U2 eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE Tour

PRG's new products for concert tours on U2's eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE Tour

Pure10 and Rolling Video Floor Risers enrich the touring industry

LOS ANGELES - May 14, 2018 - Production Resource Group LLC (PRG), the world's leading provider of entertainment and event technology solutions, announces two product innovations integrated into the design, production and operation of the U2 eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE Tour - Pure10 and Rolling Video Floor Risers. Both solutions demonstrate PRG’s commitment to developing innovative products that meet the needs of artists, tour designers and managers who want to push boundaries and offer a more intense concert experience.

"PRG has supported every U2 tour since 1992, and they constantly challenge us to innovate with existing technology or create something new," said Jeroen Hallaert, Director of PRG Projects North America.

The U2 eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE Tour is the sequel to the Songs for Innocence Tour from 2015, for which PRG provided the video cage on the catwalk between the video screens. However, for the 2018 tour, U2's creative team needed high-resolution, super-transparent LED video walls and an independent, automated kinetic walkway between the video walls. The purpose of the transparent LED video walls is to allow the band members to perform in the middle of the LED walls (like on the 2015 tour), without creating a visual separation in the arena. It also made it possible to integrate Augmented Reality into the show.

In addition, the design team wanted the catwalk to be accessible via an escalator, so it should move independently of the video walls. This additional automated walkway required more engines and equipment and therefore additional weight. This meant that PRG Projects had to find a solution not only to build high-resolution, super-transparent LED video screens, but also to make them particularly light in weight.

PURE10

In response to U2’s challenge of creating a transparent LED wall, PRG Projects revolutionized the way LED screens are built and developed the patent-pending Pure10. Instead of installing the printed circuit boards (PCBs) to which the LEDs are attached into clumsy standard frames, PRG Projects cut the printed circuit boards into strips and rotated them 90 degrees, with the LEDs attached to the side. As a result, a transparency of 75 percent was created.


The additional, specially curated augmented reality scenery - triggered by the LED screen - required a transparent, high-resolution screen. PRG Projects chose a design of the screen, which created a pixel pitch of 10 mm. A distance that goes far beyond what was originally imagined.


"The creative team and the band were looking for an LED screen that would allow them to use AR the way they wanted it to. Pure10 works so well thanks to the magical combination of pixel pitch, high transparency and brightness," says Hallaert. "The band now calls the screens and the catwalk a barricade. "

In addition, PRG Projects used the knowledge gained during the development of the SPACEFRAME® to develop a high-speed carbon fiber construction system instead of manufacturing and framing the Pure10 in metal construction. The weight savings that resulted from this was just a great side effect that the production team of the tour was aiming for. The designers and the band were also able to use the automated catwalk creatively.

As with the innovative transport design for SPACEFRAME, with Pure10, PRG Projects has further developed the way concert tours are brought to the road by maximizing space and volume in trucks, airplanes and sea containers. The number of trucks needed was halved compared to the 2015 tour. When the equipment is used during the show, the empty transport trolleys can be folded, stacked and rolled away in the smallest space. This allows other departments to move more freely around the exhibition grounds and creates ergonomic and well-thought-out logistics for loading and unloading.

Rolling Video Floor Raising

The Rolling Video Floor Riser is a revolutionary system when it comes to its assembly and dismantling. Originally presented last year, it was updated and upgraded by PRG Projects for U2 so that it could now be used in the form of a round stage. Each riser is equipped with 2 LED modules that provide a high-resolution pixel pitch of 4 mm during performances. The integrated magnets of each riser, which allow for quick set-up, can build up an LED floor of up to 1,076 square meters in less than 20 minutes.

"The Rolling Video Floor risers are designed to meet the short set-up and retrofit times of LED flooring, perfect for concert tours and festivals," said Mark O'Herlihy, Vice President of PRG Global Entertainment.

The Rolling Video Floor Risers not only drastically shorten the setup time of an LED floor on stage, they are also transported in specially adapted dollies, each containing six risers. The dollies have a height of 1. 6 m, which allows transport by air freight on the lower deck, which drastically reduces transport costs.

Photo credit © Steve Jennings