Europe - Raw Cereal, a renowned global creative production studio, was tasked with designing a bold, immersive visual experience for Hardy's Quit!! tour. With Hardy's evolving musical style blending country, rock, and pop, Raw Cereal had to ensure the visual elements matched the energy and variety of his performances. For the second time, they relied on AV Stumpfl's Pixera media server, known for its flexibility and robust feature set.
Cort Lawrence, the tour’s creative director, explained the scope of Raw Cereal's involvement: "On the show, we handled everything from the production design, stage design, lighting design, scenic design, as well as pyro, special effects, video content, and just overall show." The team was responsible for creating a comprehensive experience that connected Hardy's new album visuals with his live performances.
One of the critical challenges Raw Cereal faced was finding a media server that could handle the varying technical demands of Hardy's different shows, which ranged from headline events to festival appearances. Lawrence explained: "We wanted something simple and friendly that they could take to festivals, to their own headline shows, and could really continue to evolve on their own." He highlighted Pixera’s design, noting that it allowed the tour team to make quick adjustments and continue updating content seamlessly.
Pixera’s integration capabilities played a crucial role in enhancing the live experience. The server allowed the team to easily manipulate visuals and integrate effects like Notch blocks. "The beauty of Pixera is it's very user-friendly, it's very well organised and detailed," Lawrence remarked, and emphasises the media server’s flexibility to adapt to evolving elements of the tour. He likened the system's power to "putting a Ferrari engine in a tour bus", highlighting its overbuilt capacity for the show's needs.
The Raw Cereal team settled on dropping Notch blocks directly into the Pixera media server: "Last year with Pixera, we really integrated Notch, and again, having Notch integrate directly into a media server is such a key piece because you minimise frame delay, and you have quick access to parameters."
The Notch effects played a key role in enhancing the visuals, including smoke effects and digital graphics, which helped tie the entire show together. Lawrence went on to say that Notch was a huge win for Hardy's tour, as it allowed for seamless visual effects that blended the video wall, lighting, and other elements into one cohesive look.
Jose Santana, who led the programming efforts for the tour, echoed Lawrence's appreciation for the server's flexibility and ease of use. He explained how they used Pixera to handle camera feeds, add Notch effects, and even live-grade content.
Moo TV, the tour's video vendor, was responsible for providing the video wall and camera system. Likening the partnership to a luxury car, Lawrence explained: "Moo TV is putting on the right wheels, and they're putting in the AC and the nice seats and all those details. So, they're the ones really helping Pixera get down the road and do this thing every night."
As the Quit!! tour continued to hit new cities and festivals, Pixera proved itself to be a powerful engine behind the scenes. Its robust feature set and ease of use allowed Raw Cereal, Astra Productions, and Moo TV to deliver an unforgettable experience night after night.
