For the new Los Angeles venue, designed to be a hybrid of concert hall and 7,100-seat arena, it was imperative to be able to place lighting far over the audience area as can be achieved at an arena show. However the sloped floor under the raked seating, necessary for the concert hall usage, means that there wasn't any space to assemble a truss grid that could be flown.
Q1 Production Technologies worked with Paul Flanagan of AEG, the developers and operators of the venue, to develop a solution that comprised of a rolling rigging system utilizing Total Structures' catwalk truss. The design comprises of three steel I-beams that run the length of the venue, on which six individual 115ft long catwalk trusses can fly up, down and track upstage and downstage depending upon the productions needs.
Three three-ton trolley-mounted hoists support each truss, with the centre pick-up point on each truss being articulating to allow any deflection in the system to be safely removed. The hoist's safe working load became the controlling element in the systems capacity with the trusses safely loaded with over 12,000 lbs of additional load. This can take the form of technicians working on the catwalk, applied loads such as lighting mounted to the truss or even additional trusses hung from the catwalk in a mother-grid style application.
The NOKIA Theatre L.A. Live was officially opened on 17 October by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Timothy J. Leiweke, president and CEO of AEG. The venue then hosted the Eagles and Dixie Chicks the following night for its opening concert. All of America will get to see Q1 Production Technologies' and Total Structures' work later this month when the 2007 American Music Awards will be held at the venue and broadcast live on ABC.
(Jim Evans)
