Even if Oscar Wilde did once say “Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative,” we all still love to talk about the weather. And, sooner or later, we will all have to do a show outside, or at the very least in a tent.
If we are honest, we are a business of “control freaks.” We love to set our own schedules, create our own environments and make our own rules. Yet the weather won’t cooperate with our schedules, seems to conspire against our creativity, and defies our rules. Whatever the reason, there is little debate that the weather is changing — storms seem to be fiercer, winds stronger, rains harder, winters colder and summers hotter. We have all seen the results of the weather catching us off guard, some of us first hand. From festival roofs collapsing to tour bus accidents, all too often lives are lost or people seriously hurt – band, crew and audience alike. So how can we learn to work with the weather, and still stay sane and most importantly safe? I’d like to use two projects as examples of how planning helps work in the face of the elements and coming out if not ahead, certainly unscathed.
Into the Woods
For the last two years, we have designed a holiday lights project called Illumination at The Morton Arboretum in the suburbs of Chicago. This project involves lighting 50 plus acres of woods along a mile long walk through this living plant and tree museum. We’re not talking “twinkle lights” here — there is everything from Clay Paky Mythos to 20K Christies video projectors, and from Vari*Lite VL3515’s to hundreds of Elation Level Q7IP’s — more than 800 lights in all.
The first challenge is making sure the gear can handle the elements — we don’t want to deliver a design to our client that only works until the first time it rains. That means a different level of design development than an indoor event, and a lot of planning, “what if-ing” and testing. Working with Chicago-based equipment provider and system integrator ILC, our collective team spends hours walking through the site, and picking apart the design.
There are seemingly obvious matters like “Are the fixtures IP rated” or “Is everything protected from the elements in domes or sheds,” but also less obvious questions like “Where is the snow from blowers and plows going to end up? Is it going to bury lights?” and “If there is a windstorm, will the fixtures hung in branches be at risk of bashing into the arbor and damaging the lights, or worse the fragile trees?” followed up with “How can we keep cable and connectors out of the wet?” and, most importantly, over and over again: “Is it safe for guests?” That means everything from making sure there is light where the ground might be slippery to keeping cable away from potential interference from little hands.
Sometimes, the demands of weather planning and, most importantly ensuring crew and guest safety, drives design decisions, and that is only right. It is easy to let the creative vision drive these needs into second, third or fourth place, but this is where, as a designer, I have an obligation to act responsibly and especially listen to my crew when they make a recommendation.
So we reached the point where we have a design that we all think we can execute, and won’t self-destruct in a flurry of sparks and exploding lights at the first sign of rain. Now it needs to be installed, the bulk of which is accomplished during the first three weeks of November. Now I remind you dear reader this is Chicago, working at night, where especially this year it was bitterly, bitterly cold.
Once again, rigorous preparation and planning by the team from Intelligent Lighting Creations led by Matt Pearlman and Joby Benoit was key. Hypothermia can set in at temperatures as high as 40 degrees if the person has become wet from rain or sweat, so it is crucial to plan for things as simple as warm rest areas, hot beverages and hand and foot warming heat packs (lots of heat packs!) are available as well as more elaborate measures such as heated tents for programming. These kinds of things are critical to a happy crew, even if they cost you a few lights out of the rental budget to pay for them. It is also important for us to take care of our own and make sure we don’t allow our colleagues to be exposed to the cold for too long. Make sure your team is taking breaks, warming up (or cooling down, if in hot climates) and allowed time to recover from any kind of extreme weather work.
Thanks to detailed planning, Illumination at The Morton Arboretum was once again a great success, and the team survived the rigors of an outdoor installation during one of the coldest Novembers on record in Chicago. Oh, of course, the very day after installation was complete, the temperature increased almost overnight to above normal, albeit only for a few days. Typical, huh?
Out in the Desert
So Illumination is an example of planning for the expected — it’s no surprise that it will be cold in Chicago in November. But what happens if the weather catches us a bit more off guard? That is exactly what happened to my team and I in December of 2009 in the Mojave Desert.
We had been hired by Virgin Galactic, along with event producers GroupDelphi and technical directors Production Glue, to design and execute the “roll out” of SpaceShipTwo — the worlds first commercial space craft. The vehicle is a dual fuselage “mother ship” with a wingspan of more than 140 feet that is designed to lift SpaceShipTwo to an altitude of around 60,000 feet for launch. Despite the recent accident and tragic loss of the pilot Michael T. Alsbury, SpaceShipTwo is an audacious feat of engineering, and we planned to reveal it to the world with a bold show.
