This year’s X Factor saw Paul Collison debut the coolux ID Tags which make real-time tracking scenarios not only easier to set up, but also more reliable, more versatile, and more cost-effective.
“Historically, tracking systems have been generally awful and have never really worked,” commented Paul. “The moment coolux announced they were working on a tracking system, most of us rolled our eyes and said good luck with that. I first saw it at an MA Lighting open day and have to say I was quite impressed. I was at the event with Ian Anderson, lighting designer for The X Factor, and I saw his eyes light up as it could potential solve a big problem in the X Factor studio.”
The problem was that the rear follow spot on The X factor is incredibly necessary but geographically takes up a lot of space resulting in a big, black hole above the rear centre screen before you get into the lighting system. By using a tracking system and a moving light as a follow spot meant that the gap could be compressed and thus visually improve the show immensely.
Interactive projections, camera automation, audio tracking, stage tracking and lighting control are just some of the areas in which coolux ID Tags offer great benefits and unprecedented flexibility.
Tracking people or objects this way is achieved using a purely optical transmission system, thus avoiding the many pitfalls of radio control based setups.
“We decided it looked like it worked so we’d give it a go,” remarked Paul. “The difference with this system is that you set up infra-red cameras and point them to the area you want to cover and then attach infra-red ID tags to the person or item that you want to track. The coolux tracking system within the software of their Widget Designer program tracks that ID tag within a 3D space. The cool part is that coolux collaborated with MA Lighting to create a new protocol called PSN which enables 3D perimetery back into the lighting console and assign a light to track that point in a 3D space.”
Each of the tags can be addressed with a unique ID, which opens up the possibility of up to 256 different unique IDs being tracked in real-time within a single setup. The coin sized ID Tags can be easily attached to set pieces, costumes or any other part of a tracking setup.
“We’ve been using it on the show for 12 weeks now and learn something new every day,” said Paul. “There have been a few challenges such as choreography where lots of people crowd our talent and therefore the infra red tag. We have found that heavy smoke can interfere with it or wardrobe unexpectedly decides they are going to throw a big headdress on someone five minutes before we go to air!
“It’s been a big learning experience, but overall a positive one. The product is still in its infancy but conceptually, even in its very early stages, we can see it being a huge advantage for us in the future.”
www.coolux.de
Australian Distributor: Show Technology www.showtech.com.au
