BBC RADIO 1 s BIG WEEKEND HEADS TO NORWICH

BBC RADIO 1 s BIG WEEKEND HEADS TO NORWICH BBC RADIO 1 S BIG WEEKEND IS THE FESTIVAL CALENDAR S ANOMALY; WELCOMING THE BIGGEST NAMES IN MUSIC AND NOT CHARGING A PENNY TO SEE THEM. THE EVENT PRIDES ITSELF ON UK LOCATIONS THAT WOULDN T USUALLY ATTRACT HEADLINE ACTS. IT HAS HOSTED MADONNA IN MAIDSTONE, LADY GAGA IN CARLISLE, AND - THIS YEAR - FOO FIGHTERS AND MUSE IN NORWICH S EARLHAM PARK. The Big Weekend marks the start of the UK festival season and is coveted by many councils, which realise the huge PR and investment opportunities it brings. Neil Wyatt, Head of Live Events at the BBC, explained: Over the last few years, the inward investment figures have been fantastic; you re talking about GBP 1.5-3m coming into the region. It s a very tangible benefit. Norwich first came to the BBC s attention in 2012, with the final decision to host the event here being made last year. We look for a location that s not on the doorstep of another major event, explained Wyatt. As we re a free event, we try hard not to take money out of the market. We tend to keep our capacity around 25,000 per 60 day as well for this reason. The most important thing we look for is a really strong partnership with the local council. We don t work in isolation; we work in partnership. Especially because of our outreach work to local youth communities. Although the festival is what makes the headlines, it is more than two days of music. The BBC runs Radio 1 s Academy in the weeks leading up to the event, giving young people the chance to get involved in music and production workshops. The Backstage Academy provides 36 crew for the In New Music We Trust (INMWT) tent. For the festival, the local authority looks after the external security, medics, welfare, traffic, and waste management whilst the BBC delivers the internal security, and all of

Opposite: Snoop Dogg took to the stage for the festival style event. Below: British singer Jess Glynne performed for the crowds. the site s production elements. This year the BBC has gone solo for the first time, opting not to use a producer such as Live Nation or DF Concerts (who have worked with the event previously). The team now consists of Wyatt as Head of Events, Rob Spring as Live Events Manager and Jack May and Laura Armstrong as production managers, with a team of coordinators looking after ticketing, backstage, safety, and administrative roles. Spring explained: We felt there was a duplication of expertise so we ve removed one layer of management and streamlined everything in the process. For me it s been a great move. We re now across every single detail - every flagpole, every concession. We also have a much closer working relationship with our core contractors. Central to this is EnTEEtainment, who has been looking after the technical production of the event since Hackney in 2012. Managing Director Dick Tee, said: In terms of our remit, the BBC events team led the general planning, such as where they want the main stage and all of the OB locations. It s then over to us to look at the finer details. You need a thorough understanding of how the BBC operates. I think we ve got a good handle on it now and that s why we re also working on the BBC Proms, Radio 2 in Hyde Park and Radio 1 s Teen Awards. The main build challenge here has been the ground slope under the main stage, which has meant that the loading dock is 3.5m lower than the stage level, so we ve added extra ramps to be able to move artist equipment quickly and efficiently. STAGING There are three stages on site - the main stage, the INMWT tent and the BBC Introducing Stage, with all PA and lighting provided by a local Norwich supplier, Steve s PA. Spring explained: It s an interesting site, with lots of different areas for us to utilise. There were three different places where we could have positioned the main stage, but we chose the final location due to the natural amphitheatre shape. This meant quite a complex stage build due to the slope, but it offers a great audience experience. When people are standing at FOH level they re almost at the same height as the artist, which is pretty unique. Building all three stages is Serious Stages, back for the fourth year. The main stage was a 25 sq metre Space Roof, with a catwalk front of stage and three sets of steps allowing artists access from the stage to the pit at audience level. Covered working areas totalling 85 sq metres were incorporated into either side of the stage, and the stage is flanked by 9.6-metre wide, 12.5-metre high PA wings, giving an impressive 46.8-metre wide total frontage. In addition, there were two newly-added portrait IMAG screens. Serious Stages team was led by Project Managers Simon Fursman and Tony Boffey, with Jeremy Mosdell and Rob Symns helping to lead a crew of 25 for the five-and-a-half-day load in. Fursman said: There was a 2.5-metre slant on the Earlham Park site, which meant a complex substructure was required to keep the stage decking level. It was actually a lot easier than it could have been, purely down to the excellent pre-planning of the BBC and EnTEEtainment. We were doing site surveys earlier in the year, which gave our in-house CAD designers and engineers plenty of opportunity to come up with a solution. With the BBC wanting to increase the level of the branding across the site, Serious assisted Made Up Design to add a large BBC logo light box to the front of the stage roof. Other new additions included a new decking system and two follow spots incorporated into a spot pod 61

