Standing over 9m tall, three iconic images of the Teacher, the Wife and the Mother are supplied, complete with the mechanics and automation to operate them, inside inflatable skins from Air Artists.
The Teacher and Wife puppets require extensive animation so Brilliant Stages devised a system of cradles and winches to facilitate this. The puppets are suspended by fine steel wire ropes attached to individual electric winches mounted into a compact cradle. The winches move the limbs independently whilst the cradle carrying the winches also slews to enable the puppets to turn 180°.
Brilliant Stages used customised control systems from Andy Cave of Kinesys for the cradles and winches.
The largest puppet, the 10m high Mother, is seated yet is required to move her head from side to side. Brilliant Stages created the movement using an electric motor driving a toothed-belt pinion onto a slew ring within the neck.
Working alongside Lee Threlfall, Brilliant Stages also incorporated LED lightsources to illuminate the eyes of each puppet. RGB LED light engines with custom heat sinks and enclosures were built into a customised hanging frame suspended inside the head of each puppet and containing power supplies and control modules.
In addition, the Teacher has two 600mm diameter custom light boxes incorporating RGB LED strips that represent the white of the eyes. Power for the eyes is derived from the automation cradle using cable reelers, with data control supplied by wireless DMX. Each of the three puppets travels in its own dolly designed for ease of transport and rapid installation.
"The puppets are the most important elements to us as they are a focal point within the whole Wall performance," says Brilliant Stages' Tony Bowern. "We are very happy that Mark Fisher and his team considered us for this crucial role based on past work we have done with them."
Working in collaboration with production manager, Chris Kansy, Jeremy Lloyd of Mark Fisher Studio and The Wall Tour's head rigger, Dave Rowe, Brilliant Stages also designed and supplied a 10.75m diameter truss circle. This is suspended centre stage and supports a 9.3m diameter Gerriets Optilux projection screen. The truss is designed to withstand the weight of 24 VL3000 Wash moving lights mounted around its perimeter and clad by twelve fascia panels constructed from aluminium and plywood for lightness.
The truss and screen are assembled horizontally before being raised to the vertical position with the aid of a rolling skateboard and suspended from three customised flying points. The circular structure is fabricated from non-standard truss formed of triangular stacking sections which pack into only two touring carts and provide a perfect space-saving solution.
Following on from 2010's American leg, the European leg of Roger Waters The Wall tour kicked off in March at the Atlantico Pavilion in Lisbon and continues through until its final date at Milan's Mediolanum Forum in July 2011.
For more on The Wall see the February issue of LSi Magazine
(Jim Evans)
