Names like Tiësto, Deaudmau5, Steve Aoki and Calvin Harris bring gatherings like the Electric Daisy Carnival, Ultra Music Festival and Coachella to mind, along with the Las Vegas nightclub scene — lots of late night revelers, partying to the beat to impressive, and sometimes blindingly bright, lighting and video displays. But what happens when you take the same big-name DJs and use them to draw partiers to the casino’s pool, in broad daylight? They can serve up the same throbbing basslines, but when the DJs are spinning in the sun, there’s no way a light show can deliver the same impact.
A Decade-Long Trend
Since the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino first made its big “dayclub” splash with its Rehab Sundays 10 years ago, other big-and-loud pool parties have cannonballed their way into the Vegas daytime fray — Daylight Beach Club at Mandalay Bay, Liquid Day Club at Aria, Tao Beach at The Venetian, Encore Beach Club at Wynn/Encore, Marquee Dayclub at the Cosmopolitan and Wet Republic at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino.
All these dayclubs operate outdoors in the glare of the desert sun — and with the sun’s 10,000 foot-candles of luminous output, even the most powerful lighting and video projection systems is hard-pressed to compete. Direct sunlight mutes the intensity of LED screen visuals as well, but as the outdoor advertising industry has learned, displays can be adjusted to compete with daylight and still make an impact.
That’s good news for the DJs themselves, whose showmanship relies in no small measure these days on video content tied to the music. (Some DJs provide their own content, thus becoming more than just a DJ, but a VJ or Video Jockey.)
Raising the Bar
Along with its lineup of big-name DJs, the MGM Grand has upped the ante for the 2013 season at its 53,000-square-foot Wet Republic Ultra Pool with amenities that include an expanded DJ booth, VIP tables, an expanded bar and new furniture and finishes for the party cabanas and bungalows. Directly above the DJ booth, Wet Republic now also features a huge, curving LED video display measuring 38 feet in width and 10 feet high.
“Fans of EDM are becoming accustomed to experiencing visual elements at clubs, pool parties and festivals across the globe,” says Ray Davila, director of nightlife operations at Angel Management Group, who worked with Global Trend Productions on the installation of the big screen along with video components featured for dayclub guests in the redesigned VIP bungalows.
“We believe the installation at Wet Republic will satisfy that need for avid clubgoers and ‘wow’ the newbie,” Davila adds, noting that the addition of bungalow LEDs “affords us the opportunity to tie in theme content for bottle presentations, promote upcoming events at Wet Republic and Hakkasan and run sponsor logos without interrupting headliner DJ content.”
Finding the Perfect Panel
A major sticking point with LED screens used previously in Las Vegas, Davila notes, is the intense summer heat. Isaac Campos, president of Global Trend Productions, agrees. “We had to do some major research,” Campos says. “We had to find a video panel that wouldn’t overheat, either from heavy usage or from the 110°-plus weather.”
After an extensive search, Global Trend Productions opted for a new panel from Oracle LED Systems, the Black Widow HD9, a 9mm HD video panel product rated for use at temperatures up to 149° F.
“The panel was perfect for this application,” Campos says. “Not only could it withstand the intense heat, but each panel is self contained. All of the control and power supplies are located on the backside of the two-by-two-foot panels.”
Another novel feature: an integrated “ladder” design on the backside that lets climbing techs grab hold and climb the back of the wall if they have to.
Ahead of the Curve
One of the first thing that visitors to Wet Republic will notice about the big screen, however, is its curved shape, which works with the panels’ 160°/140° viewing angle to add to the display’s overall impact. “The panels are able to curve plus and minus 15 degrees. So we were able to get an almost half circle design at 38 feet across,” says Campos.
As the driest major city in the U.S., Las Vegas can go months without rain. Much of what falls during storms evaporates before it hits the ground, making “dry lightning” a potential fire hazard. But there’s still a late-summer phenomenon that locals call “monsoon season,” where atmospheric humidity spikes and sudden rainstorms can trigger flash flooding.
Along with their ability to outshine the sun with brightness at 7000 nits, however, Wet Republic’s LED panels are designed to stand up to moisture and wind-blown dust with an IP65 rating. And the structural support system is anchored into concrete for the safety of performers and guests — a key priority for Angel Management Group and MGM, Davila notes.
Supporting the Panels
The video panels hang from a 20-by-20-foot ground-supported Tomcat truss system. With limited space and the need to offer clean and unobstructed views, MGM management specified that the truss system be installed on a semi-permanent basis.
“They didn’t want to see massive support systems or weighted bases at the foot of the system,” says Campos. “Before the system was installed, the MGM broke up the concert pool deck where the truss feet were to be placed and installed an anchoring system with new concert bases to hold the system in place.”
Curved truss, which matches the curve of the LED wall, supports the 95 two-foot-square Black Widow video panels used for the Wet Republic installation. Instead of hanging the panels directly from the truss, Global Trend Productions used four CM ½-ton motors to make the installation and removal of the panels easier.
For Festival Use Too
Summing up, Campos credits the panels for their ability to enhance the experience of Wet Republic’s clientele. He also notes that Global Trend Productions has put the panels to good use at the Electric Daisy Carnival and Ultra Music Festival, crediting their output not just for daylight use, but also for their “amazing output at night.”
Production and lighting designer Steve Lieberman from SJ Lighting, who is himself a fixture at massive festivals like Electric Daisy Carnival and the Ultra Music Festival, also credits the 7000 nits of brightness as “enough to burn your face off,” and more than adequate for daytime use during festivals. (He typically won’t need to run them at higher than 50 percent intensity.)
Lieberman also likes the fact that the panels combine the high-resolution of a 9mm pixel pitch with a lightweight, flexible design, including curves. “There are an enormous array of rigging options — you are only limited by your imagination,” he says.
And, like Campos, Lieberman credits the screens for ease of rigging. “The screen goes up and down very efficiently, so my techs can get more done in less time. The Black Widow 9mm is a key player in my arsenal of resources.”
