WWW.LSIONLINE.COM • APRIL 2020 57O ON TOUR
terms of living with the show B-sized and
learning where to update to the A rig? “It’s
been a pain,” says Squib. “And we’re still
trying to figure it out. Not having the rollers
for Europe yet having to create a similar feel
in smaller venues was difficult in terms of
finding ways to make dynamic changes.
Now to come back to our starting point is
a bit weird.” That said, I saw the first night
of the arena run and witnessed a coherent,
well-developed show.
What about this issue of ‘no content’? “We
knew to bring in Video Design to give us
a platform for video that would work for
the production however the process
developed. We’ve worked with them before
and they are always very supportive. But
NorthHouse was a new experience for us.
We wanted to bring in content and they
have worked out very well for us.” Truth is,
both Cassius and NorthHouse had
revealed a desire to work with each other
prior to the tour. “We didn’t want
animation per se, but we wanted
something to enhance the image. I did
wonder if we had focussed too much on
camera work, but now, seeing how what
NorthHouse has produced allows us to sit
him in the live show, I’m really pleased.
What that means is since the start of
rehearsals we have gradually changed the
emphasis from 90% camera, 10% content,
to more like 70:30.” It’s a mark of their
dedication that they anguish so much
about this issue, but that’s arguably why,
as I said earlier, the audience would be
largely unaware of where the line between
content and live camera ended.
One other strong marker of the light
show is that row of Q7s along the front
most truss as audience lighting. “Lewis is
good at patter. We wanted something to
light the audience, but we wanted
something soft for that role. Q7s are it,”
says Squib. “They also look very
contemporary, personally I haven’t used
Molefay for years... except for Liam
Gallagher.” Good to know there are no
absolutes in the Cassius paintbox.VIDEO
While the initial European dates and the
subsequent break proved difficult for
Cassius, it proved a boon for video
director Mark Davies. “Back at Fly by Nite
in February, we worked the full system,
not the B rig,” he explains. “Back then,
one of my overriding challenges was to
find ways to capture a variety of images
of Lewis that could sustain audience
attention throughout the show. I have six
cameras, one long lens out front plus
a second camera in that position for the
encore when he appears on a scissor-lift
platform out at FOH. Then there are two
pedestal cameras in the pit, and two
CamBell robo-cams on stage. I suggested
a hand-held on stage, but they said it
would be too intrusive. Squib and I have
worked together on several projects, so
I understood an alternative was clearly
needed. I suggested to him that we used
a couple of the new turret mounts
developed by Video Design who supply all
the video package for the tour. Placed on
stage at the edge of the LED screen
upstage-right, and with one built in to the
keyboard riser, these give me the ability to
vertically reposition the CamBells so
I could, for example, peer beneath an
upstage roller-drop and capture a reverse
shot of Lewis without colouring the image
through the translucent screen. These
were great - a small footprint base butvery stable, with an extruded box
aluminium tower for the camera to winch
itself up and down. Very smooth, they
operate off an extra axis of control from
the CamBell’s MFC, so I could
programme moves and control them
straight from my desk.”Davies adds: “Rehearsals were really
interesting. Squib and Dan were looking for
very precise images, extreme close-ups of
Lewis’s face, or perhaps a focus-in on the
body of a guitar for a musical punctuation.”He continues: “When we started out in
Europe, my chief tech’ Luke Collins came
with me. Even though we didn’t have the
roller drops in Europe - it was effectively
a more conventional IMAG - Luke put an
image of the roller drops in their
rehearsed positions, song to song,
directly off the disguise gx 2c server
straight onto my multi-view 3D monitor
stack. This meant as I was cutting for the
B rig show, I could see how the images I
was using would work on the roller drops
for the A rig. That was a huge advantage
and led me to suggest a track-cam for the
front of stage. Squib agreed - he has good
insight to what can be done with cameras
in the right place - and he backed me to
have it added to the production back in
the UK. Like the turret cameras, this too
runs on an aluminium extrusion and with
minimal outriggers intrudes just 30cm
onto stage. It’s barely noticeable to the
front row audience and hardly shifts the
line of wedges at all. That made all the
difference - it’s quite a front-on show.”Much of what we see on screen is
rendered in black and white, something
that instantly lends a documentary flavour