Accidents occur frequently at concerts
●On the afternoon of August 6th, a fire broke out in the middle of the concert of King&Prince, a Japanese boy group affiliated to Johnny & Co., and the concert was suspended.
It is understood that the cause of the fire was because some devices on the central patio of the stage leaked oil, causing fire and smoke during high-temperature lighting.
●On July 28, an accident occurred at the Hong Kong men's group Mirror concert. A large screen above the stage fell rapidly, injuring two dancers, one of whom is still being treated in the ICU.
●On July 31, when the Korean singer "Uncle Bird" PSY concert was withdrawing, a staff member in his 20s accidentally fell from the 15-meter-high lighting tower and died after being sent to the hospital for treatment.
●In 2021, Zhang Jie unfortunately fell from the lifting platform at the end of his concert in Suzhou, causing a hand injury and a fracture of the transverse process of the lumbar vertebra.
●At the Roskilde music festival in Denmark in 2000, there was a stampede that killed 9 people and injured 26 others
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As the live performance of the concert has higher and higher requirements for lighting and stage beauty, the construction and management of the stage has become more and more complicated.
The stages of some large-scale performances are like complex and sophisticated engineering installations, and performers and staff are "horrified" on the stage.
It's a dazzling stage, but it's also a dangerous stage.
Chengdu Business Daily-Red Star News reporter contacted a number of senior concert producers and chatted with them about the stories behind the concert.
The stage design is unreasonable
Improper use of equipment and time consuming
In fact, according to the information that has been disclosed, the Mirror concert has had problems since the rehearsal. There have been sudden vibrations of the elevator platform, members almost fell, the location of the fireworks is too close to people, and the singing and dancing "overpass" suspended in the sky keeps shaking. In other cases, there are also staff complaining about problems such as stage design defects on social platforms.
"Under the premise that the situation in the first three shows continued, I felt that the organizer's thorough investigation was not strong enough." Mr. B, who has been engaged in concert stage construction and choreography and sound related work for more than ten years, told reporters.
In the opinion of Mr. C, who has participated in the production of many Hong Kong and Taiwan artist concerts, the so-called "conditions" on stage installations are not all due to issues such as stage engineering, equipment and technology, but also due to improper use or performance procedures. problem arises.
"For example, the position and the rehearsal are not sufficient. Giving more time and space to the rehearsal should minimize the probability of the so-called 'situation'."
Accidents caused by time rush are more obvious in the process of assembling and dismantling the platform.
In order to shorten the construction period, the irresponsible construction party will arrange multiple types of work at the same time in these two stages. If the construction personnel are contemptuous of safe operation and unfamiliar with the theater equipment, it will easily lead to accidents.
The accident mentioned at the beginning of the article at the Korean Uncle Bird concert occurred during the dismantling of the stage.
Concert production is very complicated
Decentralized engineering involves multiple departments
In addition to the general contractor, the stage construction of the Mirror concert also involved multiple subcontractors.
According to the reporter's understanding, this is actually the norm in concert production.
"The stage construction part of the concert is mainly composed of four major parts: stage, lighting, sound, and video. Others include stage art, special effects, etc. There are very few production companies that can undertake all the projects, and basically use the form of subcontracting. . This company is good at lighting, that company is proficient in audio, and divides and cooperates according to their respective areas of expertise.” Mr. B introduced.
"After getting the stage construction drawings, set out in the venue, fix the position, build the light stand, install the LED screen, hang the sound... The safety factor of all the organs and mechanical devices is the most concerned about the director team." In Mr. B's view, in the Before the stage is officially built, the construction team and the director team need to coordinate a lot of work, and the most important thing is safety.
In Mr. D's more than 20 years of concert experience, the most memorable one was a concert in Yibin.
"At that time, the meteorological department issued a red warning signal for thunderstorms and strong winds, indicating that there were still three hours (thunderstorms and strong winds) to arrive at the performance venue. The organizer held an emergency meeting to evaluate whether the performance could be performed: is the ground wire connected? Does it affect the audience?" Mr. D told the reporter, "Because the temporary stage is all steel structure, if you don't connect the grounding wire properly, it will be very troublesome. Our stage grounding wire must go to a depth of 1.2 meters underground. It is technically required. After a thorough investigation is complete, the performance will proceed normally.”
There is no doubt that concert production is very complex, with scattered engineering involving multiple departments.
The performances on stage are wonderful, but the rigour behind the scenes ensures that the stage is as safe as possible.
"Looking at the accident at the Mirror concert in the Red Pavilion, three suppliers have been involved, which shows how important safety management is." Mr. D said frankly.
performance stage
Technology content is getting higher and higher
But the industry entry barriers are low
Regarding the current status of the industry, many practitioners in the performance industry said that with the increase in market demand and the improvement of quality, the industry is becoming more and more standardized and professional.
"Maybe more than ten years ago, the organizers hired some people to build the stage temporarily, which was relatively unprofessional. But in the past ten years, the team building the concert stage has been relatively fixed, and they all follow the tour." Mr. C also added In addition, the relatively fixed team can not only improve efficiency, but also reduce costs. "If you find a new team every time you change a city, the cost is too high."
According to the reporter's understanding, the cost of stage construction generally accounts for 10% to 20% of the total cost of the concert.
Mr. D told reporters, "(Stage cost ratio) is as low as 5%, and the highest can reach 30%. This has nothing to do with the artist's reputation, it mainly depends on the artist and the team's requirements for the stage part of the concert. Some artists have high requirements for the stage. , The technology content is getting higher and higher, and a lot of lifts and wires are needed."
As for the quality of employees, it is uneven.
"Due to the low entry threshold of this industry, most practitioners only need a high school diploma or above. Some practitioners with rich experience even graduated from primary school and junior high school, so that the education level and quality of existing related practitioners are generally Low." Mr. B told reporters.
In contrast, professional and technical personnel are more secure.
"The Stage Art Professional Committee of the China Performance Industry Association has relevant regulations on the professional titles and skills of personnel. For example, our engineers, technicians, and small workers are required to hold certificates." Mr. D introduced.
In this regard, Mr. B has a different opinion, "I personally think that the regulations related to stage construction should be formulated by professional institutions in the construction industry. For example, the construction of the stage in the theater is strictly implemented in accordance with the relevant regulations formulated by the design institute. In this case, most of them are temporary stage sets, and there is no (strict implementation)."
But in any case, lack of budget, time constraints, and poor management are not reasons to relax security, after all, one oversight can be life-threatening.
Chengdu Business Daily-Red Star News reporter Ren Hongwei intern He Yanling Wang Zuxi