The stage and show were created by long-time U2 designers Willie Williams and Mark Fisher. With the help of Chuck Hoberman and Barco their vision of a 360° moving video screen was turned into reality. Barco provided more than half a million transformable LED pixels (FLX), which are integrated into a transformable structure designed by Barco's Innovative Designs, based on a Hoberman invention. The resulting giant LED screen has a 24 by 16m diameter and changes shape in all directions, making U2 the first band ever to go on a tour with a transformable LED screen.
Willie Williams, U2 show designer, says: "Video is the most powerful tool you can have on stage. But now that video is so ubiquitous in rock stage setting, we needed a very extreme change of canvas to be heard. The transformable LED gave us the chance to create a transparent 360° moving video element, unprecedented in this industry. It is the icing on the cake on this design."
"It is thrilling to see the work I have been doing with transformable structures expressed in such a whole new way," Chuck Hoberman adds. "The screen is like a living thing, it continuously changes shapes and forms and the video acts like live skin on it. It is one of the most fascinating objects in the world now."
"We wanted to create something that was bigger than a conventional stage. This tour was big enough to make a purpose built structure," says Mark Fisher, U2 stage designer. I wanted to create a transparent stage and really needed a video screen that would fit in that environment, a round screen that would not block the view for the audience. Barco's FLX gave us the chance to create this. We were happy to be working with Barco again; they have helped very well in the past and delivered an extraordinary product for this show."
Carl Rijsbrack, vice-president product management, comments: "This is the third time we are supporting U2 in the new millennium and in response to the market's demand for unlimited creativity, we have created the FLX single pixel platform. The FLX LED pixel modules can be mounted onto any possible structure, creating any shape designers want to."
Frederic Opsomer, vice-president of Barco's Innovative Designs, adds: "There have been many evolutions in the LED video market for concert touring, from a fixed IMAG screen to moving screens to transformable screens now. This is the fifth time I have been working with U2 and it is again a big honour to be part of it. The entertainment business is constantly asking for new and innovating products, even in these difficult times and the U2 360° tour is a perfect example of this."
(Jim Evans)
