the mrs carter show

ON THE ROAD: Beyoncé
BEYONCÉ :
THE MRS CARTER SHOW
THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED MRS. CARTER SHOW WORLD TOUR BEGAN IN BELGRADE, SERBIA, IN
APRIL WITH BEYONCÉ DELIVERING YET ANOTHER HIGHLY CREATIVE AND TECHNICALLY DEMANDING
TOURING VISION. SET DESIGNER, LEROY BENNETT, WAS AT THE HELM OF THE SHOW’S MASTERFUL
VISUAL DISPLAYS, WHICH INCLUDED A RECORD BREAKING LIGHTING DESIGN. TPi’S KELLY MURRAY
SAW PARKWOOD ENTERTAINMENT’S INCREDIBLE PRODUCTION.
When global star, American singer /
songwriter, actress, producer and director,
Beyoncé Knowles plans a tour, she is in
the incredible position to be able to do
so with her own multi-faceted company,
Parkwood Entertainment. Not only servicing
her various projects and branding for TV
audiences and her record buying public,
Parkwood Entertainment also has staff wellversed in the world of live production. The
close team of technical experts and creatives
who lead the way in terms of getting the
artist’s idea made into a packageable
show is lead by Production Mangers Alex
Miasnikof and Malcolm Weldon.
24
PRODUCTION
Before landing the prestigious role of
Production Manager for Beyoncé, Alex
Miasnikof previously worked for Montreal-based
Solotech, touring with various artists including
Celine Dion before becoming a Cirque du Soleil
Production Manger / Technical Director. After
three years with the circus, Celine Dion’s team
asked him to return as a Stage Manager and
then as a Production Manager.
Miasnikof furthered: “Ken Ehrilch - Director
of Celine’s show - refered me to Beyoncé’s camp
when they where looking for a Production
Manager so I’ve only been working with her
for the past year. I was hired for her Back To
Business show for the opening of the Revel
Casino. That led to a pretty full year between
the Superbowl, the tour and promo events.”
The rehearsals were held in the New York
area and lasted for six weeks. Miasnikof
explained that finding a building which could
accommodate the show’s needs for a month
and a half was quite a challenge: “We spent
the first month in a building at a shipyard we
adapted by bringing in a Stageco roof and from
there, we moved to the Izod Center for the final
rehearsals.”
The tour is a huge production, with the sheer
amount of equipment from each department
needing to fit together in harmony. “We’re
ON THE ROAD: Beyoncé
Opposite: Beyoncé’s tour has become one of the brightest show’s on record. Below: Production Manager, Alex Miasnikof; Monitor Engineer, Daniel Gonzalez with his Avid Profile; System Tech Arno
Forno chose d&b for the PA.
dealing with a complex assembly of simple
elements. What we affectionately call the ‘wall
of Inferno’ [the wall of lights] is a good example
of that. The concept is pretty simple, a few
Sharpys, strobes and moving mirrors creating a
full back wall of lights seems simple, but when
you factor in all the parameters it becomes an
interesting puzzle!”
The initial design was based on the Back To
Business show, which was really video driven
with a 100ft wide by 40ft high video wall and a
100ft wide by 20ft high mid stage moving wall.
“Once we started designing the show, Beyoncé
slowly moved away from the video element and
decided to go with more of a lighting driven
show,” noted Miasnikof.
Choosing the tour’s suppliers was therefore
a tricky task, as the look of the show changed
along the way, so did the technical elements.
“The vendor selection was a long process. The
show had a certain level of complexity and a
lot of products are either custom-built or were
brand new products. Therefore we needed to
be sure that the selected vendors were able
to support our needs,” he confirmed. Perhaps
one of the biggest achievements was using the
recently launched 446 SGM X-5 strobes, which
were supplied by Upstaging.
Being the new person on such a huge tour
was no problem for the PM who stated: “I
always work with the ‘if it’s not broken don’t
fix it’ mentality. Therefore I’ve hired a lot of
the crew who have worked with Beyoncé on
past tours - some of them were with her pre
Destiny’s Child - and built my team from there.
