DJ BoBo on anniversary tour with Follow-Me Track-iT
June 28, 2023
The Swiss pop and dance musician DJ BoBo has been on stage for 30 years and continues to fill the big arenas effortlessly. Since the beginning of May until mid-June, he has been on a largely sold-out anniversary tour with “Evolut30n”. The production is colourful and as spectacular as audiences have come to expect from him.
In addition to the huge A-stage (50 metres wide), which primarily serves as a projection surface for video content, there is a B-stage in front and even a C-stage in the form of a huge record player at the back of the hall. The artists utilise the entire 3 stage areas and the route through the audience between stages. Niklas Schmitt from virtual & LIVE Show GmbH chose to use the automated Follow-Me Track-iT system (manual and automated tracking in one scalable system) to track the performers and keep them in the spotlight.
“Evolut30n” is quite a complex spectacle that requires multiple fixtures. A total of 160 moving lights, from different manufacturers, are used in the Follow-Me show file. These are all therefor available for follow-spotting, tracking, from different angles in the different venues of the tour, taking into account the 9.5 metre height difference of the staging. The epic scenery is easily accessed with both key and effects lighting due to the 3D environment Follow-Me works in. Niklas stated that Follow-Me enables him and the lighting designer to “have fun with creativity and technology” whilst ensuring the lighting enhances and supports the performance and spectacle for the audience to enjoy.
Lighting designer Thomas Gerdon explains, “In such a large set with many fundamentally different performance positions, you obviously need a follow-spot system that is as flexible as possible. When we asked ourselves how we could design the follow-spot situation in view of the three stages, we quickly turned our attention to the four long trusses that run from the stage through the entire hall. It would be practical if we could use the spotlights hanging there anyway, with Follow-Me. With that, the decision for Follow-Me was basically already made.”
Knowing that the use of a remote follow-spot system requires an experienced system technician, the GERDON DESIGN team called in Niklas Schmitt. Originally, for the earlier stage of the tour, he implemented two remote Follow-Me 3D SIX Systems (plus backup system) in order to have full view of the performance area with the live camera feed, across the 3 stages.
Follow-Me Track-iT: “100% stress and error free”
At the beginning of 2023, Niklas invested in the Follow-Me Track-iT auto-tracking system. This works as a scalable add-on to the Follow-Me 3D SIX system and enables both manual and automatic tracking in one system. “While we were still tracking the premieres at Europapark Rust and the first shows of the tour with manual control (FM 3D SIX system), we soon added FM Track-iT and decided to switch to fully automatic operation with Track-iT,” he says. “And after good preparation, it ran100% stress-free and error-free from the start.”
Niklas takes advantage of Follow-Me’s unprecedented flexibility by simply switching back to manual tracking when needed: “We occasionally switch back and forth between auto tracking (Track-iT) and the Remote follow-spot (Follow-Me 3D SIX) because not all costumes worn for just one song have necessarily been tagged. That’s why we still follow some individual performances by hand and switch seamlessly back to Track-iT directly afterwards. This is a huge advantage, because it has actually happened that the artist has lost his tag during the show. I immediately saw, in the system’s live camera feed that the tag was no longer moving and the performer was back in the spotlight one button press later using manual control.”
In total, the implemented system tracks six targets, two of which are dynamic: DJ BoBo and Nancy, the lead singer and wife of the artist. The band members are treated as static targets, whereby backlighting for moving musicians is partially realised with the spotlights assigned to them.
Citation: Lighting Designer Thomas Gerdon
“just one hour to set up both manual and auto tracking”
The camera for the audience system was installed on the mid-truss. Around 160 moving lights are mounted on the four long trusses. From this wealth of options, the lighting team selects 80-90 fixtures, depending on the venue, to provide the best possible tracking angle for each stage. According to Niklas, it takes just one hour to set up both manual and auto tracking in the Follow-Me Track-iT system, calibrate all the fixtures and adjust the stages.
Lighting designer Thomas Gerdon is also enthusiastic about the flexibility and reliability of the chosen solution: “This tour is actually my first use of Follow-Me in such a large and complex show. It’s great to see how quickly the system is set up and how reliably and, above all, precisely, the lamps hit their targets. In my opinion, Follow-Me, especially with the Track-iT add-on, is the system of the future. It is enormously economical and flexible.”
Nevertheless, the designer emphasises the importance of an accomplished system technician: “Follow-Me is great and unprecedented in its possibilities – if you have a good system technician on board to take care of the calibration, fine-tuning and signal management. Then it’s simply unbeatable.”
Follow-Me system technician, Niklas Schmitt, can only agree: “Indeed, it takes a high level of competence and comprehensive training for the person in charge of the system. At DJ BoBo we send 30 universes through Follow-Me. If there isn’t someone wearing the hat who knows what he’s doing, it could get really exciting in the network in an unpleasant way” he laughs.
Niklas Schmitt then thanks Follow-Me for their excellent support: “For me, Follow-Me, in my case specifically Tim van Dijck, provides the best support in the industry. Answers come super fast and Tim proactively asks every weekend how things went. It’s also nice that my user feedback is taken seriously and is promptly incorporated into product development.”
