Dark Matter tour visuals by Rob Sheridan
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rob_sheridan
Pearl Jam concert visuals by Rob Sheridan Productions. Here’s a closer look at the range of techniques I employed for the vibey psychedelic journey of “Upper Hand,” a transitory tentpole piece at the midway point of the abstract visual narrative I designed for @PearlJam’s current “Dark Matter” world tour. Long unbroken shots (fun fact, there is actually not a single hard cut in any of my visuals for the entire Pearl Jam show) filmed with macro lenses and ultra slow motion build to a crescendo of digitally-sculpted light.
This is one of several feature pieces in the show where I wanted to bring in some 3D particle simulations to sculpt “light sculptures” inspired by Dark Matter’s long-exposure light painting album art by @fdu4. It was crucial that the digital VFX feel organic and made of light, in order to blend seamlessly with the very analog/practical visuals I created for the rest of the show. For that task I reached out to 3D animator @imperialmonster who I had previously worked with on some pieces for the 2013-2014 NIN tours, so I knew he’d understand the analog feel I was seeking, and be able to translate my vision with taste (see more of his particle work for this show on his grid). Upper Hand is a journey through the rabbit hole of consciousness, from dark to light, from the dark deep blues of the depths to the bright orange/reds of cosmic nebulas, and from the simplest organic FX tricks to the most complex digital simulations.
“Upper Hand”
Director/Editor: Rob Sheridan
Producer: @stephanie_sheridan_
Camera Operators: @donovonmedia @ilanarahaman Production Assistant: Sarah Hellen
Camera Support: @freeflysystems
Post Production: @joybirdstudios
Digital animation: @warmnfuzzy.tv
Filmed at Rob Sheridan Productions, Tacoma, WA.
Tour production design: @nimblist
Lighting director: @kkpearl66
Video programming: @mcdonaldg
Live camera director: @blueleach
#pearljam #darkmattertour #convertvisuals #robsheridan #practicaleffects #particles
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rob_sheridanOne year ago we were kicking off @pearljam’s Dark Matter tour in Vancouver, following several months of intensive work filming, editing, programming, and rehearsing the visual presentation I creative directed. What a year it’s been! Steph and I will be out in Pittsburgh to see the last shows of this leg and celebrate an incredible run with a legendary band and a stellar crew. Say hi if you see me there!Photos I took from the lighting/video desk at Vancouver night 1, 4 May 2024.#pearljam #darkmattertour #tourproduction #concertvisuals https://www.instagram.com/rob_sheridan/p/DJQbzcAJmgR/
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rob_sheridan“Folding Light” practical FX visuals for @pearljam’s “Won’t Tell.” An exploration of light transforming into physical form and then releasing back into light, culminating in a physical release of light refractions out through the arena from mirrorballs on the stage and at the lighting desk. Visuals created by filming the refractions of light in slow motion as it passed through an arrangement of rotating glass. Video footage from Las Vegas, 18 May 2024. #pearljam #darkmattertour #concertvisuals #lightart #practicalfx #robsheridan
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There is another Ferrofluid Sound Visualizer from SOvenomUND
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directeditionpodcast
rob_sheridan
Rob Sheridan on his collaboration with the greatest live band on earth, Pearl Jam !
Rob designed stunning visuals for the Dark Matter tour which opened up a year ago, which awed everyone who got to witness it live.Check out the full interview, available today on all major streaming platforms, and a big thanks to Rob!
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rob_sheridanSteph and I had a blast in Pittsburgh closing out @pearljam’s Dark Matter tour and celebrating an inspiring year of artistic collaboration. So appreciative of the band for trusting me to bring something new to their incredible live shows, and so grateful to the crew, management, and especially the phenomenal PJ fans for welcoming me into your world. The reception to my creative direction / visuals on this tour has been above and beyond what I could have hoped for; it’s truly an honor to leave my mark on the legacy of a legendary band who was so important to my Seattle youth.
Thanks again to Steph as my producer for putting this whole project together and as my wife for staying sane alone with a toddler while I was away; to our lean studio team and our visual collaborators in producing a massive amount of video content; to Spike, Kille, and Blue for designing the production, lights, and live cameras; to the tour lighting and video crews for making it happen night after night; and to iO, for being very understanding (for a 2 year old) that “Dada has to go to work at the big office with Uncle Ed” ❤️I still have a lot more photos from the tour to share in the coming weeks, and more inside looks at the work we did on the visuals.
