Live8 - Technical

[richard]

Hello

 

The revolving stage that someone asked about was indeed used. There was a large 'scene dock' area USL, where all the bands were built on to 8' square steeldecks on wheels, they were then wheeled on in order onto the main stage behind the screen, while each act was playing the next one would be being set-up on the revolve, and the one after brought on to behind the revolve.

 

After an act was finished, while the next played or sound-checked it would be stripped in the SR wing, and then rolled down a ramp, cased up and loaded straight into it's truck.

 

The biggest problem during the changes was all the friends of the celebs hanging around and getting in the way. Harvey Goldsmith Goldsmith spent most of his time Shouting at them, while Bob Geldoff gently moved others.

 

Robbie Williams' stuff didn't turn up till 16:00, and was being built during the show. ONly around 7 or 8 acts actually sound checked (Madonna, Annie Lennox, Floyd, Dido, Sting, McKartney and a few others) while Elton John and a few others just line-checked.

 

Most acts brought their own FOH engineers and Monitor engineers as is standard I believe, so feedback would have been them... With the video, as most hadn't rehearsed on stage they were rather improvising (also with the Lighting) and it was a 10 hour show - which is difficult.

 

It was all a PRG rig, mostly left over from Wireless with some extra stuff added (there were 2 VL bars US just for Floyd) The big screen at the back was also used for Wireless, I think the side ones were used for that but had been extended a bit for Live8.

 

Richard

[dbuckley]

sounds like some of their features would be a huge help on such a large setup.

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Memory Recall springs to mind

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Oh yeah, in spades. Any band whose FOH engineer has mixed them with a D5 before will have the desk settings in a USB memory stick, and thats everything including eq, gates, comps and effects, so they can just walk up and have the same setup they regularly use, and just pick the songs off the recall. The only tetchy detail is getting the mics and DIs the same as usual. That is such a huge advantage over the analogue only boys, who have to start from scratch at each show.

 

And of course, the same applies to the monitor guy but more so, they have a much harder time of it at this sort of gig than FOH. After all, FOH is FOH, but monitors - every muso is different.

 

The other big advantage with D5 system as compared to analogue at this sort of gig is line checking and gain setting, both of which can be done from the monitor desk, and you know its going to be OK at FOH.

[Russ]

Just watching a video of the Floyd set now - the audience lights look a lot better from above than they did from the ground.

 

I'm always intrigued by the BBC's overhead cameras - the one at Live 8 was on a vast lorry-mounted boom lift which must have been 50 or 60m high - nice view from the top. The whole thing started off with a full-frame zoom shot of the clock on Big Ben 2 miles away, then panned out to show Hyde Park - that's quite a zoom they've got.

 

Richard: were you involved or is this word of mouth (not inferring anything, just interested)?

[Chubby]

Hello All

I'm fresh back from Hyde Park where I was working for Brit Row. I can therefore supply some concrete facts regarding the Sound side of the event.

The band sound was run from 4 digico D5 desks 2 on monitors and 2 at FOH. Some of the bands had rehearsed in around london during the week running up-to the event using TFM450 wedges and a pair of digico desks. The sessions from these rehearsals where then brought to site on a digico USB watch (nice swag). At each end of the multicore there was also a spare D5 desk which was used for checking these session files and building new ones for the engineers who hadn't had any pre programing time. As for the feedback the many of the bands came with their own monitor and foh engineers many of whom had very little time on the boards before there artists took to the stage. The monitor system sounded great and it was quite possible to get a very in your face vocal sound on stage. Quite a few of the enginners didn't go out on stage to have a listen during the turnaround those who did had a feedback feed show :) .

The line system was based on a A/B idea with 56 channels of bss splits for each system. As one band was performing the next act was being set-up on the back of the revole. A large back stage area (nicknamed stage 2) was used to prep the following bands gear on rolling risers. Sennheiser sponsored the event with serveral hundred microphones from there catalogue available as well as the standard fare from Brit Rows hire stock.The TV and radio sound was mixed in two BBC SSL Equiped mobile trucks one for each line system. These are the same trucks that did the broadcast mix at glasto with the same team opeating them so the earlier comments regarding the glasto mix are a little hard to justify maybe something to do with the mud done there. Anyway Live8 has been the most intense 48 hours in my life to-date lets hope that the G8 sit-up and take notice of public pressure and Make Poverty History.

