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Cool runnings: Universal Pixels in the picture for Snow Patrol
Universal Pixels (UP) provided the backdrop to Snow Patrol’s European arena tour, showcasing the band’s chart-topping eighth LP, The Forest Is the Path
F or Snow Patrol’s spectacular walls with Brompton processing, RQ35 projectors, UC4000 and UE150 cameras from Panasonic, as well as Disguise media servers. In support of album The Forest Is the Path , the sell-out tour was launched with a theme of growth and overgrowth: urban environments overtaken by nature. Roll drops coming in and out are among the unique production elements involved, bringing an extra dimension to Atticus Finch and Studio Flint’s imagery in front of the band’s trademark projection and LED layers. European tour, Universal Pixels (UP) has been on hand to create a stunning backdrop, supplying three upstage Roe V4ST LED
arenas, they have to bring ‘amazing’ from all the angles in a French theatre too. Away from live music, Sherwin works in film, and it shows. The colour balance between lights, projection, LED and lasers right across this tour is exceptional. With LEDs so bright and projection so dim, getting the balance right without ten projectors was all about the action from two super-bright Panasonic 50Ks flown above front of house. Phil Mercer, commercial director at Universal Pixels, tells us: “With projection, you’re always fighting the LED: trying to put it in a repeatable place every show, in different-size rooms, and have a good place to project from that doesn’t kill any seats or ruin sightlines. LED has taken over so much and projection is sparingly
Intermittent recording patterns mean Snow Patrol are on the road infrequently. It’s been six years since their last full production arena run, so the confirmed dates fostered considerable expectation. But the practised team behind the tour, from PM Robin Scott and show designer Davy Sherwin to independent suppliers like UP that have worked with the band for a long time, were committed to delivering on the anticipation. Following production rehearsals at LH2, the first challenge was scaling and squeezing every element of the show into the 2800-cap Olympia in Paris. Success there was largely a product of Sherwin’s versatility. A good designer isn’t simply someone who can make a gig look great from front of house in
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