Update: Check out the 2022-2023 New Year’s Eve Gala show info here.
Concert stage in numbers:
The show has 4 interconnected stages: Fire stage, water stage, earth stage, and a center stage. All stages together take up 3500m² space. The highest space is on the earth stage with 22m high above the ground, almost as high as a 7th-floor building. The widest point of the stage is 66m. The water stage has a 200m² pool with a water curtain. All stages have a combined LED wall of 3625m², with 14541 pieces of 50x50cm LED panel. 4 giant human-shaped sculptures made of styrofoam is higher than 10m each. Everything finished under 3 and a half weeks. All of this is done with the teamwork and efficiency of the team behind the scenes.
The Big Winner of New Year’s Eve Concert
All TV broadcasts and online platforms have played their best cards in the 2019-2020 New Year gala. Hunan TV eventually becomes the top winner of all TV channels. Hunan TV not only invited the top stars which deeply beloved by audiences but also invited some of the strongest teams in the industry to work on set, lighting, fireworks, vision and so on. Chen Xin-yu, the chief director of the New Year’s Eve concert, once said at the press conference: “with super A(cool) stage vision, open-air live concert, immersive interaction, 360-degree panoramic stage, zero-point fireworks countdown” five phrases to sum up the whole show. Besides, as the official 5G partner of Hunan TV New Year’s Eve concert, China mobile helped Hunan TV build the world’s first 5G New Year’s eve concert, so high-tech also became an important element of the gala.
Who Is The Set Designer Behind?
The set designer Heather Shaw, who was invited to this show is from the United States, with acclaimed simple, clean, yet powerful designs, she is a high-profile female set designer. Her design has powerful outlines, but also with delicate sentiment elements, she is especially good at immersive and installation art designs, edging and energetic.
Set Design Logic Manual
The 360-degree stage design concept, pairing the human form and technology, create an unexpected futuristic perspective with an exciting youthful euphoric feel for Hunan TV’s Eve concert. The pairing of human form and technology means a “human-oriented” perspective. The conceptual inspiration comes from traditional Chinese Five-elements theory and Qi(air/spirit), which are metal, wood, water, fire, earth and air/spirit. The application of each element makes the visually stage more stunning. So how does the old Chinese Ancient philosophy combine with futuristic technology?
- Metal, the Human sculpture on each of the fire, water, earth stage is polished with a metallic look, representing the metal element, which means amassing.
2. Wood, the live audience and artist, being the most active part of the show, representing the wood element which is the only life form within the five elements. It means growing.
3. Water, the stage is installed with a water curtain and pool which stands for the water element, which means infiltrating.
4. Fire, the fire stage has a lot of pyro techniques standing for the fire element, it refers to ruining.
5. Earth, the mainstage stage representing the earth stage is the combination of fire and water. Ancient Chinese people think that fire and water can only exist on earth. That’s why the earth stage is the place that connects and holds fire and water stage. Earth means integrating.
Qi/Air, it refers to the atmospheric effect achieved by light and projection, air means spirit or mental state.
Stage Structure
About the stage structure, the “second stage” held by the hands of the future has lengthened the depth of the stage and shortened the distance between the audience and the stage. And the main background “cut” triangle, but also let the stage in the three-dimensional sense and depth of the infinite extension, a symbol of a distant yet palpable future.
Conclusion
HunanTV 2019-2020 New Years’ Eve show has been one of the most successful shows of the broadcaster this year. The set design of Heather Shaw and LD Tom Sutherland worked perfectly together to create a bombastic visual look. The designs with the sense of ceremony, technology and humanism care which pursued by today’s young people. The audience not only released their inner excitement and energy but also experienced a visual and auditory feast. With the help of foreign designers, the quality of Chinese TV productions has been increasing since then. We are excited to learn and explore new possibilities in 2020. Happy New Year to all!
