The countdown to 2023 has begun. In most people’s year-end summaries, I believe the word “concert” is indispensable. According to data released by the China Performance Industry Association on November 22, in the first three quarters of 2023, the number of commercial performances nationwide reached 342,400, and the cumulative number of viewers reached 111 million, which has completely surpassed 2019. While the concert was a blowout, it is not difficult to find that the stage design at the performance has reached a higher level, the stage art vision is becoming wider and wider, and the concepts are becoming more and more advanced.
Foreign countries have flexibly applied digital media technology to various types of performances. LED displays rely on digital technologies such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence to reach new heights on the performance stage. Today, we will take stock of the recent stages abroad that will amaze you at a glance.
1.The most shocking concert – the first show on the Sphere stage in the dome theater
This year, U2’s performance in Las Vegas took the entire internet by storm, using dome images to bring the audience into a new perspective, bringing an immersive visual and auditory experience, which was very shocking.
The venue for this concert is not a traditional stadium, but the new landmark of Las Vegas – the Sphere. This “ball” was built by Madison Square Garden Entertainment Company at a cost of US$2.3 billion and took 6 years. All the eye-catching “black technologies” are mounted on a 16K resolution wrap-around LED screen. This is the world’s largest and highest resolution LED screen, with an area of 15,000 square meters, equivalent to two football fields. No matter where the audience sits, they can have an unobstructed and excellent field of view, almost an immersive VR experience at the level of the naked eye.
2.Denmark’s largest hip-hop concert—SUSPEKT PARKEN 2023
Suspekt is a legendary Danish hip-hop band formed in 1997. The main stage of this concert is composed of three LED screens. The background is a huge LED screen. The two LED screens form a V shape and are erected on the stage. The lighting design above the main stage is not based on beams, but uses Washing lights, LED wall washers and beam lights create light spatial effects.
3.American music awards ceremony—2023 MTV VMAs
The Moonman helmet is a huge icon of the MTV Music Video Awards. It has been used in the stage design of many award ceremonies. This year, the designer gave the Moonman helmet a new shape and appearance, and designed a very special design on the rear. A tall, inclusive LED wall supports the entire element. The two performance stages on the left and right feature LED floors and large double-section LED walls with integrated lighting, mixing the two media together as if audio waves leave an indelible mark as they flow through the space.
4.Heavy metal band – Metallica tour
Starting this summer, the metal band Metallica will bring fans the most enthusiastic concert tour. The entire stage is a huge circular stage, with 8 cylindrical towers designed around the stage, towering 100 feet in the air. The tops of the towers are equipped with LED devices, speakers and lighting fixtures. Each tower features three video walls, forming a curved cylindrical design, with nine VL3600 fixtures installed at the top and bottom of the tower’s LED screens to create an overall aesthetic for the concert.
5.European Music Festival——Medusa Festival 2023
The six-day festival is packed with visual delights and fun, featuring a world-class line-up of EDM, House, Hardstyle and Techno music. This year’s theme is “Era of Time”, and the stage is like a giant time machine, full of vibrant steampunk aesthetics, creating a magical atmosphere that allows attendees to travel through time and space.
It is understood that the main challenge for this year’s stage is to coordinate everything so that the stage design matches the screen and, in turn, the screen content so that the surface looks integrated with its location. With over 300 square meters of LEDs in the stage architecture, smart tricks such as creating intensity masks were crucial in facilitating the seamless integration of the two disciplines.
There are many highlights in the entertainment performance market this year, and the addition of technology has brought an immersive experience of real environment + technological virtual environment. In the future, as concerts become more popular and various music festivals are held, LED displays will show greater potential.
AR 