The reactive visuals can adapt to any stage or screen setup and comprise 50 layers of Notch content
Today, Disguise announced that its high performance GX 3+ media servers and Designer software are powering a Notch-driven LED castle on stage for Laura Pausini’s Yo Canto world tour.
The GX 3+ has the processing capacity needed to drive the LED castle’s screens with 50 Notch layers worth of content. This includes multiple camera feeds, IMAG effects and 8K particle simulations that interact with the live music. Visuals can also be distributed across multiple levels of the castle setup, with each displaying distinct imagery, as well as across castle columns and a central door used for the artist’s entrances and exits.
“Fans around the globe had high expectations for this world tour,” begins Carlo Barbero, leader of the Disguise video team on the tour. “We wanted to create an iconic stage design to meet those expectations, and ultimately decided to build a 3D castle model in Notch, which would translate to the LEDs on stage. Given the number of Notch blocks involved, we knew that only the Disguise GX 3+ could execute our vision without compromising the number of effects that could run simultaneously.”
From 3D model to the stage
With the GX 3+, Barbero and his team had the power to run the show with ease, but they also needed to ensure the castle could adapt quickly. The tour would involve hundreds of venues with different LED setups and the content on stage needed to look good across them all.
“We knew that Yoshi Lehouck, the operator on the tour, would face constantly changing conditions, including different stage layouts, missing or repositioned LED wall towers and local IMAG formats in 16:9 or 4:3,” explains Stefano Petroni, Disguise Programmer on Yo Canto. “Each configuration required a different programming approach: live content had to be repositioned, the two incoming camera feeds had to be used differently and the presence or absence of certain Notch effects had to be managed accordingly.”
To adapt content across venues, the team used Disguise’s Designer software alongside the GX 3+. “Designer’s previsualisation feature allowed us to review the entire show in 3D together with Laura Pausini and show director Luca Tommassini ahead of live performances,” says Barbero. “Even before the LED screens were physically installed on stage, we were able to significantly improve decision-making and alignment early in the process.”
Designer’s Expressions and timeline-based sequencing features were also essential to the team. Expressions allowed Petroni to manipulate content and live feeds while reducing rendering time. Sequencing enabled Lorenzo Venturini, Senior Notch Designer at GATE1, to animate Notch parameters for both real-time adjustments and to match the visual development of each track. “A number of standout moments from the show, including an atmospheric moon sequence during Hijo de la Luna and a mix of effects during Medley Pop, would not have been possible without Disguise,” says Venturini.
Building a backup
Because they were working in the Disguise ecosystem, the team could also rely on Disguise’s X1 solution as a portable backup for the tour, giving them the option to put on a show even if their kit doesn’t reach them throughout their busy tour schedule. Before, a delayed cargo would mean having to rent a new media server on location, but with the X1 they can simply plug a license key directly into any laptop to instantly access the LED castle show files, without needing to reprogram them on another solution. This provides peace of mind for a tour that involves so much travel around the globe.
“Whether it’s the GX 3+, Designer or the X1 backup, working with Disguise means we can take the creative further than ever before,” says Venturini. “We could do everything we envisaged without having to compromise, which has led to incredible results.”
About Disguise
Disguise is the industry-leading platform sitting at the heart of a new era of visual experiences. One powerful integrated system of software, hardware and services to help create the next dimension of real-time spectacle.
Disguise partners with the biggest entertainment brands and companies in the world to deliver the A-list of live music events, live TV broadcasts, immersive experiences, installations, theatre, film and TV production, corporate communications and brand product launches. Working with the biggest brands, studios, artists and venues in the world, including Disney, Snapchat, Netflix, ESPN, the Burj Khalifa and Adele, Disguise is the number one partner delivering the next dimension of entertainment.
Learn more at www.disguise.one/en
