Building that scale of spectacle has involved the talents of Bill Lazlett and Simon Tutchener for stage set and lighting respectively. At the behest of band svengali Kim Gavin the presentation also includes arguably the largest LED screen ever used for an arena show, as supplied by large-scale screen specialists Creative Technology (CT). "It's a Unitek Version Mk3 - a screen I love," began director of video Richard Shipman. "Because of the sheer scale of production, any other existing screen would have taken us over weight. It's 3.5 tonnes lighter than anything else available and that's crucial. At 200 square metres it's 60ft wide."
Yet the substantial weight benefit for the riggers has not led to any reduction in impact or quality, says CT's Dave Crump: "While 25mm pixel pitch might be considered low these days, as the screens are so big the overall resolution is greater than most."
The on screen content is unique, "nothing used for this show has ever been screened before," confirmed Simon Tutchener, who also designed for Take That in the nineties and is familiar with all the band's video output.
"I produce most of what you see on screen," added Shipman. "The original material was made by Dick Carruthers specially for the tour. Yes, we do use old images of the band, but they are images that will not have been seen or used before in any Take That video. Dick shot all the material under Kim Gavin's direction, with input from the Boys, and I shot most of it with him."
Content aside, it's the scale of presentation that impresses most, and there's no doubting Shipman's focus on this huge screen. "I love CT's 25mm screen, while it's not this year's technology, CT have looked after it really well. It's very robust, the modules and drivers are bomb-proof, and the impact of the screen is immense, in every sense of the word."
This is the application of LED technology in an unusual yet considered fashion; matching a very large scale of presentation with unique content. It's a concept that has created the spectacle Vaughan alluded to as so essential.
(Lee Baldock)
