High End Systems’ Catalyst Media Server, Studio Beams and Hog iPC console were at the heart of the Prince’s Trust 30th birthday spectacular May 20 at the Tower of London.
Robbie Williams Productions was commissioned by the Prince’s Trust to design and stage the event, the largest ever to be staged at the historic 900-year-old palace, England’s number one tourist attraction.
It was part of a 3 ½ hour TV special, broadcast live by ITV, with stars including Will Young, Ozzie Osbourne, Annie Lennox, BeeGees, Lionel Ritchie, Will Young, Embrace, Pink, McFly and Sugababes, along with a 23-piece house band. They played on a double-level stage sited in the Tower’s moat, faced by a 5,000-seat grandstand. Live performances ran back-to-back on stage and were intercut with the studio action from ITV’s London Studios.
Lighting designer Steve Nolan of Chromatic Productions and set designer Peter Bingeman headed the visuals design team, with lighting supplied by Neg Earth Lights, LED screens by Creative Technology and vision mixing for screens by CTV.
An extra edge was added by the use of the new German Telcast 3-D imaging system, which made stereoscopic pictures viewable both on TV and the giant screens via special 3D glasses – some two million pairs had been distributed nationwide beforehand.
A substantial video production incorporated both IMag footage and specially-treated Catalyst-based imagery, the latter operated by Oli Metcalfe.
CT supplied two stage left and right IMag screens, a central upstage Barco D7 – running a mixture of Catalyst imagery and 3D graphics – and a further 15 square metres of Barco D7 in six vertical columns, along with vertically-mounted Pixeline modules. The effect was to envelop the stage with a dynamic and tightly integrated lighting and video show.
The screens were driven by Catalyst v3.3 Pro Media Servers, running on Apple Mac G5s and controlled by a Hog iPC console. “We used the two Catalyst media servers throughout the show to deliver a huge variety of images to the screens,” says Oli Metcalfe. “A lot of the content was stock material, but it was manipulated in the Catalysts in such way that it didn’t look standard.”
It was his first opportunity to use the Hog iPC controlling the Catalyst media servers over three DMX universes, as well as the truss toners.
He says he found the experience very enjoyable. “The iPC’s desktop is really fast and responsive in programming. I’d used it before but in Hog II mode; I decided to make the transition to Wholehog III mode and found it very nice in use, very stable and reliable, and it’s such a compact system with its two monitors – a great little console to use.”
The Telcast 3-D segments, which used images created and rendered by the system’s manufacturer, were played out through the twin Catalyst setup. “Catalyst has the ability to handle the high (50 fps) frame rate required by the 3D system,” says Metcalfe, “as well as the absolute accuracy which was essential to create the 3D effect.”
Steve Nolan’s lighting team was divided into two with Ben Cracknell operating stage lighting and Barry “Baz” Halpen running the architectural lighting. With TV cameras filming from numerous vantage points including a helicopter, and most of the show running in daylight under Stageco’s transparent stage roof, the team conjured up a feast of bright, sparkling looks and bold colors, both on stage and on the Tower itself.
“We used a lot of lights because so much of the show was in daylight,” says Nolan, “and I wanted to have lighting everywhere, so that wherever the cameras were pointing there would be point sources that the cameras could see, something sparkling and colourful.”
The stage rig featured High End Systems Studio Beams along with other moving and LED lights, all under the control of Ben Cracknell, using a pair of Wholehog II consoles MIDI’d together.
Another Wholehog II and a Wing commanded the architectural lighting, operated by Barry Halpin, which featured more Studio Beams along with other lighting.
“Architecturally,” continues Nolan, “ITV’s brief was to light up all the castle ramparts and the tower interior – we had one very wide shot from a building opposite and the helicopter camera, so I lit all the walls and used (lighting) pointing into the sky to create lots of sparkle for the camera lenses.
“The overall effect of the lighting, the Catalyst imagery and the 3D sections hopefully made it an exciting show to watch, both for the fans at the Tower and the TV audience.”
Getting to that point had been quite a feat. Physical challenges included the crucial factor of vehicle access. When the Tower of London was built, neither William the Conqueror nor his architects foresaw the need to allow production crews to bring in large trusses, consoles and other technical paraphernalia. 900 years later, that understandable oversight meant that every large piece of equipment had to be lifted in and out by crane over the historic walls. The Tower also remained open to the public throughout the build and de-rig. “It was a huge logistical challenge,” says Robbie Williams, “but my team rose to it and we ended up with a great show.”
The production team was headed by Robbie Williams and included stage production manager Kenny Underwood, site managers Malcolm Birkett, Liz Holden and Chuck Crampton, production assistant Jo Mackay, production stage manager Nick Rea and stage manager Steve Jones. Neg Earth’s project manager was Julian Lavender and Creative Technology’s was Stuart Young.
The event raised an estimated £3 million ($5.5 million USD) for the Prince’s Trust, a UK charity founded in 1976 by HRH Prince Charles to “help young people overcome barriers and get their lives working.”
Media Contact:
Debi Moen, HES marketing communications specialist, phone 512-836-2242 x 1204.
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