Two 3m x 2m Barco D10 displays (in 4:3 aspect ratio) are configured either side of a central, letterbox-style 6m x 2m screen, set behind the vast drum kit. Three Minicams are positioned on stage - two picking up the drum kit and the third focused on the revolving keyboard. All other stage activity is captured from the front-of-house camera, fitted with a 33:1 lens. However, the video sources are far from confined to live camera action, and CT Screenco had to deploy an 8x8 Extron matrix to route the band's video art, with two Doremi V1D hard disks storing 70Gb of material, which is mixed through a Panasonic MX50.
The entire show is programmed on CT's new Medialon Display Controller with the several hundred cues triggered from a Wholehog II lighting desk. "This is a groundbreaking tour as far as video goes," states CT Screenco's Dave Crump. "The screens are deliberately low-tech, but the delivery method, whilst highly complex, is extremely cost-effective. The matrix not only allows us to control three different screen images, all routed through one processor, but also to pre-select mixer/DVE inputs, obviating the need for a larger and considerably more expensive desk. Dream Theater are a musician's band and their audiences are typically both knowledgeable and highly technical."
With Paul Holden project managing for CT and Ray White doing everything from screen to engineering to camera, the tour breaks from Europe on 13 February and then heads for the US and Japan before returning for the summer festival run in Europe. Production manager is Ray Amico.
(Lee Baldock)