“We have an incredible team of people who
have made the impossible possible. It was quite
an ambitious show to build and travel with, but
everybody rolled their sleeves up and managed
25
ON THE ROAD: Beyoncé
Below: The automation team: Jamie Pharand, TK Woo and Russell Macias; The video crew with IMAG Director, Kevin Carswell; Production Stage Manager, Terry Cooley, with TPi’s Hannah Eakins; The
moving LED video wall from Chaos Visual Productions comprised 198 tiles of Everbrighten BR15mm, 22 tiles wide by nine tiles high.
to build this show into a tourable package,” he
confirmed.
“There were quite a few challenges but I
believe the biggest challenge was to keep this
show to a tourable scale. The reduced version
[it gets even bigger Stateside] has 129,000 lbs
of equipment that has to be rigged. Keeping
the artistic integrity of the show in a tourable
package was definitely a challenge but I want
to thank our head rigger - Chad Koeler - who
worked miracles and still does on a daily basis!”
concluded Miasnikof.
Production Stage Manager, Terry Cooley,
has worked with Beyoncé since her careercatapulting Destiny’s Child days (alongside one
time band mates Kelly Rowland and Michelle
Williams). Having worked with Beyoncé for
some time, Cooley’s role has changed over time,
as he explained: “As the years have gone on,
she’s become very involved in the show, where
as in the early days I would talk more with the
choreographers, making sure all the gags were
running safely and independently away from the
backing dancers for example.
“Now I work specifically with the band and
production, I know the music and show in
detail which enables the flexibility needed from
a production stage manager. With Beyoncé in
particular, I keep an eye on her movements so
26
that she always has a go-to person during the
show. If she needs anything production related,
I’m the direct contact for her performance,” said
Cooley.
Before the show starts each night Cooley
can be found doing various tasks which enables
the gig to run smoothly. This includes allocating
labour, helping with logistics, dealing with
each venue and any language barriers that may
entail. “In particular I work closely with Beyoncé
and her show directors. We have to get the
show in and out on time and right every day,”
he concluded.
AUDIO
8th Day Sound’s Stephen Curtin started working
with Beyoncé in 2011 as her band’s monitor
engineer before the opportunity to move to
FOH came up and has retained the same desk
throughout. He told TPi: “I work with a DiGiCo
SD7. It’s my favourite desk and the one that
I’m the most comfortable with, I like the way
it sounds, and the flexibility of it. There are
things I can do on this desk that I can’t do easily
on others. The way this desk is set up is very
user-friendly. I use a lot of the internal effects;
reverbs and delays and I also use Waves with
the console too, for summing.”
For vocals, Beyoncé uses her signature
custom-made chrome-finish Sennheiser SKM
5200-II handheld transmitter, with an MD 5235
dynamic capsule on top. “She’s got a great
voice, a very powerful voice and this Sennheiser
combination is the right choice for her,” Curtin
stated. The backing singers use the 5005e
capsules, making Sennheiser the mic of choice
all around. In total, four 3732’s, nine SKM
5200’s, six ME 5005e capsules and three ME
5235 capsules are used on stage.
“Beyoncé really likes to make sure that the
live performance sounds like the record, “ Curtin
continued. “So everything that makes the song
sound like the record is here because she gives
her all in her performances.”
On the side of the stage in monitor world,
freelance engineer Daniel Gonzalez is now
manning Beyoncé’s mix. Like at FOH, the band’s
monitor engineer is using a DiGiCo SD7 but for
Gonzalez, an Avid Profile is the desk for the job.
He said: “I’ve been on this console for so long,
it’s natural to me. There’s always something else
you can do on a different desk, and I’m the only
one not using a SD7 but it’s because the Profile
works for me.
“The tour is going great. The UK has been
exciting and Manchester has been the loudest
crowd by far which can really affect the mix
because of the loud screams. I actually have to
ON THE ROAD: Beyoncé
Below: Lighting Director, Whitney Hoversten; Beyoncé decided she wanted her tour to be lighting driven; The lighting rig comprised almost 1,000 fixtures, some of which were brand new and some
of which were customised by lighting vendor, Upstaging.
change what I’m working on to compensate for
the crowd noise! But at the same time, Beyoncé
really thrives off that interaction which is what
we want.”
For in-ears, everyone uses Sensaphonics
which has been Beyoncé’s choice for quite a
while now. “She knows what she likes and she
prefers them. Their staff have been awesome
and have even brought us new cables through
the night! It’s important to know that you
can rely on someone when you’re on such a
big tour like this, so we’re really happy with
Sensaphonics,” Gonzalez said.
