Creating an immersive show for N.E.R.D summer performances

Creating an immersive show for N.E.R.D summer performances

Live production specialist Vis-a-Vis Video is delivering unique video content for N.E.R.D.’s UK summer appearances with Catalyst V6 and a series of UltraStudio Mini HD from Blackmagic Design. The solution is supporting the hip hop act throughout its appearances at festivals including Lovebox in London’s Gunnersbury Park as well as Leeds and Reading Festival.
 

The  software allows live operators to enhance an artist’s onstage performance, by extracting images and elements from live camera signals and graphics, creating multiple outputs to LED screens or projectors on stage and throughout a venue, immersing the crowd within the live performance.

Creating an immersive show for N.E.R.D summer performances

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Catalyst’s capture elements are built around Blackmagic hardware and for N.E.R.D’s summer schedule, Stuart has built a compact media server rack, featuring a series of UltraStudio HD Mini capture and playback devices connected to two MacBook Pro. Signal outputs are then distributed via a 4K matrix.

Creating an immersive show for N.E.R.D summer performances

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“Every picture on the screens at either side of, and behind the band is timed and produced to run frame accurate to each song, so it’s essential that each element of the video system is reliable and offers minimal latency,” explains Stuart. “The UltraStudio’s Thunderbolt 3 is critical to this, and makes sure the content and live capture are perfectly synchronized with the action onstage.”

Creating an immersive show for N.E.R.D summer performances

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“We designed and built this system on Blackmagic capture hardware knowing the tough schedule and multiple fly dates with this tour. The hardware’s reliability is unsurpassed, particularly for our outdoor summer schedule,” continues Stuart. “We’ve already had to deal with incredibly hot temperatures in both the US and UK this summer, however the I/O hardware has continued to perform well, exactly when we need it to.”

Creating an immersive show for N.E.R.D summer performances

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