philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Metallica’s WorldWired tours, for example, make heavy use of drones from Verity Studios, “flying lights” that are programmed to become part of the production and light up the stage in an agile, immersive way.

Verity Studios’ head of productions Federico Augugliaro explained that it can take about three months to integrate the light drones into a production, factoring in things such as artist involvement, formation and number of drones. Asked for a ballpark figure as to price, he said “it starts in the six digits.”

Hologram tours such as Eyellusion’s Frank Zappa and Ronnie James Dio productions are just that -- full productions rather than hologram gimmicks.

After showing a video displaying the realistic computer models used for both Dio and Zappa to Production Live! guests Feb. 11, Eyellusion’s diretor of creative development Chad Finnerty explained that 15-20 artists put together the models that will become the on-stage hologram, using the same special effects technique as the mad titan Thanos from the latest “Avengers” movie. “It takes a huge army to create these kinds of effects and bring it to life,” he said, adding that it roughly takes a half a year to get a hologram road-ready.

See the full story here: https://www.pollstar.com/article/rock-n-roll-fantasy-how-augmented-reality-and-virtual-reality-can-transform-live-entertainment-137285