Beyoncé wears the 2Max model alongside
her backing vocalists and the band and techs
wear the 3Max. For Gonzalez though, being
able to hear as closely as possible what Beyoncé
does, is important. “I use the 2Max because
I specifically mix Beyoncé and her back up
singers. It’s very different mixing in an arena
environment compared to mixing in a studio
but we have to make the sound as accurate as
possible.
“She has a very even mix and she’s a really
fun artist to work for because this is a really
creative show. And as I have a great relationship
with 8th Day, they’ve been incredible too.
Anything that you could want from an outside
touring company, you get with them. They do
28
whatever they need to get the job done and
their crew are great,” concluded Gonzalez.
System Tech and Audio Crew Chief, Arno
Forno, a Belgium-based 8th Day Sound
employee, is very clear on his gear preference.
He highlighted: “We’re rigging a d&b
audiotechnik J-Series. It’s a very consistent
system, it’s very easy to manipulate and I always
get good, fast results from it.”
The system comprises 24 J8’s per side, eight J
subs per side, four J12’s per side and the primary
speaker clusters are flown at a 270º angle (12
V12’s per side hang) with 12 B-2 subs per side.
“Everything is smooth and easy with d&b,”
continued Forno. “We’re finished setting up on
a daily basis by 2pm because to physically put
the PA together it takes less than 30 minutes,
which is another bonus for the time constraints
you can face on a big arena tour like this. One
of the most positive things about d&b is that if I
need anything done, it will be done in less than
24 hours. They’re on the ball!” he smiled.
LIGHTING
The introduction of Peter Johansson’s SGM
X-5 LED strobes helped to inspire multi-award
winning Production Designer, LeRoy Bennett,
who specified 446 pieces, making it the
brightest show ever measured (in lux output) on
a concert stage.
The low profile, lightweight X-5 is designed
to deliver the same output as conventional
strobes from one fifth of the power. Housing
2,970 LED’s, power consumption of 360W with
lamp life of 50,000 hours, contained in a slim
aluminium chassis, it is designed into three cells to boost creativity.
These attributes had been brought to
Bennett’s attention by one of his partners,
programmer Cory FitzGerald, and Randy Wade,
who heads up SGM, in Houston, Texas. “I
was impressed by the combination of power
consumption, brightness and rugged design,”
LeRoy explained. “But I was particularly
impressed by the fact that each strobe breaks
down to three individual cells, enabling me to
project very low res graphics as well a bright
blasts of light and strobing,” he said. “Most of
them are in a 4 by 4 block formation.”
Once Bennett had completed the final
look of the show, he handed the reigns over
to Lighting Director, Whitney Hulverston, to
operate the mammoth design. Hoversten
commented: “LeRoy is brilliant to say the least.
Shows nowadays are like going to see a movie
- with all the video - but Beyoncé wanted a big
lighting show this time which lit LeRoy’s face up!
It’s very bold and a lot of fun to play with.
ON THE ROAD: Beyoncé
Below: TAIT created a bespoke stage for the tour; The tour carried a lot of pyro and gags, including 180 Le Maitre pieces, supplied by Strictly FX; Lead Rigger, Chad Koehler; during the show; The
tour’s visual concepts were the work of renowned Production Designer and Lighting Designer, LeRoy Bennett; The crew had six weeks of full production rehearsals in New York.
“LeRoy is very into mirrors right now so we
have some Martin Professional MAC 700 fixtures
that have been customised by our lighting
vendor, Upstaging. The light has been removed
and replaced with a mirror so that the Sharpys
point up towards the mirror fixtures [which are
hung on a circular truss] and redirect the light in
another direction, which looks really different,”
Hoversten explained.
The huge lighting rig comprises two MA
Lighting grandMA2’s, 198 customised Martin
Professional MAC 700 mirrors, 71 Martin
Professional Vipers, 94 Martin Professional
Auras, 28 Philips Vari-Lite 3500’s, two Martin
Professional MAC III’s, 208 Clay Paky Sharpys,
a whopping 446 SGM X-5 strobes and seven
Syncolites. The lighting crew has a dozen people
in its road team.
