ADELE IN MUNICH
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A priority for the production team was making the stunning array of screens service the intimate style of Adele’s music and shows
A GIG FOR THE AGES
of visual content in order to truly capture the singer’s story. In Munich’s case, the end result ranged from painted vistas to a captivating reimagining of the Skyfall title sequence; with the responsibility for visuals having been assigned to the team at Treatment Studio. “A lot of the foundations of our business have been built in music touring,” explains head of production at Treatment Studio, Lizzie Pocock, “for the likes of AC/DC, Elton John and The Rolling Stones – to name a few.” An award-winning creative agency founded by industry pioneers Willie Williams and Sam Pattinson, the team at Treatment Studio generates experiences for live music, festivals, art installations, experiential spaces, branding campaigns and theatrical productions. Its expertise comprises stage, lighting and set design and multimedia content production, as well as the creation of interactive and mixed-reality environments. “We’ve worked with Adele for a number of years now, including, most recently, on her Vegas residency. This show was building on where we had left off with the Vegas shows,” says Pocock. “It’s a very different setting. Vegas was a small, intimate theatre, compared to Munich – a ginormous, stadium-sized set-up with such an impressive screen.” Pocock emphasises Treatment Studio’s
recognition of the Vegas show’s success and the importance of retaining a similar look and simply translating that into a wildly different environment. “One of the big considerations was that the audience’s view of her was a lot less close up. We had to make sure an image of her would be portrayed on the screen, in terms of both pre-recorded footage and from a live perspective,” she adds. Although the LED wall’s scale meant a larger canvas for the team to work with, it also came with its own challenges. “It was very long and shallow – not a typical aspect ratio,” Pocock explains. “But that made it fun, as with challenge comes creative thought, which pushes you to develop your approaches.” When it came to the visuals itself, the process began with some initial direction and ideas from Adele. “Then there was a natural creative process, during which we bounced ideas back and forth, as well as putting boards and animation tests together. We did this until we had 30 seconds of a piece to show to give an idea of what it was going to feel like. “We then built it out using imagery of Adele as well as silhouettes and other techniques for maintaining connection between the screen and the audience.” “Adele’s Munich show was particularly exciting for us to work on,” concludes Pocock, “because it really showcased
The LED wall was not the only element of the residency that will make the history books. The ten shows additionally went on to break records for the highest attendance of any concert residency outside of Las Vegas, as well as the Billboard Boxscore attendance record for concert engagement.
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