(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 ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...
18/05/2026
ZEN-Core synth goes mobile
Roland's powerful ZEN-Core software synthesizer has just been introduced to the iPad, offering a convenient entry point into ...
18/05/2026
Versatile new limiter plug-in announced
Based in Sheffield, UK, fedDSP offer a range of plug-ins that span the music production, live sound and high-end med...
18/05/2026
A new use for convolution?
Viiri Audio's debut plug-in aims to do something a little different with convolution processing, allowing users to adjust all...
18/05/2026
Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for E...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
18 May 2026
Dubai and New York, May 18, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a glob...
18/05/2026
Monday 18 May 2026
Sky News offers ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes for just...
18/05/2026
Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share OpenAI's ChatGPT maintains lead while Anthropic's Claude continues to c...
17/05/2026
Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run
17 May, 2026
Media releases
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026
Relive every spellbinding mome...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange
Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...
16/05/2026
Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One
Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
15/05/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...
15/05/2026
InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...
15/05/2026
Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...
15/05/2026
Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...
15/05/2026
Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...
15/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
15/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
15/05/2026
For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...
15/05/2026
The NFL's broadcast partners released their 2026 regular season schedules ye...
15/05/2026
Besides drawing on experience with boxing, the production integrates specialty c...
(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.
