Mountain Productions, PRG and Fox Sports joined in Times Square to build the temporary studio for Fox’s Superbowl coverage. Check out some images below of the impressive structure, as well as a great time-lapse of the build provided by Yahoo. The temporary studio was constructed using elements of the MTN Truss HD+ Staging System. Thoughtful engineering and planning were key elements in the success of this build.
Mountain Productions’ recently completed its annual, company-wide safety training. The three-day training covered several important safety topics, and a wide variety of speakers representing a multitude of organizations visited Mountain as seminar teachers.
Wilkes-Barre Fire Dept. Captain Allan Klapat going over fire safety with Mountain employees
The first day of safety school welcomed the PA Dept. of Labor, Wilkes-Barre’s Fire Dept. Captain, and Hilti Power Tools. Mountain Productions’ staff jumped right in, reviewing many workplace and personal safety topics, forklift operator safety. Employees engaged in hands-on tutorials on fire extinguisher use and safety guided by Wilkes-Barre’s Fire Dept.
Our industry has seen yet another impressive year, with new technology and unique approaches to festivals, concerts and events. Grand structures standing as tall as multi-story buildings and as wide as a football field have become the norm nowadays, as well as the continued (and customized) use of mobile staging. Elaborate video displays and lighting arrangements are present at almost every festival. Event planners and promoters have also become more streamlined in the digital age that we live in, finding answers online through shared content, blogs and social media. What has not changed however, is the work ethic and dedication of the crews behind every show and event that takes place. Excuse the cliché, but we wouldn’t be here without them.
Thanksgiving for most Americans can probably be summed up in 3 words beginning with the letter “F”: Family, Food and Football. Last year, roughly 28 million people turned on the tube to watch the Thanksgiving Day Redskins/Cowboys matchup, making it last fall’s most-watched television show! I’m sure many of us took a tryptophan-time-out this year as well to watch the game. Mountain Productions was behind the scenes building the rolling stage for the halftime show at the Packers/Lions game on Thanksgiving this year.
The iconic evergreen in Washington, DC has been part of a national tradition dating back to 1923. The event has been bringing in the Christmas season ever since, growing each year to the become the ceremony we celebrate today. Mountain Productions is building the staging at the Tree Lighting for the second year in a row. Performers at this year’s event include The Avett Brothers, Joshua Bell, Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, Train and more.
It can be seen at practically every arena, theater, concert and event. It has been a key component of entertainment rigging and critical for every rigger to understand. From roof grids and towers to sound delays, truss is the framework that makes production possible. That being said, a general understanding of the basic aspects of trussing can be extremely helpful when planning your event. I recently reached out to Angel Hicks, Design Specialist for James Thomas Engineering, for insight on some common questions that customers often inquire about truss.
Festival branding printed on vinyl mesh (scrim)
A creative and bold graphic theme can elevate an event into an experience that not only sounds good, but also visually looks just as appealing. Festivals such as Lollapalooza, Hot 97 Summer Jam, Made in America and Boston Calling have created a tight unity between their brand and their performers by using dynamic artwork and cohesive, cross-application graphical themes.
Brainstorming possible ideas, selecting a festival theme, and then executing all of the graphic work for an event can be an impressive task. (As a graphic designer myself, I understand the pains and stress of this process!) The last thing you want is to end up with production issues with your submitted artwork, sometimes only days before your event.
A few weeks ago we shared some photos from Insomniac’s Nocturnal Wonderland festival. While we were in California setting up staging for Nocturnal, our crew was also preparing for its next venture 400 miles north in Mountain View, CA. Following Nocturnal Wonderland, our equipment moved quickly to Mountain View for Nocturnal’s sister festival, Beyond Wonderland, which took place on the following weekend. Insomniac’s website describes the festival as “an immersive world where attendees will be surrounded by vibrant performers, decorations, art installations, and more.”
Softgoods are a great “finishing touch” to a stage aesthetic. Beyond providing first-rate advertising and branding space, softgoods are utilized for a variety of applications on our stages, both practical and decorative. Here are a few ways we use various vinyl, mesh and other softgood materials on our staging systems.
You’ll see many of our stages fit with black scrim to create a finished look to the structure. Our scrim shop uses a 14oz Vinyl Coated Polyester (VCP) Mesh as our standard black scrim. This material is tested and certified as flame retardant, ensuring a safe softgoods solution.
We are proud to have been nominated for the upcoming Parnelli Awards as a contender for the Staging Company of the Year award. It’s an honor to be able to provide our services to the industry another year, and we wish the best of luck to all of the nominees. It is the combined effort of the dedicated companies in our industry that make each and every event possible.
Voting is exclusive to PLSN subscribers. Visit http://www.parnelliawards.com/vote.php to cast your vote!