
(27/03/2014) Interactive light technology group, Marshmallow Laser Feast (MLF), harnessed the sharp, high output features of 185 Clay Paky Sharpys to create a hard-hitting, high-impact real-time lightscape for U2's latest music video, which launched the band's new single Invisible' on 4th February.
Previous to that a 60 cut down version was aired during the Superbowl, on 2nd February 2014. This cut down video formed the basis of a commercial for the Bank Of America and supports Bono's charity, RED, an initiative launched to encourage business and consumer power to work together to eliminate AIDS in Africa.
U2 - Invisible (RED) on YouTube
MLF, with Juliette Larthe and Mark Logue of PRETTYBIRD, collaborated to create a stunning, cathedral-like, interactive 3D lighting and video architecture that directly translated the band and audience's movement into a striking video and light show.
Grammy Award winning film director Mark Romanek (Never Let Me Go, One Hour Photo) of Anonymous Content directed both the commercial and music video. The project also employed the services of world class LD Patrick Dierson who worked alongside U2's creative director, Jefferson Hack, and U2 themselves all were an integral part of the creative process.
Infrared cameras are used to track the movement of the band. They then feed that information into The Punkerator, an application we developed specifically for this project, which translates real time sound and movement into light and video, explains MLF director Robin McNicholas. This interfaces with a media server and works in sync with Protools and the lighting console to enable the lighting and video to mimic and directly respond to the movements of the band.
In total 200 Sharpys were used to shine through the 360 degree semi-transparent LED screens: - 28 six Sharpy columns were positioned behind the main 360 degree LED wall (12m X 6m), with an additional 25 fixtures strategically positioned around the room. The effect was to deliver an entirely immersive and mesmerising experience.
This is the biggest project MLF has worked on with the Clay Paky Sharpys, states McNicholas. It's been a hugely exciting process. We've done a fair bit of R&D with the Sharpys and have already developed a number of applications to control them. For this project we created a super-integrated custom sound-reactive application in OpenFrameworks: - The Punkerator. We used it to track the motion of the band, via infrared cameras, and convert their movements into flowing lighting effects that utilise the Sharpys' best characteristics. The goal was to amplify the raw energy of the gig and translate it into 360 immersive experience. The Sharpys have proved themselves ideal for the artistic needs of a innovative outfit like MLF. Their sheer versatility hands creativity back to the artist. MLF would like to thank our colleagues Patrick Dierson, Lauren Barton, Anthony Randall of Chaos Visual Productions and the team from A-R-E.com, without which this project would never have worked.
The U2 video will be used to promote a worldwide campaign which forms part of Bono's charity, RED, and for a limited time - from the beginning of the Superbowl broadcast until 11:59 ET on February 3rd - U2's latest single Invisible' was available as a free iTunes download.
We are incredibly thankful to Clay Paky for all their support, concludes McNicholas. The Clay Paky management has been exceptionally supportive to MLF throughout the research and development process for The Punkerator app. This co-operation has resulted in a piece of technology that we're hugely proud of and which we would have struggled to delivered without their support.
About Marshmallow Laser Feast
Marshmallow Laser Feast is a creative studio working at the intersection of art and technology. With over 20 years of industry experience between them, MLF was founded in 2011 by Memo Akten, Robin McNicholas and Barney Steel, each successful, multi-talented artists in their own right. As a group, MLF creates groundbreaking work of epic artistic proportions, consistently seeking collaborations across disciplines.
In 2012, MLF created two landmark productions. The first, Meet Your Creator, opened the 22nd Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors' Showcase at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. MLF worked as creative and technical directors, and their theatrical performance became nothing short of a cultural landmark: sixteen illuminated, flying robot quadrotors, intricately choreographed to Oneohtrix Point Never musician Daniel Lopatin's electronic soundtrack, reflected light beams on the stage to awe-inspiring effect.
MLF also designed and directed the video for McLaren's P1 launch, in collaboration with photographer James Medcraft. Using long exposure photography, light painting, and animation, while being driven by real-life wind tunnel data and motion control rigs, MLF created a sexy, avant-garde interpretation of the car.
In just two years, MLF has earned a reputation for creating things that aren't seemingly possible for producing installations that push boundaries, redefine expectations and amaze audiences.
About Prettybird
Prettybird is a creative think tank that provides clients with distinct visionary work across an ever-evolving entertainment and branding landscape.