Below: The Foo Fighters were one of the event s headliners. delay PA mast situated behind the FOH. BBC Radio 1 s Big Weekend was recently awarded an accolade for its disabled access. This year Serious designed and built the access viewing platforms for the first time, located with clear sightlines of the main stage and adapted to fit the sloped surface. With minimal room available behind the main stage, EnTEEtainment needed to find a suitable holding area. Tee said: Eventually a warehouse was found two miles off site which works really well. All the artists vehicles and technical equipment is sent to the holding area first and then we call it onto site as we require it. There s a whole traffic management plan in place to make sure that the access roads we need remain clear. Tee is joined on site by his daughter and right hand woman Francesca (Frankie) who takes ownership of the technical artist liaison and advancing for 60+ artists performing across three stages. Other key team members of Tee s team included Kim Bickell and Kerris Head. LIGHTING Neg Earth provided the lights, rigging and hoist elements for the main stage, with PRG taking responsibility for the INMWT tent. Back for the third year, Tom Lesh of Lushious Design (working on behalf of Neg Earth), is the 62 LD for the main stage. He said: I design the rig and work with each of the bands LDs to identify any additional needs. All LDs are sent a Wysiwyg file, so they can program in advance and arrive on site ready to go, along with the three Wysiwyg systems we provide at FOH for pre-show programming during show days. the addition of four vertical truss towers to split the back screen into three and house additional lighting fixtures; a mini replica of their touring set up which Neg Earth have provided along with crew. Other scenic additions include a red velour drape for Florence + The Machine s performance, commissioned by Mary Russel We felt there was a duplication of expertise so we ve removed one layer of management and streamlined everything in the process... Rob Spring, BBC Radio 1 and 1xtra Live Events Manager We ve had a few requests come in this year from the broadcast teams, such as lighting trees either side of the stage and adding some little satellite lights to the roof, but nothing too complex. Once the flown rig is in place, nothing is added throughout the weekend, with most artists opting for floor packages instead. Sunday s headliner, Foo Fighters, is the only act to bring in anything majorly different, with Limited and manufactured by Blackout. Lesh controls via two MA Lighting grandma 2 consoles and two High End Systems Hog 4 consoles, with space for guest consoles over an Artnet system. The rig has been chosen carefully to match each LD s requirements and allow a level of flexibility for the BBC DJs who play their sets during the changeovers. Automated fixtures include 24 Martin Professional MAC Viper Profiles, 28 Clay Paky