“She gives 110% every night without fail and we do a good job at
capturing that...”
“The Sharpy is by no means new or
customised but it still continues to impress
me because you can get some really amazing
looks from it. The SGM strobes and the Martin
Professional MAC 700 mirrors are also very cool
and the support from all the manufacturers has
been really good, especially with SGM because
its product is so new. It has been very quick and
responsive,” stated the LD.
For control, Hoversten uses an MA Lighting
grandMA2. He highlighted: “I didn’t spec the
desk, LeRoy did, but I would have chosen the
same one. I like the grandMA2’s reliability. The
hard drive is Solid State Logic and the processing
is also extremely fast, so it has a lot of good
attributes. What this desk is capable of, I don’t
honestly think there’s anything else like it in the
industry. It’s so customisable; it really helps you
to see exactly how you would like your design to
look,” concluded the LD.
30
Hoversten concluded: “It’s the first time I’ve
worked with Upstaging and they’ve been really
great.” A sentiment that Bennett also echoed:
“They have the best back-up and are always
more than 150% supportive of every project,”
he said.
VIDEO
The show really does have to be seen for
the magnitude of technical elements to be
appreciated. Not only is the production very
creatively lit, but is also still fairly heavy with
video content. As one of the most visually
engaging shows TPi has ever seen, the multilayered show design is relentless and faultless.
Kevin Carswell, The Mrs.Carter Show’s IMAG
Director has worked in the industry for over two
decades and has worked with artists as varying
as Metallica to Michael Buble. He stated: “It’s
an honour to be working with an artist such
as Beyoncé. I worked with her on a comeback
show in Atlantic City, and very much enjoyed
it. She also enjoyed my work, so here I am
today!”
Parkwood Entertainment produced the
content for the tour collaborating with several
video artists and directors. Ed Burke, Visual
Director, for Parkwood Entertainment was
overseeing the content production. Supplied
by Chaos Visual Productions in LA, the chosen
video and projection inventory includes two
Hippotizer Genlock HD machines with Dual
HDSDI capture and Timecode readerfour Barco
HDFW26 projectors and two HD10K-M Christie
projectors used on the side screens. Content
was synched to show ltc timecode using a
timecode control patch for software version
3.1 sp1 (now available in version 3.2) Two
IMAG feeds were piped through the Hippo for
several songs allowing for the live images to be
displayed on the mid-stage LED wall.
There is also a moving video piece which
features a 72’1-inch wide by 14’9-inch high LED
wall that consists of 198 tiles of Everbrighten
BR15mm, 22 tiles wide by 9 tiles high. Two
Everbrighten processors and two Folsom Image
Pros are used for the LED wall. Carswell cuts
the show with a Grass Valley Kayak 2.0 video
switcher which he always chooses.
With specifically directed music video quality
content on the side screens appearing between
the raw live footage, the arena crowd is really
drawn into Beyoncé’s world of entertainment.
“There’s no real theme to the show, but
Beyoncé is certainly iconic for her ‘girl power’
themes and that’s just evident throughout this
show. The interesting thing about Beyoncé is
ON THE ROAD: Beyoncé
Below: Beyoncé was flown to the B Stage using a TAIT / Fisher Navigator so that she could interact with fans at the far end of the arena.
that no two songs are ever the
same,” enthused Carswell.
“We don’t do any effects,
it’s a straight forward cut of the
show with five manned Sony HTX
cameras. It’s a pleasure to work
with an artist like Beyoncé. She
gives 110% every night without
fail and we do a good job at
capturing that with cameras placed
strategically around the stage. We
have six people from Chaos out
here with us and they’re just a joy
to work with!”
With so much occurring on
the stage at any one time, the
design inevitably posed some
challenges at the start. “I was
worried about the B Stage at first,
but it’s actually turned out to be
one of my favourite times of the
night,” he revealed. “We take a
long lens camera operator and put
him on a handheld in the B stage
with another handheld in the pit.
It’s fun to cover that because she
interacts with the fans so much.
You can see her face and theirs just
light up!”
PYRO
Pyro, confetti, fire, CO2 and laser
effects company, Chicago based
Strictly FX supplied many visual
elements to the tour. “Beyoncé is
32
very hands on with every aspect
of her production and was an
intricate part of the design process.
