Festival Focus

TOMORROWLAND

Stageco sets the stage for the festival’s 15th anniversary.

Honoured to be a part of the colossal production for the past eight years in a row, Stageco has delivered Tomorrowland’s sprawling main stage, as well as up to three other extravagantly designed stage constructions and several more site structures of varying sizes.

For its 15th anniversary, Tomorrowland returned to The Book of Wisdom as its main stage theme, resurrecting a winning formula from seven years ago. Taking place as usual over the two consecutive weekends of 19 to 21 and 26 to 28 July, the 2019 edition also saw the return of The Chainsmokers, Armin van Buuren and David Guetta, as 400,000 people from more than 200 countries descended on the Belgian town of Boom for the party of a lifetime.

This year’s project began when We Are One World, the organising body behind Tomorrowland and the the recently introduced Tomorrowland Winter, confirmed an agreement for Stageco to build the impressive main stage and two other featured stages – the Lotus stage, previously known as Organ of Harmony, and the steel grid structures in the 32m-high Atmosphere tent. In addition, Stageco erected a number of scaffolding structures across the site, including a variety of dance decks, front of house and VIP platforms, valley towers and scaffold stairs.

In January, the first meetings were held with Tomorrowland’s head of production, Jurgen Nuytemans and his technical colleagues Bart Denies and Patrick Bellens. The event team’s vision for the design concept was explained and detailed renderings of the Book of Wisdom: The Return

theme were presented to a focus group. “It was clear that the biggest challenge was the inclusion of three automated LED ‘books’ with motion control engineered by Frontline Rigging,” said Stageco’s Project Manager Roel Voeten. “The central book weighed 11 tonnes and the two either side were nine tonnes each.

“Our draftsman Manolis Kassanis, who works on Tomorrowland every year, took care of all the drawings and designed the custom parts and associated elements, and Gert Hulsmans and Jelte Smets, our R&D engineers, looked after all the structural calculations.”

In the middle of June, no fewer than 60 trucks of equipment were loaded and dispatched to the Boom site. Responsible for 40 crew, three stages and the many other structures, crew chief David Van Assche worked three full weeks to complete the construction. In the meantime, Antonio Duarte Da Cruz and his team spent three days on the building of a threetower roof for the Lotus stage.

“We’re very proud of everyone’s efforts,” commented Roel Voeten. “In fact, I’m delighted to report that working with our client, We Are One World, has been a constant for us during 2019. In between designing and drafting this year, we also travelled together to the French Alps where, in the snow and February’s freezing conditions, we built the main stage of Tomorrowland’s first winter edition.

“We look forward to more exciting times when Tomorrowland Winter 2020 takes place next March in Alpe d’Huez.”

TPi

Photo: Tomorrowland

www.tomorrowland.com

www.stageco.com

BARCELONA BEACH FESTIVAL

Christie Spyder and Terra process over 25 million pixels at one of Europe’s biggest electronic music festivals.

The Christie Spyder X80 multiscreen windowing processor in combination with Christie Terra SDVoE technology brought the gigantic 50m by 9m LED screen at Barcelona Beach Festival 2019 (BBF) to life.

Stonevent provided the screen for the festival and MappScreen, specialists in audiovisual services for events, managed the content. The mega-screen was an array of LED screens with differing pixel pitches divided around the stage in distinct setups. Each screen had support and flying systems that fit with the festival’s overall design. Over 25 million pixels were powered through three 4K main outputs and another three 4K backup outputs.

“We have been working on this festival alongside Stonevent for years,” said Xavier Cruz Rubio, CEO, MappScreen. “We do all the calculations and pixel mapping for the event’s mega-screen, as well as managing content.”

For this year’s festival, MappScreen used Christie equipment for the first time, with the performing VJs connected to the Spyder X80, sending a 4K signal by both HDMI and DisplayPort. The Spyder managed the VJ’s signals, scaling the 4K to three 4K outputs and relaying the signal to the screen’s six NovaStar processors. “Thanks to the Spyder’s number of 4K inputs, we were able to easily connect all the artists with a specific cable for each one,” Cruz Rubio commented.

“That way we avoided having to share inputs and cables between the different artists or having to hot-swap live.”

The MappScreen CEO was delighted with the performance of the Christie Spyder X80: “As always, it worked to perfection, proving that it is more than capable of powering such high resolutions on giant screens.” MappScreen used the Christie Terra AV-over-IP solution to extend audio, video, as well as embedded time code, (thanks to the built-in synchronisation and metadata support) using fibre cable between FOH and the VJ’s desk on stage.

“We are more than happy with Terra,” Cruz Rubio said. “If Terra didn’t exist, we would have had to use conventional fibre transmitters and receivers, with an equal amount of RJ45 cable to extend the VJs time code.” The MappScreen team thanked Stonevent for placing its trust in them and to its AV supplier Charmex for its on-going support.

