Barco lights Rascal Flatts' "Me and My Gang" tour
I-MAG Video selects Barco OLITE and DLITE LED tiles for the set of Rascal Flatts’ nationwide country music tour. Barco announces that Nashville-based I-MAG Video has selected Barco OLITE 510 and DLITE 7 LED tiles for a groundbreaking “immersive” video structure, on the set of Rascal Flatts’ spring and summer “Me and My Gang” tour.
In addition to audio and lighting elements, the set is comprised of two main video components — the “Hero” wall and the “Halo” structure. The Hero is a conventional flat LED wall using 50 Barco OLITE 510 tiles in a 5 x 10 portrait array, 15’ wide by 22’ tall. The wall is centrally positioned at the rear of the stage, with its base approximately 6’ above the stage floor. Directly at floor level and center stage, 22 additional OLITE tiles frame the “garage,” a small combination LED wall and door that conceals the band’s piano underneath the risers.
Dubbed the “Mothership” by the Rascal Flatts crew, the Halo is where the set gets unconventional. Comprised of 225 Barco DLITE 7 tiles, the Halo forms a huge circular crown suspended above the top of the stage. The structure extends out and around the entire stage and tapers down to the sides, but leaves sufficient room for a lighting truss within. Using custom aluminum frames designed by Los Angeles-based All Access, the 17” DLITE tiles are arranged in a checkerboard pattern with tiles spaced 20” apart, but with tiles placed on both sides of the frames. With over 65,000 pounds of audio, video and lighting equipment in the air, the net effect is a 3D immersive experience, with video visible on both the inside and outside of the halo for optimum sight lines. Even though a checkerboard of LED tiles is used, the viewer’s eye nicely resolves the image.
In conjunction with I-MAG, the set was designed by Bruce Rodgers of Tribe, Inc., a highly regarded designer for the entertainment, concert and television industries. “I did last years set for Rascal Flatts,” said Rodgers, “but this year, we wanted to introduce something new — something with a completely odd aspect ratio for an LED wall. We presented three options to the band, all based around LED video imagery. And in the end, they went with the most daring of the three ideas. The decision to use Barco tiles was based on direct product comparisons, and the OLITE and DLITE tiles were the clear choice. They’re crispy, perfect and beautiful.”
Scott Bishop, North American Tour Sales Director for I-MAG Video, commented on the use of Barco equipment. “Our goal was to create a digital experience unlike anything that’s been seen before on a country tour,” said Bishop, “and with this structure and the versatile tiles, it really takes us up to a different level. I-MAG has Barco LED products in use on four concert tours right now, including Rascal Flatts. It’s a very reliable product — and completely state-of-the-art.”
“We are the first North American video touring company to use DLITE 7, ILITE 6 and now OLITE 10 on Country Tours,” added Steve Daniels, I-MAG’s President, “and we have been very impressed with it’s performance and readability.”
Chris Alderman, Production Manager for the Rascal Flatts tour, underscored the key reason that Barco OLITE and DLITE tiles were selected. “The one thing we’ve noticed about the Barco products — they’re really roadworthy,” said Alderman. “To do a production the size of what we have out there now, if it wasn’t roadworthy and durable, with the rigors of setup and teardown, we wouldn’t be able to do the show.”
About Rascal Flatts
By any measure, Rascal Flatts has entered elite territory. Five years into a career marked by superlatives, they have become country music's premiere young headliners. Hits like These Days, I'm Movin' On, I Melt, Mayberry and Bless the Broken Road have taken them repeatedly to the top of the charts. They have sold six-million records, and have pulled in a host of awards and accolades. They are the reigning 2003 & 2004 CMA & 2005, 2004 & 2003 ACM Vocal Group of the Year, as well as the 2004 CMT and ASCAP Vocal Group of the Year. They have played for the President and First Lady, become national spokesmen for the American Red Cross, and hosted a farewell tribute to the legendary group Alabama, to whom they continue to draw comparisons, and have headlined 3 sell-out tours. Visit www.rascalflatts.com for more information.
About I-MAG Video
Created in 1990, I-MAG enjoys a reputation as one of the nation's leading live event production companies. Specializing in LED walls, touring, staging, rentals, projection, content production, Hi-Definition HD, motion graphics and non-linear editing, I-MAG is more than just a "hardware" company. All I-MAG personnel are well versed in the idea that you have to understand the "hardware" and the "software" before you can take full advantage of what they both have to offer. By implementing this creed, clients are provided with the very best of each discipline —utilizing the latest technologies and the most qualified personnel to make every project seamless from conception to final presentation. Visit www.i-magvideo.com for more information.
About Tribe, Inc.
Tribe, Inc. was founded by Bruce Rodgers in 1996 as a full service design company dedicated to the exploration of new innovations in entertainment design. Tribe’s core group of young, multidimensional talent allows it the diversity necessary to create wholly unique and highly specialized projects. With a client list including such familiar names as Madonna, AT&T, Jennifer Lopez, Microsoft, General Motors, Ricky Martin, Lucent Technologies, MTV, Warner Bros., Coca-Cola, American Express, Disney, ABC, CBS, Universal Studios, 20th Century Fox and the National Football League, as well as new and emerging technology and entertainment clients such as Oxygen Media, Tribe is looking forward to continuing its tradition of bringing the cutting edge to the mainstream. Visit www.tribedesign.net for more information.
About All Access
All Access is a leader in the world of quality set construction and staging design. While we specialize in the concert touring industry, we also service the television, film, theatre, industrial, convention, display and installation markets. We offer the finest in craftsmanship and engineering. Our in house capabilities go far beyond set design and stagecraft. We are experts in custom design work in many mediums such as plastics, foam and glass as well as aluminum, steel, wood and fabrics. Our professional team of show technicians, engineers, electricians, designers and graphic artists can take your ideas and turn them into an extremely efficient package. Visit www.allaccessinc.com for more informations.
About Barco
Barco, an international company headquartered in Kortrijk, Belgium, provides visualization and display solutions for professional markets. Barco designs and develops solutions for large screen visualization, display solutions for life-critical applications, and systems for visual inspection. With its own facilities for Sales & Marketing, Customer Support, R&D and Manufacturing in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, Barco is active on a worldwide basis. Barco is quoted on Euronext Brussels and is a BEL 20 and a Next 150 company (Euronext: BAR; Reuters: BARBt.BR; Bloomberg: BAR BB). Visit www.barco.com for more information.
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