She knows what she wants and
knows what she doesn’t like. It
was a truly collaborative effort
that naturally included her Creative
Director Frank Gaston Jr. who
helped us bring her production to
another level,” stated Strictly FX
Partner and Effects Designer Mark
Grega.
Strictly FX Crew Chief and
Operator, John Lyons and Pyro
Technician, Eddie Romack Jr., are
both on the road ensuring Beyoncé
fans don’t have to wait long to
see the first example of the many
effects that Grega and his team
artistically weave throughout the
production.
John Lyons added: “We did the
Superbowl half-time show [with
Beyoncé], so we started with that
design and made it fit as a touring
piece. There’s a lot of dancers and
the band on stage, so keeping
in mind what they’re doing over
two hours, we figured a lot of our
designs out with the choreography
team during production rehearsals.
The first time that the audience
sees Beyoncé live on stage on this
tour, she appears in a dramatic
burst of flames and pyro. “There
ON THE ROAD: Beyoncé
Below: The show’s special effects were designed around the choreography throughout.
are four of our proprietary MKII Venom flame
cannons that spew flame upstage on a custom
platform, as well as 30 silver gerbs,” explained
Grega.
Effects are scattered throughout Beyoncé’s
set list. There were explosive comets in Run
the World (Girls), an awe inspiring in 40’ silver
waterfall in End of Time, and flame effects in
Naughty Girl (a midstage flame bar) and Diva
(four MK2 flame cannons, as well as silver gerbs
that erupt during the drum solo.) There’s also a
with the W-DMX BlackBox F-1, making the
installation fast, easy and reliable. Due to the
location, it just makes sense to go with wireless
DMX, and 120VAC is supplied for us in the
truss.”
Two Booster B-1000 2.45GHz antenna
boosters from W-DMX are also utilised for a
confetti sequence. “Strictly FX is always on the
leading edge of special effects technology,” said
Niclas Arvidsson, CEO of Wireless Solution, “We
worked with them on Coldplay’s recent world
“We have an incredible team of people who have made the
impossible, possible.”
custom pyro guitar gag from Bibi McGill during
Freakum Dress.
Four confetti blowers are housed in a truss
over the crowd. At the end of the song 1 + 1,
Beyoncé flies over the crowd from the main
stage to the satellite stage. As she flies, she
leaves a trail of gold confetti - by Mylar - behind
to give a pixie dust look.
Grega explained: “The pixie dust gag is a
delicate and beautiful effect. It’s a brand new
device and is being used for the first time on this
tour. In rehearsals, it was one of the effects that
were really unexpected and made Beyoncé smile
the first time she saw it.
“The confetti canons are controlled wirelessly
34
tour as well and have always enjoyed helping
them make these shows fantastic.”
Also used to various degrees throughout the
concert is propane, low lying fog and 180 pyro
pieces from Le Maître which comprise 20 sixinch Stage Gerbs, a 35-inch Stage Gerbs, 12-ich
Stage Gerbs, 25ft Red Comets with Tails, 25ft
Silver Comets, Silver Cascades (20 x 20) and blue
and silver Falling Stars.
Another significant special effects moment
happens during the hit Single Ladies. The song
begins with 10 CO2 units downstage on the
apron and ends with 64 light comet hits. “It’s
very forceful and very powerful,” commented
Grega.
The production features effects during the
introduction; it also ends with a significant
effects moment. “At the very end of the Halo
- the set finale - there are 18 white snow ball
falling stars with tails and then there are 18 blue
falling stars with tails at the very end,” Grega
noted.
Lyons continued: “We’re the fluff or the
icing on the cake if you like. We work with the
creative team in order to turn Beyoncé’s vision
into reality. It’s all about facilitating whatever
her vision is.
“Beyoncé is very involved in what we do, she
watches the video recorded during the show,
every night, and makes very thorough notes.
She knows exactly what she wants which really
makes it fun because we’re doing all this for a
reason. She’s striving for perfection, so there
are high expectations but that’s what makes it a
great job every night,” concluded Lyons.
