Zealand. Working with Creative Technology and Lateral Event Management, ROE Visual supplied Carbon 5 (CB5) and Vanish 6 ST (V6ST) LED solutions. The tour featured LED screens across eight venues which showcased expansive cosmic imagery, bringing greater depth and perspective to the visual presentation. While ROE Visual’s CB5 was deployed for the majority of the tour, the V6ST was selected for Melbourne’s MCEC Plenary. Creative Technology also relied on Brompton’s Tessera units to bring the show to life, as well as Tessera’s workflow features to keep every load-in on schedule. For the European leg of the tour, Leyard Europe worked alongside Universal Pixels to deliver the large-scale visuals using its CLM5.9 LED display technology. The panels’ lightweight design allowed the production team to be ambitious with screen size while remaining within venue rigging limits and keeping load-in times manageable. At 5.9mm pixel pitch, the displays provided clarity for audiences across the venues, with high brightness and a 140° viewing angle helping to maintain image quality throughout the room. Annibal explains: “The main challenge was delivering a large, high-resolution-content show with frame-accurate playback, night after night, across a range of European venues each with different rigging plots and screen sizes. Keeping the screens, content playback and live presenter in sync mattered most, since Brian’s delivery will never be identical from show to show, and the playback system has to follow him, rather than a rigid timeline.” Luke Marler-Hausen, director of strategic projects and business development at Leyard Europe, adds: “The success of the Brian Cox Emergence tour demonstrates what can be achieved when innovative display technology is combined with the expertise of a skilled production partner. Working alongside Universal Pixels, the Leyard CLM5.9 helped create a large-scale visual experience capable of presenting complex scientific concepts with exceptional clarity, reliability and impact for audiences across Europe.” For Annibal, it was a pleasure to be part of a show that puts science in front of an arena audience, and to see how much people respond to it. “I want to say a big thanks to the whole team, on the creative, production and touring sides, for making it work.” Bringing cosmology, biology, history and philosophy to some of the largest and most advanced LED screens available, the Emergence world tour continues through UK arenas this autumn, to the US and Canada from November and into the new year. Regular reviews of content on the actual LED, not just on a monitor, helped catch issues early and make choices that served both the look and the practicalities
early and make choices that served both the look and the practicalities of touring,” Annibal explains. “The video director Henri Latham-Koenig works closely with Brian to constantly update and review the show content; their good working relationship helps deliver Brian’s vision.” MAINTAINING ACCURACY Brompton Technology supplied LEDs to Universal Pixels for the show. “We’ve done lots of fantastic shows over the years,” says Brompton Technology’s technical sales manager (UK and Ireland), Patrick Goodden. “If there’s a technical or support issue, we’re on the phone to ensure it’s all being sorted. If any of the techs need help, we’re 24-hour support. “We’ve got a very large screen there for the tour,” he adds. “So, it’s about making sure all of our processors are working together and in sync, ensuring that we’ve got a seamless image across this very large screen.” Brompton Technology’s Tessera SX40 LED processors and Tessera XD data distribution units powered the visuals on the tour. Much of the show’s journey through the universe depended on vast fields of stars against near-black backgrounds, subtle gradients and slowly evolving cosmic imagery. Low-End Boost is a specialised feature in Tessera LED processors, designed to improve image quality and detail performance in particularly dark scenes. This applied to many of the show’s visual; as the team at Brompton suggests, reproduction of accurate, detailed low-brightness imagery is one of the most difficult challenges for an LED panel. Equally, when dealing with a scientific talk, accuracy is paramount, and Goodden points to the tools that support Low-End Boost in this effort. “Because the show contains sweeping space scenes, there’s obviously lots of dark and some really bright content. Our Extended Bit Depth and Dark Magic functions ensure that you’re getting smooth gradients in the low end, and our PureTone function ensures you’re getting accurate colour down at the low end of brightness. You really want those stars to pop out.” Brompton’s processing tools were used to preserve those details without losing the contrast that gives the imagery its scale. COSMIC CREATIONS At time of writing, the tour has only taken place across the APAC region, commencing in Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Newcastle, Wollongong, Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane) and New Zealand (Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington), before making its final stop in Singapore. Produced by Lateral Event Management, the tour’s Australian leg was delivered by Creative Technology Australia and New
WATCH THE TRAILER FOR THE TOUR HERE
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