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For musicians that like to interact with their fans, such as Michael Bublé, his tours need to allow him to deliver an entertaining performance and form a connection with the audience. Maintaining a reputation for visual style and crystal clear audio, the Canadian artist’s latest tour - To Be Loved - was yet another sellout success. TPi caught one of 10 consecutive performances at London’s O2 Arena, before the show continued on to Dublin and an arena tour of the US. Filling us in on part of the tour’s back story was Production Manager, Dean Roney, who started touring in 1979 as a musician before becoming a sound engineer and later a production manager and tour manager. “I had toured with Bryan Adams all through the nineties - Bryan and Michael are both managed by Bruce Allen, and I have worked closely with Tour Director, Randy Berswick, for more than 20 years, so it was a good fit.I started with Michael in 2005 and did two album cycles as the Production Manager, then left to join Solotech as an account rep. Now I’m back.” Whilst on tour, Roney was supported by Production Coordinator, Nicole Erin Kuhns. He pointed out that this most recent touring production has differed to previous Bublé shows, both creatively and technically. Roney elaborated on just some of the additions in To Be Loved: “This time around we have a larger moving LED

screen, which works with an LED floor that flips vertically on hydraulics. There are a lot of moving elements including mobilators, a 70 ft wide Austrian curtain, and the flipping stage LED. With so many options, our big challenge was finding time to experiment with so many looks.” Trusted, long-term suppliers to Bublé include Montreal-based Solotech supplying video and audio equipment, Christie Lites providing lighting, TAIT and FTSI delivering automation and staging services, Pyrotek supplying pyrotechnics, EST and Truck ‘N Roll providing trucking services in the UK and US respectively and Senator busses being used in the US

INCREDIBLE SOUNDFor Bublé’s shows at the O2, the 16,000 nightly capacity enjoyed hearing the performance through a powerful Meyer Sound LEO linear large-scale sound reinforcement system, which was provided by Montreal-based Solotech. “The fact that I can cover a huge arena like this without setting up delays or tapping into the house system is just astonishing,” said FOH Engineer, Craig Doubet. “The furthest seat is 350 ft from the arrays, but when I turn around, I see people way in the back dancing and partying, so I know it’s working up there.” The LEO system deployed was built around main hangs of 14-each LEO-M line array loudspeakers, with underhangs of four -each

MICA line array loudspeakers. Outfill arrays comprised 14 MICA loudspeakers per side, 10 M’elodie line array loudspeakers supplied front fill, and six JM-1P arrayable loudspeakers were flown as upstage corner and front centre fills. Low end was supplied by cardioid arrays of eight 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements per side, plus six 700-HP subwoofers on the deck. A Galileo Callisto loudspeaker management system featuring three Galileo Callisto and one Galileo 616 AES processors optimised performance. Foldback was provided by seven MJF-212A stage monitors and twin side fills of six-each M’elodie loudspeakers. “I am very impressed with the MJF-212A monitors,” said Matt Napier, Monitor Engineer. “Most of the acts I work with use exclusively in-ear monitors, but Michael likes to work without IEM on occasion. With its high SPL, vocal clarity, and small footprint, the MJF-212A allows me to keep both the artist and visual departments happy.” The full system was designed by Doubet in collaboration with David Brazeau, Solotech Technical Advisor, and Louis-Philippe Maziade, Tour Systems Tech (Leonard Cohen, Britney Spears), who has worked for Bublé since 2008. “The system works well with the mix Craig is creating - they’re all self-powered speakers so it’s really fast and easy to work with,” said Maziade. “The audio is pretty similar to the last tour apart

MICHAEL BUBLÉ’S LATEST TOURING CREATION SAW THE CANADIAN ARTIST SELL OUT VENUES IN THE UK AND IRELAND BEFORE PERFORMING IN ARENAS ACROSS THE US. TPi’S ZOE MUTTER ATTENDED ONE OF THE O2 ARENA SHOWS IN LONDON TO MEET THE CREW RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PRODUCTION’S SUCCESS.

