< PreviousSPECIAL FEATURE Paul Caslin, screens producer Trevor Burke from Visual Noise Creative and executive producers Bruce Gillmer, Jesse Ignjatovic and Barb Bialkowski to help craft the high- energy show everyone wanted. It featured two impressive and identical triangular- shaped stages built at the long ends of the arena, both with LED fl oors and each with large upstage triangular LED screens. In the middle of one long side was the ‘MTV Entrance’ a large scenic graphic of the channel’s famous acronym, where artists entered the arena, stepping onto the chevron-shaped MTV Stage. A short tunnel at the back of the entrance revealed another LED screen, and the short runway also had an LED fl oor and sides. Much of the presenter action happened in this zone SETTING THE STAGE The much-anticipated 2022 MTV VMAs (Video Music Awards) proved every bit as thrilling and fun as music fans globally have come to expect of this high- profi le live broadcast extravaganza. Digital Studio Middle East charts out how this visually dramatic and sonically entertaining event was brought to life winners stole the show at the MTV VMAs (Video Music Awards) 2022. Staged at the Prudential Center in Newark, New York, it was lit for the third year by Tom Sutherland of DX7 Design. Sutherland worked closely with set designer Heather Shaw from Vita Motus, camera director Liz Clare, creative director rom Taylor Swift picking up the Best Video Award for her song All Too Well (Taylor’s Version) to Lizzo popping with her brilliantly choreographed interactive video, and lighting performance for To Be Loved (Am I Ready) and About Damn Time, a star-studded collection of F www.digitalstudiome.com30 / NOVEMBER 2022SPECIAL FEATURE care of the FX lighting including all the moving lights and all the LED pixels on the rig, and Jenkins ensuring that all the key lighting was in place and co-ordinating the RoboSpot system. They were joined by senior associate designer and lighting director Hunter Selby, lighting directors James Colidcott and Jasmine Lesane; lighting programmer Stefan Zubocic – who dealt with around 100,000 PixMob LED wristbands on site; and lighting intern Noah Bresler alongside the gaff er Alen Sisul and the lighting techs: Dennis Sisul and John Cox, with media programmed by Kirk Miller. All lighting kit was supplied by Solotech – managed by Harry Forster and Dave Evans. Sutherland’s visual design also included approximately fi fty lasers supplied by ER Productions. All technical production had to be installed, tech’d, co- ordinated, and programmed on site in two and a half weeks, making time the biggest challenge, especially given the show’s reputation for production excellence and everyone’s high expectations. “As always it was the teamwork, professionalism, and the camaraderie that made it rock, not just from us in technical production, but those from every production aspect and all on the artists’ side, which made it so special, and such a slick operation that we were all proud to deliver,” concluded Sutherland. which was a popular celebrity ‘hot spot’. Sutherland, known for his fresh and innovative approach, utilised 229 Robe moving lights among others on a vast lighting rig that helped emcees Nikki Minaj, LL Cool J and Jack Harlow bring the onstage action – featuring 11 jaw-dropping live performances – alive in a megamix of beams, colour, textures, and movement. While that was a lot of LED for Sutherland to consider, he was the fi rst to note that “working with Heather is great as she always considers the role of lighting relative to her set design.” The two had also worked together on some previous projects in Asia, so there was a fl uid and constrictive creative synergy. The geography and layout of the two stages facilitated the full-tilt festival style ‘fl ip-fl op’ of live artist performances that kept the pace as well as the vitality of the show pumping. Sutherland positioned 76 of his MegaPointes, 38 per screen, around the triangular LED screen perimeters on each stage, with eight more a side on two deck- based diagonal raised ‘slip’ positions at the back of the artist / VIP area, on either side of the MTV entrance. “MegaPointes were an easy choice,” stated Sutherland, “I needed something with plenty of power, defi nition, and variety to cut through everything and enhance the geometry of the room, so MegaPointe was my go-to.” Thousands of variant MegaPointe looks and mountains of dancing and piercing beam looks were crafted with some quick and super-smart programming to support the diff erent artists’ performance narratives. Thirty-six Robe Spiiders were utilised in the tunnel behind the MTV stage and in its entranceway and for back lighting presenters on the chevron stage, and there were four Robe ESPRITES in the fl oor specials packages available on each stage. Sutherland commented on how much easier and more effi cient this operation is, especially in a constantly moving multi- camera environment, due to proven and reliable lighting technology. “Being able to get all the diff erent angles and change fi xtures mid show, eff ectively getting a light into any position it is needed has been a game changer in the world of follow spotting,” declared Sutherland, adding that it brings the possibility of “lighting large television and broadcast shows like this with so much more precision and theatricality – it is amazing!” As always Sutherland worked alongside his own very talented team from DX7 Design to achieve the desired visual appeal. Joe Holdman and Brian Jenkins were the man console operators, Holdman taking In the frame: A spectacular performance from the powerpacked MTV VMAs (Video Music Awards) 2022. BEING ABLE TO GET ALL THE DIFFERENT ANGLES AND CHANGE FIXTURES MID SHOW, EFFEC- TIVELY GETTING A LIGHT INTO ANY POSITION IT IS NEEDED HAS BEEN A GAME CHANGER IN THE WORLD OF FOLLOW SPOTTING. www.digitalstudiome.comNOVEMBER 2022 / 31 INTERVIEW to purchase phase. 