TPi

Photo: Christie Digital

www.bcnbeachfestival.com www.christiedigital.com

KENDAL CALLING

Jackinabox powers through the British outdoor elements with style.

Jackinabox has been Kendal Calling’s go-to video team for 13 years now, delivering big screen coverage and live streaming with its bespoke production systems. Built around an Atem 1 M/E production studio 4K switcher and a Raspberry Pi, the live mix was switched via a custom-built touchscreen app.

“You simply tap a camera to cut to it,” explained Director at Jackinabox, John Surdevan. “You can either hot switch by touching any input and causing it to cut to that feed immediately or press once to cue a preview and then press inside the program box to initiate the cut. It’s such an intuitive way of working and feels almost like orchestral conducting – I couldn’t go back to traditional buttons now.”

The Raspberry Pi configures both Atems. It keys the interface (GUI) coming out of the Raspberry Pi with buttons over the top of the multiview. The Pi then detects touch zones on the screen and bounces the message down to the 4K Atem to make the cut, along with lots of other standard functions like transitions.

Surdevan added: “The Pi is handling the data request and syncing what’s happening on the Atem. It gets the video picture by connecting to one of our ingest system’s feeds – kind of marrying it all together.”

Surdevan’s team also provided direct ISO feeds to touring artists who came to the festival with their own effects video team.

“For example, Nile Rodgers & CHIC have been on tour with some of their own cameras and effects, along with cues we had to work with. As Transition Video is supplying the screens at KC and also happens to supply on the CHIC tour, they were fairly easy to integrate with each other.”

He continued: “Video has become increasingly important, especially amongst the big pop/mainstream bands and artists who have a certain creative look they wish to maintain; it’s not just a simple IMAG anymore.”

At the main stage, the Jackinabox team relied on nine cameras. “To reach the required number of cameras, we had to sacrifice channel cameras with owner-operator cameras, but we managed to match them pretty well,” Surdevan said. Inside the sound tent, at FOH, was a Sony FS7

paired with a B4 adaptor and a Canon HJ40. “Which was able to get even tighter due to the centre crop on the FS7,” commented Surdevan. “Also at FOH, we had a Sony PMW-500 with a J33, not quite as tight but better for bringing some wider movements in and out of the stage.”

Inside the tent at FOH was an Ursa Mini Pro G2, as a locked off shot. In the centre of the pit, the team had a tracking dolly rail system with another PMW-500, this time paired with a Cannon HJ14 that, according to John, “gave a really nice wide shot”.

A Sony PMW-200 was positioned stage right for profile closeups, and the sixth camera was a small PXW X70 rigged on a Polecam jib for floating crane shots. “This one produces a nice 4K picture, has SDI out, and is light enough to work well on the polecam,” said Surdevan.

“We have a separate LANC controller to zoom, paired with the polecam’s own hothead. With very little space in the pit for a lengthy jimmy jib, the polecam was the perfect alternative for Kendal.”

The last few cameras were DJI Pocket Osmos for drums closeups, with a homebrew PTZ and SDI out, and a handheld Sony PMW-320 on stage with a Hollyland wireless transmitter. “All recordings were done via our own ingest systems,” Surdevan explained.

The systems also allow the user to edit with a timeline that automatically generates a multicam clip, correctly in sync, which then expands every five seconds. “This means someone can be doing a post edit whilst the performance is still being recorded,” added Surdevan.

“We have a special 10-gigabit network which means our editors can work at speeds of one gigabyte a second – that’s insanely fast and makes it possible to play all 15 feeds at the same time, at full res. Editing seconds behind real time is incredible!”

This year’s festival had a dinosaur theme, with a Jurassic Park-style entrance and a host of inflatable tyrannosaurus rexs bobbing up and down throughout the crowds. “I don’t know what was worse,” laughed Surdevan. “The torrential rain or all those dinosaurs getting in the way of our FOH shots!”

TPi

Photos: Blackmagic Design

www.kendalcalling.co.uk www.blackmagicdesign.com

SZIGET FESTIVAL

Upgraded inventory leads to smoothest-running festival yet.

Capital Sound hauled Martin Audio’s MLA loudspeaker array family across Europe in a two-truck arrangement, with assistance from Hungarian MLA partner, BG Event. The latter, in turn, provided its own Martin Audio inventory for two EDM dance stages.

Both partners were equal to the demands of this stellar event, which last year alone saw an aggregated 565,000 visitors to the picturesque location on the Danube.