Photographs © Niklas Schmitt
Original German copy Bianca Wilmsmann LMP Lichttechnik
Collaboration & English Translation Follow-Me
DJ BoBo on anniversary tour with Follow-Me Track-iT
June 28, 2023
The Swiss pop and dance musician DJ BoBo has been on stage for 30 years and continues to fill the big arenas effortlessly. Since the beginning of May until mid-June, he has been on a largely sold-out anniversary tour with “Evolut30n”. The production is colourful and as spectacular as audiences have come to expect from him.
In addition to the huge A-stage (50 metres wide), which primarily serves as a projection surface for video content, there is a B-stage in front and even a C-stage in the form of a huge record player at the back of the hall. The artists utilise the entire 3 stage areas and the route through the audience between stages. Niklas Schmitt from virtual & LIVE Show GmbH chose to use the automated Follow-Me Track-iT system (manual and automated tracking in one scalable system) to track the performers and keep them in the spotlight.
“Evolut30n” is quite a complex spectacle that requires multiple fixtures. A total of 160 moving lights, from different manufacturers, are used in the Follow-Me show file. These are all therefor available for follow-spotting, tracking, from different angles in the different venues of the tour, taking into account the 9.5 metre height difference of the staging. The epic scenery is easily accessed with both key and effects lighting due to the 3D environment Follow-Me works in. Niklas stated that Follow-Me enables him and the lighting designer to “have fun with creativity and technology” whilst ensuring the lighting enhances and supports the performance and spectacle for the audience to enjoy.
Lighting designer Thomas Gerdon explains, “In such a large set with many fundamentally different performance positions, you obviously need a follow-spot system that is as flexible as possible. When we asked ourselves how we could design the follow-spot situation in view of the three stages, we quickly turned our attention to the four long trusses that run from the stage through the entire hall. It would be practical if we could use the spotlights hanging there anyway, with Follow-Me. With that, the decision for Follow-Me was basically already made.”
Knowing that the use of a remote follow-spot system requires an experienced system technician, the GERDON DESIGN team called in Niklas Schmitt. Originally, for the earlier stage of the tour, he implemented two remote Follow-Me 3D SIX Systems (plus backup system) in order to have full view of the performance area with the live camera feed, across the 3 stages.
Follow-Me Track-iT: “100% stress and error free”
At the beginning of 2023, Niklas invested in the Follow-Me Track-iT auto-tracking system. This works as a scalable add-on to the Follow-Me 3D SIX system and enables both manual and automatic tracking in one system. “While we were still tracking the premieres at Europapark Rust and the first shows of the tour with manual control (FM 3D SIX system), we soon added FM Track-iT and decided to switch to fully automatic operation with Track-iT,” he says. “And after good preparation, it ran100% stress-free and error-free from the start.”
Niklas takes advantage of Follow-Me’s unprecedented flexibility by simply switching back to manual tracking when needed: “We occasionally switch back and forth between auto tracking (Track-iT) and the Remote follow-spot (Follow-Me 3D SIX) because not all costumes worn for just one song have necessarily been tagged. That’s why we still follow some individual performances by hand and switch seamlessly back to Track-iT directly afterwards. This is a huge advantage, because it has actually happened that the artist has lost his tag during the show. I immediately saw, in the system’s live camera feed that the tag was no longer moving and the performer was back in the spotlight one button press later using manual control.”
In total, the implemented system tracks six targets, two of which are dynamic: DJ BoBo and Nancy, the lead singer and wife of the artist. The band members are treated as static targets, whereby backlighting for moving musicians is partially realised with the spotlights assigned to them.
Citation: Lighting Designer Thomas Gerdon
“just one hour to set up both manual and auto tracking”
The camera for the audience system was installed on the mid-truss. Around 160 moving lights are mounted on the four long trusses. From this wealth of options, the lighting team selects 80-90 fixtures, depending on the venue, to provide the best possible tracking angle for each stage. According to Niklas, it takes just one hour to set up both manual and auto tracking in the Follow-Me Track-iT system, calibrate all the fixtures and adjust the stages.
Lighting designer Thomas Gerdon is also enthusiastic about the flexibility and reliability of the chosen solution: “This tour is actually my first use of Follow-Me in such a large and complex show. It’s great to see how quickly the system is set up and how reliably and, above all, precisely, the lamps hit their targets. In my opinion, Follow-Me, especially with the Track-iT add-on, is the system of the future. It is enormously economical and flexible.”
Nevertheless, the designer emphasises the importance of an accomplished system technician: “Follow-Me is great and unprecedented in its possibilities – if you have a good system technician on board to take care of the calibration, fine-tuning and signal management. Then it’s simply unbeatable.”
Follow-Me system technician, Niklas Schmitt, can only agree: “Indeed, it takes a high level of competence and comprehensive training for the person in charge of the system. At DJ BoBo we send 30 universes through Follow-Me. If there isn’t someone wearing the hat who knows what he’s doing, it could get really exciting in the network in an unpleasant way” he laughs.
Niklas Schmitt then thanks Follow-Me for their excellent support: “For me, Follow-Me, in my case specifically Tim van Dijck, provides the best support in the industry. Answers come super fast and Tim proactively asks every weekend how things went. It’s also nice that my user feedback is taken seriously and is promptly incorporated into product development.”
Photographs © Niklas Schmitt
Original German copy Bianca Wilmsmann LMP Lichttechnik
Collaboration & English Translation Follow-Me