LAS VEGAS — Not many performers are known the world over by one single name. Fewer still get offered a three-year extension on their four-decade career with a multi-million dollar gig at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. But Cher isn’t filling the Colosseum’s maw all by herself. She’s supported by layers of artistry that include choreographed dancers and aerialists, costumes by Bob Mackie and innovative staging and lighting technology, including moving images projected by Christie projectors. Solotech, one of North America’s largest suppliers of sound, lighting and video equipment, provided a total of 16 Christie projectors for Cher’s multimedia show. These include six Christie Roadster S+20K 3-chip DLP projectors, six Christie Roadie 25K 3-chip DLP projectors, two featuring Christie Twist image warping and blending functionality and four Christie LX1500 projectors.
Geodezik International, a video projection design specialty firm, created the stage production. Olivier Goulet, president of Geodezik International, noted that “Cher is one of the world’s greatest entertainers, so she doesn’t do small shows. Every set needs to change quickly and dramatically to satisfy her demanding audience.”
The Colosseum stage measures 120 feet wide by 70 feet deep, “so there’s a lot of space to fill,” Goulet said. He solved that challenge by creating multiple levels of stage with different size screens and projection surfaces. A 62-foot-by-16-foot white screen is positioned midstage, and it can be moved up and down. It’s flanked by two stationary tower screens, each 40 feet by 12 feet that help to visually “extend” the stage. An array of four Christie Roadster S+20K in portrait mode feed these three surfaces, providing blended images across the entire stage.
Two smaller screens, measuring 12 feet by 9 feet and 8 feet square, are intermittently rolled onstage for different set pieces. They’re lit by a Christie Roadster S+20Ks, which follow these screens on a trolley.
Another set of screens, measuring 40 feet square, are set on either side of the stage. They’re lit by images projected from Christie LX1500 projectors. A third Christie LX1500 is used for a show-stopping surprise, along with LED screens that cover the walls surrounding the theater, except for the area by the entrance. Together, they create imagery that provides an immersive audience experience.
“We’ve always used Christie projectors, and all of our technicians are trained on Christie. We have an excellent relationship with them,” said Goulet. “Christie offers unbeatable quality, but more importantly, they pay attention to all the little things. That includes modifying the equipment to ensure the maximum compatibility with our other technology, so that we get precisely what we need out of their projectors. It’s a highly interactive relationship that no other manufacturer comes close to duplicating.”
Throughout the Cher concert, a 120-foot-by-40-foot screen is used as a “curtain” that covers the entire stage, allowing for transitions and set changes to take place behind it. It displays content such as animation, images and vintage movies of Cher. It is fed by four Christie Roadie 25K projectors, two on each side of the stage, their images blended into a single, continuous image to cover the entire screen seamlessly.
According to Goulet, a lot of the visual impact comes from treating the stage and walls of the theater as a single, continuous surface. A dot can leap across one screen to an LED wall, for example; a bird can fly from one screen to another seamlessly. Meanwhile, the various layers of screens on stage are effective fore recreating 3D effects, creating, for example, visual impact with imagery of a giant pop-up book. Other special effects include transforming the environment into a “little box,” from which flowers and birds come out. Another effect is creating an old 1960s checkerboard in 3D, which changes into swirling black and white patterns.
“Geodezik is widely recognized for its extraordinary video projection presentations, highlighted by unique visual effects that have never been seen before,” said Dave Muscat, director of sales, Christie Digital Systems Canada, Inc. “Christie’s technical expertise is an integral part of the service we provide to our customers. Geodezik’s confidence and enthusiasm for working with our people and our products is a direct result of our commitment to always exceed customer expectations.”
For more information, please visit www.christiedigital.com or www.solotech.ca.
