XL Video Backs Guetta

XL Video supplied 119 panels of Pixled F-30 LED screen - totalling 114 square metres of surface area - plus crew for leading DJ and music producer David Guetta's recent phenomenal UK tour - his first carrying a full technical production.
The F-30 was specified by Guetta's show/visuals designer and vibe engineer Ben Brett, who has developed a very cool piece of control software - Pilot - which is used to run the screen visuals. For this tour, in addition to the screen content, Pilot was running a back wall of 60 x LED moving lights positioned upstage of the rear section of F-30 screen.
The back screen comprised 105 panels of F-30 and in front of the DJ booth was a smaller one made up of 14 panels. With visuals flowing across both surfaces simultaneously, it became a truly 3 dimensional digital set.
Pilot was running on a MacBook Pro that was connected directly to the Pixled F-30 processors via DVI fibre. Offering near zero latency, virtually no image loss and uninterrupted by any scan conversions or other devices - the data signal gives a pure pixel-by-pixel reproduction of the unrendered content.
It looked amazing, bringing vibrancy, freshness, colour, movement, an incredible fluidity and a touch of zaniness to the all-encompassing 'big-picture' performance equation that is David Guetta.
XL Video's project manager Tim Riley comments, "This is a new and innovative approach to running visuals with a real edge. It's a very exciting to work with Ben and his team at Pilot (also the company name) and see them in action as the show unfolds, and the audience who start feeding off the sounds, visuals and all the positive energies flying around the room".
As Guetta's set is never the same for two shows running, the visuals are all generated on-the-fly. Some are sound triggered, as certain textual elements of the show need to appear on-screen at specific times.
Brett chose the Pixled F-30 surface for the tour because of its transparency - so lighting could be blasted through for additional dynamics - and also because of the incredible neon-like colour reproduction of the pixels, together with its depth and texture as a scenic element when combined with their content.
As with all the Pixled range, F-30 has also been built to be highly portable, quickly rig-able, accessible during the show if necessary.... and rugged enough to withstand life on the road. XL Video has massive stocks of all the surfaces offered by this very versatile brand.
Pilot was developed because Brett felt no other product offered sufficient flexibility to fuel the imaginative freedom and organic modus operandi needed to create a truly unique visuals show - wherever they are and out of whatever kit they are presented with around the world - to match Guetta's groove-tastic mix.
It was operated on the tour by Matt Doughtly who was working for XL along with screen technician Gareth Manicom
XL Video has been Ben Brett's first choice of video supplier for some time, "They have always been excellent and offered us the right product at the right price" he confirms.
Recently, Leggy (Jonathan Armstrong) joined the Geutta visuals team as lighting designer, taking the integration of both mediums to new levels of seamless collaboration.
Sound for the tour was supplied by ADLIB, lighting equipment by Neg Earth and the production manager was Alan Green.
(BMcC/GK)