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Friday, August 25, 2023
Fall Out Boy visuals fly high with Hippotizer
TPi: American emo-pop-punkers Fall Out Boy embarked on their 2023 US tour, which played amphitheatres across the country backed with LED and projection driven by Green Hippo Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2 Media Servers.
I knew nothing about Hippotizer and clicked on this article because I like Fall Out Boy. I honestly didn’t understand a lot of the language regarding technology used throughout the article, however I did like that “creative team opted for more practical scenic looks with soft goods and set pieces.” When looking at the set for the tour it does look a bit more theatrical than most concert sets I see. There is a giant Doberman Pinscher head on the stage and the proscenium arch has some really compelling sea creature inspired design. There’s also an LED cartouche that serves as the centerpiece for the proscenium which I imagine adds a lot of fun elements to the show. One thing that really strikes me when looking at the set is just how massive it is. The band look like ants compared to this absolutely massive stage. I wonder how many trucks it takes to transport their set. My guess is a whole lot. That then leads me to wonder what the carbon footprint of a touring show is (my guess is quite big considering transporting equipment and crew cross country and possibly overseas and also people traveling from all over to attend shows probably results in a lot of CO2 released). I digress. The article talked about the technology they used being consistent and holding up throughout the whole tour which is nice and probably saved and will save a lot of headaches for crews.
I very nearly went to the opening show of Fall Out Boy's tour in Wrigley Field; I already regretted not going but reading this article only made me more regretful of the missed opportunity. If I went I would have a better visual for the elements discussed in the article and additionally would understand how they contributed to the experience. With just the article, I am struggling to picture how all the different elements listed contributed to the show. Regardless, I am glad that everything about this tour seems true to the band: from the step away from large LED surfaces that are staples in most current tours to the collaboration with a Chicagoan production company. The American leg of their 2023 tour is now over, but I hope the rest of their tour goes just as well and that they will have a Pittsburgh stop on their next one.
2 comments:
I knew nothing about Hippotizer and clicked on this article because I like Fall Out Boy. I honestly didn’t understand a lot of the language regarding technology used throughout the article, however I did like that “creative team opted for more practical scenic looks with soft goods and set pieces.” When looking at the set for the tour it does look a bit more theatrical than most concert sets I see. There is a giant Doberman Pinscher head on the stage and the proscenium arch has some really compelling sea creature inspired design. There’s also an LED cartouche that serves as the centerpiece for the proscenium which I imagine adds a lot of fun elements to the show. One thing that really strikes me when looking at the set is just how massive it is. The band look like ants compared to this absolutely massive stage. I wonder how many trucks it takes to transport their set. My guess is a whole lot. That then leads me to wonder what the carbon footprint of a touring show is (my guess is quite big considering transporting equipment and crew cross country and possibly overseas and also people traveling from all over to attend shows probably results in a lot of CO2 released). I digress. The article talked about the technology they used being consistent and holding up throughout the whole tour which is nice and probably saved and will save a lot of headaches for crews.
I very nearly went to the opening show of Fall Out Boy's tour in Wrigley Field; I already regretted not going but reading this article only made me more regretful of the missed opportunity. If I went I would have a better visual for the elements discussed in the article and additionally would understand how they contributed to the experience. With just the article, I am struggling to picture how all the different elements listed contributed to the show. Regardless, I am glad that everything about this tour seems true to the band: from the step away from large LED surfaces that are staples in most current tours to the collaboration with a Chicagoan production company. The American leg of their 2023 tour is now over, but I hope the rest of their tour goes just as well and that they will have a Pittsburgh stop on their next one.
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