ON THE ROAD: Michael Bublé

MICHAEL BUBLÉ : TO BE LOVED

from the main hang so before we had MILO instead of LEO. This system produces such an incredible sound and you don’t hear the echo in the room.” Doubet continued: “LEO’s voice quality is exceptional, but I also like the way I can hit the system dynamically. The band and seven singers are augmented by an eight-piece horn section or eight-piece string section, and the sound can go from very soft to quite loud. But with LEO’s huge power reserves, I can mix the system like it’s a fine studio monitor.” Doubet is equally impressed with the power and control of the 1100-LFC loudspeakers. “The whole LEO rig has a very muscular sound, and is amazingly well controlled - the stage is dead quiet. People come on stage and ask, ‘Is the PA on?’ That’s because everything is going forward, not downward. There are a lot of speakers for this show and I have control of more than 40 zones of PA. It’s a very slick rig and works well.” Doubet mixed behind an Avid Profile console with its 96 inputs nearly filled to capacity. Console plug-ins were supplemented with Lexicon PCM92 and 480L effects units, and two BSS DPR-901 dynamic equalisers. Monitor

Engineer Napier used a DiGiCo SD7 console, while Bublé sang through a Neumann KMS 104 microphone, and DPA 3521 Compact Stereo Kit - 2 4021 compact cardioid mics with magnet mount gooseneck holders were used for piano, strings, and horns. After the London run, the LEO system was scaled down slightly for five shows at Dublin’s O2 Arena. Beginning in early September, Solotech’s LEO system will accompany Bublé in the US, with at least 37 shows through to the end of November.

EMBRACING THE CHALLENGEFOH Engineer, Doubet, had worked with Kurt Wagner before Bublé’s tour, joining him on a past production of k.d. lang’s. Having used the Avid Venue since it was launched, it was an obvious choice for Doubet’s touring work with Bublé. “It suits me well and I can set it up easily. It offers so many options and channels along with sounding fantastic. You can customise scenes and it has plenty of cool EQs and compressors to play with,” he continued. “ Bublé doesn’t require many effects and his channel is fairly straightforward, pointed out

Doubet, who mainly utilised Drawmer TourBuss gates and compressors, a Focusrite Focusrite ISA110 EQ and ISA 130 compressor, the Channel G compressor from McDSP and a TC Electronic DVR2 and NonLin2 plug-ins. “In a large room you don’t need a lot of reverb so it’s more just subtle things to send his voice out. Externally I have an old school Lexicon 480Ls - nothing beats it and it still sounds great,” he noted. The FOH engineer first sat behind the console for this tour in mid June when 10 days of rehearsals began at LH2. Due to the number of musicians performing alongside Bublé, Doubet was working with around 90 inputs, plus a dozen stereo returns. “I use a lot of scenes for this - there’s so many channels and essentially the whole stage is open microphones so it’s quite a job managing what is on and off,” he explained. Each and every input of every track is captured for archive or sound check purposes using Avid Pro Tools. Doubet continued: “This tour is more challenging than the last because we’ve added strings and keeping noise down was made more tricky because now we have a moving stage that produces sound as it moves. I

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ON THE ROAD: Michael Bublé

Opposite: Michael Bublé played 10 consecutive sellout shows at London’s O2 Arena. Below: Solotech supplied audio and video equipment for the tour; Content for the production was created by Treatment Studios.

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need to build a scene for those moments when the stage is moving just to limit the noise.” But Doubet fully embraced the challenge and enjoys every show he is a part of. “We have a great team - it’s going to be a good year and a half to two years. This is only the third tour in six years and it’s not like we stop really; we take off eight or nine months and start again.

“The fact we’re working on this style of music in this size of venue for such a long time is the highlight for me. I find it just amazing you can sell 160,000 tickets in one city in one month.”

