Live Nation will distribute event containers across the U.S.

Raven Production Management Company (PMG) of New Orleans constantly challenges itself to bring revolutionary production solutions to all of its clients. From the smallest nightclub events to entire festival sites Raven is there to tackle and enhance the experience with state of the art sound equipment, avant-garde lighting systems, and cutting edge video solutions.

From basic stage arrangements to portable refreshment containers, multi-level risers and platforms, Raven excels at creating memorable experiences for patrons and artists. This team works hard to take your experience to the next level and is constantly outdoing itself across all fields of event production. Their webpage photos alone bring to life what extraordinary talents this company can provide..

Adding to their repertoire of fantastic skills are the construction of arena and concert container units that will be in use at several events in the Los Angeles area and across the country. Raven PMG has ordered a total of 13 Schweiss bifold liftstrap doors for these container-building units. The custom-made doors are 13'3" x 7'2" with manual latches and have a 145 mph windload. They also have white liftstraps and the motors were painted white as well. The outside of the bifold door was clad in ACM panel. ACM provides a flat surface comparable to much thicker aluminum, at a more reasonable price. When you desire larger panel modules or panels with greater impact resistance, aluminum composite material is the way to go.

Describing them as containers is an understatement; these 15' x 15' x 15' permanent units are very versatile and are being used for much more than storage or as event food concession or portable product sales buildings. The unit designed for Bud Light has an interactive photo booth and alongside it is an area where people can enjoy a cold one.

Raven PMG Partner, Chris Berends, said they operate out of one location in New Orleans, Louisiana, working with 12 full time employees and about 30 subcontractors.

"Basically, we were contracted with Live Nation, one of our biggest clients, to build out 13 different sponsorship buildings for 13 of their amphitheaters. What Live Nation will in turn do is take those sponsorship buildings and try to sell or rent them to different sponsors. The first one that was rented out this amphitheater season was to Bud Light. This coming season, I'm hoping all of them will be rented out to 13 different sponsors permanently installed in 13 different locations. I know they've already locked in a couple sponsors for next season," said Berends.

Live Nation Entertainment is an American global entertainment company, formed from the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. It owns, leases, operates, has booking rights for and/or equity interests in a large number of U.S. entertainment venues.

"This was pretty extraordinary in the fact that we prefabricated 13 buildings in our shop and deployed them to 13 locations throughout the U.S. Normally we're an event fabrication company; we build a lot of structures for events that are temporary. This involved a lot of the same methods and practices we use on a day-to-day basis for temporary structures like a video, wall, lighting and such," said Fabrication Director, William Nemitoff.

They discovered Schweiss Doors by perusing the Internet searching for different doors. There was a Schweiss canopy style bifold door in Brooklyn, N.Y. that caught their attention on the Schweiss website, and that they thought would work well for this project.

"It was from an aesthetic, design and quality standpoint that we went with Schweiss. From the inside and the outside, when the door is in the up position, the motor is basically tucked into the door giving a minimal view of it; and the white straps and white motor added to the minimal look. With a hydraulic door you would see the hydraulic arms from the outside. You've got the safety and the electronics figured out. I really appreciate all the safety decals and manuals," noted Nemitoff.

One wall is glass; other walls are R-Panel construction. The rear wall has an air conditioning unit and electrical panel on it. The front wall above the bifold door has a 5-millimeter video wall above it.

"Budweiser used it for brand activation - they turned it into a dynamic photo booth that creates a GIF, basically it's like an array of cameras that takes sequential photos, so you get a moving image. The technology blends these photos into one moving image. It's more for promotion of a brand than for selling anything, but it could be used for sales purposes," explained Nemitoff.

"The focus of the containers is to make them as flexible as possible with ample power inside them. For instance, Bud Light brought in a 360-degree camera that had special requirements. We put in a hardline Internet connection and all the lighting up above can be replaced with whatever fixtures the client may want.

"One of the things we did for Live Nation was design a bunch of different strategies for using the containers. We did designs for what it would look like if it were a rock n' roll cafe, a virtual reality location and another was a karaoke bar. Basically something Live Nation could use to make it appealing to their clients," noted Berends.

With over 10 years of experience, Raven is happy to work with clients in any capacity, from rental all the way to turnkey production management. Raven fabrication is what separates Raven PMG from the pack. A team of mad scientists works around the clock to bring the most farfetched ideas to life using cutting edge technology and battle-tested methods. This laboratory is the heart of Raven and leaps at the opportunity to explore and invent. Innovation is key to a successful event and with each new idea comes a new set of challenges that is the fuel that drives Raven.

Raven PMG

Raven PMG is capable of providing all types of event services, from conceptual to realization. Their quickly growing team with tried-and-true methods and superior quality craftsmanship has provided immersive experiences for organizations in every corner of the entertainment industry from professional sports teams and touring artists to nationally recognized music festivals, brands and venues.

The Nest team began as a group of structural artists seeking to produce large scale installations and activations that pushed the boundaries of possibility and interaction. Each new idea, from clients or teammates, is a challenge. Because of this competition Nest is also able to curate assemblies of the best installation artists in the world for any event.

A staff of internationally recognized production designers, architects, and fabricators work together to make even the most far-fetched ideas effective realities within the entertainment industry. From site analysis to layout and execution, Nest site designs embellish the most defining characteristics of a site while maintaining a skeptical eye for safety. Safety takes priority in everything designed by Nest and executed by Raven. This team works tirelessly to ensure its safety with advanced software analysis, physical load testing, and licensed engineering reports.

Using Computer Numerical Control Raven Fabrication is able to construct with ultimate precision. From custom case assembly to large-scale installations the scope of services is endless. Raven Fabrication's understanding of thresholds, material properties, and tool paths allows it to push the boundary of CNC aided design.

Raven Fabrication utilizes three-dimensional molds created by CNC or 3D printers to rapidly deploy highly precise custom parts, and can visualize and create virtually anything. Coupling this with an advanced thermoforming system creates endless opportunity for high volume custom manufacturing for use in lighting, decor, art, and staging.

Raven Fabrication specializes in AV and Lighting installations and uses advanced technology to produce custom solutions to fit any venue or event application. This also applies for large scale special effects like pneumatic, pyrotechnic, and other high-pressure systems.

State of the art audio systems controlled by the best audio technicians in the business can be created at a clients' request. Special effects such as lasers, cryogenics, pyro, confetti, or whatever the effect, Raven is there, eagerly awaiting to pop it off. Raven began as a lighting company and has one of the largest lighting inventories in New Orleans. From projectors to high-resolution video walls Raven constantly pushes the boundaries of video applications through custom fabrication and interactive media.

With a keen eye for detail, Raven's camera operators and content editors can create content from scratch for any application.

Raven PMG is located at 3501 Jourdan Rd., New Orleans, and can be contacted by calling 609-751-8959 or by visiting their website at: http://www.ravenpmg.com