London-based production company Punk Films create visual effects for some of the world’s most demanding performers, including U2 and The Rolling Stones; and since visuals are often integrated into stage shows at a moment’s notice, flexibility and mobility are key drivers when it comes to choosing product — which is one reason why Apple PowerBooks running Final Cut Pro provide the backbone of their set-up.
When Punk Films’ Director Mark Logue arrived in Toronto to provide visuals for The Rolling Stones’ Forty Licks world tour, his entire edit suite and backup equipment amounted to no more than hand luggage. Armed with two PowerBook G4s running Final Cut Pro, Adobe After Effects, Photoshop and Illustrator, backed up by two 160GB LaCie external hard drives, and combined with a Miranda DV converter and a Sony J3 Digibeta, Logue arrived ready to deliver three hours of stunning visuals direct to the on-stage screens for one of the world’s biggest bands.
“This system is solid, reliable and extremely flexible”, says Logue. “Basically it gives you an industry-standard editing system made up of inexpensive and easily available equipment”. Flexibility is the key to Logue’s approach of combining raw material from diverse sources, including TV reportage, self-shot DV, library footage, graphical imagery and sequences from other directors.
“The flexibility of the system allows you to change the visual elements right up to the last minute”, says Logue. “This keys into the Punk Films method — we get actively and emotionally involved in a project, rather than just acting as a production facility”. By effectively removing the need for post production from the creation of performance-quality visuals, the system maximises the amount of time and effort Logue can give to the content itself. Traditionally, material of this nature would require weeks of on-lining — but with Final Cut Pro, the finished edit can be output directly to the video display.
 Since 1999, Punk Films have pioneered on-stage visuals for internationally successful groups such as U2 and Travis, and have worked alongside top designers including Willie Williams. On U2’s Elevation Tour, Catherine Owens, the band’s visual commissioner, was particularly impressed by the speed with which Punk Films could produce high-quality material. Consequently, video content was updated as the tour progressed. For instance, after September 11th 2001, a new visual for the song ‘One’ was introduced consisting of a simple scrolling of victims’ names over the screens. “The visuals became a very important part of the experience”, says Logue. “We had a direct effect on the mood of the show”.
More recently, Punk Films worked with Willie Williams on a performance by the Kronos Quartet. This piece was commissioned by NASA to commemorate 40 years of Voyager space missions.
“It’s great to be able to use the system over a variety of productions”, says Logue. “With Final Cut Pro you get a finished product as you’re working. You can have a flash of inspiration one day and end up with a piece of video that will be used in the show the next”.
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