67% of viewers say TikTok creator videos feel credible. Digital platforms have been disruptive on the business side as they provide an unmissable opportunity for brands, enabling them to access lucrative revenue streams while providing a low barrier to entry. How does TikTok facilitate the Community Commerce model? TikTok’s blend of community, entertainment, and shopping has created a unique commercial ecosystem where purchase decisions are infl uenced by authentic people and digital communities, rather than an elevated individual or corporation. TikTok users – the community – are no longer a commodity for brands to benefi t from, but the actual drivers of commerce. That’s what we call Community Commerce. Today the community plays an oversized THE POWER OF COMMUNITY COMMERCE Tiktok has harnessed the power of advertising through their platform’s digital creators. The purchasing decisions of online consumers is one that comes from the heavily bounded ties between content creators and their online communities. So, how has this changed the way businesses market their products? Digital Studio’s Zaynab Kamran fi nds out more, in conversation with Aref Yehia, Head of Retail & E-Commerce Business Partnerships at TikTok MENA shopping. The advent of digital platforms has shown the power that trusted creators and communities have in infl uencing purchase decisions. According to our fi ndings, 67% of TikTok users purchase a product after seeing it on a creator’s video; 85% of users exposed to videos by creators move directly from the discovery ow are digital platforms changing the way consumers shop online and the way businesses advertise their products? Digital platforms are reshaping how customers make purchasing decisions, contributing to an upward trend in online H www.digitalstudiome.com32 / NOVEMBER 2022INTERVIEW platform’s innovation to make creators, who best represent the luxury community, the focus of the video templates for their Dynamic Showcase Ads. Another example can be Centrepoint, one of the biggest retailers in the Middle East, who tripled their conversion rate during their last White Wednesday by leaning into the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt trend to drive sales in the UAE and KSA. Are smaller businesses equally able to benefi t from the platform? Tapping into the global marketplace through digital platforms is one of the most cost-eff ective ways in which SMBs can grow their businesses – generating leads and converting interest into customers. Our partnership with Shopify, which we announced last year, is just one of the ways that SMBs can benefi t from TikTok, as it gives merchants a unique platform to reach new audiences in an engaging and creative way like nowhere else. Having access to a hyper-engaged community of shoppers, trendsetters, and word-of-mouth advocates is an unmissable opportunity for small businesses everywhere to gain new customers and expand their business. What lessons do you think business owners and entrepreneurs can learn from the popularity of TikTok’s commerce model? A commonly heard phrase in this context is “Find your niche”. Instead, I would suggest to business owners and entrepreneurs: “Find your subculture”. TikTok’s model has proven that it’s important to stop thinking about “who” your audience is and to start thinking about “what” interests them. Connecting to groups or subcultures with common interests and ideas allows businesses to transcend demographics like age, gender, and location. Brands who can tap into the power of a subculture tap into a level of brand affi nity and purchasing behaviour that can elevate them to cult status. Community Commerce is a space where entrepreneurs can help shape this future – making every transaction joyful, trustworthy, personal, and actually taking commerce back to its interactional roots. role in purchasing decisions, and the amount of content uploaded every day on TikTok shows that people want to be entertained – in fact, it’s the very reason 75% of people go to TikTok. The appeal of Community Commerce for companies is simple – leaning in on a platform where the community is at the center of the shopping experience can amplify brands in a powerful new way. Consider the case of Itsu, for instance. When Creator Emily Mariko began the #salmonricebowl TikTok trend, the hashtag hit 600 million views in a couple of weeks and sent sales of Itsu’s seaweed thins soaring by more than 100%. Compared to other digital platforms, how does TikTok manage to stay ahead of the game when it comes to leveraging the app in terms of e-commerce purposes? To start with, our platform inspires more active exploration and learning during the consideration phase. As early as this consideration phase, TikTok inspires deeper online interaction