George Michael: 25 Live Arena Tour
Digital Antics have worked closely with legendary designer Willie Williams and his team to develop a bespoke video playback and control solution for George Michael’s 25 Live Tour which began in Barcelona on 23rd September 2006.
The unique design of the stage features the recently launched BARCO MyStrip LED modules mounted onto both straight and curved frames to create a stunning centrepiece which allows video graphics and live inputs to play behind and underneath the performer. It became obvious to Williams’ producer Sam Pattinson that an accurate and flexible pixel mapping system would be required. High performance and reliability of playback and timing were essential. XL Video’s Technical Director Richard Burrford suggested that Pattinson get in touch with Digital Antics to provide this part of the solution, having worked with them on several high-profile shows including The Woman in White and Sinatra: Live At The London Palladium in the West End.
Responding to timecode from the sound department, the video playback and control software developed for 25 Live by Digital Antics provides pixel mapping and layered compositing in real-time for multiple sources. This includes Quicktime movie files from local hard disk, SDI video input and DVI graphics input as well as command and control over several external devices, including a BARCO Folsom DVI Matrix and a Doremi Labs V1 DDR.
The software has been designed with simplicity and usability in mind for both the video content programmer (Luke Halls for onedotzero) and the video operations team (Andy Bramley and Ed Jarman for XL Video). A comprehensive show editing environment has been delivered for the video programming team with extensive event and cue management as well as facilities tailored to the needs of the rock and roll environment, including song playlists. For the video operations team, an easy-to-use touchscreen interface has been designed with all important information and controls clearly laid out for immediate access.
End-to-end development of the various software components was completed in just eight weeks using a mixture of technologies including C++, VB.NET, DirectX and DirectShow. This tight pre-production schedule included rehearsal time in Wakefield and Wembley Arena with Digital Antics’ systems programmers Quintin Willison and Craig Edwards working around the clock to deliver software capable of coping with the constantly evolving requirements of the production.
Digital Antics’ Managing Director Quintin Willison commented:
‘We enjoyed the opportunity to work with some of the best in the business. Willie, Sam, Luke and the rest of the video programming and operations team have worked closely with us and have been very supportive of our on-site development process. This has seen features installed and tested ‘live’ in rehearsals just hours after they had been requested!’