Colours of Ostrava

COLOURS OF OSTRAVA

During its peak summer season, DiGiCo links up with Czech-based distributor Pro Music for one of the biggest music events in central Europe.

Held every summer since 2002 in the north-eastern Czech city of Ostrava, the Colours of Ostrava festival features 22 stages and countless performers from all corners of the world. A regular fixture in the Czech music calander, Pro Music’s co-operation with the festival came as a result of its partnership with technical producer, Smart Production and main stage audio supplier, High Lite Touring.

In 2012 the festival moved to a new site in the area of a former ironworks in Ostrava city centre. There were serious challenges with infrastructure, which had to be solved within the tight 11-month timeframe.

“To be honest, I was not quite sure if everything would be ready in such a short period of time,” said Josef Ženíšek, Smart Production CEO and Technical Director of the festival. “But the owner of the site made a huge effort to sort out any issues and invested in large preparation works. I visited the site on a regular basis and was surprised how quickly the changes were made. They had to build a completely new backstage road around the site and so many more field repairs. Also, the unique Cylinders Gong Theatre was built in just a year,” he commented.

“When building stages, we always kept in mind that audience capacity might rise in the future. We also needed to make sure that sound from each stage doesn’t affect the audience of any other. It’s been eight years since the festival moved to its current location and we haven’t had to change anything regarding the setting, which shows that we did a good job back in 2012,” continued Ženíšek.

As an exclusive DiGiCo distributor for the Czech Republic and Slovakia for the past 15 years, Pro Music was delighted to provide technical support for all DiGiCo users in a dedicated prep room, located right next to the main stage. Technical support was done by Petr Šťásek, who works for Pro Music as a DiGiCo product specialist. DiGiCo headquarters were represented by Jaap Pronk and Mark Saunders.

“The first two years were particularly challenging,” explained Ženíšek. “We had to figure out the best audio set-ups for all stages to cover the area, which wasn’t easy as we had to be aware of reflections from steel constructions. The feedback from visitors was very important. Regular visitors to the festival can see changes every year – some of the buildings have been repaired, some new roads and paths have been built. All this work has one ultimate goal: to protect this national heritage site and keep it open for cultural and scientific events.” This year’s big update was the Hidden Stage. “The idea of such a stage was made shortly before the festival, and it was a great success,” enthused Ženíšek. “visitors just loved exploring the site and finding smaller more hidden stages.”

The PA set-up at the Česká Spořitelna main stage was an all L-Acoustics affair, with a main array of 16 K1s, four K2s and eight K1-SBs per side. Outfills came in the shape of four K1-SBs, four K1s and eight K2s per side. For subs, 36 KS28s were stacked in threes to compliment a delay pair of 12 K2s. Frontfills comprised 18 Karas, powered by 66 LA12X. System Tech, Radek Lesa and FOH Tech, Pavel Vojta oversaw the set-up.

Radek Lesa, Pro Music Application Engineer and the System Engineer for High Lite Touring, praised the on-site DiGiCo support. He said: “Any audio engineer could come to the prep room to prepare or just check their show files. The DiGiCo Team was always ready to help. DiGiCo consoles are becoming the first choice on most riders so it’s always great to have some professional help in case an audio engineer requires a consultation. The fact that there was also technical support from Pro Music was great for many local engineers.”

This year marked the first time at Colours of Ostrava for DiGiCo. Having tried the formula of having a prep room at festivals like Coachella, Pukkelpop, Lowlands, North Sea Jazz and the Montreux Jazz Festival, the company looked to roll out this concept. “The relationship between Pro Music and the festival technical production company, SMART Production, as well as the acts, made Ostrava a perfect choice to continue the initiative,” DiGiCo Sales Support Manager, Mark Saunders commented.

The prep room contained a DiGiCo SD12 and an S21 for programming purposes. As well as this, offline computers set to house console specs were provided to allow engineers to prep specific show files. “The feedback we received was immensely positive,” Saunders commented. The decision allowed engineers to prep with any assistance required, on a pre-prepared format for live consoles around the stages. “Having Jaap Pronk on site also allowed conversations regarding hints and tips for more experienced users, on top of basic training for newer users, and allowed engineers to get a sneak peek at some future developments.”

Petr Šťásek, the technical support in Pro Music added: “We were pleasantly surprised by how many people visited our prep room during the festival. I expected that there would be only audio engineers coming to check their files, but there were also multiple representatives of the biggest Czech and Slovakian rental companies. Numerous local audio engineers – many of whom weren’t even working at the festival – came just to speak to DiGiCo representatives about new products and about live consoles in general. The huge interest shows just how popular DiGiCo consoles are.”

The festival boasted DiGiCo SD10 and SD7 consoles on the main stage, as well as SD9s and S21s out and about on some of the smaller stages. DiGiCo consoles were also supplied for parts of the festival by additional rental companies, including SD11 and SD12s. The festival helped further establish DiGiCo in the Czech market. Šťásek explained: “Pro Music was in conversation with the local rental companies, including a visit to High Lite Touring headquarters in Ostrava during the festival, who provided audio to two of the main stages and also showed our incoming engineers from other countries great hospitality and support. Overall the festival collaboration was a great success.”

DiGiCo strives to be out and about as much as possible. Saunders concluded: “Backing up our product in the field (with both rental companies worldwide and freelance engineers), as well as supporting our distributors, is key to ensuring that the brand’s products are fully recognised as the perfect festival console, but also provide an excellent solution for any event or tour, big or small, indoor and outdoor.” TPi Photos: Pro Music www.promusic.cz www.digico.biz