CONCERTS & TOURING 13
For all the talk of rendering
range, the cameras fed live imagery into the Disguise servers, where it needed to be colour-matched with both rendered content and LED output. This is while six Blackmagic Micro Studio 4K G2 cameras worked to deliver cutaway shots. The feeds were mixed by Askem on one of Universal Pixels’ Kula PPUs, bringing the live performance into the server system and supplying real-time imagery to both the media servers and screens. “There is a lot of colour science going on in the background in order to keep everything looking consistent,” James Morden, technical specialist at Universal Pixels, explains. Then there are the practical realities of touring. Eight moving tracking screens introduce significant complications in terms of power and data distribution. The project used cable runs stretching beyond 150m in some cases, raising concerns around voltage drop and system sustainability. “Cable management over longer- than-normal distances was the largest technical challenge,” admits Annibal. “Fortunately, in collaboration with our long-term distro supplier, StageSmarts, we were able to deliver power to the screens in a safe manner, without having to disable any of the safety features we normally would expect to.” It is a strong reminder that, for all the talk of rendering and digital twins, live production still lives and dies by its fundamentals. “The Dave tour has not necessarily taught us anything specifically new.” Annibal reflects, “It has highlighted and reminded us, however, of the benefits of communication that goes beyond our sand-box, so when someone plugs a network cable into the wrong socket, the whole show doesn’t stop.”
and digital twins, live production still lives and dies by its fundamentals
“With multiple layers of technical equipment in the show, there had to be communication on all changes and updates during the design and pre-production process,” says Annibal. “The internal meetings with our technical and production teams were key to keep the flow of information going and make sure delivery stayed on track with the desired outcome.” Pre-production emerged as an unsung hero of the project. Long before the tour hit rehearsals, extensive testing was carried out in collaboration with Neg Earth, ensuring all aspects of the systems spoke the same language. “The early-stage pre-production work was a significant factor in making sure everything ran smoothly,” Annibal notes. “We will definitely transfer the knowledge gained from testing and collaborating with others to future projects and tours.” That collaborative mindset extended across departments. The lighting, video, camera, automation and sound teams all had to align when approaching a project of this magnitude. There was an alternative coping method available. As Annibal puts it with unwavering honesty, ‘mostly with a lot of swear words’. Putting humour aside, the complexity here is truly substantial. The integration of Panasonic UC4000 cameras, for instance, added another layer of nuance. Shooting in log to retain a wide dynamic
The project had complex practical elements, such as managing cable runs that stretched beyond 150m
By the time the tour reached its final show dates, the system had evolved into something finely tuned yet still flexible, a platform that could adapt and, with each subsequent show, push closer to the creative ideal. “It’s about that continual push to get it as close to perfect as possible,” Annibal concludes. And that ethos is the clearest takeaway from this production.
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