“This year, we made changes to the field delays on the main stage and upgraded the subs to MLX,” stated Capital Account Manager Robin Conway. “We had 48 MLX on the front end in three 16 cardioid stacks with a further four by three high cardioid stacks in the field, making 60 MLX in total.” This was the result of a request by long-serving Hungarian audio crew chief and system designer, Marci Mezei.

This led Capital Sound’s Paul Timmins – another omnipresent figure at Sziget – to remark: “The event gets bigger every year, which is why the PA spec has grown. We are consistently asked to upgrade it.” With a stellar line-up including Foo Fighters, Ed Sheeran, Post Malone, Twenty One Pilots, The 1975, Martin Garrix, The National, Catfish and the Bottlemen and Years & Years, Timmins was able to report a near-universal thumbs-up to MLA from the visiting sound engineers.

“MLA continues to improve with age,” he began. “Engineers were finishing their set and commenting that the PA appeared to sound better every time they played through it.” Conway believes the reason for this is “because of the firmware and systematic DISPLAY software upgrades”.

In terms of PA, the main hangs consisted of 17 MLAs and an MLD downfill each side, with side hangs of 14 MLAs and an MLD downfill pointing out on each flank. The 48 MLX subs were spaced evenly in 16 three-high stacks, while Capital turned to the smaller MLA Compact for front fills, deploying 18 elements (six single enclosures placed on top of the subs, and two three-high stacks between the main and side PA on each side).

Two four-element MLA Compacts were positioned behind the mix tower on either side as a shadow delay, while the four field delay positions (stage left and right) variously comprised six MLAs, nine MLAs, nine MLAs and eight MLAs – all supported by an MLD Downfill box and the three-high MLX cardioid stack.

Much of the credit for the smooth running of the event went to Marci Mezei who, in addition to being sound system designer, was the main link with production director, Dániel Benis.

Capital was well represented with the experienced Monitor Tech, Marty Beath and System Tech/FOH Tech, Toby Donovan. Jason Baird provided further tech support for the main stage, and BG Event’s Gabor Bacskay-Mazsi was also part of the main stage tech crew, working closely Mezei.

BG Event provided Martin Audio solutions for the Bacardí Party Arena and Samsung Colosseum stages. For the Bacardí Arena BG provided 10 W8L Longbows as main PA on each side, with additional W8LCs and W8LMs as outfills and delays further down the tent.

Subs comprised 30 WS218Xs. BG’s Chief Technical Engineer Viktor Meszaros reported the difficulty of working in a circus big top where it was necessary to create acceptable sound coverage while excluding the bars in the centre of the arena.

“Also, there was a sound limitation of 98dB as the festival takes place in the middle of the city, and since this tent runs until 5am every day, it was important that we did not disturb the neighbours,” added BG’s Balázs Szentiványi.

At the Samsung Colosseum, shaped like the ancient Colosseum in Rome, BG fielded six MLA Compacts and four MLA Minis (infills) each side (with further MLA Compact as delays). The DJ monitors consisted of a pair of the mighty XE500s driven by Martin Audio’s powerful iK42 amps, and subs comprised six WS218s and four W8LSs.

Szentiványi explained that the technicians’ skill in programming the optimisations in DISPLAY allowed them to avoid sound leakage at the rear of the open-air Colosseum. “The difficulty was that while this was in-the-round, the PA was set up as an L-R system,” he said.

“Subs were set behind the canopy cover that formed part of the design to help deaden them. The almost entirely techno presentation is a very sub-heavy genre, and we had to strike a balance between what the audience and festival organisers expected.”

Overall the BG Event PA deployment proved just as successful as Capital Sound’s. Summing up the success of the event, Timmins declared: “In the 14-15 years that I have been coming out here, this was the smoothest it’s ever been. Having a local MLA partner really works well.

“Sziget is always demanding, and it’s particularly tough with the heat, but we experienced zero equipment issues. For a week like this, to be able to say there were no technical issues to report is unbelievable.”

TPi

Photos: Rockstar Photographers

www.szigetfestival.com

www.martin-audio.com

TANZINSEL OPEN AIR

Futurelight and Eurolite light up the Waldbüttelbrunn festival.

Featuring the likes of Deborah De Luca, Fritz Kalkbrenner, Moonbootica and Oliver Koletzki, the Tanzinsel Open Air attracted more than 10,000 visitors to Gemünden am Main in Lower Franconia.

Responsible for the lighting design of the stage were Brian Krahmer and Simon Hanke, who have already made a name for themselves for their creative designs under the name LED Light Boys.

The lighting technicians used equipment from Eurolite and Futurelight for the 12-hour outdoor event. After dark, the illuminated stage created an impressive atmosphere with a view of the river Main and the Scherenburg.

