Samsung stages ‘vertical gig’ in King’s Cross
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The multi-tiered performance space in Coal Drops Yard was erected as part of the launch of Samsung’s new multi-sensory experience and saw performances from R&B artist Mabel.
The concept was devised by Iris Experience’s creative director Henry Scotland, and realised with support from video rental house Universal Pixels.
The structure itself was fabricated by Star Live using three shipping containers to create a 9:16 format. The finished stage was an impressive 9.1m tall, showing three stories of tech and performance space to the 2,000-capacity crowd. UP provided the vertical 4.5m wide by 7.5m high portrait Leyard CLM6 LED screen with a custom rigging solution and a disguise GX2 media server playback package.
UP’s Roly Oliver comments: “The genius thing about this gig is its simplicity. It’s bold yet not particularly complex, and it seems almost strange that it’s never been done before. Video is a blank canvas and as we work in a consumer-led market, the ticket-buying public has made it clear that they want to view the world in portrait. I think we’ll be seeing this a lot more in the future.”
Henry Scotland adds: “We hadn’t worked with UP before, so were keen to give them a shot at slotting into a fairly ambitious bespoke design. The team worked super hard alongside Star Live to devise a plan which maximised the screen real estate in each aperture, without compromising the performance space or the impact of the product; having Coldplay’s live Video Director [Ben Farrey] running the server was a bonus. The final look delivered beyond expectation, and we look forward to posing the next challenge.”
(Jim Evans)
