Lighting designer Jon Barker was tasked with delivering the show's visuals. Says Barker: "When I came up with the design concept for the tour, I was after a low-resolution video screen that was in effect see-though and would simply 'disappear' when it was not in use, allowing me to use the fixtures I had placed behind the screens (a selection of four-way Molefay with Colour Scrollers, 2kw Skypans and Strand S Battens with clear globe lamps all rigged at different heights) as a 'hidden layer' that would pop out when illuminated.
"The two main reasons I chose the Stealth over competitive products was first the higher resolution of Stealth which made it much more attractive - smoother, much more 'flowing' video content at a closer distance. Secondly, the other two products use clear tubes to house their LED's and I felt that these plastic tubes would be prone to catching any stray light and thus revealing the screen even when it was not in use. There was absolutely no way this could happen with the Stealth."
The show featured eight new Stealth 'columns' each two panels wide by seven panels high giving a total resolution of 256 x 112 pixels (112 panels in total). Each column was rigged on a custom-made frame of black-sprayed scaffold ground supported by two Doughty flat-plate tank traps. "Every day it took two crew just twenty minutes to get the entire screen out of it's cases and rigged in position on the stage. It then took another 15 minutes to cable and check the system. It was ridiculously quick to rig." adds Barker.
(Jim Evans)
