New York, NY (www.lividinstruments.com) - Juanes, the popular Columbian rocker has added a new element to his Mi Sangre World Tour. The nine-time Latin Grammy winner whose songs have been number one on the US charts for the past six months has embraced innovative video technology to enhance his performance.
Juanes enlisted multimedia artist and Viditar (video guitar) inventor Jay Smith and his company, Livid Instruments to produce and design the visuals for the tour, which continues through 2006. The Tactic, Livid's hybrid video "instrument," is used to create this unique multimedia spectacle in real-time. Other artists such as Hilary Duff and Primus have used Livid's design and technology to enhance their visual performances.
The two-hour show includes six camera feeds, custom designed visuals, and real-time effects that are displayed on massive video screens surrounding the stage. Smith describes his approach to the design, "Juanes is a true artist who speaks from his heart. We had to keep this authenticity in mind while creating a larger-than-life rock show with all the trimmings." Prior to the tour, Juanes and Smith planned the looks they wanted for each song. From this, the Livid design team created videos ranging from live action sequences to animated motion graphics. Each song has a unique visual design, using a mix of original video footage, existing photos, and computer generated graphics. What separates the visuals from so many other concert productions is that the videos act as abstract visual stories within the music, mixing narrative concept with musical style and rhythm. Livid's production team takes advantage of the flexibility of realtime video to trigger the visuals and effects to the beat.
Livid VJ Jay Senk who controls and directs the visuals at each show states, "Every night is unique. Although we have images and video loaded onto our software, I can create and add new files and effects at the last minute. Our technology gives both myself and Juanes creative flexibility, we can mix everything on the fly." Livid's patented technology gives the VJ or visual artist creative freedom throughout the performance, rather than a pre-produced video show. Though the Livid design team spent months creating visuals for the tour, they are mixed and adjusted every night. The result is that Juanes and Smith have created a unique show, the first of its kind.
Livid Instruments has been at the forefront of creative and technical video production since 2001. Their proprietary technology allows visual artists to Play Video on the fly, as real-time visual performance similar to a live musical performance. Their design and production team produces and creates visual performances for concert tours, live performances, events, clubs, and awards shows throughout the world.
