Glass Animals: Tour of Earth Uses Blackmagic Live Production Workflow

Glass Animals: Tour of Earth Uses Blackmagic Live Production Workflow

Brie Clayton February 14, 2025

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80six deploys Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2 and ATEM 2 M/E Constellation 4K for indie rock band tour.

Blackmagic Design today announced that live video for the UK and European dates of the Glass Animals: Tour of Earth, delivered by independent video technology company 80six, relied on an acquisition, control and delivery solution from Blackmagic Design.

With the creative concept for the tour already established, our job was to bring this vision to life on stage through the LED screens using our tailored video solution, begins Jack James, co founder and director of 80six. We worked closely with Cassius Creative, a production and lighting design studio, to align on the vision.

The core setup across the different stops of the tour included a fleet of Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2 cameras utilizing SMPTE fiber chains positioned around the stage and front of house (FOH), accompanied by several PTZ cameras and Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera 4K G2s for close up and low angle shots.

We paired the URSA Broadcasts with UHD-DIGISUPER 90 and HD22 parfocal lenses which were able to maintain focus while zooming in and out. Likewise, the remote camera control functionality and comms integration of the URSAs further added to the ease of operation, explains Samuel Siegel, racks engineer at 80six.

Video, power and comms to and from the cameras relied on more than 150 meters of SMPTE fibre cable running to a portable production unit (PPU) backstage, built around the ATEM 2 M/E Constellation 4K live production switcher and an ATEM Camera Control Panel for remote camera shading. Signal management employed the Blackmagic Videohub 40 40 12G router and multiple HyperDeck Studio 4K Pro broadcast decks for recording, while a Blackmagic MultiView 16 built into the PPU rack aided with video monitoring.

Live Director Ed Coleman was stationed FOH to get a better view of the LED screens. Locating the gallery here meant mirroring the PPU workflow and adding an ATEM 2 M/E Advanced Panel for control, using optical fiber and an Ethernet network to establish a secure connection back to the PPU.

We were using the Constellation 2 M/E switcher, and it was essential for our setup, noted Siegel. We used the first M/E for the iMac driving screens on the sides, primarily showing what was happening on stage. The second M/E was dedicated to the massive upstage screen, which we had installed; a really spectacular addition.

He adds, The switcher's SuperSource feature was also incredibly helpful. For example, we could create custom SuperSource layouts and display them as a program window in the multiviewer, which made it even more versatile.

The ability to customize so much of the workflow allowed 80six to experiment with different stylistic ideas. Ed wanted to create an onscreen dream like effect for the supporting act Big Moon, says Siegel. So, we created a desaturated, misty effect using the ATEM's chroma keyer, which was then applied by feeding the program back into itself and controlled using a single button.

It wasn't just about making the show look good, it was about creating an experience that pulled the audience in from start to finish, concludes Siegel.

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