XL Video supplied LED screens, media servers and control for the special Freak Out All Night Dance Party event at this year’s Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.
Curated by producers Nile Rodgers and Mark Ronson, the show’s theme traced the evolution of disco music into today’s electronic dance music.
The line-up included both Rodgers and Ronson, who were joined by a host of stars including Grace Jones, Anita Baker, Alison Moyet, Johnny Marr, Elly Jackson from La Roux, Chic, and Dimitri from Paris.
For the show, XL Video specified their highly versatile Pixled F-11 LED which formed the flown screens above the stage and a front piece for the DJ booth. In total over 70 square metres of F-11 were used.
For the screen content, XL Video was granted access to the extensive Montreux Jazz Festival and Chic archives.
The crew employed two Catalyst media servers and the new Resolume media servers recently purchased by XL to cut the footage and feed it to the screens in real time.
With a live band on stage, no time code, and a show lasting a total of 10 hours, the XL team, led by Project Manager Ian Woodall, had to mix the footage on-the-fly in sync with the all-star line-up!
The retro footage combined with the live video mix was perfectly suited to this classic dance club event.
Woodall comments, “Nile said he wanted to provide a musical journey from Studio 54 to Pacha … and there is no doubt that the classic, and some previously unseen footage, combined with the LED screens told the story perfectly for the lively crowd”.