Cheering Stick and LED Stage Developed Over 5 Months
Thousands of Large LED Panels Appear on Stage
Tablet PCs Attached to Each Camera for Multi-View Transmission
As the music of the group Tomorrow X Together plays, 10,000 audience members in the seats simultaneously emit lights of the same color from their various light sticks held in their hands.
At the Weverse Con Festival, different light sticks are creating a wave of light in the same color through HYBE's light stick control system. [Photo by HYBE]
At the Weverse Con Festival, which attracted over 20,000 spectators over two days from June 10 to 11, light sticks supporting different artists emitted light in perfect unison under strict control. The so-called highlight of a ‘K-pop’ concert, the light sticks created this spectacular scene for two hours.
On the 6th, HYBE announced that it had deployed its independently developed light stick control system at the Weverse Con Festival. This system controls light sticks from different agencies and various artists in real time. The light sticks are IT devices equipped with chipsets composed of semiconductors and control circuits. Audience members linked their light sticks with a mobile application installed on their phones to participate in the wave of lights.
HYBE invested about five months in developing the system. The development was led by a dedicated team comprising IT developers and concert experts. After multiple field tests, the system’s completeness was maximized. The core technology is to control light sticks with different software and hardware specifications for each artist with zero margin of error. Audience members only need to enter their seat information into the app.
The core of the control system is the central control center inside the venue. The transmitter installed in the central control center acts as both conductor and lighting director, sending signals that allow each light stick to emit up to 65,000 colors of light in real time. The integrated control of the light sticks turned the audience seats into a canvas, creating lighting that illuminated the artists and harmonized with stage equipment to produce another spectacular scene.
At the Weverse Con Festival held last June, singer Kim Junsu enjoyed the performance while interacting with fans holding light sticks glowing in the same color through HYBE's central control system. [Video provided by HYBE]
The combination of performance and IT technology is also realized on stage. Eight giant light-emitting diode (LED) screens were installed on the Weverse Con Festival stage. Approximately 2,000 LED panels were used to construct these screens. This is about four to five times the amount used in typical solo artist concerts. The rental fee for the panels alone easily exceeded hundreds of millions of won per day.
The giant LED screens maximized the sense of presence by showing even the sweat drops of artists on stage. They are highly regarded as a device that overcomes the limitation of increasing distance between the audience and artists as the venue size grows.
The LED screens moving up, down, left, and right created dynamic visual effects. This was possible because the screens were connected to mechanical devices that moved the large screens. The lift that raised artists from below the stage to a high position further enhanced the audience’s immersion.
Generous investment was also made in broadcasting. Fifteen cameras were deployed at the Weverse Con Festival. Each camera was equipped with a tablet PC costing 1 million won. The broadcasting team could check cue notes containing stage order, artist movements, and special effects timing in real time through these tablet PCs.
The on-site camera directors could set optimal shooting angles using the cue notes that contained the director’s intentions. The result was a multi-view (four-split screen) live streaming broadcast for audiences worldwide.
On-site operational personnel were also a major investment factor. Over 1,000 personnel were deployed over the two days of the Weverse Con Festival for maintaining order, guidance, security, and stage operations.
Producer and artist ZICO is presenting the finale stage at the Weverse Con Festival held last June. [Photo by HYBE]
HYBE’s concert capabilities, combining various operational skills and IT technology, were also demonstrated at solo concerts and fan meetings. At BTS member SUGA’s solo concert, waves of light sticks appeared. The light sticks emitted various colors of light in real time linked with stage lighting, led by purple, and combined with stage equipment to elevate the atmosphere in the audience.
At the NewJeans first fan meeting earlier last month, HYBE’s light stick control technology captivated fans’ senses. The rabbit-shaped light sticks symbolizing NewJeans emitted designated colors of light whenever members appeared, thrilling the fans.
At the Seventeen world tour Seoul concert held over two days starting on the 21st of the same month, the largest LED display in existence blended with the light sticks to color the venue in full spectrum. Through the LED display broadcasting artist performances and media art in real time and the light stick technology, HYBE was evaluated as providing optimal stages and fan experiences in various environments such as fan meetings and concerts.
An industry insider explained, “Not only K-pop and K-dance but the K-stage itself can become a global hit product,” adding, “This is only possible when there is a willingness to provide the best viewing experience along with generous investment.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
