UK - Starlight Express, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘fastest show on earth’, has enjoyed a much-anticipated comeback at the Wembley Troubadour Theatre. The concept for the return of one of theatre land’s best-loved productions was to create an immersive visual experience, where performers race around on roller skates across multiple levels to produce a high-octane entertainment spectacle.
For the video team, led by video designer, Andrzej Goulding and video supervisor, Dan Trenchard, the focus was to obtain accurate camera tracking of up to 26 cast members and seamlessly integrate video of the performers with the live action on stage. Stage Precision’s SP software proved to be an essential tool in making this creative vision a reality.
The challenge was to design a system that could capture the energy of the on-stage performers and allow the audience to follow the action on screen, even with the actors rapidly skating across the set.
“Starlight Express is a huge show, and we wanted the audience to be able to zone in on the key cast members amidst the movement and action going on across the stage,” explains Trenchard. “Given the fast-paced nature of the show, this would have been difficult or near impossible using manual camera operators. During my research to find a solution, Stage Precision came to our attention.”
Linking the tracking data already obtained through the lighting system, the Starlight Express video team found they could feed this data into SP to trigger the operation of PTZ cameras and stream the footage of the chosen cast members onto the video screens.
"What stood out to me as a programmer was how adaptable SP was,” says Hannah Broman, Stage Precision programmer on Starlight Express. “I was able to customise the software to meet the ever-changing needs of the production. It was a learning curve, but with the training I attended and the support of the Stage Precision team, we were able to push the software’s capabilities and accomplish more than we originally expected."
“To start with, we built a 3D model of the set and loaded it into SP. We agreed on a ‘zero point’ in the 3D world, which allowed us to calibrate the cameras to their exact positions in the venue,” explains Trenchard. “Using SP’s camera calibration feature, we could quickly fine-tune the camera positions using a calibration pattern on the LED wall at the back of the stage.”
The workflow in SP automates the movements of three PTZ cameras to display video of the cast in real time. The performers each wear tracking beacons from Zactrack, which transmit their location on stage for follow-spot lighting purposes. This data is also fed into SP, which then moves and controls the cameras accordingly.
SP is also integrated with the show’s lighting console, allowing the team to trigger camera shots based on the pre-programmed lighting cues. This creates a seamless interaction between the lighting and video systems, helping to bring a level of automation to the video design of the production, whilst allowing video designer Andrzej Goulding to focus on amplifying the moment-by-moment action.
“The use of Stage Precision enabled me as a designer to concentrate purely on visual aesthetics and storytelling knowing that whenever we wanted to, any of our moving head cameras could be pointed at any actor with speed and precision.”
SP was also the central control for pixel tape animations on stage. By defining ‘action zones’ within the 3D model, animations can be triggered when the cast enters these zones. “SP allowed us to do these ‘nice to have’ things as we already have the data, we just needed to set up the triggers and commands within the existing workflow.”
One of the key advantages of utilising SP on Starlight Express is the precision it brings to camera control. SP allows the video team to track cast members and adjust camera angles, exposure and focus with ease, something that would have been more complicated and slower with manual operation. “SP gives us full control over the cameras. The interface allows us to adjust settings like framing, exposure and movement in real-time,” says Trenchard.
The sound team on Starlight Express also benefited from SP’s broad range of features. As the cast members are camera-tracked at all times, the sound engineers can zoom in on any performer and monitor their microphone placement on the video. “Hannah built a custom screen where the sound team could look at any cast member instantly to check their mics,” explains Trenchard. “It’s been a great addition to the show and has fostered cross-department collaboration.”
For a detailed report on the history of Starlight Express, check out LSi's October issue. Plus, keep an eye out for an upcoming feature on the 2024 production in a future issue.
