Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Thursday, December 14, 2023

Soundstorm is known for top-shelf acts, and the lineup for the 2023 festival was no exception. Headlining the largest of the eight stages on opening night: American band Metallica. The group’s been traveling for over 40 years (and won eight Grammys in the same period of time), and is no stranger to huge crowds. True to its reputation, Soundstorm’s Big Beast stage packed in 400,000 attendees from around the world on Thursday, December 14, 2023, when the four-piece band stepped onto the stage.

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Backstage, Tom Denney, the group’s media server programmer and engineer, had mixed feelings, however. “This is not a regular festival when it concerns production values and scale,” Tom notes. “Unfortunately, due to logistical limitations, our regular media server system wasn’t available to us, given the limited time scale we had to choose to either strip back our show or explore alternative methods of rebuilding it.” In the end, PRG provided the headliner:

• (2) Pixera four RS servers
• (2) Pixera four Director servers
• (2) MA3 Lite consoles

“Faced with the need to reprogram a concert swiftly, Tom Denney and I turned to PIXERA as a solution to overcome technical limitations experienced with other media servers”, notes Gene McAuliffe, Metallica’s Video Director. “The user-friendly interface of PIXERA played a pivotal role in easing the transition. The intuitive design allowed for a seamless adaptation, minimizing the learning curve, and enabling Tom and I to dive into the reprogramming process with efficiency.”

Craig Harrower, PIXERA Director at AV Stumpfl Ltd. in the UK, adds: “Metallica needed half the servers they’d typically use to run their content at Soundstorm. That’s not lightweight content, either: these are multiple, large Notch Blocks.” Tom adds, “We found that the handling of live camera Notch effects didn’t faze the PIXERA software or hardware, allowing us to use all our regular Notch effects with up to two independent camera mixes being treated in some songs, and four independent clean camera mixes being used at one point during the show, all of which Pixera made possible with ease.” In fact, while many events give artists Notch-ready outputs, Soundstorm featured low-latency Notch effects spanning the entire 189-meter x 43-meter LED display made up of 232 million pixels – easily one of the largest on the planet.
 
Putting it succinctly, Gene recalls, “Pixera's toolbox proved to be a game-changer as we navigated the challenges of reprogramming within a short timeframe. The versatility of Pixera's tools allowed us to seamlessly integrate all the show media, timelines, and effects. This flexibility allowed us to rebuild the concert visuals effectively. The real-time rendering capabilities of Pixera ensured that the visuals remained synchronized with the live music, contributing to a cohesive and engaging concert experience.”
Tom had spent time using Pixera’s previsualizer to get comfortable with the GUI he’d be seeing in Riyadh, and he’d had the support of AV Stumpfl’s  PIXERA developers in Europe building additional effects they’d be needing for their set at Soundstorm. He adds: “There was a high level of dedication, care, and support provided by the whole team at AV Stumpfl. A level of support I have not experienced from any media server manufacturer in recent years, this was very refreshing and gave us a lot of confidence that the challenge on the table was in excellent hands with regards to both software and hardware.”
 
Gene adds, “The decision to switch to PIXERA for reprogramming proved to be a successful choice. Emphasizing the user experience, the versatile tools in the PIXERA toolbox, and the invaluable support received from AV Stumpfl, the concert exceeded expectations despite the short deadline. The visuals seamlessly complemented the music, garnering positive feedback from both the audience and stakeholders.” 

Links:
https://www.metallica.com/
https://mdlbeast.com/events/soundstorm-2023
www.pixera.one

Pictures courtesy of: Metallica, Brett Murray

For further information, please contact:

Alexis Lipoff
Media Relations AV Stumpfl
3WM Communications
Tel : +44 (0)79 49 599 002
Email: alexis@3wmcomms.com 

Mikael Ritter
Marketing, Pixera USA
AV Stumpfl
Tel: +1 (678) 330 2986
Email: mikael@avstumpflusa.com  

 
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Instagram: @AVstumpfl, @pixera.one

About AV Stumpfl: 
AV Stumpfl is an award-winning Austrian company that designs, manufactures and markets a range of high-performance mobile and installation projection screens and multi-display and show control systems for professional and business applications. As a family business, its founders started the company out of a passion for the advancement of presentation and installation technologies. The product range is warranted for 24/7 usage. AV Stumpfl is located in Wallern, Austria, and is supported by a global network of distribution and service partners. Visit www.avstumpfl.com or PIXERA.one for more information.