Imagination’s Chris Slingsby, who conceived the innovative set, turned to Creative Technology to draw on its inventory of audio-visual support equipment, anchored at equipment locations throughout the US and UK. In London, Dave Herd (who co-project managed the event with Joe Conway) worked closely with Imagination, ensuring that all software would be compatible with the various screen resolutions and aspect ratios. The result was one of the most elaborate stage sets ever designed, involving no fewer than 552 panels of Barco’s iLite 6mm LED panels and 318 panels of their iLite 10.
Presenters Charlie Rose and Donald Sutherland - along with fellow guests including Muhammad Ali and Jon Bon Jovi - thus appeared in front of an immense visual backdrop which, says CT’s account manager, Herb Brandt, proved to be "a tremendous success and a positive experience for all." The LED displays were permanently alive with stings, graphics, library footage and live camera work. The iLite 10s were built up in two walls - one landscape-configured as 12 high x 21 wide, the other portrait-style (11 x 6), both hung from chain motors.
The iLite 6s were composed into one vast 12 x 16 flown wall and four vertical 5 x 18 strips. The top 15 of these strips (the maximum possible) were also flown, and carefully tied to the bottom three rows, which were ground-supported. For control, Creative Technology turned to a 3216 Vista Folsom system, configured as a three-screen output device.
The media was created in such a way that the two large walls (12 x 16, 4:3 ratio and 12 x 21, 16:9 ratio) were assigned dedicated Folsom 2200s. The four 5 x 18 strips and 6 x 11 portrait display shared a single output source, with the source material created in the post house to display five individual strips in one picture.
Herb Brandt explained: "The Barco panels were assigned to be a particular part of that source. For example, the far left 5 x 18 strip would display the far left image section of the source material, and so on. What the audience saw was one picture divided across five columns - each column as a separate LED strip."
CT also fielded a digital camera PPU, with Grass Valley 2200 digital switcher and five Ikegami HL45 digital cameras. For show control they utilised Fresco show control software systems, which managed all the playback decks and implemented the switching for the Vista Folsom system. All playback was derived from six Fast Forward Omega dual channel hard drive recorders. Of the 12 channels, six were primary and six were used for back-up - run in sync and controlled by Fresco.
CT also incorporated six graphics computers for the showing of slides, while a Chyron Infinite system was used for displaying titles in the lower third of the main screens. A satellite uplink was provided to the firm’s corporate HQ, enabling the shareholder meeting to be viewed from home.
(Lee Baldock)
