Helsinki, Finland – Finnish rap legend Pyhimys staged a three-hour performance to remember at Helsinki’s Ice Hall in September, designed to celebrate his 20 years of industry success. Key to the show was categorised themes recalling milestone career moments, with cleverly created graphics taking the audience on a journey through time. At the core of the visuals was a Hippotizer Boreal+ Media Server, expertly programmed and operated by the team at Visual45.
A focus of the stage design was a large, semi-transparent upstage LED screen made up of ROE Vanish8 panels, with two samller IMAG screens stage left and right, consisting of ROE MC9. The back screen was raised to reveal Pyhimys and his musicians, before being lowered down into place to display graphics created by Visual45 and driven through the Boreal+. The IMAG screens were used mainly for live feed.
“We were asked to design Pyhimys’s concert last year, and it was supposed to happen in autumn 2021 to both mark his 20th anniversary and his 40th birthday,” says Visual45 Operations Manager, Varpu Sipilä. “COVID postponed it until September 2022, and the venue changed to the Ice Hall. This meant that we had to rethink the graphic design for the show, which mainly meant visual creation for six separate acts to reflect his back catalogue of songs, which were scheduled into categorised themes. The acts were narrated to script, with our carefully created visuals complementing the commentary.
“Having said that, some parts of the concert were more like freeride of everything, and the Boreal+ was a good interface to busk with, controlled by our grandMA2 console.”
The ambitious show catered to Pyhimys’s legions of fans, who have followed his career over two decades. Helsinki’s Ice Hall was an inspired choice of venue, having been a key venue for international artists paying in the Finnish capital over the years, including Tina Turner, Frank Sinatra, and AC/DC. Pyhimys was joined on stage for his anniversary show by a host of guests who have collaborated with him during his career, with a highlight being the group he formed in 2006, The Teflon Brothers.
Visual design was created by Visual45’s Creative Director, Eero Helle, with screen content design and production by Heba Rinkinen and Jani Saranpää. The video aspects were operated by Mikko Linnavuori.
“Our goal is always to emphasize and make our client’s story visible, and we want to create meaningful design that evokes feelings in the audience,” adds Varpu Sipilä.
“We are long-time Hippo users, and we’re always impressed by the ability to mix the sources real time, using graphic assets and live feed.”
Image credit: © Tomi Palsa
