Winter Jam Music Tour Visual Experience Powered by Renewed Vision Live Video Production Software

In what is considered Christian music's largest annual music tour, the 2019 Winter Jam 360-degree Spectacular presented 42 live concerts at arenas across the Eastern U.S. from January 12th through March 31st, 2019. The dynamic visual experience was generated from an innovative multimedia presentation system powered by Renewed Vision's PVP3 media server and ProPresenter media presentation software, supplemented by third-party graphics and control systems.

The concerts were awash in lively imagery that could react and keep time with the music, mixing various combinations of time-synchronized lyric animations, visual effects, lower-third lyrics, and live camera shots on LED walls both hovering over and embedded within the in-the-round stage. This tech-forward setup was the brainchild of Matt Walden, a freelance graphics producer who wanted to push the creative envelope on live concert video displays. His innovative workflow for the concerted incorporated the following technologies:

• Renewed Vision PVP3 media server and screen control system
• Renewed Vision ProPresenter software
• VideoDust Real-time effects software by ThunderingJacks
• Elgato StreamDeck Controllers

"I continually try to push its limits, and Winter Jam 2019 set a new bar for the sheer amount of content and cues across the ten different acts that performed every night," says Walden. "I've used PVP for years successfully as both a media server and screen control system. PVP3 performed exceptionally well, triggering timecode-based cues precisely while simultaneously allowing on-the-fly creative tweaks."

PVP3's optimized video latency performance, often a deterrent for using media servers over traditional screen control systems, proved to be a great success with Walden's setup. "When you're sitting in the audience, even a slight latency or lag-time on the IMAG displays can be noticeable. With PVP3, the latency is not only impressive, it's virtually undetectable. This is extremely important for a show such as Winter Jam."

Walden controlled all visual elements in each arena from a workstation of his own design that was adjacent to the camera switching and engineering systems. The HD content, a combination of pre-produced videos, lyric videos, and live-switched camera feeds, was controlled, manipulated with added effects, and delivered by a single PVP3-powered MacPro to four double-sided, 832 x 1040-pixel LED screens suspended in portrait mode above each side of the stage.

The double-sided screens - referred to as Pods A, B, C, and D - each received an independently controlled video signal that displayed on both sides of the pod, ensuring that the imagery was visible from any vantage point. Additional video feeds were sent to LED panels embedded in the perimeter of the stage, heightening the visual appeal for spectators on all levels of the arenas.

"PVP3 let me map different 1080 HD video on each of the pods, or have the same display on all four," adds Walden. "I could even have a visual effect run from one screen to the next - like an arrow shooting all the way around the pods - or apply effects to live camera shots in real time. The Renewed Vision software, in combination with all the third-party systems, allowed me to transition smoothly between virtually unlimited montages, looks, moods, and perspectives to entertain and engage the crowds."

Walden also used a 2018 MacBook Pro running ProPresenter Software to power song lyrics and dynamic lower thirds, as well as a reference clock and support lyrics for the acts' down-stage monitors. The ProPresenter output was transferred in real-time over an NDI network to the PVP3 server.

StreamDeck control panels (coupled with Companion software written by BitFocus) enabled single-button control of PVP3 via its built-in control protocol, simplifying operational tasks such as shuffling between raw feeds and down-stream manipulated visuals done in VideoDust. Since VideoDust is "both light and audio-reactive," Walden was able to synchronize some effects with a dedicated audio feed from the Front of House mix.

"The biggest advantage to using PVP3 and ProPresenter is that they are designed to work seamlessly together in this type of mission-critical live multimedia display application," Walden says. "For example, when lyrics are transferred over NDI from ProPresenter into PVP3, the media server recognizes the lyrics along with their corresponding alpha channels. There is no need to key-out black on my end, which provides a broadcast quality key much more easily."

Close to 600,000 people total attended Winter Jam 2019 as the show travelled to such cities as Tampa, Des Moines, New Orleans, Tulsa, Pittsburgh, Norfolk, and Knoxville. With its 15 tour buses and five 18-wheelers full of gear, the massive production featured many prominent Christian artists including Newsboys United, Rend Collective, Mandisa, Danny Gokey, Ledger, and Hollyn, as well as Newsong, which founded the Winter Jam Tour in 1995.