FFV plays for STING

By Breckinridge Haggerty, Diagonal Research LLC

Diagonal Research, LLC of Thousand Oaks, California has been developing new technologies for the field of live performance since 1998. We specialize in the relatively new field of lighting and video convergence, which is simply the use of lighting consoles to control on-stage video. The Fast Forward Video Omega Deck has been a cornerstone of our systems, providing rock-steady, high-quality content delivery in a lightweight, rugged frame that we have found to be very consistent for long-term projects.

Considered by many the Holy Grail of the concert lighting industry, the use of video technology in lighting products was not a practical reality until the turn of the millennium, despite significant R&D investments by Vari*lite, Inc. and Light and Sound Design, Inc. - two of the biggest players in the industry. The concept of seamlessly integrating lighting and video didn’t emerge in practical products until 2001, when Diagonal Research introduced the NEV6 DMX Video Controller, and High End Systems released the Catalyst Media Server.

Today, the NEV and the Catalyst are “old men” in a very new field. However, they represent the two opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to methods of controlling video with a lighting console. The NEV system is based around the idea of device control, while Catalyst is based around the idea of QuickTime file manipulation. While there are dozens of similar products in the market today, all have taken a software approach, with products running on standard Apple or XP systems. The NEV remains a unique and very effective solution.

The lighting industry’s standard control protocol, DMX, is a derivative of RS-485. This is how the lighting console communicates with the lighting system. The NEV controller reads these DMX signals, and through our specialized drivers, allows direct control of industry standard broadcast-quality video components – devices such as the FFV Omega Deck.

The NEV6 video controller and the FFV Omega were first taken on the road by the rock band TOOL for their 2001 world tour. Since then, the system has grown and progressed to the NEV8.2 and has been featured on lengthy worldwide tours with artists such as Green Day, The Beastie Boys, Eminem and Sting.

For the Sting tour, the Omega Decks were used to deliver content for four large arrays of Lighthouse LED video walls set up behind the performer. There were 13 Omega channels running online during the show, made up of five dual-deck and three single-deck systems. Each LED array had three Omega channels assigned to it, allowing three layers of video to be mixed in real time. The Omega Decks and NEV controllers were installed in four shock-mount 20-space road racks, which were positioned behind the backdrop on stage. The rest of the NEV controlled system consisted of four SDI video mixers, a 32 x 32 SDI matrix router, and four small-automated cameras. The entire NEV video system was operated by two networked GrandMA lighting consoles, which were distributed by ACT Lighting of Agoura Hills, CA.

The Omega Decks provide high quality digital video with instantaneous random-access. The deck’s removable drives allow for the rapid swapping of drives and easy loading of new media. The image quality is excellent - much better than DV, and the decks stand up to the rough treatment and heavy schedule that touring demands. At Diagonal, our business is pushing the envelope, and the FFV decks perform exceptionally well when pushed. The 13 drives that we used on Sting suffered every bump and bruise a world tour can deliver, and they performed reliably and consistently throughout. The Sting “Sacred Love” tour played in over 150 cities worldwide through 2004 and 2005.

Breckenridge Haggerty has been a professional lighting director for theatrical, corporate and concert events since 1987 and is the owner of Diagonal Research LLC which was founded in 1998.