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.
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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.
Creative Directors
Napoleon & Tabitha D'umo (NappyTabs)
Production Design
Cory FitzGerald, Alex Reardon (Silent House)
Lighting Designer
Alex Reardon
Lighting Programmer
Joe Cabrera
Lighting Director
Shaheem Litchmore
Lighting CO
PRG
PRG Rep
Curry Grant
Lighting Crew Chief
Jerry “Hodgie” Vierna
Lighting Techs
Todd Turner, Thomas Dubas, John Norton, Robert Behounek, Daidre Visser, Cole Wheeler
Tour Manager
Lindsay Robinson
Production Managers
Casey Gill, Alicia Harnois
Stage Manager
Bruce Haynes
Technical Director
Hai Tran
Content Director
Nick Militello
Head of 3D
Alex Zakoudek
3D Artists
Tess Boughton & Carly Glover
Video Director
Christian Lamb
Video COs:
PRG/VER; VYV
PRG/VER Rep
Jeroen Hallaert
VYV Rep/Project Manager
Drew Atienza
VYV Media Server Programmer/Operator
Jonathan Masterson
VYV Production Assistant
Grant Palmer
LED Crew Chief
Evan Cervantes
Creative Director
Richard Lindsay
Art Director
Caterina Vicaretti
Executive Producer
Stella Carmody
Head of Design
Jonny Old
Head of Motion Design
Matt Lock
Motion Designer
Neil Van Vuuren & Kyle Downes
LED Techs
Matthew Vassallo, Cameron Trosper, Rachel Hudson, Johnny Martinez, Liselle Bertrand
Staging/Automation COS
All Access Staging, Tait
All Access REP
Erik Eastland
Automation
Zack Eastland, Matthew Garrett, Ted Schroeder, Doug Sager
Pyro/Laser CO
Pyrotek Special Effects
Pyro Techs
Steven Aleff, Rey Mangubat
Laser Techs
Eric Taylor, Louis “Pete” Callahan
Kinetic Lighting CO
Glow Motion/Daniel Slezinger
Glow Motion Crew
Kelsey Heisel, Eduardo Wotzkow Alvarez, Benjamin Brinton, Marty Allen
Glow Motion Programmer
Mike Robertson
Props
Scott Grajeda, Anthony Cooper
Carpenters
James George, Christopher Raines, Deonte Matthews
Riggers
Todd Mauger, Jake Harrelson
When
June 7th to August 11th 2019
Where
Africa, Asia, Europe, North America