Ed Sheeran’s current Mathematics (+–=÷x) world tour recently featured the UK star’s ‘most expansive set design yet’, according to his long-term production designer Mark Cunniffe.
With its roofless, in the round multi-mast presentation, the tour marked the inaugural appearance of 162 GLP XDC1 IP Hybrid fixtures, designed specifically for the Mathematics shows. These were provided by production firm Light Control Rigging (LCR).
The XDC1 is IP65-rated and represents a ‘supercharged’ version of the JDC1 hybrid strobe, offering a brighter, narrower beam and superior colour-mixing engine.
Conventional trussing on the tour has been replaced by six ground-supported 32-metre-high masts, each featuring seven concentric rings, from which all the equipment is suspended. This includes the majority of the XDC1s. There is also a 44-tonne halo on steel works, which carries the balance of the XDC1s, which shoot their beams down onto the stage from the very top.
Cunniffe explained: “I have always wanted to put Ed in the round, but it requires a different discipline. I have a problem with shows with structural pillars, so I went away and looked at how we could avoid the obstructions with a design that had never been done before.”
He explained the idea to Jeremy Lloyd of Wonder Works and Rasti Bartek at engineering consultancy, Cundall. “I asked whether it was feasible for a structure that needed to be put up in two-to-three days and taken down in one; because of the logistics involved in transport, we needed to produce three separate steel systems.”
Sheeran signed off the design once it had been rendered in VR. “He was bowled over,” confirmed the designer, “and even though it represented a sizeable investment his management said, ‘let’s do it’.”
When planning his lighting spec, Cunniffe’s first consideration was that everything had to be IP rated. Seeking a wide, colourful flood he approached Mike Oates and Ryan Hopkins at LCR, so often his go-to guys over the years, and they, in turn, approached GLP.
“Mark is a dream to work with and if he has a requirement, we either find the correct fixture or as is in this case we approach a manufacturer to build the creative tool for him to use,” Hopkins commented. “The XDC1 was actually built at our request specifically for this tour. Mark gave us a brief for what was required— a mega bright strobe, colour changing blinder/wash section and the ability to pixel map through it.
“I knew immediately there was only one company I wanted to build this unit, and who had an excellent and proven track record for delivering fixtures like this. I also knew GLP would be able to turn it around within the unprecedented time and logistic constraints we were facing. We showed Mark a JDC1 which he loved but wanted something brighter with a tighter and more controlled beam on the pixels. We suggested a solution and Mark loved the idea.”
The fixtures fulfilled the role = Cunniffe had in mind. “These are very much part of the signature look and the next generation,” he said. “We run them in multi-DMX mode, which means in individual colours. We can map the colours to it, and if we have a strong video look, the strobe effects have no trouble at all hitting through it.
“The colour quantity is great, from soft pastels through saturates. In fact they worked incredibly well at Wembley with the house lights to extend the strobe fill from the masts.
“It’s not so much a complex fixture but it’s a brute of a fixture. It’s got subtlety but it’s also got impact.” He commended LCR and GLP “on being able to deliver the brief.” He also paid tribute to Sheeran’s management for enabling this unique expression of the artform. “If it wasn’t for the fact that [Sheeran] was prepared to pay for it none of this would have happened.”
For their part, such was LCR’s confidence in the XDC1 that they invested in 200 fixtures - the remainder for stock which he predicts fellow creatives will be lining up for.