The stage concept is that of a giant video box, with the floor, ceiling and walls all utilised to create a fast-moving, dynamic and constantly changing performance environment.
This features over 1000 MiTrix tiles which are lining the 12-stepped stage set making up the floor of the performance area, and bordering six staggered overhead trusses on three sides, creating a mirror-image effect to the stage below. The truss mounted MiTrix was made up as custom lengths for the tour.
Upstage centre is the back wall, comprising a 22.5sq.m Barco ILite 10 LED screen. The side walls feature a total of 128 Element Labs VersaTUBES, mounted on special frames, and arranged in horizontal lines.
All these video elements are fed by content stored on a Catalyst digital media server, also supplied by XL, and triggered by lighting director/programmer Pryderi Baskerville's grandMA lighting console. One Catalyst output drives the MiTrix and the ILite 10 and another deals with the VersaTUBES. The three different surfaces are run together as one continuous surface at times, and also as three separate and individual areas.
The video box idea evolved from discussions between lighting designer Peter Barnes, Iain Whitehead of show producer's Production North (who is also the tour's production manager) and Mark Plunket from Boyzone's management. Plunket was keen to have screens in different dimensions in addition to a conventional back wall, so the steps, sides and overhead borders developed, making the whole stage area a giant video surface with different texturing provided via the varied video mediums.
(Jim Evans)
