U2's artistic technology at LV Sphere

U2 had many creative visionaries who helped bring the art of Las Vegas Sphere to life. Their imagination, with the help of impressive technology, made the shows an epic adventure for every audience member.

With over 40 years of experience designing live performances with U2, Willie Williams is the creative director for this series of shows at the Sphere. Artists who have contributed content to the shows include Brian Eno, Marco Brambilla, Es Devlin, John Gerrard and Industrial Light & Magic. Everyone brought something unique to the table. For example, Brian Eno created a generative algorithm that controls the color of the scene and some of the lighting. The technology ensures that the show has a unique color palette. Marco Brambilla’s video sequence Even Better Than the Real Thing features AI-generated Elvises.

Williams and these other talented artists pre-designed the exhibition visuals with virtual reality because the Sphere was under construction during the design process. The team had to collaborate like never before, using new technologies to create extraordinary visuals for Sphere’s debut.

I&T today interviewed Willie Williams about his experience as creative director to learn more about the process of designing U2’s shows at the Sphere.

Innovation and technology today: What was the process like working with the artists to create the material for the show?

Willie Williams: We’ve worked with a wide range of artists, some long-time collaborators and others new to the U2 fold. Everyone had a quite different experience. Embracing the collaborative process was harder for some artists than others, but eventually everyone understood that the show was boss. Even for me, ideas and designs are ultimately judged by the show itself; the elements that work remain, those that are not abandoned.

I&T today: Can you discuss the challenges of designing a show in a new venue, especially since it was under construction during the design process?

Williams: With this project, we not only had to imagine a completely new type of show, but we also had to imagine the venue in which it would be performed. Putting on a show like this is always the confluence of art, science and diplomacy, but this was much higher on the diplomatic ladder because so much was not in our control.

I&T today: How was virtual reality used to design the show?

Williams: Virtual reality proved very useful in the design of the show as it was often the only option available to visualize what we were doing. The resolution is still very low, but it is often useful for deciding how big an object is or how fast an object should move. It was also great to be able to view items from all over the building without going up and down stairs.

I&T today: What are your hopes for the future of immersive fan experiences like this? What role does technology play in all of this?

Williams: One of my favorite comments from critics of the U2 Sphere show was along the lines of “the future of live concerts is very, very weird, but it’s also very, very live.” We are currently inundated with “immersive” experiences, often not very immersive and often not very engaging. I’ve always been drawn to designing for the live experience and I see all of these visual elements simply as tools to enhance that.

I&T today: Are there any special visual or audio effects that have been created for the Sphere’s 4D technology and immersive sound system?

Williams: From our side, the main custom technical design element for the visual aspect of the show was the video playback system. Treatment Studio, in tandem with Fuse, designed a bespoke system to operate together 23 of the Disguise “d3” playback systems commonly used in concert tours. This gave us the programming flexibility we needed, as well as the type of media and camera integration required for this type of show.

I&T today: How did the creative team work together to make the visuals and music work well together?

Williams: One of the keys to the success of the show was the group’s understanding that we were creating an ocean liner rather than a small dinghy. They were aware that big last minute changes in direction would be out of the question and stayed by my side throughout the design process. I realize this seems to be the norm, but it’s very unusual on a concert tour! Just rendering some of the larger video sequences took several days, so the process of creating each piece often took several months. The fact that the performers, and therefore the music, were an integral part of the trip allowed us to aim much higher than we otherwise could have done.