LD Systems Uses I-Mag and Video to Conquer an Ocean of Dirt
For most people, the word "rodeo" does not conjure up the image of high impact concerts with cutting-edge technology, but the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is actually well known for the excellent concerts that cap off every night of the competition.
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was first held in 1932; the 2010 event was the 78th. It wasn't until 1942, however, that the Houston Rodeo featured its first "star entertainer," Gene Autry. A great deal has changed since that first concert, and over the years, the concerts at the rodeo have become a regular fixture in the lives of many Houstonians and have also become one of the driving forces in the Houston concert technology community in developing high-impact stage designs.
Design Challenges
The stage design is one of the most challenging aspects of putting the rodeo concert together. The rodeo competition that precedes the concert every night takes place in an arena filled with bare dirt. This dirt is very fine, and as the cowboys, horses and bulls kick it up night after night, it floats throughout the stadium, insinuating its way into video and lighting gear all over the arena and at front of house. LD Systems, the Texas-based production house responsible for the sound, lighting and video systems used for the rodeo, had to fabricate custom HEPA filters for the air intakes of all equipment used for the rodeo, as well as custom blankets to cover consoles when they are not in use. The dirt breaks gear down quickly, so only the most rugged equipment can be relied on to survive the dirt throughout the long weeks of competition.
Also, the stage cannot occupy the middle of the arena during the competition, so it must be driven out through the loose dirt every night. The stage currently being used has been in service for more than 20 years, and all equipment attached to it must be hardy enough to survive the jarring trek across the dirt every night. A rotating stage was implemented many years ago to ensure that the audience encircling the stage on all sides gets a quality concert. The constant rotation of the stage adds to the complexity of the design as well, as all gear on the stage deck requires power and control signal while it is in constant motion.
Hosting a new performer every night can also be challenging. Every day the production team gets a few hours in the early afternoon during rehearsal to program the show with the artist's lighting designer, and then the stage is driven back out of the arena until after the rodeo competition. Just importing content to the video servers for each artist's show can be time-consuming, especially if the content is not formatted correctly; this step alone can take hours.
Choosing the Content
But according to LD Systems lighting designer John Dickson, none of these challenges represent the most difficult aspect of the rodeo. "The biggest challenge is the creative aspect, coming up with something new and creative every day. The hardest part is picking the content. You'll sit down with the LD and talk about what the song is about and pick a few clips and then build the song around that."
Despite all of these challenges, LD Systems makes it look easy. With a team that has done the rodeo year after year, all of these hurdles are old hat.
The rotating stage that the Houston Rodeo has been using for many years was initially designed with static backdrops. The backdrop was a fixed semicircular wall made of hexagonal pieces, reminiscent of the Astrodome stadium, where it was introduced. To bring the look of the rodeo's concert into the modern age, LD Systems proposed replacing the old static backdrop with Barco MiTrix LEDs in addition to adding several other MiTrix elements in the air over the stage.
Selling the Design
One of the most challenging parts of upgrading the look of the stage was simply getting the new concepts across to the rodeo's board of directors. The MiTrix design was a little abstract for the decision-makers at the rodeo, and so LD Systems had to go to great lengths to pre-visualize the design with 3D CAD renderings. Once the idea clicked, the rodeo organizers fell in love with it. They asked LD Systems to implement it as quickly as possible.
2010 was the second year with the new, updated design, which features a Barco MiTrix backdrop. It resembled the old static backdrop somewhat, but with a much more modern shape. It also included MiTrix strips hung vertically between the eight JumboTron screens permanently installed in the center of the Arena – eight narrow horizontal MiTrix strips above each of the main JumboTron screens and a circular MiTrix skirt that surrounds and hangs below the eight screens that can be lowered to form a stage skirt for the concert. The MiTrix LEDs were ideal for this application because of their light weight. That makes them a good fit with the rigging requirements of the stadium's retractable ceiling, which has limited load bearing capabilities.