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https://x.com/PearlJam/status/1928189485071610249?t=nB5zzEaZ7jLU7czClRMiYw&s=19A huge shoutout to Rob Sheridan Productions and team for all the visuals done for the Dark Matter Tour.“Crown of Light”Directed by Rob SheridanProduced by Stephanie SheridanPost production, animation, and compositing by Joybird StudiosCamera Operator: donovonmedia on IGPA: Ilana RahamanFilmed at Rob Sheridan Productions, Tacoma, WA.Based on the Dark Matter album art light painting photography by Alexandr GnezdilovTour production design by NIMBLISTTour lighting director: Kille KnobelTour video programming: Grant McDonald0
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rob_sheridanBest wishes to @themattcameron as he departs from @pearljam after 27 years of slaying the drums! Here’s a shot I got of his last wave goodbye with the band, and a few other pics from Matt’s final @pearljam show in Pittsburgh, 18 May 2025.#pearljam #mattcameron #darkmattertour
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rob_sheridanFor the tour visuals of @pearljam’s “Rearviewmirror,” I filmed a close-up detail of propane flames escaping from a small hole in ultra slow motion with a macro lens. Funneled through a tight space, the flames moved incredibly fast, giving them a unique mix of speed and grace when captured at 42x slower than real-time. I mirrored the footage in post to create a video piece I called “Lost Highway” because it evoked the sporadic trails of passing lights on a dark highway at night. I felt it was meant for “Rearviewmirror” with its driving energy, and thankfully the band agreed.We wanted RVM’s visual design to center the band’s performance, so it quite literally did: Production designer @nimblist and video programmer @mcdonaldg built a virtual “rear view mirror” as the centerpiece above the band, which framed a live camera from director @blueleach as my streaks of flame-lights swirled out through it and @kkpearl66’s lights exploded with energy.See my grid for more behind-the-scenes looks at the many different practical VFX looks we created for Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter tour.#pearljam #concertvisuals #productiondesign #darkmattertour #rearviewmirror #robsheridan #practicalfx https://www.instagram.com/rob_sheridan/reel/DMf_ZJyvjSL/
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rob_sheridan
For @pearljam’s first-ever tour visuals, I designed a conceptual journey of light through the connective tissue of the universe that binds us together, from the cellular to the cosmic.
To bring the vision to life, my team employed a wide range of analog/digital human artistry techniques tracing the history of stage production visuals, from the oldest theatrical shadow-play to the liquid light show projections of the psychedelic 1960s to cutting-edge 3D light particle simulations. We filmed hundreds of hours of experimental macro footage in a DIY practical VFX laboratory, creating a vast cosmos from miniature setups of chemical reactions, fluid dynamics, light refractions, fire, smoke, electricity, and magnets. We found worlds of beauty in the surface of the Pacific Ocean and Puget Sound, from tiny ripples to crashing waves. We developed new techniques for light-painting in video, using hundreds of hand motions to draw massive cosmic structures. And we built “light sculptures” with particle simulations, filming them with long exposures in 3D space to envelop the band in “Dark Matter”s album art.
Working with Pearl Jam’s veteran production team, we combined my filmed visuals with Kille Knobel’s dynamic lighting and Blue Leach’s inventive live cameras on Spike Brandt’s massive projection screen to create unique looks for over 100 songs from Pearl Jam’s storied 34 year discography, with room to grow. Creative video programming by Grant McDonald helped us elegantly unify imag and conceptual content on a single canvas that brought a new depth to Pearl Jam’s concerts while never trying to overshadow one of the greatest live bands of all time.
Tour Production Designer: Spike Brandt for @nimblist
Tour Lighting Director: @kkpearl66
Tour Video Director: @blueleach
Video Programmer: @mcdonaldg
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Pearl Jam DARK MATTER stage visuals: "Cage of Light / Heart of Light" by Rob Sheridan Productions
“Cage of Light / Heart of Light” - digital particles captured in long-exposure combined with practical liquid reflections filmed in ultra slow motion.
This piece, which I directed for the song “Dark Matter," showcases the range of visual techniques we employed for @pearljam's 2024-2025 tour visuals, from oldschool analog practical VFX to cutting-edge digital VFX. The Cage of Light is a 3D virtual “light sculpture” animated by Andrew Jerez / @warmandfuzzy which we designed inspired by Alexandr Gnezdilov's beautiful light-painted album artwork. I wanted the digital element to feel as connected as possible to the analog elements I was filming for other songs, so I had a vision of creating the “heart” of the sculpture with a practical effect and compositing them together. The undulating golden form that appears around :37 and remains in the center was made by filming the reflections of an incandescent Edison bulb off the rippling surface of a black water tank at 42x slow motion, bringing the oldest form of electric light together with the newest, a thematic circle of light’s journey that echoed through the show’s visual narrative.
Watch behind-the-scenes features and more video art from Pearl Jam's "Dark Matter" tour on my website at https://rob-sheridan.com/pearl-jam-2024/dark-matter-tour/1/thumbs
Pearl Jam Dark Matter World Tour Creative Director: Rob Sheridan
Stage Visuals Produced by: Rob Sheridan Productions https://robsheridanproductions.com
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Rob Sheridan Reveals His Visual Concepts for Pearl Jam's Dark Matter Tour
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9akpT5Cu3A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSe7W5doWa8
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