XL has supplied three upstage 10m square Barco D7 LED screens. These are hung low, and upstage of a heavy, plastic industrial freezer curtain, slit into several sections. There are also four Barco G10 projectors providing front projection onto the plastic. Conwell took the double-images of the album artwork as a starting point for his video content. He wanted two layers of video - strong and provocative images that were in the face on one hand, and a more subliminal after-effect to work on the subconscious. This psychological parameter prompted his decision to use the high resolution LED blocks upstage, diffused and treated by the refractions of the curtain, juxtaposed with the more subtle projections onto the front of the surface.
Backdrop/scenic specialists Hangman sourced the plastic. Originally clear, Conwell wanted it distressed for additional texture, so after experimenting with a variety of methods, they belt-sanded it to get an opaque and almost shimmery appearance. As it's in strips, the natural drafts of any venue, add gentle undulation and movement. The curtain is an excellent, unpredictable and off-beat projection surface for both video and lighting. Two Catalyst digital media servers - one feeding the LED screens and one feeding the projectors supply the pre-recorded content. An additional G10 is positioned at FOH, used only for the set's tense intro, fed from video footage stored on a Doremi hard drive backstage. Richard Shipman compiled the intro content with Conwell himself working on much of the remaining content, converting clips from the band's promos to Quicktime files for the Catalyst. Other royalty-free footage was sourced from Scene Change.
In addition to the insert material, XL has supplied five mini-cam surveillance type cameras. These are dotted around onstage capturing the band in raw, low-res moments, and are live mixed by Alistair MacDiarmid sitting side-stage with a 6-channel switcher. MacDiarmid also receives a Catalyst feed from Conwell to spice up his mix.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
