30
PL & P
WORKING THROUGH
THE SHUTDOWNS
Lighting & video pros on what they ’ re working on , how their work has changed & what the future holds
By Michael Raine
tough out there . Real tough . It
It ’ s would be insulting to people ’ s intelligence and their real struggles to sugar-coat that . But also , the professional AVL industry is one that runs on passion , fortitude , and work ethic . Without a doubt , work is hard to come by right now – especially in the live event sector – and the work that is out there is less predictable and harder to complete than ever before . But now , nearly six months into this pandemic , the early shock of the shutdowns has subsided and in its place is the determination to make it through .
We ’ ve reached out to six highly-respected colleagues from around the industry to find out where things stand with their companies , what projects they have and what ’ s keeping them busy , what they ’ ve learned about working in this environment , and how they feel about the foreseeable future .
Let ’ s see what they have to say …
JOHN FLYNN TECHNICAL DIRECTOR , LIGHTING AT SOLOTECH
PL & P : Now that we ’ re in various stages of reopening , in the realm of lighting and video , what projects are you / your company working on or do you have coming up ?
JOHN FLYNN : Solotech is lucky to combine the strengths of two divisions , Live Productions and Sales and Systems Integration , which operate at different speeds at the moment . The systems integration market has returned a lot faster , as Solotech is active in multiple market segments such as corporate , public , and transport , which are not as affected by the pandemic as live performance venues .
Overall , live event work has been latent , but we were able to develop new opportunities in TV and webcasting , which are the main markets currently active in Solotech ’ s Live Productions Division . For TV along with local work , Solotech is providing duplicate lighting and rigging systems to the NHL hub
PETER HENDRICKSON FOUNDER & DIRECTOR OF TOUR- ING & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AT TOUR TECH EAST
PIERRE MARLEAU CEO & PRODUCTION DESIGNER AT ORANGE FROG PRODUCTIONS
cities . Solotech is also working with Yoop and various other studios with 360 production support in Montreal and we are looking to expand further .
For 2021 , Solotech is bidding on many exciting projects , tours , festivals , one-offs , and installations , which shows the potential and desire for events to return .
PETER HENDRICKSON : The Canadian Premier League bubbled everything on Prince Edward Island where they ’ re quarantining all of the players [ for an abbreviated soccer season ]. So , we got a last-minute call because they wanted to get the light level up on the field because they wanted to be able to CGI the audience and advertisers all the way around the field for TV … Now , something just happened today as a result of that . On the soccer pitch in Halifax where the Wanderers normally play , they want to look at putting a big video screen on