Below: All of the staging was handled by Serious Stages. Alpha Wash 1500 s, 12 Clay Paky Sharpys. LED fixtures included 26 Martin Professional MAC Auras, 24 I-Pix BB4 s, 19 I-Pix Satellites, 23 Philips Color Kinetics IW Blast 12TR and 12 Pixel Range Pixel Par 90Ls. For INMWT, PRG s Gordon Torrington has adapted Serious Stage s stage deck with truss sections, creating a bespoke structure which welcomed Ella Eyre and Jamie T. whole structure, turning it into a giant graphic equaliser. There s no motion graphics in here, only streamed footage onto the IMAGs, so it s really important that the lighting takes over and ensures there are no black holes on camera. Ben Hornshaw worked on the original design and we re really pleased with how it s come together. Every single piece of truss that makes up the stage has LED lighting embedded into it so that the whole structure can come to life. - Gordon Torrington, Lighting Programmer & Project Manager for PRG Torrington said: Every single piece of truss that makes up the stage has LED lighting embedded into it so that the whole structure can come to life. There s 104 Chroma-Q Color Block DB4s which are pixel mapped, meaning we can run chases and sequences across the 64 Torrington and Hornshaw were supported by PRG Account Director, Kelly Cornfield, and Q Willis, PRG s Head of Rigging who designed the six ground supports. Crew were Chris Scott, Chris Davis and Mark Pritchard. Similar to the main stage, the INMWT tent features a full size grandma house control, with Wysiwyg reading suite. There s a huge amount of kit in here, continued Torrington. We ve added some new kit as well, including the 280W 14R platinum lamp which is only available through PRG. It s a really high powered beam light that works well in a tented environment. We also use PRG s Series 400 interface, allowing Artnet routing via touch screen laptop from FOH for the many lighting desks we see over the weekend. The full rig contained 24 GLP X4 s, 12 VariLite VL3000 Spots, 10 Icon beams, 13 Vari-Lite VL4000 washes, four Clay Paky K10 B-Eyes, 19 I-Pix BB4 s, 30 Clay Paky Stormy Strobes, 12 Elidy-S Pannels, 104 Chroma-Q Colour Block DB4 s, various generic lamp bars and blinders, and two grandma 2 Light consoles. AUDIO No stranger to the festival scene is Britannia Row on audio, project managed by Lez Dwight and Audio Crew Chief John Gibbon. Dwight said: There is a lot of pre-planning to ensure that sound limits are adhered to. Vanguardia advise us on sensitive areas and off site limits. We then design speaker systems to suit. You never actually know how it s going to

Below: Taylor Swift used her own customised microphone. go until you re on site though. We run both the main and second stage PAs up to show level during sound propagation. This gives us, the promoter, and local authorities a good idea of levels for the show. This year, the main stage system has been designed to take into consideration the 1:20 gradient of the bowl. If anything, it helps out a little bit with regards to audio containment; with a flat site sound can travel further. Main stage rig included 24 L-Acoustics K s1, eight L-Acoustics K1SBs, eight L-Acoustics KARA, 30 L-Acoustics Sub Bass, and eight L-Acoustics ARCs. Side hangs consisted of a further 24 L-Acoustics K2 boxes with three delay towers distributing sound via six L-Acoustics V-Dosc, and four L-Acoustics Sub Elements. For control, two DiGiCo SD5 s, two Avid Profiles, and a Midas PRO2c completed the set up. Dwight continued: Nine times out of ten the headliners will bring their own consoles and all acts have their own engineers. I look after the Foo Fighters for Brit Row so it s really cool to have them here. We are loading into Sunderland for the first stadium show of their European tour on Sunday, the same day they play Radio 1. So we ve put a duplicate control system in for Radio 1. 65