A BIG STEP FORWARDMatt Napier [Kylie, Madonna] opted for the DiGiCo SD7 to create the required monitor mixes

due to its ability to cope with a large number of performers at once. “The other night we had 33 musicians on stage - all on stereo mixes - and I don’t think any other console could handle that level of output. Michael is a pleasure to deal with and knows what he wants, which is really helpful,” he said. “There are five people in the band, Michael, eight horn players and then eight string players that are introduced in the second section. You also have additional guests and separate mixes generated for people like backline techs or pyro operators. There are a lot of inputs and outputs and it’s all fully live, there’s no playback.” Bublé’s vocal microphone was a wired Neumann KMS-104 for the first section of the show and then he switched to a Sennheiser SKM 5200 with a Neumann KMS104 capsule when he moved over to the B stage, while horns were all on DPA 4099’s, strings were on DPA 4060’s, the Audix i5 was used for the snare drum. Neumann KM184’s on hats, ride and overheads. Shure Beta 52 was used for the kick, DPA 3521 for brass group micing, Schertler GP-DYN pickups in the piano and Applied Microphone Technology ERT was on bongos. Radial Engineering DI’s including PZ-DI, J48, D8 and Sennheiser SKM 5200 transmitters with Neumann KK104 capsules, Sennheiser SKM2000 transmitters with e935 and e965 capsules were also chosen. “The 104 works really well for him,” said Napier. “He tends to move the mic around a lot and sing off axis or swing the mic around so this model is good for that. The i5’s been nice on the snare, which I’ve not used before and we have some DPAs on the strings, which work really well.” Doubet commented on the 4099’s on the brass, saying: “I started with them on the last tour and they are amazing. There’s such clarity and even the horn players remarked they sounded better than other mics that have been used in the past. The piano mics I use - DPA 3521- is a high-end stereo set of their 4021 compact cardioids and are stunning.” All performers were on Sennheiser 2000 Series in-ear systems with Ultimate Ears UE-11 earpieces and Sennheiser EM 3732-II receivers, in addition to six downstage Meyer Sound MJF-212’s as back-up. “The last tour Michael did was the first time he had used in-ear systems and I don’t think he got really comfortable with them so the first thing I needed to do when I joined for this tour was get him settled on in-ears,” explained Napier. “He inherently distrusts them so it’s getting him to trust what he’s hearing.

ON THE ROAD: Michael Bublé

Below: Monitor Engineer, Matt Napier; Audio Crew Chief, Louis-Philippe Maziade; RF Technician, Charles Deziel; Production Manager, Dean Roney.

Below: Pyro Technicians, Keith Hellebrand and Ray Seymour; The rigging team; Video Director, Kevin Carswell; The video team; FOH Engineer, Craig Doubet; Stage Manager, Craig Finley; Lighting Designer, Kurt Wagner.

This is the first time he’s used the Ultimate Ears and it was my decision to switch him over, which he seems to like. He’s now doing the full show with them, which is a big step forward.” The RF intensive production has kept technician and Solotech employee, Charles Deziel [Kylie, Britney Spears, André Rieu], busy for the duration of his first tour with Bublé. “The RF system is a little different to the ones I have used in the past and as well as handling the wireless aspect of the audio, I take care of hanging some of the PA in the morning,” he said. “Matt, the monitor engineer, knows a lot about wireless too so while I’m working on the PA, he takes care of the wireless set-up too, before I do the frequency management. As he’s based in the UK, he was helpful when we had to go through the frequency licensing here.” Deziel builds the rack and during the show he line checks and ensures all equipment has fully charged batteries throughout. “The RF is fairly complex as we have just under 50 carriers. However, the devices we have here are wide so we have a lot of space and as long as there’s a lot of separation you can’t go wrong,” he said. “There’s a bit of RF noise coming from the video screen, but it’s easy to manage. It’s not loud, but it is there - on the scan we can see tiny spikes so we make sure we keep between them. We have 12 wireless belt packs, but the show traffic on the wireless comms is light.”

BIG AMBITIONSHaving designed previous Bublé tours, Stufish was approached to design the most recent production. Once Stufish was engaged, the design developed between the late Designer, Mark Fisher - who sadly passed away in June - and Associate Designer, Ric Lipson. “The set for the previous tour had a relatively small performance area. The band was on a fixed rake and Michael mostly performed in a downstage centre position. The kinetic elements were the upstage screens and columns and there

