Dutch video specialist JVR (an Avesco plc company), an established supplier to Bauer's extravaganzas, supplied the screen. Sales director Jeroen Jongenelen commented. "The Barco D7 is the only system that offered the resolution required and was available in sufficient quantities to enable us to pull of a project of this scale. Even so we ended up bringing in equipment from numerous different suppliers, some within our group. For the two weeks leading up to the show we have seen a steady stream of sea and air shipments from around the world into our Roosendaal base and have had to pull all of these packages into one giant, seamless and uniformly matched screen." No small task, but JVR's project manager Peter Scherbeijn was up to it.
The statistics of this screen alone are impressive. Constructed from 2,496 Dlite 7 tiles, it measured some 44m wide by 12m high. Even without the benefit of the D7's virtual pixel technology (switched off on this occasion) the display had an overall resolution of 3072 x 832, better than many projection systems and resulting in an overall pixel count of 2.6 million or 12,800,000 LEDs. The entire system was physically assembled in six hours by three JVR crew and some 40 stage hands, but then took another 1.5 days to cable prior to switch-on. Once on, the schedule allowed two further days for alignment and testing prior to the dress rehearsal. Supported on a purpose-built base and scaffold support, from Stageco, the 55 tonne screen, consuming a massive 850kW on peak white, was built in a giant curve, requiring a 13.3mm spacer between the upstage edge of each module.
From the moment the house lights dimmed, and surprisingly not one of those 13 million LEDs glowed in the dark, the show itself was a true production spectacular. The opening sequence featuring distant images (by Cratetown, Philip Pelgrom) of Bethlehem across the sand dunes, with apparently wise men leading live camels in silhouette across the front of the stage, gave way to various abstract graphic sequences, including a stunning mirror ball/kaleidoscope sequence featuring large computer-generated mirror balls on screen behind a vast tracking ball on stage and eight smaller units in the satellite lighting clusters around the auditorium. The constantly animated backdrop then switched to depict the spectacular interior of a gothic cathedral to accompany a series of gospel-style traditional Christmas Carols complete with massed dancing choirs.
In addition to the screen itself, JVR provided a three camera digital production system, utilizing their new Sony D50 cameras with long lenses from sister company Presteigne and the front end screen processing which comprised an Electrosonic Vector videowall controller to split the incoming feed across the four screen segments. Input to the Vector was routed through a Folsom Screen Pro Plus (provided by Creative Technology), to allow multiple graphics feeds to be mixed at native resolution with 625-line output from the live switch.
With lighting and sound by EML the overall technical production was co-ordinated by Dennis van der Haagen and Roderik Versnel of Sightline Productions and produced/promoted by Rocket Productions, Peter Haarbrink.
(Lee Baldock)
