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XL Video on Strictly Come Dancing
XL Video is supplying the full video production and display package, including PPU, cameras and 11 crew for the first ‘Strictly Come Dancing Live’ arena tour.
XL was brought onboard by production manager Andy Gibbs. He and XL's project manager Malcolm Mellows have worked together on many previous projects. The tour, presented by Kate Thornton, replicates the 'televisual' look and feel of the hugely successful BBC series as closely as possible - albeit in a touring context. The set was designed by Patrick Doherty, with lighting by Mark Kenyon, both of whom were also creative forces for the TV show.
Video and digital lighting is central to the aesthetics as it is in many contemporary LE shows, and it plays a big part on the tour. At the back of the stage behind the orchestra and judges are five scenic ‘fingers’, covered in screen material fanning outwards. Flanking both sides of the fifties-styled dancehall pros arch is a pair of asymmetric side screens, different in both size and shape, both of them are wider along the top edges, tapering in towards the bottom and flown raked.
XL is supplying six Barco FLM R18 projectors, flown as three pairs. Four machines feed the left and right screens, and the third pair the centre stage fan, which is treated as a single screen surface area.
The side screens primarily receive IMAG from seven cameras, six of which are strategically positioned around the dance floor with four 86mmx and two 70mmx long-throw lenses, plus a roaming wide-angled hand-held. These are directed by Andy Bramley. He runs to a tightly scripted show involving over 700 cues which was developed with TV series director Nicky Parsons during production rehearsals.
This is very different methodology for Bramley, whose recent live direction credits include George Michael, Coldplay and the Bill Bailey ‘Tinselworm’ arena tour. It works well and produces a slick, choreographed camera show with ultimate continuity. “It’s essentially as close as you can get to taking a TV show on the road,” explains Bramley, adding: “It’s a real pleasure and a nice change to work like this on tour.”
The side screens also receive VT play ins and footage introducing the performers which is stored on XL’s Doremi hard drives.
XL's PPU is based around Bramley's GV Kayak Mixer. DVE machines are used to mask and fit the camera shots to the off-beat shaped side screens, and the system is engineered by Ray Gwilliams.
The centre fingers which also provide the primary set architecture are fed with content and ambient video effects from a Catalyst digital media server, with all necessary masking and shaping programmed and operated by Ian Galloway.
The XL team, crew chiefed by Stuart Heaney, is also working closely with Mark Wass, who is operating the custom graphics and scoring software, written specially for the tour by Simon Latus. Results, scoreboards, numbers to call and vote for your favourite dancers, strap lines and other graphics info are fed from this into XL's system and output to the side screens via the Kayak.
Sound and lighting is being supplied by Sonalyst, the set was fabricated by Total Solutions and Transam are providing the tour’s 13 trucks.
11th February 2008
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