was also a small B stage,” said Lipson. “This tour had an ambition to be larger. We created a larger main stage with a kinetic element to enhance the artist’s performance. We also wanted to be able to make the band disappear at times. Finally we wanted the B stage experience to be different from before. We wanted to get Michael closer to more of the crowd. We didn’t want the technical control area to be such a site line obstruction and so we designed a B stage that incorporated the technical control and also included around 100 seats in the B stage circle.” Part of Bublé’s performance included sliding across the glossy floor. In the previous show a high shine finish was chosen to achieve this on the raked stage. “We wanted to give Michael more opportunity to be able to perform in this show and have different things that he could do.” Continued Lipson. “We wanted to be able to have layers of video that could be closer to Michael, and the ability to hide the band to focus on Michael. We wanted to be able to have big scenes with the big band or a small scene with the quintet. We wanted the band to be able to be upstage or downstage and so we had the band risers on mobilators.” When designing the arena show, Stufish based the size of the stage, the height and the size of the video screen on similar sized shows they had worked on before. “In conversation with Mark Fisher and Winky from TAIT, an idea came around for a stage that would have a kinetic element that would allow the stage to be raked in different angles at various parts of the show,” he explained. “The idea quickly formed into the idea that part of the stage should have what we decided to call ‘the flippers’ - 13 LED covered flippers that would be able to ramp from flat to vertical and travel quickly. These were 3ft 6-inches wide and 12ft high and would be individually controllable, thus could be programmed in a choreography. They could move from 0 to 90º in up to four seconds.”

The flippers could be used in various ways during the show. They could allow Bublé to perform on the flippers and slide around, could be used to hide the band when they were upstage or could be used as a background when the band is downstage. “We also wanted to have a moment in the show that would allow us to lift Michael up high and so developed the centre flipper to have a counter rake that Michael would ride up to 12ft above stage level during Cry Me a River,” said Lipson. “The main stage was flanked by technical bunkers at either end and these were raised higher than stage level. They also allowed Michael to get closer to the audience at the sides and provide a more dynamic area for his performance. The upstage video screen was created to have different formations and to allow Kurt to have lighting that could shine through the gaps to create different lighting looks. The B stage was formed as a two level ring around the technical control area and a golden circle of audience at the far end of the arena.” Lipson acknowledged the stage is pretty complex, with 58 axes of motion, 13 kinetic video flippers, three rolling mobilator band risers, a seven part tracking video screen and an Austrian curtain. “The leveling of the stage is vital for a smooth running show,” he commented. “Cable management for the rolling band risers is hard as the cables need to be paged around the flippers at various parts of the show.” The creative team set out to produce a classy, large production that would have the ability to change scale for each song and allow Bublé to take the audience on a journey, from spectacular big band looks, to an intimate jazz club feel, to a celebratory carnival. “Working with the creative team we achieved this,” continued Lipson. “The team was wonderfully collaborative. We performed an exciting 10 nights to a sold out O2 that was a testament to an amazing performer with a show that backed him up and reaffirmed his power as a singer and showman.”

ON THE ROAD: Michael Bublé

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STRONG COLOUR PALETTESKurt Wagner’s involvement with Bublé began eight years ago and To Be Loved is his fourth world tour with the artist. Although Bublé has been the Lighting Designer’s main focus during this time, he has also worked with k.d lang and Avril Lavigne. “There were many concepts to start with, but then budgets and the design was confirmed and moved to the direction it is now, which is the frame of the Michael Bublé set and video elements of the show. I also wanted to have the lighting concept provide walk-in looks and create larger visuals for the bigger numbers, as well as bringing the audience in as part of the show.” The priority of the design was to make sure Bublé was the focus, as well as creating visuals that evolved. “We also needed to make sure the beautiful set, created by Stufish [Ric Lipson], was well illuminated,” said Wagner. “I was going for a kind of new age Vegas, classy feel, with strong colour palettes that frame Bublé at all points.” A total of three MA Lighting grandMAs were used to control the lighting rig from FOH. “It’s what I’m used to and have always enjoyed working on their consoles,” said the LD. “The most important thing to me is that all elements of the show work together and provide solid spectacular visuals, frame Michael Bublé and don’t detract attention from him.” The base of the rig comprised Martin Professional products - 145 MAC Vipers, 64 MAC 2000 Wash XBs, 175 Chroma-Q Color Force 12 and 14 Atomic 3000 Strobes. “I like the reliability of the Martin Professional products and Christie Lites do a great job of maintaining their stock. Vipers fill in most of the stage and room looks, the MAC 2000’s provide stage and video wash, the Color Force 12’s frame the set and video as well as audience light and the Atomic 3000 Strobes are band key lighting,” said Wagner. “With the time factor we wanted to make sure we had reliable units and I’m impressed with Vipers, especially at the high trims.”

