Green Hippo’s Hippotizer media servers powered a set-up of LED walls and IMAG screens – constructed using ROE Visual panels – as well as “holographic” projections, for US singer Lana Del Rey’s five-date summer stadium tour across the UK. and Ireland. The IMAG (Image Magnification) screens deployed a live event production technique that involved capturing close-up footage of Lana del Rey with high-definition cameras near the stage and projecting the magnified images.
Phil White of nlitedesign LTD, a pro lighting and video design and supply company, specified and supplied two Hippotizer Tierra+ MK2 and two Green Hippo Boreal+ MK2 media servers in a primary and backup configuration for the stadium shows. The tour stopped at major venues, including Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, Anfield Stadium in Liverpool, and two sold-out nights at London’s Wembley Stadium.
The three LED screens behind the onstage house, along with the IMAG screens, were built using ROE BQ6.2 panels, all driven by the Hippotizer media servers. Beneath the IMAG screens, two CB3 screens were used to deliver holographic-style video.
4K laser projectors were double-stacked at FOH left and right to project onto the house during the dramatic video mapped ‘fire’ sequence, and two additional projectors cast visuals onto holographic material. A 4K TV placed in the upstairs window of the house, where Lana Del Rey performed two songs, was also fed content directly from the Hippotizer media server.
White explained: “The initial brief called for a three-part stage LED wall and IMAG screens, but we quickly expanded that to include a projection surface, holographic projections, and downstage wing LED screens on either side of the stage.
“I worked closely with the production team to bring their ideas from paper to reality. To achieve the ambitious range of visuals, the Tierra+ MK2 handled playback of four full 4K outputs, including HD feeds from the camera team for live IMAG displays. The Boreal+ MK2 powered the onstage hologram projectors, LED screens, and the set’s house window TV.”
Large-scale concert multimedia designer James Lockey partnered with Stufish Studio, a team of entertainment architects, to stage what Ric Lipson, a registered architect at Stufish, described as “a living Southern Gothic tableau, where a full-scale, weather-worn Louisiana ‘shotgun’ house anchors the scene … The concept balances cinematic spectacle with meticulous detail. The show is a haunting dreamscape that amplifies Lana Del Rey’s artistry and blends story, technology, theatrical craft, and visual innovation”.
White added: “The Boreal+ MK2 media servers are always my go-to for performance and reliability. For more demanding requirements, I use the Tierra+ MK2 because I know I can throw anything at them and they still have processing headroom for effects and Notch integration, if needed.”
All Hippotizers were integrated with a grandMA3 console, running the latest software, and controlled via DMX. “Both the console and the Hippotizers were timecoded using SyncManager,” White noted. “We also used OutputMapper and VideoMapper on the Mixes and Viewports to configure outputs according to the video screen supplier’s processors.
“Having the ability to use LiveMask on the incoming camera feed was extremely valuable, giving us the flexibility to send live camera content – soft-edged or overlaid – to any screen.”
