Project Overview
When Bangarra When Dance Theater set out to create its new main stage production, Illume, the goal was not just to create a powerful performance, but to construct a new visual language.
As a poetic exploration, "Illume" focuses on the theme of "how light connects the physical world and the spiritual world", presenting the unique essence of Aboriginal narrative through dance, sound, and the introduction of LED technology for the first time. The work is created by Mirnin choreographer Frances Rings and Goolarrgon Bard visual artist Darrell SibosadoCompleted hand in hand, the cross-cultural collaboration between the two artists places extremely high demands on the stage design: it must perfectly integrate traditional narrative with cutting-edge technology while maintaining cultural authenticity.
To realize this vision, the production team invited Craig Wilkinson from optikal bloc in Brisbane to design the stage visuals. He built a stage environment with high-performance LED displays as the core, making LED both a dance element and a narrative medium. Ultimately, "Illume" was staged on Tessera LED by Bonton Technology With the help of video processor, it is brought to life with a new attitude
Project Challenge
Introduced in Bangarra's world-renowned dance works.Entering large-scale LED screens is a new exploration. The visual system needs to operate at extremely low brightness to maintain the delicacy required for the dance and maintain the immersion of the performance, while also being able to burst out with stunning visual impact at the climax of the drama. The images must perfectly connect with the projections and physical scenery to create a seamless sense of continuity between the stage and the narrative space. To achieve this visual balance of rigidity and softness, it is necessary to accurately control contrast, tone and timing, and ensure that the entire system remains absolutely stable during the national tour from Sydney to Perth, Albany, Canberra, Brisbane, Darwin, Melbourne and other cities.
Solution
To realize this cross-cultural and technically challenging vision, Bontemp's long-term partner Novatech Creative Events Technologies (based in Adelaide) supplied and built a complete LED system:
ROE Vision CB5 LED display: In the center of the stage stands a 13.2m x 6m main stage LED wall built by ROE CB5 as the core visual carrier.
Three Barco projectors work together with the LED wall to further enrich the stage. The stage is also equipped with seven "trees of light" wrapped in LED light strips, a large projection vortex, and a striking 3D printed horn-shaped stage structure.
Bontime Technology’s Tessera SX40 4K LED video processor drives the entire LED system, and is paired with four Tessera XD 10G data distributors to provide the high stability, accurate color and low-latency performance required for the national tour.
This system ensures that the timecode synchronization between LEDs, lights and projections is exactly the same, allowing Wilkinson's visual design and choreography to match the rhythm to the last detail.
Bonton Technology Function Highlights
Dark Magic: Provides excellent low-light performance, ensuring smooth gradients and rich details without visible color bands or graininess in the weakest light environment on the stage.
API control: Real-time brightness adjustment through QLab, so that visual cues are perfectly synchronized with performance dynamics, allowing light to become a narrative language that synchronizes with the dancers.
Ultra Low Latency: Ensures complete synchronization of LED, projection and lighting images, making the visual continuity of the entire performance reach movie-like accuracy.
Technical Challenges
In one of the most shocking scenes of "Illume", a pure white light instantly swept across the stage - this key command was accurately triggered through Bontemp API integration, enabling QLab direct control of brightness adjustment. Throughout the performance, the Dark Magic function became the key to maintaining the delicate texture of Sibosado's visual work, ensuring that the picture was smooth and natural even if the brightness was controlled to an extremely low range. The environment of the national tour is complex and changeable, which places strict requirements on the stability of the equipment. Faced with the challenges of climate, temperature, humidity and power supply conditions in different cities, the powerful Tessera processorStructural design and diagnostic tools provide the entire team with confidence.
Project Results
Illume sets a new standard for visual storytelling in live dance theatre. Bontemp's LED video processing technology allows for a natural dialogue between traditional Aboriginal narratives and modern stage technology, allowing light, movement and cultural stories to interweave new ways of expression. The cross-border cooperation between Bangarra, optikal bloc and Novatech not only achieved the goal, but also further broadened the possible boundaries of live performance design. The success of the work in the national tour confirms the huge creative potential that emerges when LED technology is infused with a deep respect for culture and stories.
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