The low weight of the MiTrix also enabled the designers and crew to build a larger backdrop on the stage without adding weight to the stage. The MiTrix panels are also sealed against the environment, making them impervious to the dirt.
And, as Rob McKinley, LD Systems' president and production manager for the rodeo explains, "MiTrix is great in this situation because it's transparent on the back side, so the people on the back side of the stage can still see the artists as the stage rotates."
The MiTrix can be so transparent, in fact that LD Systems hung blackout drapes behind the MiTrix elements in the air to prevent the lighting on the trusses behind them from showing through.
Control System
All of these LEDs are driven by racks full of Barco DX-700 LED processors, while all of the video content is managed by two Green Hippo Hippotizer V3 Stage media servers with dual outputs. The outputs of Hippos goes directly to the DX-700s controlling the MiTrix elements. One MA Lighting grandMA lighting console controls the entire system, while another grandMA controls additional lighting elements around the stadium. In addition, there is a conventional desk that controls PARs and ellipsoidals to keep the lighting for the I-Mag in check.
Besides the barrage of LEDs, the rig also contains 16 Vari*Lite VL3500 Wash fixtures, 24 Vari*Lite VL3000 Spots, nine Vari*Lite VL2500 Spots rigged to the top of the MiTrix backdrop, 22 High End Systems Studio Command 1200 Wash fixtures and 20 Coemar ParLite LEDs. The program feed from the JumboTrons also goes to the DX-700s, enabling the LD to take a camera shot and integrate it into the MiTrix displays or spread it all the way across the MiTrix backdrop for one giant image.
The new stage design gives the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo concerts a very dynamic and powerful look. All of the LED elements above the stage tie the audience in the upper tiers of the stadium to the band down on the dirt very well. The entire audience is in the arena, because with the rodeo dirt, there is no floor seating like there would be in a typical stadium concert setting.
Tying It All Together
The distance between the crowd in the stands and the stage makes it difficult to make the show feel big. As large as the stage is, it is still dwarfed by the empty ocean of dirt around it. LD Systems' new design does leaps and bounds to bridge the gap between the artist and the audience with its size and predominance of video surface area. The MiTrix backdrop is quite large and stunning. The power of this one element almost bridges the gap to the audience single-handedly.
The MiTrix wall is not a high definition video display, but video looks very natural across it. The other LED elements above the stage lend a great deal more apparent size to the stage by continuing the stage upwards visually. Graphics could easily be moved between or continue from one LED element to another, further tying the MiTrix backdrop to the elements above it. The MiTrix elements in the air above and between the JumboTrons enable the lighting director to harmoniously tie the whole show in visually with the I-Mag on the JumboTrons as well, resulting in one consistent look for the whole show, even though I-Mag is handled completely separately from the systems and personnel at FOH.
The circular stage skirt composed of MiTrix visually expands the stage horizontally just as the MiTrix elements in the air expands it vertically. The transparency of the MiTrix allows the artist and band to be clearly visible through the MiTrix from behind, enabling the entire audience to remain engaged in the concert, regardless of which way the stage is turned at any given moment.
Making It Their Own
The LED-based design also enables the artists to do "their show" each night, as they can bring their own video content and customize each song in the set list with their content. The variation of looks that the lighting designer can call up dramatically increases the impact of the show night after night and helps each artist and each LD to make their own mark on the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
This rodeo may be an old school cowboy competition, but it is also one of the premier concert venues in Houston for country acts as well as pop acts like the Black Eyed Peas and Mary J. Blige. The new stage design and its barrage of LED elements are catapulting the performances at the Houston Rodeo into the modern era of concert technology. Now artists playing the rodeo can put their unique stamp on each show. The new design is a treat for fans, too, as the artists are visible during the full length of each show, and the show visuals themselves are more stimulating.
One can only guess what the next evolution in concert technology will bring to the Houston Rodeo.