A VERSATILE PERFORMANCE ENVIRONMENTTAIT worked alongside Designer, Lipson of Stufish; Production Manager, Roney and Lighting Designer, Wagner, to create a multi-faceted staging concept for Bublé’s tour. Having sold out 10 shows at the O2 Arena within a matter of minutes, the buzz surrounding the highly-anticipated event, which went on to

tour around the US and Australia, continues to intensify. The tour features the artist’s most technologically advanced set to date, with 58 axes of motion. The aesthetics and functionality were designed to provide an extremely versatile performance environment for the artist. The set has a modernistic, refined look and the ability to seamlessly transform into various configurations. TAIT’s 17 by 15 metre MagDeck mainstage features a high-gloss finish and includes a downstage monitor shelf, a thrust with two, black powder coated stairs, Austrian curtain and a custom, RGB LED scenic edge trim. The LED trim highlighted the bold, architecturally derived lines of the main stage, providing a subtle strip of colour along the edges of the tech bunkers, monitor shelf and automated band risers. A total of 13 video flippers were integrated into the main stage to provide a complex, moving LED display. The 1.06 metre wide by 3.65 metre high panels moved independently from one another with wave-like fluidity, at any angle and up to 90° in four seconds. The panels can also come together in a fixed formation, either lowered in static, angular position or raised to form a subtle partition. When raised to a stationary position, the flippers created a uniquely intimate atmosphere, by reducing the perspective size of the stage. The central panel was fitted with an actuated counter rake platform at the top, to create a performance platform for the artist. TAIT / FTSI’s Navigator Control System was used to map the movement of the flippers and output data directly to the video controller. The communication amongst the software allowed the show’s video content to automatically adjust depending on the placement of the flippers. TAIT also provided automation for a 10 metre high by 18 metre wide tracking video screen, held by 26 metres of video track truss. Controlled by Navigator, the video screen could move in seven sections, which provided a dynamic visual effect. One of the tour’s most unique features was the B stage, which was positioned at the opposite end of the house, bringing the artist closer to fans seated further away than before. At 14 metres wide and deep, the u-shaped stage featured the scenic LED trim and incorporates custom stairs ascending from the 1.2 metre catwalk to the 2.4 metre upper level. To meet the needs of the tour, the complete system was manufactured in eight weeks.

ATTENTION TO DETAILAutomation expert Bianca Mauro [Jonas Brothers, Nickelback, Britney] was recommended to Bublé’s production team after impressing on the 2010 / 2011 Crazy Love tour. As an independent contractor, Mauro works exclusively with FTSI (Fisher Technical Services) and TAIT equipment and is in charge of programming, operating, troubleshooting, and loading in and out all automation-related equipment. “There are so many moving components in the air and on the stage - there’s the video wall that splits into seven pieces, the three moving band risers, the Austrian curtain that is at the beginning of the show and the flappers, which are the 13 video fingers on the stage that move up and down and include the centre stage lift. This is all TAIT gear being run by FTSI Navigator,” said Mauro. “The video flappers are a brand new feature and complex enough in themselves so you have to be precise. The tolerances are very important as is the levelling of the surrounding deck and making sure they are exactly the way they need to be to operate. So it’s a level of attention to detail that is above a lot of gags on tours. In order for all these elements to operate correctly and perform the way they’re supposed to, every department needs to have the same attention to detail. I work with every department because the equipment I operate is woven into everyone else’s kit, so I’ll collaborate with the video team on the video wall and flappers.” Although the Head of Automation has worked with other motion systems in the past, Mauro has solely used Navigator for the last six years. She believes the system is well suited to the tour due to its versatility. “This interface is dear to me and what I’m comfortable with. The level of quality that comes of TAIT and FTSI gear is incredible and I wouldn’t feel comfortable using any other system. TAIT gear has tolerance and the attention to detail that is necessary for this tour’s package,” she commented. Due to the size of each moving piece involved in the tour, safety is another aspect at the forefront of Mauro’s working day. “These are some beasts I’m automating, but everyone has been very attentive to the fact that the equipment can be dangerous and they respect them. It’s all about communication - as long as I communicate effectively to everyone else what is happening it runs smoothly. They are giant pieces of steel that move very quickly, after all.” Mauro has returned to Bublé’s touring crew

