LONDON – The 20th anniversary production of the Broadway musical, Rent, recently toured around the UK, with additional dates set to take place in the fall. The production, designed by Ben M. Rogers, included LED display solutions from XL Video.
More details from XL Video (www.xlvideo.com):
LONDON – The award-winning Broadway musical, Rent, was first workshopped in New York in 1993. To celebrate this 20 year landmark, a new concert production under the direction of Daniel Wood recently toured around the UK, with additional dates set to take place in the fall.
The production, designed by Ben M Rogers, included LED display solutions from XL Video, used to frame the performance as well as the option to integrate live camera footage and original work from video content designer Zoe Hitchen.
For the scenic pieces, XL Video supplied 16 small 2 x 1 tile screens of semi-transparent Pixled F-40 LED. During the show these were used both separately and together to form a complete screen.
The set was designed with multiple small screens to enable easy lightweight rigging and assembly across a one-night per venue tour.
The center screen, flown above the stage, was formed from 5 x 5 tiles of Pixled FX-11 LED. As a centerpiece to the live action, this screen mixed with video sequences and scene-setting graphics was controlled via the production’s own ArKaos Media Master 3.1 servers.
“The FX-11 is terrifically bright and competed well with the substantial lighting rig,” notes Rogers. “However, it also has a nice dimming curve and copes well at low intensities – perfect for the more theatrical moments of the show.”
XL’s Project Manager for the ‘Rent In Concert’ tour was Ed Cooper, who commented, “It is always a pleasure working with Ben. The need for speed in rigging and durability on the road was key to the success of Ben’s interesting design, allowing a concert musical to really stand out.”
