Lighting designer Andi Watson is especially pleased with the ClassicFrame and chose it because of its numerous strengths, the most important of which for Watson is its unique appearance: "It's the fact that they are see-through," he said. "They can disappear into the set when they are not in use and they are an integral part of the show because of this." During the show the G-LEC ClassicFrame is used to display a range of innovative graphics and abstract images from the High End Catalyst system, as well as 'oscilloscope' type wave images in direct relation to the sound on stage.
Dido and her production team wanted to create a set that would make a real impact and so Andi Watson contacted Fourth Phase London - G-LEC's UK distributor - to arrange a demonstration of the G-LEC ClassicFrame after he saw it at PLASA 2003. Loz Wilcox of Fourth Phase London explained: "We took the system to Bray Film Studios in Windsor, UK, back in March where we showed Andi, the production team and Dido herself just what the G-LEC ClassicFrame was capable of doing, and they all agreed that it was the perfect way for them to achieve the 'look' they were after. We needed to tailor the system for the tour so it was taken back to G-LEC's European base in Germany where it was extensively modified."
To create a bespoke system for the tour, the modifications included custom cabling and specially designed connectors. With 22 strenuous one-night dates in America and Canada successfully under his belt, Andi approached Fourth Phase with ideas for custom panels, thus providing a truly bespoke system for the European leg. The dedicated G-LEC team pulled out all the stops to ensure that the extension to the existing ClassicFrame system and the extra custom-built panels were ready at short notice, once again proving their flexibility; a key tool in the realisation of design briefs.
The benefits of the G-LEC ClassicFrame over other LED displays are plentiful. Extremely light, weighing in at 10kg per square meter (22lbs per square yard), with the G-LEC ClassicFrame you can fly elements in, spin them around and then fly them out again. It uses clear polycarbonate rods to house the LEDs, to give a resolution of 6cm (2.4") between pixels as standard, although custom resolutions can be made to order. The resulting transparency and low wind resistance make it ideal for the theatre, concerts, corporate events or even architectural use. With the high-powered graphics computer triggered by DMX512, the G-LEC ClassicFrame enables you to show and control two graphic streams simultaneously as standard, so you can, for instance, combine live with pre-recorded material.
(Lee Baldock)
