Disguise powers live IMAG colour grading for Robbie Williams Tour
Live Events
Pop legend Robbie Williams, has been entertaining audiences since he was a sixteen-year-old member of Take That in 1990. In 2025, the singer and songwriter paid homage to his storied career, with his 'Britpop' tour, playing to sold-out stadiums across the UK and Europe throughout summer.
This was an opportunity to offer fans something unique, jettison production elements from past tours, and elevate his visual storytelling to reflect an iconic back catalogue and a larger-than-life persona.
To do this, Williams and his team decided to work with video solutions provider Universal Pixels, together with Camera Director Matt Askem, Disguise Programmer Phil Leech, and the visuals design team at Luke Halls Studio, to bring video content to life on the tour. These impressive visuals ranged from custom Notch content to Williams's own artwork, all displayed on huge 600-square metre LED walls made up of 17 individual screens.
Having powered high-profile live events for more than 20 years, Disguise’s Designer software and GX 3 media servers were chosen as the ideal solution to the unique challenges of bringing these huge concert visuals to life.
The Challenge
One of the biggest challenges for the entire tour team was the tight turnaround involved in creating the Robbie Williams tour visuals: all content needed to be produced, programmed and delivered to shows in just three months. On top of that, the visuals needed to reflect the artist's personal story, which meant opting for traditional animation work, rather than relying on real-time tools. To display the 4K visuals correctly, the team needed technology that was powerful and reliable enough to manage 4K content, while being flexible enough to make on-site adjustments during rehearsals.
Another challenge centred around lighting conditions. Besides the technical demands of getting a total of 17 LED screens, a dynamic lighting rig, 11 manned cameras, and three compact cameras to work together in perfect unison, the team also had to design and sequence the show in a way that would work firstly in daylight, then sunset, and eventually nighttime.
Credits: Stufish
Credits: Stufish
Credits: Stufish
Credits: Stufish
The Solution
Two GX 3 media servers coupled with Disguise’s Designer software proved to be the powerhouse solution needed to bring the ‘Britpop’ tour to life. Designer’s intuitive interface meant the entire crew could quickly get to grips with the system, and the feed mapping feature enabled the Luke Halls Studio team to quickly lay out content during rehearsals. Designer also enabled instant adjustments during rehearsals, helping Leech to instantly ensure all the on-screen visuals worked for the animation team instead of having to take pixel adjustments or reformatting tasks back to them offline.
This ability to make instant adjustments was crucial for the tour’s astonishing opening, which involved a rocket launch delivering Williams to the stage. With the ambitious set design ready to go, Leech made adjustments to the video content right up until the first show at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium, ensuring the show’s epic lift-off had its intended impact in the surrounding daylight by complementing it with cleverly-crafted IMAG content.
Williams’ celebrity persona was a central theme of the show, and the team had a vision for special effects on the live video to add to the glitz and glamour of his performance. To do this while ensuring the final result looked correct, camera footage of Williams appearing on the screens was colour graded in real time by colourist Richard Turner, who sat front of house with the server operators.
On each night, Disguise drove 4K playback on the giant screens, enabling the team to be playful with cameras and Notch content, and confident in a rock-solid operating system. Integration with Pomfort Live Grade Studio in Disguise’s Designer software enabled the live colour grading via CDL adjustments, without the colourist needing to switch between programs or give up their usual controls.
Disguise is a great tool because it can really mold to the way you want to work. There’s not just one way of working, which is what makes it so valuable - it’s a tool that can really adapt to whoever’s using it, and that inevitably leads to more creative results.
The Results
The Robbie Williams Britpop Tour 2025 has proven to be a firm fan favourite, drawing in crowds with sold out shows across Europe. With everything coming together in a tight timeframe of just three months, Universal Pixels, Luke Halls Studio and the other teams involved pulled off something spectacular - delivering a visually stunning, technologically-robust production that not only celebrated Robbie Williams’ legacy but also signalled a new beginning for the performer. The result: an unforgettable experience that left fans wanting more.