Coldplay

It was the first time I had visited the 16,000 capacity Globe Arena in Stockholm. An interesting giant golf ball design measuring 110m in diameter, with an inner height of 85m, it’s currently the largest hemispherical building in the world.

    The structurally intriguing venue was a great complement to the latest Coldplay production which sprang to life from rehearsals at LiteStructures Studios in August, three years after the band ‘christened’ the facility. Inevitably, their two dates at the Globe went down a storm with an incredible crowd appreciation to their rocky Viva La Vida performance.

    Paul Normandale designed the lighting, scenic and visual components, so I prepared as always to be surprised and this was no exception, with its gently curving ‘wave’ trusses (fabricated by Total Solutions) and PufferSphere XL projection globes, which were previously seen as part of the TPi Awards 2008 set design.

    Normandale’s initial discussions with frontman Chris Martin unearthed plenty of ideas and a few absolute rejections — including the use of an onstage LED wall, which came as a relief to the current fashion.

    Martin also expressed a desire to get as close to the crowd as possible, hence the substantial thrusts that protrude from both sides of stage. Audience interaction is a very big part of Coldplay shows — particularly of this one — and, as ever, Martin wanted something new.

    Initially, side screens were also vetoed, challenging Normandale to think about imaginative ways of integrating visual elements like video into the space, and this is where he came up with the idea of the PufferSpheres.

    Six inflatable spheres help define the space — five onstage and one above the FOH mix position — with internal projections provided Barco/Christie machines fitted with fish eye lenses and spherically mapped via three Hippotizer media servers. The onstage globes are on a fixed-speed Kinesys Vector automation system, and they move in and out throughout the show.

    Also central to the design and introducing a wavey architectural ambience are four custom curved horizontal ladder beam trusses which are on a vari-speed Kinesys K2 automation system and also move throughout the show. This changes the space and feel of the performance area quite dramatically by forming different curves and sine wave effects, getting particularly interesting towards the end of the set.

    Summit Steel is supplying all the rigging and automation kit for the UK and European legs, overseen by head rigger Gabe Wood. The automation operators are Tommy Green (K2) and Steve Richards (Vector) who, like many on this very friendly production team, are US-based.

    The rigging supply includes a 26-way Kinesys variable speed automation system with K2 control and a 10-way Kinesys fixed speed automation system with Vector control; 46 one-tonne CM Lodestar hoists and eight half-tonnes for lighting and scenic rigging, along with a further two two-tonne and 20 one-tonne hoists for the PA hangs, plus 76cm and 52cm JTE trussing.

    Normandale entrusted the lighting direction for the first couple of legs of the tour to Mark ‘Sparky’ Risk, until Fraser Elisha, fresh from paternity leave, took on the role shortly after Stockholm.

    Lighting and softs are hung from seven 60’ wide cross stage and four side stage above-thrust trusses, with four additional trusses supplied for cable management, all of which are constructed from JTE trussing.

    Fixtures include 88 movers, with 17 of the new Martin Professional MAC 2000 Wash XBs and four Novalight Nova Flower effects. Ten of the XBs are positioned upstage centre on the floor in the centre to wash the band and the backdrops.

    The Nova Flowers are a fully programmable 1200W ‘flower effect’ with pan, tilt, colour shutter and other features, and these are also upstage on the deck. Used sparingly, they produce some stunning aerial and backlighting effects.

    There are also seven standard MAC 2000 washes, 32 MAC 700 Spots on the wave trusses, with 20 MAC 250 Washes on the floor, 10 per side, used for cross washing the stage and thrusts, proving themselves incredibly bright for a small fixture.

    In the roof and on the floor are a total of 27 Atomic strobes with colour scrollers and a combination of 28 4-lites and eight 2kW Mole-beams for audience illumination. As a contrast to the DWEs, Normandale has added 12 of the new i-Pix BB4 wash lights on to the front and mid trusses on which Risk commented: “They’re very bright and offer smooth cross-fading colour changes.”

    There are two principal backdrops: the Viva La Vida logo which comes in towards the end of the set, and a large version of ‘Liberty Leading The People’, the Eugene Delacroix painting featured on the album front cover which is revealed at the top of the show.

    Multiple drape movements are a current Normandale trademark, with lifts and drops zooming in and out throughout the show via a combination of electric kabukis, drop-out solenoids and four ways of the Kinesys K2 which are used to move blacks and other scenic elements to reveal a perforated projection screen.

