CMU School of Drama


Monday, September 03, 2012

TAIT Creates Custom Staging Concepts for Metallica Tour

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: Metallica has kicked off the next leg of its tour in Mexico City, with elaborate staging concepts created by the team at TAIT. The band will perform eight shows in Mexico before heading to San Francisco and onward to Canada. The Vancouver shows, on August 24 and 25, will be filmed for the upcoming film Metallica 3D, to be released in 2013.

4 comments:

Luke Foco said...

Once again Tait has gone to an extreme with a band that required it. This rig will be interesting to see on video. I wonder if this stage took extra time and effort to make even more perfect than others because it is being filmed for a DVD. I can't imagine doing the in and out for this show with how big their audio system is in addition to the staging and effects. I also wonder how reliable the tesla effect is going to be at hitting its mark. With all the other gear in the air this seems like a big point of possible failure.

Will Gossett said...

It is absolutely cool to hear what TAIT can do on all of these shows. Not only the scale of each of the set-ups, but the quality with which each project is completed. The attention to detail is phenomenal. As a long-time fan of Tesla and his work, it's really neat to hear about the Tesla coils appearing live on stage. It's a visually impressive effect. I'm curious if any of the destruction/falling truss will spook the audience in the middle of the show...

JodyCohen said...

Wow. I wish I could see this in person. Not only the show, but the set up and strike as well. I would be curious to know what their contingency plans are for equipment failure, or equipment hazards are. Especially for the Tesla coils. It's all definitely very impressive. I wonder what this kind of equipment costs, and if it's really covered by ticket sales.

Matt said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9vTcvtahmU

The article failed to mention the amazing clew plate I designed for the crane system that builds the Lady Justice statue during the show that then collapses. Or the awesome foam Varilites Robert made for the fake truss that falls from the grid.

Cynicism aside it was pretty cool to get to work on a such a huge show like this.

To respond to Jody, at first a lot of this stuff didn't work. There were a lot of problems with the Tesla coils, the video decks, and the Justice statue. They rehearsed the show for 2 weeks in Fresno before taking it on the road. Even then the shop was still making parts and fixes and then shipping them to the venues during the first leg of the tour.

During one the nights in Mexico, a local music news website reported that 2 stagehands were accidentally ignited by malfunctioning pyro. This what a gag in the show. I don't know how much belief can be suspended when the entire stage and grid collapses but it was funny to see that someone fell for one of the smaller gags in the show.