Universal Pixels supported Robbie Williams’ BRITPOP tour with a flexible video package designed for maximum audience engagement across a run of festivals, arenas and stadiums. The touring production has been developed to adapt to different venue formats, stages and turnaround times, while maintaining a clear creative vision: bringing Robbie Williams’ performance closer to every member of the audience.
The video package combines Panasonic UC4000 cameras at front of house (long lens) and around the stage and pit. Remotely operated Panasonic UE150 PTZ cameras provide additional angles without intruding on the performance, with one mounted on a PolecamAutoPod to add vertical movement to the mix.
Video Director Jon Shrimpton, who has worked with Robbie for more than a decade, said that relationship with the cameras is fundamental. “There’s no one who does it better,” said Shrimpton. “He makes people at the back feel like they’re having a direct interaction with him. The key thing is always to make sure that the audience sees the glisten in the eye, the facial expressions and the cheeky little winks.”
Live camera feeds form the basis of much of the screen output, with Disguise GX3 media servers handling real-time Notch effects. Brompton Technology LED processing drives the ROE Visual Vanish V8T screen system.
Universal Pixels has developed A, B and C rig configurations for the tour, allowing the video package to scale according to the requirements of each show. Festival dates use adaptable LED configurations, while standalone arena and stadium shows allow the production to deploy a larger version of the design. The Zurich arena dates also introduced projection IMAG due to the venue’s weight loading capacity.
Universal Pixels Project Manager Hamanshu ‘Hammy’ Patel said the main challenge has been managing those different requirements across the touring schedule. “The most challenging thing about this year hasn’t necessarily been the tech, it’s been the logistics,” he said. “It’s festival touring. The show has hopped from one city to another and some are so back-to-back that physically getting the kit there is the challenge.”
That has required close coordination between Hammy, Production Manager Dan Kent and Universal Pixels Crew Chief Pete Tilling to find the right technical and logistical solution for each part of the tour. The result is a video system that can change substantially from one date to the next while remaining familiar to the touring crew.
“The video was probably the trickiest thing to redesign,” said Kent, before explaining that the value of the relationship with Universal Pixels is particularly evident when requirements change at short notice. “You don’t need to over-communicate. They already know half of it,” he said. “Being able to phone up Hammy and say, ‘We need B-rig servers and we need them here in a couple of weeks’ – without having to go through all of the explaining. They just deal with it. It’s great.”
The value of that experience was evident in Zurich when UK air traffic control disruption meant only around half of the crew made it there for the start of load-in. Despite that, the schedule ran as planned, with doors opening on time at 6pm. “We’ve got super experienced people in all departments,” said Kent. “That makes it easier. There’s no panicking.”
Universal Pixels’ relationship with Robbie Williams dates back to the company’s first ever project in 2016. With each tour subject to a competitive bid process, UP has continued to be selected to support the production as its creative, technical and logistical requirements have evolved.
For Universal Pixels Managing Director Gareth Jeanne, the significance of that relationship is embedded. “They took a chance on us, and I will always be grateful for that,” he said. “Without that first Robbie Williams gig, I’m not sure what our trajectory would have looked like.”
