"I wanted to create a physical space of lighting within the performance area", explains Watson. He planned a three-dimensional array of 548 x Element Labs Versa Tubes HD that frame the band and act like a virtual stage forming a low resolution 3D video 'screen'. The Versa Tube HDs form curtains of six and nine meter long vertical strips from the back to the front of stage. The entire array is controlled from a custom 3D version of Catalyst, specially written by Richard Bleasdale for the tour.
Additional audience and band lighting comes from 48 x i-Pix BB4 and 48 x i-Pix BB7 LED fixtures. Floor lighting is from seven Color Kinetics iW Blasts, seven Pulsar ChromaFlood 200 TriColour and 12 i-Pix Satellites. A 2.75m high and 15m wide Saco V9 screen in the back displays specially designed content and live video of the band members while a 1.2m by 12m Barco D7 screen is used on the floor as backlight and video texturing.
"I started designing the show at the end of last year. In February it was approved by the band and here we are," says Watson. "The grandMA helped me a lot on the road. It's very nice to think about the lighting without thinking about the desk because it is so very reliable. The grandMA has been fantastic and has never let me down."
For more on Radiohead's current tour, see the June issue of Lighting&Sound magazine.
(Jim Evans)