STAGING & AUTOMATION
Working closely with Alex Miasnikof and
Malcolm Weldon, Production Managers for the
tour, TAIT combined optimised rental assets
with custom elements to deliver a complete
staging solution. Following opening night,
Miasnikof stated: “No matter how complicated
or crazy the project, TAIT will come up with a
solution. They have a team of great people that
will support your efforts in all aspects, from
paper to show; no matter where in the world it
might be.”
The rolling mainstage includes a flaggapault
ON THE ROAD: Beyoncé
Below: FOH Engineer Stephen Curtin spec’d a DiGiCo SD7; The technical team had to consider the choreography routines when designing the show.
lift, retractable dance bar, band risers, duck
blinds, propane bars, pantograph stairs,
Austrians, Kabukis, Sniffers and fanzone decking
with custom handrails. TAIT’s patented Mag
Deck system provides efficiency and ease of
assembly. Unique in its function, a polished,
aluminum dance bar was integrated into the set
and rises up onto the stage for performer use.
Adding to the array of effects, five propane bar
decks, with grating on the top, ignite in flames
for the song Naughty Girl.
TAIT also crafted the framework for one of
the key main stage elements; the strobe / mirror
structure which measures 7.3m x 18.2m and is
made up of five alternating columns of strobes
and automated mirrors intermixed with six light
ladders. TAIT faced and met several design
challenges in creating the frame assemblies,
which required meticulous engineering and
precise alignment to ensure that each light
would reflect on its corresponding mirror within
the column.
Operating many of the moving stage pieces
is TK Woo, Head of Automation. The three-man
automation crew - completed by Russell Macias
and Jamie Pharand - has several responsibilities
during the show including operating the moving
downstage trusses controlled by 13 Camloc
motion control Vari-Lifts. The moving video wall
runs off nine Vari-Lifts and when Beyoncé flies
across the audience, Woo controls the winches
that move her from the A to B stages and back.
Woo commented: “Tait are a great support
because they’re such a big manufacturer that
they can reproduce another piece of kit if you
need it pretty much straight away because it’s
all made on site. There’s no waiting around for
another vendor, so it’s really convenient too if
we needed to adapt the design.”
35
ON THE ROAD: Beyoncé
Below: ; The singer had a custom stage built at Tait Towers in Pensylvania, USA; Beyoncé’s chrome-finish Sennheiser SKM 5200-II handheld transmitter, with an MD 5235 dynamic capsule on top.
Providing one of the most
thrilling moments of the show,
TAIT uses a flying rig, made up of
three T-Winches with two axes of
motion, to elevate Beyoncé from
the mainstage to the B-stage.
The element is controlled by TAIT/
FTSI’s renowned Navigator Control
System and features a custom foot
plate for performer comfort and
safety.
The B-Stage includes two
u-shaped walkways, measuring
1.2m and 1.8m, respectively,
in height. The walkways are
connected by custom retracting
stairs, which provide a unique
performance area and wide range
of motion for the artist. TAIT
incorporated a radial panel of
video into the centre deck.
RIGGING
Lighting vendor Upstaging Inc
also provides a lot of the motors
and steel used by the rigging
department. Tait supplies the
automated motors that TK Woo
and his team use and 8th Day
Sound also provides its own
motors but Chad Koehler, Lead
Rigger, is working with TomCat
truss and 150 Columbus McKinnon
motors to secure the rest of the
set.
“I start at 4am, and make it
look the same every day regardless
36
of what building we’re in,” he
said. “We have to be very vigilant
about the position of absolutely
everything. The elements move in
some instances, so the distance
between the stages has to be the
same, every day. “
Although there are just four
riggers on the road - completed
by Kyle Harris, Aaron Alfaro and
Mike Ryder - the precise art of
arena rigging for a production this
big can take up to 40 local riggers
per day, supplied by each venue
promoter.
Koehler continued: “We’re
using Upstaging’s new stock of
CM Double Brake Loadstars which
are great.” For every motor, there’s
a duplicate, including 30 Chain
Master Vario Lifts. “We’ve got
enough to rig this show in any
building anywhere in the world, so
whether we need it or not, we still
have to have it travelling with us.
It is a lot of work but it really is an
amazing show.”
TPi
Photos: Parkwood Entertainment
Frank Micelotta
& Kelly Murray
www.Beyoncé.com
www.upstaging.com
www.chaosvisual.com
www.8thdaysound.com
www.taittowers.com
www.strictlyfx.com