Hella Mega Tour Delivered by ATEM Live Production Workflow

With 21 concerts, the US leg of the tour drew up to 45,000 fans every evening.The concerts took place at Major League Baseball Associations stadiums, including Wrigley Field, Fenway Park and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.They were the largest of their kind since the live music events were slowed down by Corona in spring 2020.

Live director and company owner Stuart Merser from Vis-A-Vis Video designed and developed the multicam video workflow.Several rail systems from Blackcam were used to film the bands with cameras placed away from the stage.

With shows of this size with so much pyrotechnics, it is impossible for operators to film on stage.But lead singers like Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day can interact with fans in other ways, says Stuart.In order not to block the audiences view of the band, I suggested using an automated moving camera.

For this purpose Vis-A-Vis developed three setups based on the Blackcam systems:

The first system, called the B60, performed a URSA broadcast on a 18-meter rail equipped with a Canon CJ15ex4.3B lens.The rail ran at a 90 angle at the front right along the stage and was continued from there over an almost 10 meter long spur into the audience.A second B60 system with a URSA broadcast covered the stage area at the front left.There was also a smaller B20 dolly with a Micro Studio Camera 4K, which enabled a close tracking shot around Green Days drummer Tr Cool and his drum set on a circular rail.

I wanted to convey the drummers energy without a cameraman stuck to him, says Merser.Nobody should stand between the band and the audience.

The content delivered by these sources plus an additional URSA Broadcast and three other Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera 4Ks was transmitted over SMPTE fiber to a bespoke production desk built around a Smart Videohub 40x40 matrix.

The material for two IMAG projection surfaces on the left and right of the stage and a centrally placed video wall was mixed on an ATEM 2 M / E Broadcast Studio 4K with an ATEM 2 M / E Broadcast Panel.

The system, which was specially designed and developed for touring, can be set up and dismantled quickly, says Merser.It gives the technicians the flexibility they need to set up, connect, test, commission and quickly dismantle the equipment on site.

The time between the tour dates was extremely tight.In addition, all concerts were exposed to wind and weather.We had to contend with 37 degrees of midday heat in Texas and with cloudbursts in the south, explained Merser.

For me as a director, there is nothing more exciting than watching my cameramen as they let themselves be infected by the bands energy while filming the concert.A director is only as good as his camera crew.And our team shines every time, said Merser at the end.

Being able to tour again after 18 months is fantastic.I hope our fans will appreciate how much work, effort and care the people put into it behind the scenes.

Credits:

Production Manager - Zito Zito

Director - Stu Merser

VideoDust - Stu Smith

Media Servers - Joe Bradley

Vision Engineer - Marcus Lindsay

B60 RailCamera Operator - Devin

Turner

B60 Rail Camera Operator - Jack

Edinger

FOH Camera/LED - Nick

Pishghadamian

Head LED - Oscar Canales Jr

Video Crew Chief - Kenny Ackerman

LINK:	https://www.kitplus.com/news/Hella_Mega_Tour_Delivered_by_ATEM_Live_Pr...
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