Panasonic lights up the stage for Bastille and The Human League.

Panasonic's flagship PT-RZ21K and PT-RZ31K laser projectors were selected to produce the visual content for The Human League and Bastille on their latest European tours. The creative content and equipment was supplied by Really Creative Media, a digital and live production company based in London.

Bastille's 2019 (Still Avoiding Tomorrow)tour kicked off at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin on the 27th January and finished in Amsterdam's Ziggo Dome on the 10th March. The tour proceeds the release of thefour-piece, British rock band'sthird studio album in September this year.

The tour required four RZ31K units to create the stage based show design. “Bastille made use of multiple projection surfaces, including flown gauzes and metal mesh panels to add a layer of dynamism into the set which the projectors brought brilliantly to life,” explains Nick Dew, Producer and Co-Founder of Really Creative Media.

“We had worked with Bastille's Show Designer, Rob Sinclair, previously and have built a good understanding on how to make sure his expectations are met. He brought us in to look after the video production elements alongside his designs.”

"The RZ31K's are the smallest and lightest projectors that can give us the level of brightness we needed to achieve for the concerts."

The Panasonic RZ31K projectors were chosen due to their reliability. “We needed projectors that would be consistent in what they give us across the tour," added Nick Dew."They needed to produce the same result every night and showcase true reproduction of the content.”

“Running with a laser light source rather than lamps means they are more reliable and the brightness is consistent throughout the projector's lifespan, as well as ensuring a reliable light source for the shows,” says Nick.

“The RZ31K's are the smallest and lightest projectors that can give us the level of brightness we needed to achieve for the concerts. Weight is also an important consideration when we're going on the road as it makes rigging easier and faster.”

Really Creative Media also provided the equipment and creative content for ‘The Human League's' 2018 Red tour. Beginning in Brussels, in October, the 27-date tour was the band's first use of projection mapping. It played various size venues, from theatres and arenas, and wrapped up at London's Eventim Apollo on the 8th December.

“We were projection mapping onto giant 3D cube set pieces for this show and the projection was used as the principal visual element on the stage,” explains Nick.

Tours also require flexibility from the AV set up to ensure that the projection stacks could be accomodated within any venue.

“Really Creative Media has invested exclusively in Panasonic projectors – that's how good we think they are. The range delivers from a production perspective and is robust to take on tour.”

“The Human League shows were a different challenge to Bastille because the venue sizes were so different. Some of the venues selected were not going to suit the larger units so we solved it by touring RZ21K laser projectors as well. The smaller and lighter units were able to be deployed in smaller venues but we also added them in the larger venues to increase the overall amount of lumens on stage.”

Multiple successive shows and time constraints presented a challenging situation for Really Creative Media. “Both the Bastille and The Human League shows were one day setups with the performance in the evening each night. So the multiple projector “line-up” of the images had to be done in very little time,” explains Nick.

The RZ31K and RZ21K units were able to rise to the challenge. “In the past we had struggled with the orientation of units but now with the Panasonic laser array light sources we can freely position the projector at any angle without any concerns.”