Screen Management System

Imperial Gardens – Cheltenham Science Festival 2019

03/07/2019 by petermccrea

Cheltenham’s annual Science Festival arrived in June to explore the weird, wacky and wonderful. In its sixth consecutive year of involvement, Production AV was commissioned to design, supply and operate the high-end screen, projection and sound solutions that formed the foundation of the multiple zones that were created in the specially built Festival Village.

Complete Video and Audio Solution Delivered to Festival Village

Festival organisers asked Production AV to deliver all audiovisual requirements for the growing event. The team oversaw set up and technical checks for all of the zones, including the flagship Cheltenham Town Hall space and adjoining Pillar Room, the Helix, the Crucible and the Cinema Zone.

“We were thrilled to design, set up and run an audio solution for the Town Hall this year, in addition to the visual elements, and we opted for a PA system based around d&b audiotechnik Y-Series speakers, Yamaha QL desks and Sennheiser radio mics,” explains Production AV MD, Pete McCrea. “The Town Hall is notoriously tricky to set up for good sound, and it took the expertise of Production AV’s Project Manager, Olie Goulding, who oversaw the event load-in and operated the Town Hall audio, to scope and plot the venue to design the d&b solution, which perfectly fitted the bill.”

Production AV also supplied the Town Hall’s main room with a 16ft x 9ft screen, 10k lumen Barco HDX Flex Projector, Barco switching solution and a camera package based around Agile ARC 360 Lite PTZ remote cameras and Sony EX3 Camcorders.

In the Pillar Room, the team installed a simple control package to interface with the in-house projection system, along with a d&b Y-Series and E-Series speakers and Yamaha TF series mixing desk. Matt Wadley, Production AV’s Technician, oversaw all audio aspects for the duration of the Festival in the Pillar room, with the Festival’s volunteer staff operating the majority of the video systems.

“One of the highlights of our AV package was the outdoor Cinema Zone, for which we specified a Desay M6 6.25mm pitch LED screen,” McCrea continues. “This displayed 13 hours of continuous footage from the moon landings over the festival, as well as lots of other content. The screen looked fantastic in the exterior garden, giving great high-resolution images over the large areas, with excellent colour reproduction and brightness.”

Hundreds of events took place over the six-day Festival, with more than 280 leading experts imparting knowledge, prompting discussion and provoking thought to thousands of visitors, including more than 9,000 schoolkids.

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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.”

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Torry Harris Business Solutions – 20 Years of Digital Transformation

21/01/2019 by petermccrea

Production AV were excited to be working with new client, Torry Harris Business Solutions through providing a complete technical event solution that included our new, ultra high resolution Desay x2.6i 2.6mm Indoor LED Screen to celebrate the fantastic 20 years that the company has been innovating the digital experience for clients globally and inspire their increasingly talented team to continue delivering the high-quality solutions THBS are known for.

High Resolution Desay 2.6mm LED Screen Conference Solution

The centrepiece of the solution was a 5m x 2m LED screen using 30 of our new Desay x2.6i 2.6mm Indoor LED Panels that was built upon a ground support system and covered the rear of the stage. Two 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 fed and scaled to the screen using our Barco S3-4K Screen Management System and easily managed when combined with our Barco EC-50 Event Controller. The S3-4K was also used to form a PIP (Picture in Picture) on the LED screen using the video feed from our Sony PMW-EX3 HD Video Camera positioned in FOH. Alongside the video solution, Production AV also provided the audio solution for the conference using our Yamaha TF1 Digital Mixing Console to manage several Sennheiser radio microphones that operated flawlessly throughout the event.

We were really happy with the performance of the Desay x2.6i throughout the day, as all of TBHS great achievements were crisply presented and the colours of the content perfectly reproduced. We’d like to thank TBHS for selecting us as the technical provider for this special event for their company. We look forward to working again with you in the future.

University of South Wales – Video Technology Demonstration Day

18/04/2018 by petermccrea

Production AV is always on the lookout to support up and coming individuals in the event production industry. So we were excited to be collaborating with the University of South Wales Live Event and Lighting Course, Stage Sound Services, Ashley Raines from Barco and Peter Kirkup from disguise to provide their students with a hands on experience using some of our industry leading video production equipment as well as offer advice and insight into the exciting but enigmatic industry we find ourselves in!

USW Video Technology Demonstration Day

Our aim was to provide two workshops for the students to experience and test the capabilities of our equipment. Our first workshop revolved around our DigiLED 3.9mm Indoor LED Screen as well as a Barco UDX-4K32 4K Laser Projector generously provided by Barco. 4K video was fed from our disguise 2x4pro Media Server into our Barco S3-4K Screen Management System and Barco EC-50 Event Controller so students could experience how these tools could be used with projection and LED technologies in event production scenarios. Features like PIP’s (Pictures in Pictures), luma keys and widescreen blend capabilities were demonstrated to show how easy it was to create slick and impressive video solutions whilst having the processing power to manage up to twelve different video inputs.

Having recently invested in disguise 2x4pro Media Servers, we wanted our second workshop to demonstrate the capabilities of these media servers. As our 2x4pro’s were driving a large scale project at the Geneva Motor Show Convention, disguise stepped in and provided a GX1 Media Server. With the assistance of Peter from disguise, four sessions were run throughout the day where students setup a projection mapping solution onto a model car displaying the power and vast creative opportunities that the disguise systems offer.