    Another Normandalesque flourish comes via a series of 650W Omni floods on low stands dotted around the floor, soft-illuminating the band, and four ‘Clip Light’ dolly carts. The carts are all on wheels, with a pipe in the middle containing randomly placed clip lights in clusters of three, plus two 500W PAR 56s at the base to highlight the tree-like construction. These are used for band back-lighting at the start of the show.

    Specified by Normandale, the show is being controlled from a Wholehog III console and a full Wing, which he and Risk initially programmed during the first production rehearsal period at Wembley. Lighting equipment is being supplied by Lite Alternative in the UK and Europe, and Upstaging in the US, with the worldwide control package coming from Lite Alt.

VIDEO
The PufferSpheres, the upstage screen and the addition of two high level side screens on the ends of the stage left/right above-thrust trusses that were added a couple of weeks into Europe brings the projection up to 12 machines plus spares. These, along with cameras, PPU, Catalyst and Hippotizer digital media servers and crew are being supplied by XL Video, whose Des Fallon is account project manager.

    Working closely with Edinburgh’s Pufferfish, XL jointly developed Normandale’s six internally projected spheres and their steel cage housings which, along with the wave trusses, are a major scenic feature.

    Impressed with the technology, Chris Martin commented on the band’s website: “We’ve got some incredible balls. And I mean that in the most technological of senses. In fact, they’re the most magic balls since John Lee Hooker had about 50 kids!”

    Video playback content was specially commissioned and produced by Justine Catterall and the live video is directed by Andy Bramley.

    The onstage PufferSpheres each measure 2m in diameter, with the FOH one at 3m. Each day, the spheres are attached to the steel cages which also hold the projectors pointing vertically downwards, plus the inflation technology and fans. Onstage, the globes are fed by five Barco CLM R10 projectors and at FOH by a Christie 20kW, all fitted with fish eye lenses.

    Playback content for all the globes is supplied by three dual head output Hippotizers complete with a funky plug-in to create the 360° projections and align the images correctly. At 1400 x 1050 pixels, it’s HD material in a slightly idiosyncratic format, working on multiple layers, so the whole exercise is really stretching the Hippos, explained operator Ben Miles.

    The Hippos are sitting backstage, and he runs them via Hippotizer’s proprietary Zoo Keeper remote software from his grandMA Lite desk at FOH.

    The 60’ wide white cyc is used for projection. It’s fed by four Barco FLM HD18s rigged on a central truss, and sent a mix of Andy Bramley’s I-Mag images and pre-recorded footage stored on a Catalyst media server. Pre-cut camera images are sent from Bramley’s GV Kayak mixer to Miles at FOH to be output to the onstage screen or the spheres via the Catalyst. All the media servers are triggered via the grandMA Lite running on ArtNet protocol. The side screens are fed directly from the Kayak.

    The cyc is covered by a curtain which raises and lowers throughout the show depending on when the projection is running.

    XL’s lead projectionist on the tour is Matt Vassallo, who runs out approximately 600m of fibre optic cable each day to the projectors, plus 1.2km of cable looms!

    Andy Bramley is directing his second Coldplay tour. His mix is based on four cameras, two with long lenses stationed either side of the arena, and two in the pit. The long-lensed cameras are positioned at relatively low height on the sides to create a real depth of field behind the band, and produce amazing ‘sea of hands‘ effects, for which he also requested that the side stage thrusts be reduced from 6m to 4m in height.

    He mixes using a GV Kayak switcher with a Magic DVE, used judiciously to enhance a couple of songs. They do a full camera shot record every night and also a DVD wide shot record from FOH.

    Bramley basically had a “clean slate” creative brief, with Chris Martin coming up with certain suggestions which he took onboard and interpreted into his visual picture. He finds the idiosyncratic, off-beat I-Mag show immensely rewarding to mix, fusing the band’s authentic, organic performance style with lots of movement, energy and feeling that is being given new and interesting shapes.

    “It takes a lot of effort to get right, particularly with the globe images,” recalled Bramley, but the overall results, particularly when integrated with all the other visual elements, are creating a stunning and thought-provoking work.

SOFTS & CUSTOM STAGING
Working with Normandale, Hangman produced all of the soft goods while its sister company, Metalman, designed and manufactured the custom staging. Whilst voiles and stage silks, lit in variety of ways,  were used to impressive effect, the band were also adamant that they wanted to add an extra dimension to their Viva La Vida tour artwork.

    Hangman was tasked with bringing the artwork to life with UV reactive paint while staying true to the original artwork. This presented a particular challenge as although the artwork could be faithfully replicated at the vast sizes required (one was more than 3,000ft2), the world of digital printing has yet to come up with a UV reactive ink. Hangman used a variety of techniques including various UV reactive substrates and hand-painted UV paints to achieve the desired effect.

