A 40.8m by 23.1m back wall was created, which was finished with screen-printed, gold polycarbonate panels. The back wall was made from 700 panels incorporating 20 different custom shapes. 18,000 Tait pixel tablet were inserted into these panels, to create a LED wall. With a focus on sustainability, the pixel tablets were from the system that was used during the London 2012 Olympic ceremonies, and packaged within a new and unique design.
These LED-integrated polycarbonate panels formed a video back wall around an immense three dimensional model head of the artist himself. The LED back wall has a door on either side, allowing props to travel on and off stage with ease. Both 6m x 7.73m doors tilt back six degrees before raising 7.35m when fully opened.
Robbie Williams' 3D scenic head was built by creating 50 custom cut panels which were modelled from a scan of the singers face. This scan was imported in to CAD software and moulds of fibre glass were made to match each section. Holes were then drilled to house 50,000 Barco FLX24 pixels within these panels, bringing the huge sculpture to life. The head is 12.6m high and 7.5m wide, containing a hole at the top of his head for the singer to fly from at the start of the show.
The head was constructed on six different levels, with a control rack used on each. Sandwich panels support each of the 50 head pieces, with each being set to a specific depth to ensure a seamless and true-to-life face surface.
Production manager Wob Roberts said, "The Back Wall was only ever going to be realised by Tait; no-one else could have come close. Oli Clybouw was instrumental in getting this thing out of the workshop and into rehearsals, and Frederic Opsomer was a man of his word when he said that the job would be completed before the deadline."
The design, prototyping and production was completed in just 10 weeks. Video content for the tour was programmed by video director Smasher Desmedt.
(Jim Evans)
