Working in collaboration with Twenty Three, Stage One designed and delivered a new control system for five repositional LED video screens that form the ceiling of a virtual production studio at Harbourside Studios in Belfast.

The screens (pods) can be moved independently and repositioned into different configurations to accommodate shooting conditions. Twenty Three’s new Bluehook chain hoist control system delivers the movement, our Qmotion NextQ automation software provides the control.

46 chain hoists were used for the pods to move up and down, and tilt on their X and Y axis. First, we designed and manufactured a server to provide a translation interface between the Bluehook network and our Qmotion network. We then completed the network cabling to the Bluehook chain hoist controllers.

Tilting the pods relies on having a high degree of positional accuracy, and all motors must make their move at the same time frame to prevent the frames from twisting.

To achieve this, we created a visualisation software specifically for the pods; by positioning and rotating them in a virtual environment we can calculate the positions for the chain hoists to achieve the height and angle required. This information is posted to NextQ as a standard cue, with positions and motor speeds automatically calculated.

Once the system had been installed, we tested and commissioned the axes to confirm they were fully operational, accurate and repeatable, with determined rotational, speed and overtravel limits for each pod. And we provided a wheeled front of house operator control console that can be moved into the optimal operating position to achieve efficient line of sight during operation.