Professional Sound - April 2017 | Page 35

WE Day began as a single Toronto-based event in 2007 , uniting over 7,500 students from 500 schools in the GTA at Ricoh Coliseum . Speakers at the inaugural edition included now-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau , author and educator Irshad Manji , and Olympian Mark Tewksbury with performances by Hanson and Canadian Idol winner Brian Melo .
Just two years later , WE Day had expanded to two events in Vancouver and Toronto , welcoming approximately 20,000 students each and including appearances by the Dalai Lama , Dame Jane Goodall , and Robert F . Kennedy Jr . and performances by mega-stars like Sarah McLachlan , K ’ naan , and the Jonas Brothers .
In the ensuing years , WE Day has ballooned in size , scope , and popularity and , for 2016 / 17 , is a 16-show , 15-city tour with events in multiple Canadian markets as well as major centres in the U . S . and U . K ., having just recently taken over SSE Arena in Wembley .
Leading up to this most recent season , Nordest Studio co-founder Lina Beaudin had worked as WE Day ’ s executive producer and creative director ; however , for 2016 / 17 , Beaudin and Nordest transitioned into the role of consulting producer and creative director while also providing support in the areas of production management , stage management , and technical direction .
Needless to say , she ’ s intimately familiar with the event and its mandate .
“ This event is growing every year , which means its impact on people and their communities is growing , too ,” she says . “ It ’ s our job to make sure that message is heard loud and clear so it can be shared and promoted , and having a really high production value is vital to that .”
Beaudin and audio supervisor Dave Donin worked closely to put together a touring package that would not only handle performances by arena-touring acts , but also deliver clear , consistent reinforcement for the spoken components of the show in various and often less-than-ideal
ADAMSON E-SERIES & S-SERIES ARRAYS
venues , acoustically speaking .
The main PA is comprised of Adamson Systems Engineering ’ s E-Series and S-Series boxes powered by a complement of Lab . gruppen PLM Series amplifiers , all provided by first-time audio supplier Eighth Day Sound . The main left and right hangs typically have 15 E15s and three E12s per side while the side hangs have 12 E15s and three E12s per side . The rear hangs are comprised of 16 smaller S10s per side , and the S10s also provide font fill from the lip of the stage . Sixteen Adamson E119 subs handle the low end .
“ We needed a PA that would satisfy the rider requirements of top touring acts ,” Beaudin reaffirms , “ but that ’ s also versatile enough to handle everything else we throw at it during WE Day . Then , it has to be loud and clear enough to rise above a crowd of very energetic young people . So considering all of that , I was really confident that the Adamson product was the optimal choice . And working with Eighth Day has been great – they know the products inside and out and carry a high degree of professionalism , so we couldn ’ t have asked for a better provider .”
DELIVERING THE MESSAGE
PA
Mains : 15 x Adamson E15s ( per side ) 3 x Adamson E12 s ( per side )
Side Hang : 12 x Adamson E15s ( per side ) 3 x Adamson E12s ( per side )
Rear Hang : 16 x Adamson S10s ( per side )
Front Fills : 8 x Adamson S10s
Subs : 16 x Adamson E119s
Power : Lab . gruppen PLM 20K44 Amplifiers
Drive : 1 x Lab . gruppen LM 44 ( L / R / Sub / Fill , connected via redundant Dante network over fibre to amplifiers )
MONITORS – PERFORMANCES
1 x AVID Profile Monitor Mixing Console
FOH Rack with 5 DSP Cards , 2 x HDX Cards & IOx Card
1 x Avid Stage Rack , 48 In / 24 Out Avid Venue Pack Pro 3 Plug-ins 1 x 30-ft . Digital Main Snake
8 x d & b audiotechnik M4 Monitor Wedges
1 x d & b audiotechnik Q-Sub Drum Sub
2 x d & b audiotechnik Monitor Amplifier Rack
10 x Channels of Shure PSM-1000 Series In-Ear Monitors , dual packs
4 x Channels of Shure UR Series Wireless Microphones with SM-58 Capsules or Beltpacks
2 x Channels of Shure Axient Wireless Receiver with UR-2 / UR-1 Transmitters ( to accommodate any artists with Shure transmitters in any standard Shure frequency band without having to source new receivers )
TRAFFIC
1 x Yamaha , CL5 Digital Console
2 x Yamaha RIO3224-D Racks ( connected via fibre on a fully redundant Dante network )
12 x Channels of Shure UR Series Wireless Receiver
12 x Shure UR-2 Handhelds with Shure SM-58 Capsules
8 x Shure UR-1 Beltpacks
8 x DPA 4088 Headsets ( 6 x beige , 2 x brown )
6 x d & b audiotechnik E-8 Monitors for spoken word reinforcement .
2 x Comtek IFB Units
INTERCOM
1 x Clear-Com 704 Channel Master Station
4 x Clear-Com 703 Beltpacks 16 x Clear-Com 701 Beltpacks 2 x Telex BTR-800 Systems
PROFESSIONAL SOUND • 35