The Netherlands – Popular Dutch TV personality Fred van Leer hosted the third incarnation of the hit concert Fred and Friends at Rotterdam’s Ahoy Arena, with Green Hippo’s Hippotizer Media Servers at the core.
Some of Europe’s biggest stars performed in front of five portrait LED screens on motion rigs, capable of moving up and down. Above these and behind the band, three full-width LED banners were installed.
‘Impact architects’ Tenfeet collaborated with the production team to deliver lighting and video design and programming and supplying two Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2 Media Servers in a Main and Backup configuration. The result was an all-out staging, lighting and visual dazzler.
“We primarily used DMX control to operate the Hippotizer servers from our lighting console, which enabled real-time triggering of effects and bumps in sync with the music, the ability to add musical accents manually, providing flexibility in live performance, and the use of Hippotizer’s built-in FX engine to enhance the visuals,” says Tenfeet’s Video and Content Programmer, Kevin Buysse. “The integration with the lighting console made it intuitive. We chose to use the Boreal+ MK2 because the video elements required a certain number of outputs to handle all the screens, and due to our Adobe After Effects Luma Matte workflow, we doubled our required output capacity.”
Artists taking to the stage included Belgian-Spanish musician and songwriter Belle Perez, Dutch actress Bettina Holwerda, and singer Danny de Munk, in addition to Fred himself. The video content, created by Lars Gorter of Momental, was augmented by pyrotechnics, confetti cannons and a large lighting rig.
The show featured a mix of pre-rendered visuals and live feed content, with a visual package created for the multiple artists. “I had control over how the visuals were used, using the Hippotizer Media Servers to deliver real-time colour bumps and effects via the lighting console,” Buysse continues. “Each visual package also included one or multiple Luma Matte layers, designed to work with live feeds. These were assigned to a separate output on the Boreal+ MK2, allowing an Analog Way Aquilon to composite live feed over the visuals while maintaining low latency.”
Buysse reports that one of the biggest challenges was the number of songs in the show, including single performances, medleys, and guest appearances, each requiring a unique mix of visuals and live feed elements. To manage this, the tasks were divided between two video operators, with one focused on live feed control and communication with the live feed director, and the other focused on Hippotizer programming and syncing visuals with the music.
“Hippotizer helped streamline this process by allowing real-time adjustments via the lighting console,” says Buysse. “The seamless integration between the Boreal+ MK2 Media Servers and the lighting consoles allowed us to deliver a dynamic and reactive workflow that connected visuals directly with each performance.”
On the team were lighting designer Pim Elberse, Thomas Hendriks Boers on lighting programming, and Dave van Roon on Analog Way programming.
One of the highlights of the show was the opening sequence, where host Fred van Leer as his drag queen alter-ego, dancers, and accompanying musicians, were revealed with a kabuki drop to a cover of Lady Gaga’s Born This Way.
Credit: © Tenfeet
