Disguise powers Japan’s largest dome concert tour “JSB Land”
Live Events
Music
In 2023, top-ranking Japanese artists SANDAIME J SOUL BROTHERS performed to an audience of 900,000, delivering an electric concert at the Tokyo Dome broadcasted live in 42 cinemas nationwide, with Disguise powering the high-resolution LED screens for the cylindrical stage.
The challenge
In this tour, the audience surrounded a three-tiered stage with high-resolution LED circular screens set up at the centre of the arena. The screens displayed a state-of-the-art video production, including real-time effects, bringing every audience member along a journey with the artists.
This made it necessary to ensure that the giant dome could be enjoyed from any seat in the 360-degree arena. The team used three types of giant high-resolution LED circles with the main circle at a resolution of 8,704 x 768 pixels. To support this complexity, they needed servers which had multiple video inputs and outputs.
We chose Disguise, not only because it has many camera inputs and a sufficient number of outputs, but also because it was important for us to respond quickly and easily to replace video materials and change programmes in a time-sensitive environment.
Hibino Corporation, Hibino Visual Div.
The solution
A Disguise GX 3 and a GX 2C media server powered the show, with a second GX 3 being used as a backup machine. The live camera was inputted directly from the matrix to these servers, performing live graphics generation and compositing for each scene. The resulting output was then sent to LED panels via ARCO E2 culminating in real-time graphics being showcased on the screens.
Notch generative graphics were displayed on the LED, with the 'NVIDIA Virtual Background' feature being particularly effective. Running on NVIDIA RTX-enabled GPUs within the GX machines, this Notch feature clips live camera feeds of the artists from the background and composites them with the CG in real time, creating a fresh and effective visual effect.
The Disguise GX 2C server was primarily used to deliver the Notch 'NVIDIA Virtual Background' effect, while the GX 3 server was used to mix video material and cameras, as well as other Notch effects.
We wanted to deliver an experience similar to watching a live performance in a theme park and to present a new way to showcase the individuality of the artists. In addition to the CG graphics and live camera set, we introduced real-time visual effects at key moments in the show with Notch and Disguise driving the content. The real-time synthesis with NVIDIA’s Virtual Background capability proved to be effective, enabling visual expressions that were previously deemed impossible.
CEO, SOZO Corporation
Results
The concert tour of the SANDAIME J SOUL BROTHERS represented a new form of live performance, receiving high praise from fans.
The end client was very impressed with the overall results delivered by Hibino:
“We are very grateful for Hibino's expertise in many aspects of this project, from preliminary verification to on-site production. Many aspects of this project would not have been possible without Hibino's knowledge. Having achieved a new visual expression with Notch's ʻNVIDIA Virtual Backgroundʼ, we would like to try combining AR and xR in the next project.”
- Toyokazu Fujisawa, CEO, SOZO Corporation