After a long design process, the plan was set. Close to 800 guests were bused the 100 miles or so from Los Angeles. The event would begin in a clear tent with a press conference and speeches by Sir Richard Branson and the governors of California and New Mexico. Guests would then be invited out into the Mojave evening to watch SpaceShipTwo rolling down 1,800 feet of taxiway, passing giant icons of the Virgin Galactic brand dubbed “The DNA of Flight.” As it approached the audience, 36 X&Y Big Lights and 40 Martin MAC 2000XB washes (part of a 500-light rig provided by Upstaging) would dramatically light SpaceShipTwo. After a walk around the history-making spacecraft, guests would move back into the tent along with two inflatable domes measuring 80 feet in diameter to party and celebrate. Sounds like a lovely evening, right?
We started the load in in typical December Mojave weather — 60’s during the day, chilly high 30’s at night. Then the temperature started to drop. We went from T-shirts and shorts on Day One to jeans and sweaters, then fleeces, then finally coats, hats and scarves. We were told by everyone — local crew, airport officials, people in restaurants that “it isn’t usually like this.” That was a warning to us all.
GroupDelphi and Production Glue took this trend very seriously and didn’t fall into the trap of, “I’m sure it’s going to be okay; let’s just hope for the best.” Plans were drawn up for what the team thought were the most extreme possible weather eventualities, and “trigger point” contingencies were put into place. At what temperature was the event untenable? At what wind speed would the tent and domes become dangerous? I think we all went into show day a little apprehensive, but prepared. We were to be astounded.
Show day dawned with a forecast for high temperatures almost 30 degrees cooler than normal, and significantly windier. Guests arrived for the press conference, and the tent was blowing in a way that was starting to make the crew cautious, if not yet nervous. As SpaceShipTwo made its way down the runway, it was a very cold 38 degrees, and the wind was approaching sustained speeds of 40 m.p.h. — the very threshold of the possible. Winds whipped smoke around and made the audio guys lives a misery — but to our relief and the delight of the client and their guests, SpaceShipTwo made it down the taxiway, and was christened.
The audience rapidly made their way back into the tent and domes to warm up, drink up and party down. Even as we moved into the third part of the evening, the winds got stronger, and stronger and stronger, until one of the predefined “tipping points” was reached. Because this had been planned and defined ahead of time, there was no debate, no discussion, no “Shall we wait and see?” The winds hit a trigger level, and at 8 p.m. the production team calmly, but with urgency, moved into evacuation mode. Buses were called back, and 800 guests were politely but firmly and rapidly moved onto the waiting vehicles and sent back to Los Angeles.
As the last buses left the site, the winds still didn’t let up, and the call was made to completely clear the site. We had a clear crew evacuation plan, too. I knew who I had to have with me, so there was no “Where is this person or that person.” As long as I had the two people I was responsible for, I could leave the site, knowing other crew members were taking care of their group.
A Chilling Sight
I still vividly remember sitting with my colleagues Austin and Dennis safely at the perimeter of the site, as the winds gusted to 105 m.p.h. and lifted the massive tent and folded it like an umbrella on a windy day. A chilling sight, for sure, but made less so by knowing the crew was safe, and the local police were keeping the site clear.
Morning revealed a production that looked like it had been hit by a bomb — $45,000 BigLites had blown around like tumbleweeds, speakers and control gear were strewn around the site like confetti, and the tent had folded and collapsed in on itself. But, thankfully, no one had been hurt. Eight hundred guests and 100 support staff were safely evacuated thanks to thorough emergency planning and decisive, bold action. Despite the aftermath and the severity of the situation, the client was actually thrilled and got a ton of great press. The guests experienced an evening they wouldn’t soon forget, and the crew took part in a remarkable project with a lot of valuable lessons learned.
Contingency Planning is a Must
We can never truly be sure what the weather will hold in store, and it is likely to get even more unpredictable in future years. I cannot stress strongly enough the need for thorough, diligent planning, and consideration of every contingency. Explore the “What if’s.” Spend the time to discuss with your team what the weather could be at its worst, as well as hoping for what it might be like at its best. Make sure everyone has what they need to be safe and as comfortable as possible in the extremes or temperature, and knows what to do if things go bad, so you’re not trying to react on the fly.
As a designer, be prepared to adjust you plan, change your vision and adapt (which is what good designers do anyway) both in the planning and on site to be “weather nimble” and climate smart.
Lastly, as a production member at any level, if you are ever placed in the position where design or creative decisions seem to be eclipsing safety, I urge you to speak up — loudly. If people you’re talking to won’t listen, go find someone who will. There isn’t a lighting position, a cue, a look, or an effect or a show that is worth risking a life or even injury for — ever. If you are working with people who don’t agree, then you’re working with the wrong people. Be safe out there!
John Featherstone, a principal at Lightswitch, also recently served as PLSN’s Feb. 2015 “LD-at-Large”.
