Evident Productions

Intro

It was the job of a lifetime.

The chance to push boundaries, think BIG, color outside of the lines.

The chance to take cutting edge technology, blow it up, make it bleed and create musical eye candy never imagined before.

The chance to play with the best of the best and never be told the budget wouldn't allow it.

The chance to tour with the greatest —and most enigmatic — entertainer to ever grace this earth.

It was the job of a lifetime.  And eight days away from seeing it all come together, it all came crashing down.

For nearly a year now, my friends, family and colleagues have wanted to know more about my weeks preparing for what was supposed to be the biggest come-back tour ever.  Unable to process it all myself and out of respect for every one I worked with, I kept silent.  Now, in honor of Michael Jackson, who I came to greatly admire as a man and as a musician in my few weeks of production work with him, I will be sharing what I can of the experience, and most importantly, what I've learned.

This is it.

The Call:

It all started with the proverbial “phone call.”  Or in my case, voice mail.

Two days before my birthday, John Wiseman, of Chaos Visual Productions, left me a message saying he needed me to “tackle a large project for a major artist.”  He didn’t say who.

Wiseman and I had known of each other by reputation for years, but we only first worked together in summer 2008.  When a mutual friend was injured in a car accident just before he was to go on tour with Journey, Wiseman called me in to be the lead technician for the LED wall.  What was supposed to be a two-week fill-in stint turned into the entire extended tour, going into the fall.

Our similar hard work ethic made us a good fit.  Normally, I’m the guy hiding in the shadows helping those in the limelight shine.  I enjoy thinking outside the box, solving problems and getting the job done — despite entertainment politics.  I’m cross-trained across many aspects of production, from audio and lighting to video and set design.  My mantra has always been Ronald Reagan’s variation of the famous idea that “There is no limit to what a man can do, or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.”

So when Wiseman needed someone to “make this thing happen,” he said he thought of me.  The “thing” of course, was Michael Jackson’s much hyped 60-show production for the O2 Arena in London, and Wiseman wanted me to direct the show’s integration of the new 3D technology and video crew for Jackson’s show.

The details of the project were so top secret I didn’t learn more until we met in person June 1.  All Wiseman told me was that “this is going to be a huge comeback that will have everyone talking for years.  I need you to make this happen for us and bring your experience to the table.”

I’ll admit now that there was some hesitancy on my part, due to Jackson’s reputation for building hype and then backing down.  I was neutral as to Jackson the person and respected Jackson the performer, but I wouldn’t have called myself a fan.  John immediately squelched my unease.  I’ll never forget what he told me when I confronted him with my apprehensions about the project:

“You know Peter, out of everyone that is involved with this project, Michael is the one that brings the value of confidence and decision making to the table.  He’s the solid one often times when it comes to decisions when others aren’t.  He knows what he wants to do, and this is a VERY BIG deal to him.  He’s going to make it happen, and he’s doing everything in his power to make it the biggest thing he’s done yet.”

Two days later I had rearranged my schedule to devote myself to This Is It. I was going to London.  I was going on tour with Michael Jackson.

Click here to read: Michael Jackson- I Was In It For The Technology