The concert was broadcasted via the Lacave-Records YouTube channel on 13th March 2021 and was the first release by Lacave where light- & sound design were done all digitally in a virtual 3D environment. Flame effects, ground fog, LEDs as well as laser effects were used on a great scale, which have kept the audiences glued to their screens. Simulated ariel views, done with virtual cameras, guaranteed a perfect illusion. The animated crowd displayed thousands of festival attendees, who were also interacted with during the countless moderation segments in between songs.
Lacave-Records are sure: the combination of virtual reality and live show is a real alternative for the industry. After seeing countless DJs doing their sets in a fully simulated virtual environment, Lacave spent 7 months to perfect their live vocal performance, planned together with Mandy Mettbach’s management and team around music producer Markus Neubauer. After realizing the concert, Mandy’s recent single went straight from position 59 to 11 within the DJ Top 100 Charts.
“That won’t be my last [virtual] concert.” Mandy Mettbach, 2021
The management and designers created the Depence environment after Mandy’s imagination. The deal was set to produce a whole live vocal set within the Depence 3D engine. After being abstinent to a real stage for over a year, Mandy was more than happy to be on stage again, but this time it was also a personalized stage with a dedicated light show, something that was unthinkable beforehand due to COVID-19. To perform before a TV camera and to import the footage into Depence was a simple workflow: Mandy was able to perform her whole set just naturally, because she already had seen the pre-visualization of the show in Depence, way before shooting:
“It’s a real alternative. I can create my own world, there’s nothing more beautiful in these times.”
To that, the production team was able to show Mandy the show, as she was performing simultaneously. This was a huge help production wise and a major difference to other green screen productions, where the artist is left alone to imagination.
In difference to a real-world concert, production cost was very low, which allowed the team to leave the sale of “entry tickets” for the stream out of the discussion. But, with a slightly different concept, sales could be exceptionally well since the production cost during a pandemic are not to be leveled with the ones for real touring. Depence allows to create a concert experience, which is a 1:1 replica of a real stage together with the typical (or untypical) surroundings of a live gig. Any kind of location can be built with the help of the internal rendering engine and design features.