If anyone has any questions regarding the gig please post and I will try to answer the best I can.

 

Mark

[Russ]

Ah so there were actually two completely different alternating sound systems? Crazy. I take it that however good the DiGiCo stuff is, it's not quite good enough to cope with one band playing and one band soundchecking simultaneously on the same system :).

 

Why were splits needed - for the broadcast?

 

Cheers for the info.

[richard]

I was there just doing some comms work.

 

Interestingly 'Top Hat TV' seemed to be supplying a lot of the kit (I think specifically the live replay stuff on site) and were working closely with the BBC, all to do with outsourcing I suppose!

[IanG]

If anyone has any questions regarding the gig please post and I will try to answer the best I can.

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Hi Mark

 

What were the FOH and delay systems?

[Mr.Si]

Mark (Chubby): YOU are at the top of my envy list! - Please would you let me know how I can get to know the gents and ladies at Brit Row so I can learn loads from them?

 

 

Ian, (Chubby, you may correct me if I'm wrong) as far as I know, Britannia Row Productions use extensive amounts of EV and Turbosound stuff - my thoughs would be EV X-line for FOH and delays may incorporate the XLC (x-line compact) and XLVC (x-line very compact).

 

As far as Power Amps are concered, I wouldn't know, but I will make as guess - EV P3000's? or CP3000's or what ever the ones with network connections on are.

 

Gorgeous. :)

[Joshwah]

What were the FOH and delay systems?

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The main FOH hang was a hang of xline with one outfill of Flashlight SR and the other also XLine SL, 6 of the delay towers were V-dosc and the others were also xline the system was controlled with a combination of Iris and bss soundweb.

 

The Xline is powered by EV P3000RL's the V-Dosc is Lab gruppen and the flashlight bss amps all the monitors run of either crown xs or c-audio pulse amps and all monitors are contrlled with bss minidrives.

 

Aswell as the D5's at FOH there was a heritage 3k to submix the d5's and vt etc and in monitor world there was and xl3 (infact pink floyds old quad desk) and also a venice.

 

As mark said sennheiser sponsered hence both there and neumanns precense at the gig! However we had a full artillary of Shure and a few others beyer m88, ev re20's etc etc for all the artists needs!

 

As for artists it was only two who really causedblockages backstage with there followers and tag oners!

 

I was also down there working for brit row all of us worked are bums off mark especially did a first class job I dont envy him!, and it came of being a brilliant show has to be the hardest days work of my life tommorow im getting a well earned day off.

[Russ]

Yes, as I mentioned earlier, the delays were EV X-lines, so I doubt the main arrays were different.

 

Edit: I stand corrected. Don't mind me, I was only a punter. I only saw a small sample of the many delays ;). How did that one work out? Was there not enough EV kit to go round, or was it by design?

 

Nice coincidence that the old Floyd desk was back with them one last time :). Didn't know that thing was still going - legendary piece of kit.

 

Cheers for the info.

[gnomatron]

Total light output is about 73000 household light bulbs(might of missed off or added on a 0 between the viewing and posting).

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It's 7500 I think... Annie Lennox is on now...

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you sure? that's only 75kw; 75 parcans worth...

 

I wouldn't praise the digital stuff too much - if you're using analogue, you don't really start from scratch, you do get to know a lot of what band needs. The other side of it is that you're mixing for a different stage, PA, monitor set-up, mics, etc. etc. Still, doing it digitally must save a bit of time.

 

also - bah! I nearly got a gig as stage-scum/backline (i.e. lowest of the low!) for the edinburgh Live8 gig... On the other hand, I did just do a brilliant anti-g8 techno night in edinburgh, properly sweaty and grotty with a building full of over 1000 hippy protesters :)

[knotted]

Audience lighting was all Vari-Lite, VL2416's supplied by PRG Greenford

[Mr.Si]

With regards to the feedback that was there, an ex-pro friend of mine reckons that it was wind induced (no jokes please - how ever tasteful/tasteless).

 

Never thought about this one before. How was the weather down on hyde park on saturday?

[IanG]

Some info on the satellite links used for the broadcast feeds here

[dbuckley]

Aswell as the D5's at FOH there was a heritage 3k to submix the d5's and vt etc

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Err - question - Heritage to submix the D5's? Were the D5's not digital into soundwebs and thence the fibre back to converters on-stage? I've seen the Brit Row D5 setup at close quarters and I very much got the impression they like to stay digital...?