Moment Factory on Making Magical Moments for Muse

As Muse's Drones world tour kicked off in London at the start of this week, the 2016 Glastonbury headliners proved their position on the stage by delivering a stellar performance.

Not only were fans treated to a new rockier sound courtesy of their Drones album (released last year), they were also left spellbound by the set. Combining drones, holograms and light installations, Moment Factory's co-founder/chief of technology Dominic Audet talks to shots about using the latest technology to create an utterly unforgettable fan experience.

How did Moment Factory’s relationship with Muse begin and what input did you get from the band?

We were first contacted by the tour's show/lighting designer to find out if we could develop new technologies for the show - specifically mirror control for the projections and interactive 3D tracking. After really delving into the album, I flew to London with our creative director Jesse Lee Stout to meet the band and present our ideas. They were enthustic about our approach so, we ended up combining interactive and viusal elements for different parts of each song.

What did the band want from the live performance?

The band wanted to visually link and interact the themes of the Drones album with the tour. Everything we did had to enhance their storytelling in order for it to be meaningful.

For those who aren’t able to attend the concert, what makes the Muse gig so unique?

The whole show, really. It features a central 360-degree stage so, all the technical equipment was placed in the ceiling in what they call a 'space station.' The transparent screens which projected high quality images (seen below) can be lowered down so the set can change drastically throughout the show. And concert goers, regardless of where they're sitting, can always see the screen projections.

We also had drones flying above the audience to magnify the feeds from the band and enhance their performance. That way, the audience feels more in touch with what’s happening onstage.

The concert has been described as an audio/visual sensory experience. What inspired you to create this?

It was a real collaborative process with the band. Right from the beginning, our team was inspired by the album and the live artistic direction of the setup. Following that, there was a lot of back and forth between lead singer Matt and our CD, Jesse who bounced ideas off each other to find the most cinematic representation of the lyrics and tell their story through our visuals.

How did moving and interactive projection mapping company, BlackTrax, contribute?

The drones in the show were connected and tracked in real time in 3D in the concert space. There’s an extensive BlackTrax system that is very innovative for a touring show like this that can track all the band members and the drones. Most of the technological elements on the stage (the drones, the lights, the audio and our interactive system) have real-time communications with the band members and other elements so we can trigger an audio/visual interaction by position.

It sounds like an incredibly complicated set to put together, with projections, light shows, interactive visuals and 3D responsive technology. What were the biggest difficulties you had to overcome in order to make all of these things possible?

A bit like what you described in your question, the quantity of innovation was one of the most complicated, if not the most complicated, elements. Any one of them would have been easier to set up by themselves, but it was the assembly of all of them that became the main challenge. It was also the sequence of integration of all the technologies that was challenging, especially with all the programming that was still going on during the rehearsals. There was a lot of people working around the clock to make everything function. The setup and calibration of all these technologies takes time and of course, you don’t have a lot of time to set up on a touring schedule so we all came up with various adaptations to work to time. 

What role do you think immersive technology plays in shaping fans’ experience of concerts?

There are two types of immersive technologies. There’s VR/AR which applies an experience to just one person, whereas our immersive technologies enhance the experience of groups of people. We’re using global innovation to bring people back together in public places. I’m a firm believer that experiencing something in a large group of people - like as a fan - is much greater than any experience you may have on your own at home.

When all is said and done, what do you hope the takeaway is for Muse fans?

I hope that they’d be so enthralled by this show that they want to see more live concerts. It’s really important for people to detach themselves from their virtual lives and enjoy life in other ways. Creating these kind of amazing, multimedia experiences should encourage people to get out of the house and have fun together.

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