Desay x2.6i 2.6mm Indoor LED Screen

Lucy the Human Chimp

20/04/2021 by petermccrea

Channel 4’s remarkable Lucy, the Human Chimp documentary aired in April with a mix of archive footage and newly filmed ‘jungle’ reconstructions, with the latter made possible by Bristol-based virtual production studio VERO. The film, which tells the real-life story of chimp Lucy’s return to the wild after being raised in human surroundings, required cutting edge technology to re-enact scenes of Lucy’s carer, Janis Carter, living on an uninhabited island off the coast of The Gambia.

BTS image showing filming in progress on the Virtual Production work for Lucy The Human Chimp

Virtual Production: a solution for COVID problems

Production was scheduled to take place in the real-world jungle surroundings but, due to the COVID pandemic, had stalled. With no international travel permitted, and flights grounded, the team were searching for a new solution. Multi-award winning production company KEO Films approached VERO on behalf of Channel 4, with a view to using VERO’s pioneering studio space. This was fitted out with more than 47 sq. m of 2.6mm pitch Desay X2i LED screen, with Desay M6 6mm LED screen for the Ceiling Spine LED. Serving as a hi-res backdrop, configured as a 10m x 3.5m curve with a 3.5m x 3.5m flat section joining the curve, the team recreated a jungle film set within which the actor playing Cater performed. Behind her, island jungle footage was displayed, providing realistic lighting via the screen’s considerable brightness and an immersive, enveloping background.

Unreal and LED Screen revolutionise production.

“This was a fantastic production for us to work on,” says 3D animation and motion graphics expert Robert Tyler, from VERO. “The collaboration involved three-months of conversation, technical planning and logistics, resulting in two weeks of shooting at VERO’s Bristol base. “We created VERO so that it would enable directors to see the visual backdrop in real-time during filming on set, with our powerful graphics engine tracking technology meaning the action is always realistic and moves with the subject. Therefore, this was a dream project for us.” The VERO team says its set-up was created to revolutionise traditional VFX workflows, which rely on combining physical footage captured in front of a green screen with digitally generated backgrounds in post-production, and that this production has shown what is possible. In addition, it aims to reduce costly set builds and location shooting, and facilitate a re-imagining of visual FX. “Of course, the pandemic has had a devastating impact on the film industry in many ways, but using VERO, we turned this into a sustainability win, as no flights were taken, no fuel was spent, and everything was shot on a soundstage powered entirely by renewable energy,” adds Tyler. “Watching the documentary on Channel 4 was a joy. The background video content was realistic and the lighting true, with the actor looking like she was immersed in a jungle environment – all from our studio space in Bristol.”

Production AV deliver the LED for Virtual Production

The Desay screens were supplied, rigged and operated by Production AV, with MD Pete McCrea serving as project manager, alongside his team of technicians which included Sam McCrea, Nathan Dunbar, Mike Kane, Olie Goulding and Matt Wadley. “We’re so proud to be a part of VERO and to have delivered a clear and consistent, wraparound backdrop for filming,” says Pete McCrea. “Once our modular screen tiles are fitted together to envelop the space, displaying HDR content, the possibilities are endless.” The video content was processed by NovaStar equipment, and the ground support truss structure was supplied by Peak Hire. Lucy, The Human Chimp is now available to watch on demand via All 4.

Torry Harris Business Solutions – 20 Years of Digital Transformation

21/01/2019 by petermccrea

Production AV were excited to be working with new client, Torry Harris Business Solutions through providing a complete technical event solution that included our new, ultra high resolution Desay x2.6i 2.6mm Indoor LED Screen to celebrate the fantastic 20 years that the company has been innovating the digital experience for clients globally and inspire their increasingly talented team to continue delivering the high-quality solutions THBS are known for.

