What artists can learn from the folks who produce corporate events...

In 1980 I was brought on to set up and cue the 9 projector, Show Pro V run, three screen slide “show” that accompanied several songs on Jackson Browne’s ‘Hold Out’ tour.?Last week, 42 years later, I was sitting in the nose bleed section at the Greek Theater here in Los Angeles enjoying Jackson on his current tour.?When he moved over to the piano, and started the introduction of “Load Out” with those unmistakeable notes, I laughed to myself as I remembered where the cues were for that song.?I also realized I was probably the only one there that could visualize the images that appeared behind him all those years ago as David Lindley's guitar provided the sound track.?All in all, it was a bittersweet evening and in the end I have Mr. Browne to thank for earning my road wheels under his tutelage.?Since those days on the bus I have spent the vast majority of my life stage managing corporate events.?

Like any profession, there are protocols and conventions in place to insure a corporate event is pulled off successfully.?To this end there are no shortage of similarities between a new product introduction and seeing your favorite artist in concert.?You have your client on stage with his or her staff supporting them.?Behind the scenes the lighting, audio, backstage folks and video techs are making sure the show is coming off as professionally as possible on the stage and on the screens.?The same thing can be said with an artist on tour.

To this end, watching Jackson on the LED screens was quite disconcerting.?A typical example of what I’m talking about is going to a master shot.?Why??Why would you go to a wide shot??This doesn’t even have anything to do with how far or close you are to the stage.?The audience already has a master shot with their own eyes.?It’s called image magnification for a reason.

In production 101 back in college we learned “When trouble hovers, go to a cover”.?That works great when you are taping a four person panel discussion but it isn’t appropriate in a concert venue.?The exception might be if you are streaming the show and you want to offer the stage in context of the surrounding - for a second!?The practice doesn’t really lend itself in a concert environment.

For me it got more annoying but once I accepted this is how it was going to be, I just closed my eyes and listened to the music.

While no corporate event may be absolutely perfect, these aspects of video coverage are handled far more professionally in the ballroom than seeing the these flaws watching your favorite artist in a 6,000 seat venue specifically built for concerts.

If anyone out there reading this works for an agency like Live Nation or a venue that includes imag as an option and I have any of the following wrong, I invite you to correct me.

It is my understanding that when an artist performs at a venue that has imag capability, a video package is offered.?If used, the question is (or should be) ’Who’s directing?”?This is a big deal.?Many of those 12,000 eyes are going to be watching the artist via the screens.?Why would the artist assume the video director the facility is providing know the material well enough so as to avoid sitting on back up singers doing nothing while looking for the guitar solo with another camera??This is just an obvious example.?There is another important issue here that goes hand in hand with capable video directing.?The artist’s lighting designer is looking at things mostly from a theatrical point of view.?That’s fine until you need a camera shot of someone who isn’t lit.

When an artist signs on to have a 3rd party responsible for what images go to the screens, they are essentially hiring another member of the band’s entourage for one night, with no rehearsals.?That is a pretty tall order and I don’t believe I’m exaggerating.??Musicians and their crews have been performing the same songs pretty much exactly the same way every night, in Jackson’s case, for decades!?When a tour goes out, everyone knows exactly what’s going to happen once the house lights are turned off and the band takes the stage.?Why would an artist want to spoil the audience experience they worked so hard to create by not including a video director who knows the set as well as the lighting director or FOH engineer???I don’t believe I am over reacting here.?The statement “Most people don’t care or don’t pay attention to the screens” simply isn’t true.?It may not be the topic of discussion as people walk back to their cars after the concert, but the truth is we have all seen enough video directing from the time we were kids to know how to discriminate between good (or at least acceptable) directing and directing that misses the mark.?I maintain this feeling has a major residual effect on how you perceive and how much you enjoyed the concert as a whole.

To be fair, there are some really amazing video directors out there who I have had the pleasure of working with who ‘get it’.?Aside from doing an amazing job on the fly, their talent is really shown when an act comes into the ballroom to rehearse.??As far as concerts, a ‘sound check’ isn’t a rehearsal.?A sound check is for the FOH engineer to direct what he or she needs to hear so the concert sounds exactly the same way it did last night in Milwaukee.?

There are some exceptions.?When Reba Mcintyre was the entertainment for an event I did, her video crew was comprised of five people.?The Sting/Peter Gabriel tour six years ago crushed the line between video and lighting and delivered an experience on the screens I have yet seen outdone, and they were able to do it without taking away the focus of the concert.?

Until the artist realizes all the repercussions of not having a video director on the payroll who’s job it is to keep up with the set list, know the show, know how many cameras are needed, where they need to be placed and what lenses are required, any performance by default will be demoted to less than professional.?By how much??That will depend on the experience and luck of the video director who shows up to do the show.