Pre-production Update 2

Hello Music Lovers!

It’s been another extremely busy week. Besides being the Technical Director for Eurovision, I’m also the viewing room manager for Melodifestivalen. I know….. the link in between the two is crystal clear…….. I need to read the fine print in the contracts more carefully in the future…….But, in the middle of final notes from the competing artist at Melodifestivalen, and signing off the remaining contracts for Eurovision, I’ll try to remember what else we’ve done this fall.

After Plasa, we decided to go to Italy and visit Clay Paky. Besides finding a flock of fish made out of butter that Fredrik wanted to eat, we also found some great new products, but also being very impressed by their existing products in their extended catalouge. Not to mention all the great food and wine! Thanks guys! We had a BLAST!

Durham Marenghi and his lovely wife Jennie (well………ok, Durham is quite lovely as well……) were the hosts for our trip to Bergamo. Besides arranging LD trips to Bergamo to visit Clay Paky, Durham is also a very well known Lighting Designer himself, and won the ¨Lighting Designer of the year¨ at TPI awards in London earlier this year. If you click on his name, you’ll come to his website, and VERY impressive portfolio. I’ve actually hired their lovely daughter, Helen Marenghi, to be the assistant of Fredrik Jönsson for Eurovision. She will return to the Island as a completely new person once she has been Eurovisionized……………..

Next trip went to Belgium, to explore alternative staging companies to the ones we have in Sweden. We already knew that we wanted a very technically advanced stage, and we also knew that we have an extremely short amount of time to build it (5 days)
So, it was an obviouns choice to go to Tait Technologies in Helfenwelfenwarfendamme or something like that, in the heart of Belgium. Not too far from Brugge anyway! Tait Technologies is the European office of Tait Towers, and founded and managed by Fredric Opsomer. Here with 29 of the 70,500 pixel pads they supplied to the Opening and Closing Ceremonies at the 2012 London Olympic. I first met Frederic a sunny day in Portugal early spring of 2005. Barco flew me down there to take a look at a brand new product that they’ve (Frederic) invented. It was the O-lite. The rest is history.

And our set designers, Victor Brattström and Frida Arvidsson (left and right) together with our Creative Director Sven Stojanovic. Yes……….THAT Sven……… You Eurovision geeks know exactly whom I’m talking about, and for the rest of you: Sven was the multicamera director for Eurovision Song Contest 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2008. We’re super happy to have him back in the mob. Or the Swedish Mafia, as the Turks love to call us 🙂 Anyway, they were all VERY impressed with what they saw, and über happy over the color chaning umbrellas they got. (Also used during the London games, in the opening ceremony of the Paralympics)

But……… there are more people in the creative team. Like myself for example, whom designed my very own special logotype, with, if you ask me (and you should) the correct colors. Eurovision Song Contest 2013 is in SKÅNE, NOT in Sweden. Basta! But maybe I’m biased, being born and raised in this AWESOME part of Sweden………..

No rest for the wicked! Next trip went to LDI in Las Vegas, to continue the search of the newer, cooler and better. As true Eurovision fans, we stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel……….. We had 3 very good days in Vegas, filled with meetings with potential suppliers and technical partners, and we left town with a FANTASTIC idea, after seeing something absolutely mindblowing. So, what happens in Vegas does not always stay in Vegas! We’ll prove that statement wrong big time!

Next stop was Austin. Me and Joan living part time there was not the only reason for going. High End Systems are also located there. And they released a product at LDI that the industry has been longing for, for at least 3 years.The Whole Hog 4! A very impressive lighting desk for sure. Lets see if we end up using it!

And when in Texas, you OF COURSE have to have some BBQ and fixings! There is no better place to get this than at County Line in Austin. Observe my python boots. Very cowboy indeed.

And Fredrik learned the hard way, that EVERYTHING IS BIGGER IN TEXAS. So, another 20 pounds on the LD, we left US&A, and headed back to the old country, with plenty of ideas, inspiration, a suitcase filled with Velveeta, and A PLAN!

We are the F in FREAK OUT!

Joan