High Resolution Desay 2.6mm LED Screen Conference Solution

The centrepiece of the solution was a 5m x 2m LED screen using 30 of our new Desay x2.6i 2.6mm Indoor LED Panels that was built upon a ground support system and covered the rear of the stage. Two Novastar MCTRL 4K LED Processors were used to manage the data being fed to the screen with one acting as a fail safe hot back up to the main processor. Content was fed and scaled to the screen using our Barco S3-4K Screen Management System and easily managed when combined with our Barco EC-50 Event Controller. The S3-4K was also used to form a PIP (Picture in Picture) on the LED screen using the video feed from our Sony PMW-EX3 HD Video Camera positioned in FOH. Alongside the video solution, Production AV also provided the audio solution for the conference using our Yamaha TF1 Digital Mixing Console to manage several Sennheiser radio microphones that operated flawlessly throughout the event.

We were really happy with the performance of the Desay x2.6i throughout the day, as all of TBHS great achievements were crisply presented and the colours of the content perfectly reproduced. We’d like to thank TBHS for selecting us as the technical provider for this special event for their company. We look forward to working again with you in the future.

TBS Engineering – CEO Broadcast Event

03/10/2018 by petermccrea

Production AV were keen to put our newly purchased Desay X2i 2.6mm Indoor LED Screen to the test and we were delighted to provide TBS Engineering, a company local to Production AV’s headquarters, an LED screen solution at their production facility using the X2i for a broadcast message from the CEO of TBS Engineering.

High Resolution 2.6mm LED Screen Broadcast Solution

With TBS recently constructing this new facility, the CEO wanted to host an event that would explain the direction and goals for this new operation and its employees as well as thank them for the productive and smooth early performance. Production AV were on hand to provide 3.5m x 2m LED screen using 28 Desay X2i 2.6mm Indoor LED Panels which provided a super crisp display for the several hundred in the audience to focus their attention on. The screen was flown from two warehouse cranes using our rapid rigging system which saw the screen built and raised swiftly enabling the production floorspace to be opened back up for TBS use.

Two of our newly purchased Novastar MCTRL 4K LED Processors were used to manage the data being fed to the screen with one acting as a fail safe hot back up to the main processor. Content was scaled to the screen using our industry standard Barco ImagePRO II Dual with all the playback and processing kit located in a single flightcase positioned discreetly to one side of the screen. A 2m x 2m stage was also provided along with a lectern and an Soundcraft EPM 6:2:2 Mixer to manage the single microphone used to welcome the audience and introduce the CEO.

The event was a great success and we were very impressed by the performance of the Desay X2i both in terms of the build design but also the superb image quality displayed. We’d like to thank TBS Engineering for selecting us as the to provide the video solution and we we look forward to working on more events with you in the future.

Exciting Investment in Desay X2.6i 2.6mm LED Screen

10/09/2018 by petermccrea

Production AV are excited to announce that we have recently invested in over 200 panels of Desay’s X2.6i indoor LED modules. In doing so, we now have a significantly higher resolution LED option than our DigiLED 3.9mm and Desay 6.25mm stock and this will allow us to provide more technical flexibility and creative freedom to our clients. We are looking forward to testing the capabilities of our new 2.6mm LED product at leading edge events across the country.

2.6mm Indoor LED Screen with 4K Video Solution Capacity

Having already invested in Desay LED screen, we knew that the Desay X2.6i would have outstanding build quality that had been engineered to operate impeccably within event scenarios. Production AV also invested a wide range of rigging hardware that enables screens to be either flown or ground supported depending on the specific requirements of your event.

The screen has the ability to be built in both concave and convex configurations as either a flown or ground support configuration.

Novastar MCTRL 4K LED Processors were also purchased as part of the investment, and when combined with the X2.6i and our Barco S3-4K Screen Managment System, a complete end to end 4K solution can be provided. The screen itself has an high refresh rates and excellent color reproduction due to the 18bit greyscale processing making it an ideal option for an eye catching and close quarters video solution.

The X2.6i has already been selected for numerous projects by our clients and we’d love for you to get in contact if you would like a quotation or a demo of the screen’s capabilities.