XL is again collaborating with cinematographer/projection designer Jon Driscoll who created the show's film footage design in conjunction with scenic designer Christopher Oram and LD Neil Austin. It evokes a classic 1970s retro look, based around a large video monitor-wall backdrop - made up from 36 'near antique' Barco 2850 video monitors - hanging behind the two main characters sitting in the TV studio.
From an A/V point of view says XL's Malcolm Mellows, Frost Nixon is "completely different to any other recent stage production because of the aged nature of much of the specified equipment." This has also included finding a quality technician who's familiar with the display technology. XL is extremely lucky to have Colin Barnes working with them on this element of the show.
Starring Michael Sheen (Frost) and Frank Langella (Nixon), Frost Nixon is built around David Frost's seminal 1977 interviews with the former US president Richard Nixon, following his political disgrace in the wake of the Watergate scandal. Jon Driscoll's brief from Grandage was to make it authentically resemble a 1970s TV studio and to reflect the seminal nature of these interviews - a defining historical moment in the history of American TV broadcasting. The strong 'televisual' image at the essence of the stage design is provided by the combination of "old fashioned" videowall technology and the more contemporary theatrical device of live camera mixing throughout the 'interview'.
Pat Molony and the production team tested their resourcefulness in sourcing the 36+ Barco 2850 videowall monitors and image processors, which date from the 1980s. It was "a complete nightmare," recalls Molony. After approaching every videowall company in the country, and following up numerous leads from XL Video, they eventually discovered that Impact-Marcom was about to put its entire stock of Barco 2850 video monitors on E-Bay. So fortuitous timing led to the acquisition of the majority of the cubes needed for the set, as well as the Electrosonic Pick Bloc III rack controller and Opti-Sense colour balancing device. The remaining monitors were sourced from YSL in York, just five days before the show was due to start.
The output from XL's cameras, media servers and vision mixing system is hooked up to the screen processing rack allowing for a variety of "classic" monitor wall and multi, full and split screen looks. In the first half of the show, the video wall is used to supply narrative information and set the scene with special, very tightly edited footage compiled by Driscoll and cued to Adam Cork's soundtrack.
The main challenge says Driscoll was finding and creating the right type of footage, which was a complex and dedicated process requiring meticulous attention to detail. He adds that as always, it was an excellent experience to work alongside XL on all aspects of the video production.
(Lee Baldock)
