XL Video UK supplied MiTrix screens to Mark Ronson’s LD Matt Arthur for the latest UK leg of the Brit Award-winning star’s tour.
XL worked closely with lighting suppliers Lite Alternative, who provided the Catalyst digital media server and referred media server tech Stevie Marr to look after both elements of the video.
“The band really wanted to up the ante and the resolution in terms of video on this part of the tour,” explains Arthur, who designed the lights, video, and set.
Upstage were five “fingers” of MiTrix, each nearly five feet wide with an almost 15-foot drop, rigged with six 250Kg CM Prostar motors (two for the center panel and one each for the others) suspended inside an upstage truss. The “fingers” were constructed from 54 panels of MiTrix each and spread out into a 1960s style fan, as Ronson was particularly keen on a retro look for the stage.
There were several risers of heights varying between two and five feet spread across the stage, including a downstage section for people and dancers, accessed via two sets of stairs. All the riser fronts were bordered by MiTrix panels, so everything facing the audience was video fronted.
Arthur chose MiTrix because of its transparency, and because he was impressed by the quality after having seen it in action a few times. He also likes its modularity, which was a perfect fit for the riser fronts, giving the whole video design a more 3D feel, and simultaneously bringing it closer to the audience.
He positioned Martin MAC 250 moving lights behind the risers, which were blasted through the MiTrix when there was no content showing on the surfaces.
For content, he utilized some standard Catalyst material, plus a series of custom retro images produced by Stevie Marr. These included psychedelic moving circles, triangles, lines, etc. The Catalyst was triggered by a Jands Vista lighting desk operated by Arthur.
The 1960s theme was completed with a full red velour upstage drape.
This was Arthur’s first foray into designing high-resolution video into one of his shows. He loved the MiTrix because it could become almost invisible, and then pop out of nowhere with massive impact, “It really added an extra element and gave depth and definition to the stage. Above all Mark thought it was really excellent,” notes Arthur.
Lighting kit was supplied by Lite Alternative, whose crew of Andy Pollard and Alex Johnson worked closely with Marr and Arthur.