ON THE ROAD: Michael Bublé

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Below: Meyer Sound’s LEO system delivered crystal clear audio; Le Maitre products were selected by Pyrotek to produce the spectacular effects, including 10ft and 15ft Sparkbursts; TPi enjoyed Bublé’s performance at London’s O2 Arena.

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on multiple occasions in part due to the people she works alongside, she explained: “It takes a special kind of touring family to pull off the cooperation to make something like this happen. Without all the people around me I could not do my job. Everybody and everything has to be just right and it’s been a steep learning curve for all departments involved.”

LARGEST SYSTEM TO DATERigorous Technology was contacted by Andy Scott at Lite Alternative, which supplied additional lighting and rigging to production for some of the UK / Ireland leg. “Bublé’s production team had requested a load cell system from Lite Alternative,” explained Rigorous Technology’s Dave Jolly. “We ended up sending out our largest system to date. For rehearsals at LH2 and Sheffield Arena they used 57 of our Kinesys LibraCELLs (a mix of 3.25T and 4.75T), along with a LibraPRO power supply and a LibraWATCH laptop, allowing them to monitor and record loads on all 57 load cells simultaneously from one location.” For the next leg of the tour they kept 12 of the 4.75T LibraCELLs, along with the power supply and laptop, which they used to monitor loads on a large video screen. Head Rigger, Lenyn Barahona (Lady Gaga, Kiss, R.E.M.) was responsible for tour rigging activities, working alongside Rigger, Hector Mimoso, and with each venue’s local rigging crew. “Generally we have around 20 to 24 local riggers up on the venue grid and four to six on the ground,” he explained. “It took four hours to rig the show today and it takes a couple of hours for the de-rig. We carry different types of trusses - Tyler Truss HUD Truss and Tomcat Swing Wing trusses from Christie Lites. TAIT has has also brought their own trusses, which are used for the video walls and the Austrian curtain.”

A PRECISE PROCESSProduction Manager, Roney, brought in old friend - and TPi Stage Manager of the Year 2013 - Craig [Fin] Finley, to stage manage To Be Loved. “We started touring in the early ‘80s in Canada, working on bands such as Barenaked Ladies,” said Finley. “We spent quite a few years working in theatres and arenas in North America and then Dean moved to Michael Bublé and I moved onto Coldplay. This year he came back to

Bublé and we had a chance to do it together as Coldplay was on hiatus.” For the duration of the tour Finley needs to keep everybody safe and micro-manage the day, ensuring schedules are kept to by working closely with the heads of department. “The main challenge for this show has been the automation including the video wall tracking and video flippers on the stage,” said Finley. “As well, we have mobilators, which move the entire band and orchestra risers upstage / downstage in various configurations. That’s a process that is very technical and precise and there are a lot of rehearsals necessary to manage the cues. “Musically, Michael’s a bit different to what I’m used to - it’s not a big rock show, but it looks like a big rock show as well as being charming and funny and musically fantastic. It’s a great evening and I’m loving it. Technically, it has all the high-tech bits - a lot of video content and automation. It’s certainly not a small kit for the type of artist Bublé is - we’re into 19 TransAm trucks over here.”

