7 Tips to Ease Your Printing Pains

Optimizing artwork for large format printing

Mountain Productions' large format banner/scrim printing

Festival branding printed on vinyl mesh (scrim)

A creative and bold graphic theme can elevate an event into an experience that not only sounds good, but also visually looks just as appealing. Festivals such as Lollapalooza, Hot 97 Summer Jam, Made in America and Boston Calling have created a tight unity between their brand and their performers by using dynamic artwork and cohesive, cross-application graphical themes.

Brainstorming possible ideas, selecting a festival theme, and then executing all of the graphic work for an event can be an impressive task. (As a graphic designer myself, I understand the pains and stress of this process!) The last thing you want is to end up with production issues with your submitted artwork, sometimes only days before your event.

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[EVENT RECAP] Beyond Wonderland

A few weeks ago we shared some photos from Insomniac’s Nocturnal Wonderland festival. While we were in California setting up staging for Nocturnal, our crew was also preparing for its next venture 400 miles north in Mountain View, CA. Following Nocturnal Wonderland, our equipment moved quickly to Mountain View for Nocturnal’s sister festival, Beyond Wonderland, which took place on the following weekend. Insomniac’s website describes the festival as “an immersive world where attendees will be surrounded by vibrant performers, decorations, art installations, and more.”

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[STAGING SPOTLIGHT] Softgoods – For a variety of application and decoration

Softgoods are a great “finishing touch” to a stage aesthetic. Beyond providing first-rate advertising and branding space, softgoods are utilized for a variety of applications on our stages, both practical and decorative. Here are a few ways we use various vinyl, mesh and other softgood materials on our staging systems.

You’ll see many of our stages fit with black scrim to create a finished look to the structure. Our scrim shop uses a 14oz Vinyl Coated Polyester (VCP) Mesh as our standard black scrim. This material is tested and certified as flame retardant, ensuring a safe softgoods solution.

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Mountain Productions nominated for 2013 Staging Company of the Year Parnelli Award

We are proud to have been nominated for the upcoming Parnelli Awards as a contender for the Staging Company of the Year award. It’s an honor to be able to provide our services to the industry another year, and we wish the best of luck to all of the nominees. It is the combined effort of the dedicated companies in our industry that make each and every event possible.

Voting is exclusive to PLSN subscribers. Visit http://www.parnelliawards.com/vote.php to cast your vote!

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[EVENT RECAP] Nocturnal Wonderland – Sunken Garden Stage

Insomniac Events has been a leader in the electronic dance festival experience, creating high-profile events such as the Electric Daisy Carnival, Electric Forest, White Wonderland and more. Mountain Productions traveled to California to set up staging for two Insomniac events within 2 weekends: Nocturnal Wonderland at San Bernadino and Beyond Wonderland at the Shoreline Amphitheater.

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[EVENT RECAP] Metallica Performs on our Rolling Stage at Yankee Stadium

This past weekend, Metallica performed at Yankee Stadium to honor retiring pitcher Mariano Rivera. Rivera has been closing games for years to the famous Metallica hit, “Enter Sandman”. The band in turn dedicated the song to the Yankees pitcher as well as feature his jersey number on their team-inspired pinstriped amplifiers.

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Learn about our extensive Hoist Servicing (Part 2)

In Part 1 of our coverage of hoist servicing, we discussed the inspection process and the steps that our rigging department take to ensure your hoists are in top condition. Even though an annual inspection is performed to certify your hoists are in proper working order doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take care of your hoists every time you handle them. Maintaining your hoists will result in a longer lifespan and less repairs required when inspection rolls around.

Tips on Maintaining a Proper Hoist

weathercover

We use weather covers at our own location to protect our motors from the elements

Because many of our events occur outside, it’s important to be prepared for the often unpredictable, but unstoppable force called Mother Nature.

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Learn about our extensive Hoist Servicing (Part 1)

In our industry, it is imperative that the hoists that hold the equipment above us are in top-performing shape – in the best interests of safety. Mountain Productions is a master distributor of CM products, including their legendary chain hoists. Even though CM offers some of the best and most trusted hoists in the industry, it is still important to inspect and service each hoist regularly. Our rigging department recommends (at least) an annual servicing, but some applications could require a more frequent inspection.


When we service chain hoists, we make sure to take every aspect of the hoist into consideration. Here’s a quick overview of the steps we take to ensure your hoists are in working order:

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[EVENT RECAP] Made In America 2013

Founded in 2012 by hip hop household name Jay-Z, the Budweiser Made in America Festival is a 2 day celebration of diverse music (hip hop, rock, pop, R&B, EDM) and culture. Located in the heart of Philadelphia, Mountain Productions has set up staging at MIA in 2012 and again this year. The 2013 event took place on August 31st and September 1st and hosted a variety of high profile performers, including Beyoncé, Deadmau5, Empire of the Sun, Calvin Harris, Nine Inch Nails, Kendrick Lamar and more.

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[STAGING SPOTLIGHT] Can I put the stage …here? – 4 of our most unique staging locations

The more adapted you are, the less adaptable you tend to be. – Unknown

Over the years, we have been privileged to stage events all over the world. Each event brought its own challenges and solutions, as well as a unique location to build upon. Sometimes our engineers are given a site survey showing a large field and relatively flat land for staging outdoor concerts and festivals. But more often than not, this is not the case.

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