    The Norfolk company also worked closely with Pufferfish to help create a variety of masks and covers for its PufferSpheres, to ensure their best presence in an arena situation.

    Meanwhile, Metalman manufactured all the custom staging for the UK rehearsals before the band headed off to the States for the first part of their tour with a duplicate set produced in America.

    Pieces designed and manufactured by Metalman included sliding decks which revealed a hidden trampoline and crash mat, rolling ramps and four custom-built LED illuminated decks — two of which formed a drum riser and were raised and lowered on a hydraulic lift.

LASERS
Supplied by Strictly FX, four Arctos 10000 white light diode lasers are operated and tech’d for the tour by Mike Hartle, who explained that they worked closely with Normandale on integrating lasers into the show, again looking for a unique and different take on the medium.

    The 10W RGB lasers add a blend of colour and movement to compliment the lighting and stage design. Hartle stressed that a great deal of detail went into designing the cues and capturing the strength, emotion and flow of the music through choice of animation and colour, giving each laser-featured song has its own distinct style and aesthetics.

    The four units are placed along the back of the stage for fullest coverage of main and B stage action. Control is via Showtime Live software and Lasershow Designer 2000.

AUDIO
Lancashire-based rental giant Wigwam Acoustics is the sound contractor for the UK and European legs — the firm is collaborating with Eighth Day Sound for the American section of the tour.

    The show is mixed by Coldplay’s engineer Daniel Green, who chose the d&b J-Series system which is looked after by Tony Smith and a crew of six, who were all also enjoying a calm, relaxed atmosphere on the second day at Stockholm under the production management of Craig Finlay.

    Flown above the stage are 16 d&b J8 line array elements per side with four J12 underhangs and six flown J–Subs a side, plus four B2 subs per side on the floor. The side hangs are another 16 J8s per side and in Stockholm, because of the geometry and seating plan of the Globe, there was a rear 270° hang of 12 J8s each side. For infills, they are using a selection of d&b Q7s and Q10s.

    “The fidelity of the system is great,” said Smith, adding that the subs are powerful and rich, and that they use d&b’s ROPE control surface for time alignment and EQ which makes the set-up highly flexible. It is all driven by d&b’s proprietary D12 amps.

    Green’s FOH console is a Digidesign Venue, being run with a side car wing and various Pro Tools plug-ins. They record the show every night, and these are utilised for virtual soundchecks when the band can’t be there.

    Outboard includes a TC 22 delay unit, and Eventide H8000 ultra-harmonizer which they had been using in the studio, and a Lexicon 960L reverb which Green wanted for “the real thing” as opposed to using the console’s onboard options.

    The speakers are all run digitally with XTA processing and front end control, so they can take advantage of XTA’s AudioCore remote control software and have the flexibility of EQ’ing the system from different points around the room.

    As one would expect, it’s a full bodied, hyper-clear sound with seriously punchy vocals and lots of power, all contributing to one of Coldplay’s most dynamic shows to date.

    There is a full drum kit, plus triggers to run E-Drums, which Green uses at FOH to open specific gates, rather than an audio signal.

    Monitors are run on another Venue, consuming approximately 90 channels including eight-way ‘shout’ mics, FOH triggers, ambient mics, comms, etc, with no outboards but running Wave plug-ins, all mixed by Chris Wood with technician Nick ‘Mystic’ Davis providing the tech data in lieu of Wood’s shyness!

    There are four d&b M2 wedges onstage, a thumper seat for drummer Will Champion and for the other band members there are in-ears which are looked after by Stephanie Thomson. She is running four stereo IEM mixes for the band with four spares across eight frequencies, all on a Sennheiser Evolution G2 radio system with five mono and stereo technical mixes for monitors and backline. Bassist Guy Berryman additionally runs a d&b J-Sub with his bass amp to add weight to the sound.

    Chris Martin’s mic is a Shure SM58 RL with a Shure UR40 receiver. He has four different radio mic positions around the main stage. The backing vocal mics are Neumann KSM 105s and the rest are a selection of Shures, Sennheisers, DPAs, Neumanns and Avalon D1s.

    Among others also playing a major part on the tour are top TM Andy Franks and catering firm Eat To The Beat.

    Coldplay return to the UK and Ireland in December, when anyone with preconceptions about this band and their show can have their hearts and minds opened by a stylish, unpretentious, positive and very enjoyable mixed-media performance.

TPi

Photography by Louise Stickland