Butch Allen is the production manager, lighting designer and lighting director all rolled into one so can speak from all perspectives when it comes to his specification of Hog iPC and Catalyst Pro v3.3 media server -supplied by XL Touring Video.
Says Allen: "If you know the Wholehog 2, the Hog iPC console will seem like an old friend - an old friend that 'had some work done,' so to speak. The new touch screen monitors are flawless and very responsive. I run a great deal of our show 'on the fly' and was afraid to do so before - but now, no worries. Hit a palette and it works. Cool."
Of the Hog iPC's features - including larger and improved bump buttons, a built-in trackball and colour touch-screens - Allen points out its quick processing time especially when saving a show. "The Hog iPC is a two-seat sports car," he says. "My last tour, Metallica, was a four-disk monster on a Wholehog 2 console. Saving the show to floppy disk was the bane of my existence. Now backing up the Garbage show on Hog iPC is a two-second process as I use hard drive, USB and CDs for archiving the show. No more floppies, I'm free!"
Allen is also using the Catalyst Pro v3.3 media server, which offers eight layers of video and two outputs. He's using one output to a Soft LED curtain and the other to some plasma screens, so that he can output different content on each. "I travel with the above mentioned video and marry that to the venue in house lighting systems on a daily basis. The combination of the Hog iPC and Catalyst has afforded me the chance to pack a lot of punch into very little truck space. I am also the production manager on my current tour and with backline, wardrobe and audio in one truck it leaves very little room for anything else." With rising fuel costs the company was concerned that carrying any visual production at all was out of the question as it would push it into a second truck.
Allen comments: "As a designer, I am very happy with the final result from an artistic standpoint. As a production manager, I am very happy with the final result because I don't have to listen to the designer complain! As the crew person/operator, I am very happy with the reliability of the gear. Ask anyone who knows me - happy is not usually my strong point."
Others involved in the production include Chris Mitchell and John Wiseman of XL Touring Video, with programming by Brad Schiller of High End Systems. Garbage tours North America from 11 April - 14 May, then travels Europe/UK in June-July, returning to the U.S. for further dates to be announced.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