A PARTY ATMOSPHEREPyrotek were return suppliers for the tour, having been a part of last year’s Crazy Love. Keith Hellebrand (Britney Spears, Bon Jovi, Metallica) is in charge of the pyrotechnic displays, working closely with fellow technician Ray Seymour. “We have a really good opening sequence where we get the show started off nice and hot to wake everybody up. It’s a great song at the beginning and the way the whole show starts is pretty exciting because we create a flame effect,” Hellebrand said. “For Cry Me A River - an encore song - there’s a big pyro hit. That cue has been really important and Michael was detailed about making sure it was dead on. It’s a big hit at the last note.” Pyro Show President / Designer, Lorenzo Cornacchia from Pyrotek, teamed up with Wagner to discuss the desired pyro looks for the songs that would complement the lighting design. “There is also a confetti cue in All You Need Is Love, when Michael walks back from the B stage to the main stage,” continued Wagner. “He wanted a party atmosphere and a festive scene created and nothing says party like lots of confetti. This is a little more than half way through the show and he does about four of five songs on the B stage. He’s always been about the fans and wants to make sure people at the

very back enjoy the show as much as those up front so he always goes out to the B stage and does a couple of songs. It’s really exciting for those people sitting at the back.” Le Maitre products were selected by Pyrotek to produce the spectacular effects, including 10ft and 15ft Sparkbursts, 25ft silver gerbs and 20ft and 25ft blue and green tracer comets. Gerbs were fired from the lighting truss - a sparkle fountain for one second producing a quick spray, in addition to blue and green comets being fired. All the way across the front a row of airbursts were placed, creating a large blast of sparks. “You get a really nice bang with it and then the sparks too,” said Hellebrand. “For the comets, we took the colours from Michael’s favourite hockey team - the Vancouver Canucks.” A classic Pyropaak II 6-way sequential firing system was chosen by the technicians, with the flames - which were Pyrotek’s proprietary products - being controlled using a DMX controller, the Jands ESP II 24-48. Hellebrand continued: “We had some effects we were initially going to fire up from the stage, but it is really tight upstage with our big video wall and the band there so we ran out of space when it came to putting our toys on the stage, but everything on the truss shooting down is still a powerful look. We have curtains and there are some challenges to stay away from that so placement can be difficult. “We always keep a safe distance from the audience. We also have a lot of band members on stage so everything is designed so it’s clear of everyone on stage. The sides of the stage go up a little higher and that’s where we’re shooting down into and there’s nobody up in that area so it’s a nice clean space to do it. There’s also nothing really down the front by the audience. Everywhere we go, the local authorities turn up and we always carry out a demo so they see what the product is.”

A PURE DELIGHT“I’ve been with Bublé for three tours over seven years now and it’s been a pure delight,” enthused Kevin Carswell (Beyonce, Britney Spears, Metallica), as we sat in video world ahead of the London show. The video director first joined Bublé for his Call Me Irresponsible tour and has since formed a great working relationship with the crew and Solotech, who supplied the video equipment for To Be Loved.

ON THE ROAD: Michael Bublé

Below: Head of Automation, Bianca Mauro; When designing the arena show, Stufish based the size of the stage, the height, and size of the video screen on similar sized shows the company had worked on before; DiGiCo’s SD7 console was used in monitor world.

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“Video has definitely stepped up a notch on this tour - it’s a 60ft by 30ft video proprietary wall of Solotech’s called the SL-Pro 8 v3 and the LED spacing is 8mm. It’s a beautiful product that makes up the backdrop of the show and we’ve been using Sam Pattinson and his brilliant staff from Third Company for the content. The show has an early 20th century New York gothic look and an Empire State Building sort of motif. It’s really beautiful. One thing that Kurt Wagner - our show designer - has always done is paint a different picture for each song and we help him in realising that look,” he continued. Four Barco R20+ 20K projectors and a Barco FSN-150 switcher were used for rear projection onto the 15ft by 20ft Da-Lite IMAG screen, along with four Christie Roadster S+18K-J 18K projectors with two HD video cards out the front for the opening projection on the Austrian curtain. The video team also worked with d3 media servers supplied by Solotech, with d3 Technician, Joss Gray, on stand by for support. Carswell continued: “This is the first time we’ve used the server and it’s really a strong box and state of the art as far as media servers go. We have a good grasp of it now and it’s a very powerful tool, which all content is run through.” Carswell worked alongside Crew Chief, Serge Bergeron, d3 Media Server Operator / Wall Technician, Sebastien Cousineau, Projectionist / Camera Operator, Christian Matel, LED Wall Technician / Camera Operator, Martin Perrault, and Wall Technician / Projectionist / Camera Operator, Barrie Roney. “We have five manned cameras - three long glass and two handhelds on stage in the pit - and we’re using one truss cam, four robotic cameras around the stage and one POV capturing the show,” continued Carswell. “Michael is such an energetic act and the fans love to see him on screen. He has a great one-on-one personality with his audience and makes a very intimate room, even if we’re playing at the O2 with 20,000 people, and video just helps with that even more. The audience is on the screen, Michael is on the screen and everyone is interacting.”

