Filmwerks Turns to ModTruss for Broadcast Staging Solution
For the eighth consecutive year, the ModTruss product line has been selected for stage construction at the US Open Tennis Championship. This year, eight broadcast stages were built for the United States Tennis Association (USTA) using ModTruss’ Truss Series and its components. ModTruss continues to be the US Open’s product of choice for broadcast staging due to unique and challenging set positions as a result of spatial restrictions.
Over the years, there has been a need to accommodate the growing number of on-location broadcasters who require studio space. In 2011, then-USTA director of broadcast Operations, Steve Gorsuch, identified several more unconventional locations in need of a set. Gorsuch brought back the ModTruss product line for its third straight year as an answer to these abstract engineering configurations.
An Eight-Stage Setup
Some highlighted US Open historical designs with ModTruss include:
• A ModTruss structure that cantilevered over the practice court fence line and suspended a lofted broadcast stage above the courts
• A 17-foot-high, 40-foot unsupported span (created by lamination) above the players’ kitchen at Arthur Ashe Stadium — these specs for a set-type are unprecedented in set building, and this structure remains there to date.
This year’s new “V-Designs” were fully enclosed, freestanding structures that self-ballasted. They required no guylines, allowing for extra crowd space, and eliminated columns, increasing sightlines for broadcast cameras. Bill Talaska, project designer for Filmwerks International, designed the structures.
Filmwerks International is the leading set-builder and designer of “in-the-field” sports broadcasts and continues to carry the torch for set-building at the US Open. David Fioravanti, project manager at Filmwerks International, once again turned to the ModTruss product line to fit the needs of their designs.
Talaska used design program SketchUp to import the ModTruss product line and generate the renderings. Talaska also used SketchUp for a clean handoff of blueprints and construction details to engineering firm, Clark Reder, to stamp and certify the designs.
Close to 500 Truss Sections
The eight stages were built using close to 500 pieces (38,000 linear feet) of ModTruss, 100 ModPanels, and various numbers of ModTruss hinges and washer plates, along with other ModTruss accessories. These freestanding structures were designed to be assembled in two sections, lifted into place with a forklift, then bolted together with common 5/8-inch grade 8 truss bolts.
Fioravanti turned to site supervisor Brian Cook to lead a crew of eight to assemble the five semi-loads of ModTruss product. Most of it came from the Filmwerks International warehouse in Wilmington, NC, with two additional semi-loads arriving from the ModTruss North American headquarters in Fond du Lac, WI. The work was completed in two weeks.
Filmwerks International also uses the ModTruss product line for set designs on many major TV networks, including sets for their MLB, NHL, NFL, MLS and NBA broadcasts.
Fulfilling Unmet Needs
The ModTruss product line is designed to fulfill unmet needs within the industry, according to Patrick Santini, ModTruss founder and president. “Where this product originally came from — I worked in the sports television industry for many years. And we tried using traditional products, but we kept running into challenges with flexibility. I thought ‘Wouldn’t it be amazing if there was a product that was very flexible — you could bolt on all six sides all the way up and down it?’ And then ModTruss was born.”
ModTruss is designed to eliminate the need for expensive corner blocks. At no additional expense, and with no additional materials, the patented ModTruss hole-pattern lets designers make a right angle every three inches. With just an addition of its hinge accessory, an angle at just about any degree also can be made every three inches.
Another unique aspect to ModTruss is lamination. While standard truss normally requires a larger truss to make the span, ModTruss offers laminating capabilities for larger spans, and the company says this can be done without the need for additional vertical support beams. Furthermore, it is very easy to add various length end-to-end extensions — ModTruss stock lengths are one-foot increments up to 10 feet as well as smaller six-inch section — no need for special/custom orders.
Testing for Safety
These days, especially in the public events world, worker and patron safety are always front-of-mind. From a stability and strength standpoint, the ModTruss 12-inch series can be configured to withstand just about any load capacity. The company notes that, through its laminating capability, just one additional layer of truss can increase the strength of the truss eightfold. Traditional, tube truss product lines of like-type measurements do not have this ability. Further, the ModTruss self-climbing truss can bolt into place, once in position. “This is a huge safety gain over standard self-climbing truss that is merely suspended by a chain,” says Steve Weltin, ModTruss vice president.
To support these claims, ModTruss products undergo testing by three engineering firms. The company then adopts the lowest of the three ratings, then adds in an additional safety factor. Despite that conservative approach, the company notes that it is still able to publish elevated safety and load-bearing ratings.
In addition to rigorous testing, the company offers flexibility for end users with its repetitious hole-pattern design and its market-identifying clover cut outs. ModTruss products are also designed with the needs of field inspectors in mind; the products can be easily inspected, inside and out, as a safeguard against hidden threats and foreign objects — an especially important safety feature for public events.
“Green” Benefits
The ModTruss product line also takes a “green” stance by eliminating the need for the wasteful production of one-off fabrications. The company touts both the environmental and economic benefits of ModTruss’ design, which lets the product be configured in a variety of ways, taken apart, then be redesigned and reused.
After visiting the ModTruss booth at 2014’s LDI convention, David Edelstein, managing director of Triple E Ltd in the U.K., was won over by ModTruss’ laminating capabilities saying that it “creates incredibly strong beams to support all kinds of ideas, structures and weights.” Edelstein also appreciates ModTruss’ ability to add automation to temporary structures. “It can do anything you want it to.”
“ModTruss is a universal building component for all, and to build just about anything,” says Santini. “It’s very similar to an erector set — it uses very simple building principles, and its parts work well together. People often ask me, ‘What can I use it for,’ and I really can’t answer that question, because the answer is in you — what do you want to use it for?”
Other Applications
Filmwerks International and Showman Fabricators have used ModTruss on projects at Radio City Music Hall, major sporting events, major concert tours, on movie sets, in theaters and more. The product ModTruss product line has also been awarded honors by Cine Gear and ABTT in 2015 and LDI in 2014.
Veteran architect and designer Konstantinos Korakakis says he has also benefited from ModTruss’ flexibility and adaptability. “It’s for whatever we want to design. It can nearly do everything — it’s about inspiration and vision.”
That is the ModTruss ethos, according to Santini. “What we want to do is give the imagination back to the designers and free their creativity.”
For more details on ModTruss, go to www.modtruss.com.
