THE KSI SHOW
and pleasure to set up a stage with a big LED backdrop, talk about rigging plots, lighting, and show calls,” Sinden said. “Every supplier that worked on this went the extra mile. It was important to spread out the work and, above all, see each other after over a year in exile.” Providing a backdrop to the 70-minute showcase featuring comedy skits and stage renditions of some of KSI’s back catalogue – namely the first time he performed tracks from All Over The Place live – was huge production value, highly stylised artistic direction, set design, screen content and choreography curated by Black Skull Creative’s Dan Shipton, Ross Nicholson, Jay Revell and Paul Gardner. “There were a number of practical constraints which helped drive the design,” the design collective said, explaining how the show was split into four sections. “We wanted to bring the All Over The Place album cover to life.” The creative house did exactly that by starting the show with an animation, which then transported viewers into the real world as the automated LED stylised like an oversized computer opened in the middle to reveal KSI and S–X making their entrance to a chorus of “w’s” in the Moment House chat text box. “We wanted to establish in this first scene that this script had dropped us in this dreamlike narrative, which helped us define the main stage V-shaped screens. We knew what we could have practically in Garden Studios, which helped us define the areas for the other sections of the show – referencing KSI’s boxing career, reimagining a boxing ring with an LED floor, and including the boxing narrative from Anne-Marie x KSI x Digital Farm Animals’ Don’t Play music video.” Among the key looks was the reflective pyramid stage structure, which helped transport KSI underground. “The beauty of livestreams with no physical audience present is encapsulating an artist in a 360° environment without leaving spaces. While we miss audiences and can’t wait to get
back to live music with mass gatherings, knowing that this show was being viewed only through a lens allowed us to change the spaces dramatically and think differently about how it would fit together,” the designers stated, reviewing the result. ‘A BEAUTIFUL CHOREOGRAPHY OF CREW’ “We had significant time and budgetary constraints with what we wanted to achieve in the shoot; there was a heavy degree of measure about what was realistic within the parameters of the ‘new normal’. Achieving something of this size in such a tight time frame was challenging but rewarding,” Lighting Designer Matt Pitman of PixelMappers said, speaking to TPi over Zoom with Lighting Crew Chief, Adam Morris and Christie Lites Account Representative, Andy Strachan. “Andy and I worked hard on communication of what kit and crew was available.” With confirmation coming just two weeks prior to the shoot, Pitman said the lighting team would typically have set up everything required to shoot over two days as individual elements. However, logistical and budgetary confinements meant the team built something, shot it, then moved the equipment around the studio to shoot the next scene. “Andy and Adam spent a lot of time chasing me around to fulfil my overbearing requests, regardless of how difficult they were,” Pitman recalled, modestly. “A key factor to the success of previous livestream experiences has been to be one step ahead – preparation is key,” Morris said, joining the conversation. “Andy and I ensured that the infrastructure in any part of the building was able to be added or taken away, allowing us to change something quickly when required.” Truck pack, Strachan said, was vital from the outset. “Matt had numerous areas to light, which meant both versatility and quantity from his fixture selection. With Christie’s uniform custom cases, we could maximise 38
