 we expanded our services to the festival, providing the screen, camera system and livestream capabilities feed. Grillstock is one of the events we most look forward to on the work calendar with the promise of good weather, fantastic food and a variety of artists ranging from The Darkness to the Hot 8 Brass Band and even a trip down memory lane with Goldie Lookin Chain performing!

Complete Video Solution for Grillstock 2017

The load in was completed on the Friday before the weekend event with the video centrepiece being a 6.4m x 3.6m LED screen built using our Desay 6.25mm Indoor/Outdoor LED Panels that was flown from four rigging points at the rear of the stage to provide a backdrop. Some artists brought their own content which was scaled and fed to the screen using our Barco ImagePRO II Dual and played out using our Hippotizer AMBA V4 Media Servers. For much of the event however, the screen displayed live camera feed from our system of Sony HXC-100 Camera Channels with one camera channel at FOH and the other being used on a dolly at the front of stage as well as being handheld to diversify the types of shots achieved. In addition to this, onstage remotely controlled Sony PMW-EX3 HD Video Cameras were provided and it gave us the freedom to utilise numerous angles without being an intrusion to the acts on stage.

Our control centre was built to the side of stage left and from there, our PPU built around the Panasonic AV-HS400 Vision Mixer was used to mix the show as well as engineer camera settings such as colouration levels so that the camera operators could focus fully on getting the best shots. Production AV were also instructed to record the event and using our Blackmagic Designs HyperDeck Studio Pro and a synced audio feed, each act was separately recorded, archived and provided to Grillstock on an SSD card following the completion of the event. In addition to this, Grillstock were livestreaming several of the acts to Facebook and a video and audio feed was provided by Production AV to achieve this. Elsewhere on site, Production AV also provided screens and a camera solution to the Weber Stand using two Panasonic 42″ TH-42LF8 Full HD LCD Panels that were mounted to the set and displayed the mouth watering creations our Sony PMW-EX3 HD Video Camera captured throughout the weekend on the Weber BBQ range.

With The Darkness ending the festival with ‘I Believe In a Thing Called Love’ much to the crowds appreciation, Production AV began the packdown and in an hour and half all our kit was in the back of the truck. It is always a pleasure working with Utopium and we’d like to thank them for selecting us to provide the video solution to both Grillstock 2017 but also to the Summer Series held the week before. We are looking forward to continuing this relationship with Utopium and providing more video solutions for Grillstock and other events throughout the year.

A post shared by Sam (@sam_mcconnochie) on Jul 1, 2017 at 2:30pm PDT

Canons Marsh Ampitheatre – Bristol Sounds Summer Series 2017

18/07/2017 by petermccrea

Production AV felt like summer had truly arrived as we were delighted to be providing the LED screen solution for the Bristol Sounds Summer Series on behalf of Utopium. We were looking forward to experiencing some of the big names in music with this years festival featuring Bonobo, Manic Street Preachers, Craig David and Hacienda Classical. Whatever your taste in music, there was bound to be something to enjoy across the four nights of live music.

Bristol Sounds Music Festival LED Screen Solution

Using our stock of Desay 6.25mm Indoor/Outdoor LED Panels, we brought 36sqm of LED that was hung at the rear of the stage as a backdrop. For Bonobo’s act, Production AV were able to produce a smart and cost effective design by splitting the screen into five drops spread across the rear of stage creating a unique and punchy effect. For Craig David, the screen was re-rigged into a more standardised letterbox shape of 8m x 4.5m. The rest of the equipment provided followed our usual LED screen solution with the screen content was scaled used our industry standard Barco ImagePRO II Dual. Two Nova MCTRL660 Processors were used to comfortably manage the data despite being split across five separate screens with one processor acting as a fail safe hot back up to the main processor.

Once Craig David had finished up his set and evening to the roar of approval from the crowds, Production AV were quick to de-rig the screen however our desire for more, quality festivals to be involved in did not need to be heeded for long as we were looking forward to continuing to work with Utopium at Grillstock 2017 the following week. We’d like to thank Utopium for our continued involvement in the Bristol music scene and are looking forward to upcoming events this summer and beyond.

Photo credits: Ania Shrimpton

Take us back to this time last week when @si_bonobo Bonobo? brought the vibes and you brought the party! ???? by @tourlifehq #tourlife #bristol #bonobo #livemusic #bristolsounds

A post shared by Bristol Sounds (@bristolsounds) on Jun 28, 2017 at 9:53am PDT

O2 Academy Brixton – Migos & Lil Yachty Music Show

10/05/2017 by petermccrea

Production AV were back out once again and were feeling excited to be providing the LED screen solution for the Migos & Lil Yachty concert on behalf of GLS Lighting hosted at the acclaimed and pulsating O2 Academy Brixton. With tickets selling out almost instantly it wasn’t hard to contemplate why, with both huge Atlanta artists offering ‘hotlanta trap’ high on synths, swagger and strangeness whilst performing at the iconic London venue.

O2 Brixton High Resolution 6mm LED Screen Solution

The LED screen solution provided was actually a combination of two different screens. Using our Desay 6.25mm Indoor/Outdoor LED Panels, we created a 6.4m x 7.2m LED screen that was used as the main backdrop behind the performing artists. The second screens task was to cover the front of the DJ riser that saw the lucky crowd being whipped up into a frenzy by DJ Semtex in preparation for the main act. A pair of Nova MCTRL660 Processors were used to manage the data being fed to the screen with one acting as a fail safe hot back up to the main processor. Using our industry standard Barco ImagePRO II Dual for screen scaling, media content was managed using our newly purchased Hippotizer Dual AMBA V4 Media Servers, allowing visuals to flow seamlessly between the two screens enabling the audience to immerse themselves in the show from all angles of the venue.

By the time the confetti rained down on an electric crowd it was clear that Migos and Lil Yachty have tapped into a fresh style of hip hop and were going to continue their breakneck growth of popularity with Migos recently releasing their new album Culture which went platinum with 1 million sales. From both a technical and performance level the shows went superbly well and we’d like to thank GLS for selecting us as the LED screen supplier for this event and we look forward to continuing this partnership with you throughout the rest of 2017 and beyond.

UK Spring Tour – Seasick Steve

04/05/2017 by petermccrea

Production AV were thrilled to continue our partnership with Opium Arts on behalf of Seasick Steve in providing a complete video solution for his UK Spring Tour that saw him perform to sellout crowds in Manchester, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Leeds. The spring tour followed on from his performance at Wembley Arena in October 2016. Production AV also supplied the touring video solution to the Spring 2015 tour.

Seasick Steve Touring LED Screen and Video Solution

Using our Desay 6.25mm Indoor/Outdoor LED Panels, we provided a 4.8m x 2.7m LED Screen that was flown at each of the venues on the tour – the light weight of the screen meant that it was easy to fit into some of the smaller venues. A pair of Nova MCTRL660 Processors were used to manage the data being fed to the screen with one acting as a fail safe hot back up to the main processor. Scaling for the screen was handled by our Barco ImagePRO Dual II which took signal from our Sony PMW-EX3 HD Video Camera operated at all the shows by technician Pete McCrea.

Our aim was to provide a video solution which could be setup and operated by a single technician. The complete package took up a small footprint in the truck and the screen system and processing was prepared to make sure the rig times were quick – load in to rig complete was under 1 hour.

As always, it is a pleasure to work alongside Steve and the team and we’d like to thank them for the continued faith shown in us as their video supplier. We’re looking forward to seeing what plans Steve has for the rest of 2017!