PRG and AV production of large musical events: “We are already broadcast”

David Lopez, senior project manager from the international provider of technical and production services PRG, addresses the audiovisual technology used in some of the largest concerts in Europe, corroborating how broadcast solutions, like cameras or mixers, have been consolidated in large concerts, tours and festivals.

Festivals of the size of Mad Cool Festival, Primavera Sound, Pukkelpop, Creamfields, Wacken Open Air, Soundstorm Mdlbeast Festival o Untold2024; top-notch tours like Elton John's, Andrea Bocelli, Parkway Drive, Bring Me The Horizon, The 1975, o special events like the last break show of the SuperBowl oh go Grammy Latinos 2023 have relied on the performance of the audiovisual services of PRG, company that since 1983 has specialized in providing audiovisual services to major artists and festivals around the world.

Con 42 workshops on all continents and a portfolio that expands to corporate events, sporting events, theatrical productions or forays into the field of television and film, The Spanish arm of the company joined the group in 2011. Since then, has left a deep mark on the Spanish audiovisual ecosystem competing for a coveted and expansive market.

The PRG team in Spain has witnessed the technological evolution of the industry proAV. Little by little, has gone from “anything goes” to a commitment to solutions high quality technology. This search for excellence in a saturated market such as that of festivals, has educated a type of public already accustomed not only to first-class sound displays, but also to a AV coverage that bases its foundations on the universo broadcast.

The technical teams attend the main broadcast fairs in the sector to form their offer and be able to offer a high quality display, that embraces the transmission of signals over fiber, UHD cameras, mixers top level and even parallel realizations to be able to produce the signal for the attendees, Yeah, but also sign productions for this for the thousands of followers who follow the show via streaming.

David Lopez, senior project manager of PRG in Spain, helps to understand the dimensions of the technological leap of the industry big tours and festivals in Spain; environment that, just like society, is presented unable to give up screens. “We are now all broadcast”, López remarks in several moments of the conversation, giving a glimpse of how the world of live musical events can be a driver of industria broadcast global, and how the bet of fairs like WHEREAS in favor of this type of technology has all the sense in the world.

Not just music: also, technology

The influence of American grand tours, lowering the costs of technical solutions, the professionalization of the sector or the extreme competition in the music sector in Spain, that in 2023 exceeded the 100 festivals, are some of the factors that explain the improvement of technology in large tours and festivals. “Everything is more spectacular”, López recognizes, identifying the increasing lightness of screens or the consolidation of Led technology in lighting as key elements of increasing qualitative and quantitative of audiovisual resources in this very important cultural sector.

Attendees at these events are looking for a complete experience that satisfies their social needs., help them live with him Fomo and overcome their visual and sound expectations, an innate demand in generations that interrelate their cultural consumption to their audiovisual education. This is answered directly by the promoters of festivals and large concerts, and the bands themselves, who know in detail the technology they want to use and allow less and less counterriders: “The requirements are much more specific. A lot is asked for in lighting. Robe, GLP, Ayrton, and at the sound level they usually require Meyer Sound o L-Acoustics. Besides, international artists always ask Klang, “an immersive monitoring system”.

This increase in the cost of audiovisual productions is also noticeable in the fans pocket, who can see how the latest big international tours are costing them no less than €100 per ticket. However, (and leaving aside the issue of the oligopoly of American production companies) It is the price to pay for “quality” and for a “more immersive” concert approach that also extends to the audiovisual production.

just a decade ago, an audiovisual production of a medium-sized pavilion or a secondary stage of a large festival used to be a added to thank you; now, son unavoidable standards. As you remember López: “Before you mounted two cameras on the front, a camera to the man moving on the stage and a dolly, and you had the festival set up. Now, depending on production, you can go with five, six, eight or ten cameras. Every time it happens more priority to video and the interaction of the video with the artist”.

Recruitment at major musical events

The pickup is configured as a critical element for planning large world tours, spend these offering solo concerts or be part of large festivals. to the usual rider technical in which the technical needs of an artist or band were detailed, has been added rider audiovisual in which specific needs are collected regarding supports, cameras or mixing consoles . The requirements, how López transfers, They have “names and surnames” with specific technologies or devices, being defined by those in charge especially dedicated to this purpose.

In this way, are claimed broadcast quality cameras to be arranged in specific production locations; “many points of PTZ”high quality; cameras pencil o GoPro “to have all the artists recorded”, y, of course, las cranes, fundamental component to provide dynamism; at least, until the restrictions regarding drone flight above concert goers. PRG has among its capture solutions cameras Panasonic, Sony y Blackmagic, although López recognizes that PRG's path involves trying to build an ecosystem of products instead of integrating equipment from different manufacturers. On some occasion, cameras have been requested ARRI Amira for special concerts or chambers mirrorless for live recording, but for now it is not the standard: he look film has not yet reached major tours “due to the extra production costs they entail”.