About Red
(RED) is a brand designed to engage business and consumer power to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. (RED) works with the worlds most iconic brands to make unique (PRODUCT)RED-branded products from which these companies direct up to 50% of their gross profits to the Global Fund. All of this money is invested in HIV/AIDS programs in Africa. (RED) is not a charity or campaign. It is an economic initiative that aims to deliver a sustainable flow of privat
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
08/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/07/2026
Collaboration demonstrates how managed IP distribution and cloud-based syndication workflows can support live television at national scale
Fox Television Stati...
08/07/2026
New ARRI ALEXA 35 Live Xtreme camera seamlessly delivers up to 8x HFR via SDI fo...
08/07/2026
Did You Know? Redshift for Cinema 4D: The Power of the Distance Node
Marc Potocnik July 8, 2026
0 Comments
The Did You Know? Redshift for Cinema 4D ...
08/07/2026
Lightware is introducing the biggest update yet to the LARA Wizard Touchpanel configuration experience, designed to help integrators work faster while deliverin...
08/07/2026
DMC Production has turned to Calrec in its quest to redefine outside broadcasting with a flexible approach to live production that reverse engineers the convent...
08/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/07/2026
Foundry today announced that Reel FX Animation Studios has adopted Flix to standardize their pipeline and streamline processes across departments. Flix is a vis...
08/07/2026
The right team. The right time.' How The Killings at Parrish Station stuck t...
08/07/2026
Australians in Film and Screen Australia launch FUTURE VISION Forward to elevate...
08/07/2026
Film follows the courageous fight for justice by survivors of Ireland's Magdalene Laundries & Mother and Baby Homes
TESTIMONY airs Wednesday 22 July at 9...
08/07/2026
NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra is offering leading performance at lower cost than top c...
07/07/2026
Applications are now open for the Validation Booster, a six-month acceleration programme supporting journalists, media organisations, content creators, media in...
07/07/2026
The Universal Talent Identifier (HAND) has issued HAND IDs to 50 top prospects ahead of the 2026 MLB Draft, including consensus top-ranked players Roch Cholowsk...
07/07/2026
Cisco and the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team have announced an extension of their partnership, expanding the scope from networking and communications to incl...
07/07/2026
LucidLink has announced a workflow integration with Adobe Frame.io that gives production teams unified access to Frame.io projects alongside supporting producti...
07/07/2026
Chyron has announced the appointment of Ahmed Magd as Sales Director for the Middle East. Magd joins from previous senior commercial roles at Riedel Communicati...
07/07/2026
Leader Electronics of Europe has announced that its PHABRIX Qx rasterizer and Le...
07/07/2026
eCLUTCH has announced it has acquired broadcast rights to the Esports World Cup 2026 for EMEA and MENA, covering the Middle East, Africa, the Balkans, Sweden, a...
07/07/2026
Riedel Communications and ARRI supported ORF's host broadcast of the Eurovis...
07/07/2026
ARRI has announced the ALEXA 35 Live Xtreme, a camera that adds high frame rate ...
07/07/2026
LiveU will exhibit at IBC 2026 (Stand 7.C24), showcasing the LU900Q Intelligent Production Unit, expanded Sony collaboration, and additions to its open IP-video...
07/07/2026
Telemundo's coverage is packaged with Multiview, Catch Up with Key Plays, in...
07/07/2026
The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) has announced a seven-year media r...
07/07/2026
Produced onsite at The Star in Frisco, TX, live coverage of the two-day event airs on ESPN platforms
The season for Football Media Days is here, and the Big 12...
07/07/2026
Rogers Communications Inc. has announced an agreement to acquire the remaining 25% ownership stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) from Kilmer Spo...
07/07/2026
End-to-end broadcast solution includes fleet of mobile units, Cloud Control, and...
07/07/2026
Sports-production-tech experts sound off on the state of the industry...
07/07/2026
New mixer aimed squarely at instrument-level sources
Heritage Audio have clearly been busy recently, as alongside their all-new Tubestrip, they've also ...
07/07/2026
New channel strip combines popular hardware designs
The latest arrival to the Heritage Audio line-up brings together a selection of their praised hardware d...
07/07/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
07/07/2026
New Kessler 10 data now available in Nielsen CMI gives brands a deeper view of h...
07/07/2026
New Nielsen Ad Intel and CMV data reveals rising competition in Australia's ...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Riedel Communications and ARRI played a key role in one of the most technically ambitious Eurovision Song Contest productions to date. For the first time in the...
07/07/2026
Berklee Valencia Honors Eric Whitacre at the 2026 Commencement Ceremony The Grammy-winning composer was celebrated alongside this years cohort of masters degr...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
The appointment will drive growth and innovation across the Media Business Unit
Fincons Group, a leading IT business consultancy and systems integrator company...