It was a pleasure putting on this demonstration day for USW students and we’d like to thank the University for hosting us as well as Stage Sound Services, Barco and disguise for attending and helping us create this informative and engaging demonstration of our video technologies. We’re looking forward to seeing some of the students out on site in the near future!

Today we are with @usw__lighting_design @usw_event_production showing off #barcos34k #barcoudx4k32 @disguise_one servers together with friends from #stagesoundservices

A post shared by Production AV Ltd (@productionav) on Mar 12, 2018 at 9:05am 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.

Olympia London – Feel Korea Concert 2017

25/08/2017 by petermccrea

Production AV were delighted to working on behalf of SFL by supplying the LED screen solution for the Feel Korea 2017 concert. Earlier on during the day, the Korean Cultural Centre hosted the London Korean Festival 2017. However, for the evening, Feel Korea returned to Olympia London to host the evening concert. With KPOP blasting through SFL’s PA and the crowds cheering for their favourite artists as they appeared on our screens before the show, our onsite technician Sam McCrea realised he was about to experience one of the most vibrant, outlandish performances he’d have ever witnessed.

3.9mm and 6mm LED Screen Concert Festival Solution

For this event, both our DigiLED 3.9mm Indoor LED Panels and our Desay 6.25mm Indoor/Outdoor LED Panels were used to create the video backdrop on stage as well as an elevated screen that relayed the live camera shots throughout the show. The stage backdrop was formed using a mixture of SFL’s and Production AV’s stock of Desay 6.25mm Panels to create a 12.8m x 4.5m screen as the centrepiece of the display which was flanked either side by three 1m x 4.5m columns of LED. This layout enabled clever video design to utilized the separate columns as their own entities to deliver more impressive visuals than a single screen of that size could achieve.In addition to this, 84 modules of DigiLED 3.9mm were connected to form a screen and were flown high above the stage to display the camera feeds.

For the 6.25mm screens, four Nova MCTRL660 Processors were used to manage the data being fed to the screen with two acting as a fail safe hot back up to the main processors. For the 3.9mm screen, two DigiLED Navigator LED Controllers the equivalent processors of the Novastars were used to fed data to the screen employing the same failsafe hot backup system. Whilst SFL supplied their own Barco E2 4K Screen Management System to drive the show, our Barco EC50 Event Controller was provided to increase the simplicity and flexibility of the E2 system.

With the last act finishing on stage, the exuberant crowd were further roused by an encore from all the main acts sporting ‘Feel Korea’ t-shirts as they came out on stage for a final hurrah! With inflated balls thrown around the crowd and confetti cannons shot from the bottom of the stage it created a beautiful end to the show. We would like to thank SFL for selecting us as the LED screen supplier for this event and we look forward to working on many more projects with you in the future!

KNK x Fans ? ?: #narinechalabi

A post shared by Narine Chalabi : Photographer (@narinechalabi) on Jul 13, 2017 at 3:12am PDT

Wembley SSE Arena – Rock Assembly 2017

09/08/2017 by petermccrea

Production AV were feeling excited to be working alongside GLS Lighting to provide the technical solution for the annual Rock Assembly organised by The Transformation Trust’s as an end of term concert at the SSE Wembley Arena. Production AV felt privileged to be involved in providing a day of inspiration and celebration for underprivileged secondary school children and were looking forward to experiencing all the amazing artists such as The Vamps, The Dixon Bros, Sarah Close and Pink Angels here to celebrate their successes and opportunities for the future.

Complete Video Solution Rock Assembly 2017

Our task for the concert was to provide the complete video solution which consisted of projection, LED screen, camera system and video control system. The 6.4m x 3.6m LED screen created using our Desay 6.25mm Indoor/Outdoor LED Panels was flown above the centre of the stage and was used for to display playback throughout the course of the show. On both sides of the stage, a Barco HDX W20 DLP Projector and its projection racking were erected to rear project onto a pair of flown Stumpfl 20ft x 11ft screens. The projection showed the live camera feed from four Sony HXC-100 HD Camera Channels positioned around the venue with the furthest camera from stage having a Canon XJ86X9.3 Box Lens attached to it to maximise the range of focal lengths throughout the show. One camera channel was shoulder mounted and was free to roam around the stage to diversify the visuals and the other two of the camera channels were elevated on the pit floor to provide close up shots of the performers but also rotate to capture the excitement of the groups of school children when they saw themselves on the big screen.

Our Video PPU housed the drivers of the show with the Barco S3-4K Screen Management System comfortably pushing the playback that was gathered and managed using a pair of our Hippotizer AMBA V4 Media Servers to the LED screen as well as the live camera feed to both HDX projectors. Vision mixing was performed using the Panasonic AV-HS400 Vision Mixer and control units for the camera channels were also installed so that engineer settings such as colouration levels so that the camera operators could focus fully on getting the best shots. Production AV were also requested to record the entirety of the show using our Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Studio Pro which was matched to a synced audio feed and then provided on SSD cards following the completion of the event.

With The Vamps closing the afternoon off with a performance to match the frenzied energy of the crowd, Rock Assembly 2017 was over for this year. With 10,000 pupils from across England having the opportunity to explore career options and talk to universities at the Futures Fair before watching the concert in the afternoon, Production AV felt privileged to be a part of this meaningful and benign event. Thank you to GLS Lighting for selecting us as the video supplier for this event, we really appreciate working alongside you and look forward to the next one.

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.

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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.