with brands and products. TikTok generates twice as much post-purchase content creation. This openness to buying directly from the platform (1 in 2) is driven by the nature of TikTok, which is fuelled by entertainment, joy, and discovery. Our team stays ahead of the game by working closely with our industry partners to help them reach and exceed their business objectives, leveraging a suite of advertising solutions across the funnel. Whether an advertiser is leveraging a unique awareness building solution such as TopView or tackling a deeper funnel objective with Dynamic Showcase Ads, we ensure that we help them make TikToks, not only ads but by also facilitating the process of developing several creator-led assets. Can you give us some real-life examples of businesses in the region benefi tting from the so-called “Community Commerce model”? Our team has helped bring real-life examples of Community Commerce across pure play e-commerce and omni-channel retail verticals, especially during major moments such as the upcoming shopping season or Black Friday. We have recently released a series of 12 case studies across diff erent businesses, which can be found on our TikTok for Business METAP channels. Taking two examples as a reference: Luxury fashion retailer Ounass boosted their clickthrough rate on their product catalog by 22% by combining the power of Dynamic Showcase Ads with a Creator-led approach.The Ounass team embraced the In the frame: Aref Yehia, Head of Retail & E-Commerce Business Partnerships at TikTok MENA. HAVING ACCESS TO A HYPER-ENGAGED COMMUNITY OF SHOPPERS AND TRENDSETTERS IS AN UNMISSABLE OPPORTUNITY FOR SMALL BUSINESSES EVERYWHERE. 71% of TikTok viewers say that qualities related to a creator’s authenticity motivated them to buy from a brand. www.digitalstudiome.comNOVEMBER 2022 / 33 shifting from linear editing to a computer based non-linear editing pipeline, he off ered me to work with his team in the promo editing and graphics department. Three days in, I knew that this is what I actually wanted to be doing for the rest of my life. What was the most creatively satisfying piece of work you have been involved in? Although not considered an explicitly creative endeavour, starting off Nested VFX is the most satisfying piece of work I have been involved in. On the surface, the concept of opening a company may not seem like a creative venture, but that is exactly what it requires. Creativity in branding, in problem solving, in managing tasks, and setting goals. It is a marriage of creativity and personal development. How have you seen the industry evolve from when you started out? In the beginning of my career, I had the opportunity to work on Linear Video Editing Machines – or A/B Roll machines, as we used to call them. Instead of the computer software we have today, it was a room fi lled with video tape players linked to a video mixer, an audio mixer, and a tape recorder. . You need a slow-motion clip? You get a special video tape player with a precise shuffl e wheel and depending on how hard or soft you turn the knob, you get a faster or slower clip. Every command, task or eff ect that is now a simple click on your keyboard, was then a manual, drawn-out process. Where do you draw your inspirations from? From books and art. I enjoy reading and listening to stories with the visuals playing in my head, or viewing pieces of art, and imagining them on the move. What was the best advice about the industry you were given? George Boustany, one of my teachers and a veteran in the Lebanese cinema industry used to tell us in the beginning of each class that “Film is a creative endeavour, but it’s a business endeavour as well. You need to invest in your equipment, art direction, crew, and make sure that after all the money spent, you can fi nd a way to make back your investment.” A piece of advice that I give newcomers is that, although you are driven by passion and creativity, don’t overlook your right to a fair pay. Many employers lowball editors and digital artists on payments and treat them of secondary importance which is something that should not be tolerated. 5 MINUTES WITH... SAMER ASFOUR CEO, NESTED VFX H FILM IS A CREATIVE ENDEAVOUR, BUT IT’S A BUSINESS ENDEAVOUR AS WELL. ow did you discover that fi lm production was your true calling? I’ve always had a big fascination for movies and cinema, particularly animated fi lms – The Lion King (1994) is still one of my favourites to this day, as are the ones that goes beyond the boundaries of reality as we know it, like Harry Potter and The Matrix. I had the biggest curiosity to know how all these new worlds came to be so real. When I was 15 years old, I was searching for a summer job in a bid to make some extra pocket money and so fell upon a camera assistant opportunity at a local TV station back in Beirut. During the interview, the manager there noticed that I am very computer savvy, and, since they wanted to start www.digitalstudiome.com 5 MINUTES WITH... 34 / NOVEMBER 2022STUDIO MONITOR SYSTEMS DSP engine for improved performance and automatic room alignment Linear frequency and phase response Novel 6.5” woofer + 1” driver, 145/100 W Analog and S/PDIF inputs, optionally AES67 KH 150: New Generation Wunderkind www.neumann.comEnquire Now Feature Upgrade MA 1 App (Mac/PC)KH 80KH 150KH 310KH 420KH 750KH 810KH 870KH 120Next >