case study 2009 2 min read

U2 360° World Tour

disguise controls a moving articulated cylindrical LED screen for the U2 360° World Tour

Creating an ‘intimate gig’ atmosphere at Camp Nou, despite its huge scale, was U2 360° design architect Mark Fisher’s wish:

The inspiration was to make a set that was as intimate as you can make it in a stadium, so everybody feels like they are real close to the band, and the band feel like they’re real close to everybody in the stadium.

During the run-up to the first show, disguise was used in the studio to pre-visualise video content, compose and format live video, and rehearse camera transitions. disguise also helped LED fabricators Barco to check each panel was correctly addressed, allowing a ‘right first time’ screen-test.

During the show, the disguise server handled live camera footage from four SDI sources; compositing them together into a single canvas using soft-edged borders, and performing colour and level correction in real time. It then warped and formatted the image to compensate for the screen’s geometry and complex addressing scheme.

The server also handled all video content playback and transition effects, and received signals from the Kinesys motion control system, updating its virtual 3D model of the stage 50 times per second to ensure that every pixel ended up in precisely the right place. Thee disguise beat-based musical timeline also allowed precise synchronization to the music, with MIDI-based cues coming from a Medialon control system.