Photon helped bring the bash together with a streamlined, responsive, and uncompromising workflow.

What does a mega-star like J-Lo do when she turns 50? She throws the biggest party on the block, of course—in over thirty cities across North America and internationally. “It’s My Party” ran from June 7 to August 11, 2019. Content director, Nick Militello and creative directors Nappytabs called on VYV for the tools and support that let them work free of creative constraints on this milestone tour. .

For starters, what’s a birthday without cake? Working closely with PRG, the main video supplier for the US leg of the tour, VYV transformed three platforms into a triple-tiered cake that rose, fully video mapped, from the stage deck—with the birthday girl on top, of course. Thanks to Photon, two LED processors sampled different content for a whopping 582 INFiLED FLEX 6 tiles to create a cohesive image across each ring.

From turning a B-stage into a birthday cake, 4K video playback with tight synchronization and live video feeds with real-time effects, Photon was there to contribute to the wow-factor and glamour of the show.

While prep time was not unusually short—one month—the exactingness of J-Lo, her management, and creative team was what made this tour a challenge and a privilege. The show was constantly being tweaked and fine-tuned, meaning that video content designer Nick Militello had to continuously adapt or create content.

“Working in uncompressed media was a big highlight for the designer,” affirms Drew Atienza, project manager. The ability to render out media directly without waiting for massive files to convert meant that Militello had his content ready for the next rehearsal, to see what’s working or not and immediately react to it. A missed rehearsal is one less chance to perfect your vision.

“Photon servers and software really give us the flexibility to adapt to production needs.”> -Drew Atienza, VYV project manager

This was the first tour run by VYV’s recently opened US office, proving it has the people, technical know-how and equipment to work at the caliber of a large touring show.