AN OPEN MINDED APPROACHThird Company were a new addition to the creative team for Bublé’s tour. The company’s

working relationship with the production began when Winky Fairorth from Tait Towers introduced Third Company’s Sam Pattinson to Bublé’s management and Lighting Designer, Kurt Wagner. “I’ve worked with Winky on the Rolling Stones, U2, Elton John and many other tours over the years,” said Pattinson. “For this tour, aesthetically, we had an open brief. The idea was to encourage an open minded approach in the hope we’d come up with something the existing team hadn’t done already.” Technically, Third Company needed to focus on the LED flippers designed by Stufish. “They are an amazing piece of kit, which offered a few new challenges and opportunities. Firstly, its unusual to have an automated structure mid stage, which needed content that choreographed and synched with the movement of the panels,” continued Pattinson. “And secondly, we could put the panels in the upright and static position, which sat right behind the artist. It’s the closest proximity between an artist and screen that I’ve ever worked with.” Pattinson, the tour’s Creative Director worked with a team of animators, each individual being encouraged to come up with new ideas and expand on the existing ones. Key players were Shiv Pandya and Mark Hough - Pandya came up with the climatic piece for Cry Me a River and Hough designed the Art Deco architectural looks that were a theme throughout the show. “I wanted the screen content to have a consistency and cohesion throughout, a look that reflected the quality and history of Micheal’s repertoire,” explained Pattinson. “Classic North American Art Deco interior design and architecture had the gravitas we needed and offered so much variety that it worked as an overarching theme, that we could keep referring back to and developing as the show progressed.” Within that structure, Third Company used a variety of mediums, from hand drawn to 3D animation and filmic pieces. One poignant piece was a studio shoot of Bublé’s UK fans for the song Home. “We shot it in our in house studio and kept the camera rolling the whole time, which meant we got some lovely candid moments of the fans,” continued the Creative Director. Third Company used a combination of approaches to coordinate the animation with

the flipper choreography - sometimes asking the automation team to programme a sequence, which was filmed and content was designed to fit; and also giving them an animation which they would choreograph to. “Alongside the flipper design, the main screen was made up of seven columns,” said Pattinson. “We had to track the movement, mainly happening in between or at the beginning of songs and we also needed to balance content with IMAG on the static looks. Again, the Art Deco theme came into play here as it works really well in framing the IMAG. I think the architectural looks work well on the 10mm screen too, it gave a sense of depth.”

A TOURING FAMILYEver since Bublé started touring in the UK Suffolk-based catering company, Flying Saucers, has prepared nutritious and delicious meals for the crew and band in Europe and the UK. “They were a little touring family then, and now, despite having quadrupled in size, we are all still one very happy family,” said Flying Saucers’ Val Bowes. “They are very pleased with the way we take care of them, and they are one of the loveliest groups of people to work with - it’s just a pleasure to be part of it.” A typical touring menu includes dishes such as fillet of pork with a port reduction, roasted jersey royals and purple sprouting broccoli and fine green beans; tagliatelle in a blue cheese and spinach cream sauce and oriental duck breast with noodles and stir fried vegetables. The catering team comprised Stuart Gardner, Head Chef, John Goodall, table tennis champ who Michael tries to beat, Lisa Hill, Sophie Peacock and Max Mulligan. According to Bowes, the crew and band were easy to cater for because they enjoyed a wide variety of types of food and were particularly fond of the company’s baking. TPi

Photography: Zoe Mutterwww.michaelbublé.com

www.taittowers.com, www.fishertechnical.comwww.solotech.com, www.christielites.com

www.rigorous-technology.co.uk http://pyrotekfx.com, www.stufish.com

www.treatmentstudio.comwww.flyingsaucerscatering.com

ON THE ROAD: Michael Bublé

Below: Having designed previous tours for Bublé, Stufish was approached to design the most recent production.