Wicreations on the run with Beyoncé & Jay-Z
- Details
In addition to all the hardware, software and bespoke engineering elements, on the administrative front, WIcreations delivered a full scenic motion risk assessment to the tour’s management, together with machinery technical files and full user manuals covering the entire system.
“As automation gets increasingly important in entertainment applications, so safety is The most important aspect to watch,” underlines WI’s owner and founder Hans Willems, who also project managed all the automation requirements.
WIcreations provided this documentation in accordance with EC Machinery Directives 2006/42/EC and DIN 56950-1:2012-05.
Although technically outside the scope of the machinery directive - as it was intended to move performers - to increase its trustworthiness, the Star Lift was also assessed by applying the same rigorous standards as used for the video wall tracking system.
The complete documentation set was provided by BLUMANO and included User Manuals, a Risk Assessment, DGUV-17 (BGV-C1) system approval for Germany, D.lgs. 81/08 Allegato V certification for Italy and a StageDB.com technical documentation bundle including all the Inspections Certificates and Declarations of Conformity for each piece of machinery.
The process entailed compiling documentation based on detailed machinery inspections, therefore ensuring the safety and compliance of the installation to the highest industry standards.
WI’s involvement followed a successful collaboration working for the same production team on Beyoncé’s 2016 Formation world tour where their engineering expertise was called on to move the massive ‘Monolith’ set piece.
OTR II completed a European section before moving to the US for the rest of the summer and into the early fall.
It also saw the touring debut of WI’s new proprietary MCA automation control system used to control both the lift and a series of video panels which moved around an oval shaped track. This was operated and run on the tour by Sam Melotte, leading an automation crew of four.
Upstage a large structural ‘performer wall’ was a major part of the StageCo constructed stage set, offering a series of integrated boxed spaces with various performers inside that were revealed and concealed by a large 13m high video wall just downstage.
The video wall was made up of 12 different shaped and sized sections, running on a complete oval shaped WI track along the top, and a floor track embedded in the scaffolding floor. By these sections shifting into different positions along the track, the whole stage architecture changed.
(Jim Evans)