Better screens and higher resolution

The arrival of 4K to the vast majority of cameras in the ecosistema broadcast makes companies like PRG prepared to offer productions in this resolution. Yes indeed, for now, resolution is still the standard Full HD: "In the end, the client wants quality and price. Possibly there are a couple of years left for 4K to be standardized, but when that time comes we will be ready. All new devices come by default with 4K inputs, You don't have to be buying 4K cards…”.

Although it is not a requirement on the part of the artists, the PRG team in Spain deploys every time it has the opportunity 4K signals to take advantage of large screens, an area that “has made great progress” in recent years: “You no longer have to have a one-pixel screen 14 or a pixel 10 as before; Now we are working outdoors at a pixel 4.6 con 20 meters or 12 screen meters. It all depends on pixel pitch that you have, Of course, but if we have the opportunity, let's go with 4K”.

López, in any case, considers that especially in the world of major musical events, Creativity is the variable that marks the performance of one technology or another. In the words of senior project manager: “If you have a central screen and you reinforce it with screens on both sides of the vertical stages, with the 4K you no longer have to turn the camera as it was done before. Now you can take advantage of the resolution to integrate the same image on each screen”.

Carrying out large events: towards the ecosystem

It is increasingly common to attend the area first thing in the morning FOH from the main stage of a big festival and see various mixing surfaces video for achievement of each show. And it is that, how López transfers, The industry is at a point where “many artists bring its own filmmakers”: “I can carry out with pleasure and taking into account all the production, but the artist who brings his director knows very well what he wants: a PTZ here, this camera with this lens, this position… Also, They go further and may ask you for a recorder. AJA or of Blackmagic, h.264 and h.265 codecs, whether ProRes or whether 4:4:4…Everyone has their requests and needs”.

By PRG, on those occasions when they receive the order to implement and perform a show, the company is committed to the model ATEM Constellation of Blackmagic: “They are stable tables, with quality and that do not fail. In the end, we seek to create a ecosystem, get a workflow and look for versatility: by having three or four M/E on the same panel, we can manage several realizations: the center screen, the one on the sides…”.

The complex network of audiovisual production is completed with a signal transport over fiber, with signal duplication capacity if necessary to avoid the limitations of interconnection via SDI or HDMI; the provision of servers video coordinated with production to manage all visual production of the bolus, or one parallel realization for the broadcast of the concert via streaming: “The realization can never be the same. We want to make the viewer feel immersed in that world from the outside, and that cannot be done with the same thing that appears in the show screens”.

5G, backpacks, RF… also at big concerts?

For now, the great tours and festivals of the musical world have adopted cameras, mixers, switchers, engravers, accessories, streaming platforms or servers from the broadcast universe. This source of direct inspiration extends to López's observation of other resources frequently used by radio and television in external coverage of events..

The use of relay backpacks or the application of the network slicing or private 5G networks to reduce wiring in large productions, count on unique angles and all with low latency, can be a reality in the medium term, but for now it has limitations. López provides the details: “You can have a team LiveU and reduce cables by transmitting a signal through 5G, but in the end it means a cost to the client. When these resources are standardized and prices drop, that they should do it, It will be an option”.

Radio links are a proven alternative, y, in fact, López recognizes the use of solutions from manufacturers such as Teradek o Hollyland at some of the other events that PRG produces. However, Its use on the boards entails risks that no professional is willing to assume.: “They can do well on tests, but when the concert comes, “Wireless interconnectivity does not work”. Given this situation, he senior project manager of PRG calls for the need for an “exclusive band for broadcast applications” to expand production possibilities.

When technology is no longer the limit

To López, The universe of live music has long left the solutions proAV to definitely bet on technology broadcast. The demand for higher production quality has been fundamental, of course, but also the cheaper solutions: "Before, Buying a broadcast camera involved the expense of a body of 30.000 euros and an optic 20.000. Now, con 100.000 euros you can even have a mobile unit. Within the broadcast you will have more expensive alternatives, but there are other devices that already provide you with good quality and resolutions 4K o 6K with decent quality and affordable price. It's the same with mixers.: Before you didn't know what table you were going to find. Now, The quality standard has risen quite a bit”.

This access to broadcast-quality production solutions at a low cost coexists with tours and concerts in which audiovisual technology tirelessly pursues spectacularity.. The creativity and the budget have become the only conditions that allow you to create scenarios with unimaginable dimensions, scenarios consisting of LED screens with all types of content or hundreds of luminaires coordinated with every detail of the production: "Now, the productions tell you “I want to do this”, and our role is to make it happen”, comments López.

Create 180 meters of stage for a festival Abu Dhabi, get it Rihanna o Beyoncé appear flying in the Super Bowl what Taylor Swift have a stage with mobile LED screens… Anything is possible, and broadcast technology will have an increasingly important role in not losing a single detail of the major sociocultural events of our century: “We are talking about long-term productions that require very large R&D teams., like the one we fortunately have. We can do what you imagine. We are at a point where, If you wanted to surround a stadium with LED screens, you can do it technically. Before you had resolution limits, but now if you want to move 40.000 pixels x 1080, if you have to put 25 servers Disguise, you put it. “Those limitations no longer exist.”.
Sergio Julian Gomez