Below: L-R: Dick Tee, Frankie Tee, Laura Armstrong, Rob Spring, Jack May, Neil Wyatt; Tom Lesh; PRG s Gordon Torrington; Lez Dwight; Neil Wyatt. The INMWT PA set up included 24 L-Acoustics K2, 18 L-Acoustics Sub Bass, eight L-Acoustics ARCs, and eight L-Acoustics KARA elements, with 18 d&b audiotechnik M2 stage monitors. Consoles comprised two Avid Profiles at FOH and two Yamaha PM5Ds for monitor duties. SPECIAL EFFECTS BPM SFX provided the special effects across both of the stages, back for the seventh year. The team was led by Adam Murray (Managing Director) and Liam Haswell (Technical Director). Haswell said: We re always empowered doing the Radio 1 events, as it s always about what can we do to make this more dynamic on the effects level. The tricky bit is co-ordinating everything so that live (the crowd) and TV gets the best possible view of the special effect elements on the show. There is a great crew onsite; Rob Spring and Jack May, the Enteetainment team; Gary Lathan of Safety First Solutions and, of course, all the touring production teams of the artists performing are essential as always in assisting us with everything we needed. There is always a lot of co-ordination to make these things 66 happen and they are all crucial cogs in a wheel to get the moments delivered to the best they can be. Echoing the feeling across the site, Haswell continued: Each year is something new; we love doing these shows, it s the start of the official summer festival season. Radio 1 has such a dynamic events team pushing forward new and original experiences for the crowd. They are always about what they can do to make it a new, differing, exciting experience every year. Plus the line-ups are just ridiculous from a talent perspective. We re always tremendously proud to be associated. The effects for the main stage included an array of stage pyrotechnic moments, CO2 Jets, XL Confetti Mega Shooters, Xtreme Stadium Shots (streamers) and Inferno IMAG 20-metre Flames which were integrated into performances from Charlie XCX, Rita Ora, David Guetta, Muse, and for the grand pyrotechnic finale following the Foo Fighters closing performance on Sunday. The INMWT stage consisted of confetti effects for Circa Waves and Sigma and CO2 Jets, stage pyrorotechnics, and confetti effects for Ella Eyre. VIDEO VER provided screens for both stages. Its new stock of WinVision Air 9mm is the screen of choice, with a 16-metre wide, 9-metre tall screen forming the backdrop on the main stage, with IMAGs either side, plus IMAG screens for the INMWT tent. Paul Gilzene, project manager, said: For the first time the IMAGS are portrait not landscape, allowing additional branding opportunities for the BBC and giving the headline performers more screen space. The Foo Fighters is splitting the back screen into three sections with lit truss pylons and controlling each section separately. All of this is done via a Christie X20 Spyder processor. The screens display a mix of motion graphics, supplied content from the bands, and live streamed footage, with the BBC doing the vision mixing and VER on site to oversee any technical issues. OgleHog s Chris Saunders has worked with the BBC for over 15 years. As screen supervisor, his remit was to manage and mix the IMAG screens. Saunders worked with Dick Tee to specify the equipment needed, choosing VER as supplier. On site, he is based with showcaller

Below: Dick Tee of EnTEEtainment with the BBC s Laura Armstrong; Paul Gilzene; Rita Ora on stage. Louise Segal, in an OB truck away from the main stage. He said: There is the events team and the BBC broadcast team all looking for their angles and requirements, and on top of this additional artist requirements such as the Foo Fighters, who are bringing in a load of additional cameras and have specific ideas of what they want. My job is to coordinate and manage all of this content, which is much easier if we re based in the same place. There s a lot going on from a small corner of an OB truck! The main stage portrait screens are a change this year. They are only being used for headliners, with the additional space being treated as electronic scrims for the rest of the time. We created graphic animated backgrounds to fill the space, and flew portrait stings and band intros. As well as the camera feeds, Saunders is queuing up all of the VTs, graphics, promos and editing on the fly to fill any gaps between content. The media servers sit at FOH with Saunders coordinating what goes up, where, when and how. All content provided by the bands is painstakingly screened by Jack May, BBC s 68 Live Event Production Manager, to ensure it meets the broadcaster s stringent rules on selfpromotion. It s details like this that make BBC Radio 1 s Big Weekend so different from other festivals. It s about more than just the live event - there are a considerable number of other teams from the BBC whose objectives need to be met, from live streaming on the red button to radio, TV, social media and marketing. Rob Spring concluded: The event has definitely evolved this year; the site is double the size with the same amount of people, which has given it a true festival feel. We re now up there with the larger festivals in terms of production and we ll continue this growth next year. TPi Photos: Courtesy of BBC www.bbc.co.uk/radio1 www.blackout-ltd.com www.dicktee.com www.verrents.com www.prg.com www.britanniarow.com www.stages.co.uk www.madeupltd.com http://bpm-sfx.com/