Among others, 10 Futurelight DMB-160s, nine DMH-200 moving heads and 10 Color Mega Waves were used, as well as four Eurolite Multiflood SMD Strobes, 15 Super Strobe ABLs, three NSF-350 fog machines and two THA-250 theatre spotlights. “We deliberately positioned the 15 ABL strobes next to each other at a width of 9m behind the DJ and behind the VIP crowd

so that you have an ultra-wide Blinder/Strobo fixture,” said Hanke. “We placed the DMB-160 moving heads both below the ABL strobes and in front of the basses to shoot with sharp beams directly from bottom to top.” This created fascinating beam effects – especially after nightfall.

When designing the lighting for the stage, the two LDs also attached importance to supporting the acoustic experience of the audience. “Three NSF-350 LED fog machines with ultra-fast dissolving fluid were also placed on the basses in front of the DJ desk and had a great fake CO 2 effect with the LED ring around the nozzle even during the day. We’re not fans of CO 2 , because the drop is often ‘ruined’ acoustically.”

Another highlight of the stage design was a lighting installation designed by the LED Light Boys. It consists of 185m pixel strings from Eurolite plus control units and power supplies. To control the LED installation, the boys used the powerful Madrix software.

TPi

Photo: Steinigke Showtechnic

www.tanzinsel.de

www.steinigke.de

PEAK TO SKY FESTIVAL

Jereco Studios designs and supplies a robust lighting rig for rock royalty.

With a line-up including Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Duff McKagan (Guns N Roses), Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), and Josh Klinghoffer and Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Frank Douglas of Jereco Studios knew that he “had to put together a package befitting of some of the biggest names in rock ’n’ roll”, for the inagural Peak To Sky Festival in Montana, USA.

Douglas, who served as lighting designer, programmer and lighting op with lighting design and programming assistance by Lauren Plant, said a wide, symmetrical combination of spots, hybrids, washes and effect fixtures were chosen to populate a Stageline SL320 mobile stage provided by Rocky Mountain Rigging.

The downstage electric housed all Elation IP65 fixtures – featuring eight Proteus Hybrids, eight Proteus Rayzor 760s and two DTW Blinder 700IPs – with the midstage holding LED moving head effect lights. The upstage electric held eight Elation Rayzor 760s, while the upstage deck housed LED moving head effects as well as 12 Elation SixPar300s, two DTW Blinder 700IPs, and a pair of ADJ Mega Flash strobes.

The IP65 rating of the Proteus Hybrids and Rayzors, along with the DTW Blinders, were key to their downstage placement and role in the rig. “The new Proteus Rayzor 760s have excellent output and zoom to 77° for total coverage at any distance, making them an ideal wash fixture in their standard mode,” said Douglas.

“I normally like to put spots/hybrids on my upstage electric and deck, but the Proteus Hybrids have proven to be a versatile go-anywhere beast. In beam mode they cut through the sky, giving it that big rock show feel, yet they also thrive in spot mode, and at that distance from the cyc were used for crisp gobo projection and animation.” The LD said the upstage Rayzor

760s were a perfect choice for mirroring the large LED moving head effect lights. “I ran the upstage Rayzors in pixel mode, which were plotted in 2D to control each cell. This made for more pleasing dimmer and colour effects, as well as pixel mapping alongside the LED effect lights in their extended mode.” The potential for rough weather dictated that the Proteus Hybrids worked from the downstage truss, and despite wind and rain throughout the weekend, the fixtures came thorugh “completely unscathed”.

Douglas described one of his favourite looks using the the Rayzor 760s: “I was definitely looking forward to utilising the infinite pan and tilt of the Rayzor 760s,” he commented. “My favourite look using that was to write an effect using the infinite tilt and fanning out the offset and rate to achieve a spider-esque look of continually cascading light beams. I was able to incorporate the new SparkLEDs just by selecting a bunch of my favourite looks from their built-in macros, then manipulating their rate with a fader. It was nice to know I could still get excellent utility from the SparkLEDs even without needing to run them in the full extended 80-channel mode.”

Rounding out the rig were Elation Lighting SIXPAR 300s, which provided upwash onto a cyc, while another pair of DTW Blinders were positioned directly behind Chad Smith and Taylor Hawkins’ drum risers to create a silhouette when blacking out the rest of the rig.

“Elation has been at the forefront of developing LED and weatherproof fixtures, which are the future of entertainment lighting. We’re sticklers for efficiency and robustness, so choosing Elation was a no-brainer.”

The Jereco crew comprised Owner, Jeremiah Slovarp, Technical Director/FOH Engineer, Stephan Gueguen, Monitor Engineer, Matt Grayson, StageLine Tech, Garrett Stephens, and “the most integral piece to our lighting world, our L2, Lauren Plant”.

TPi

Photo: Kene Sperry

www.peaktoskyfestival

www.elationlighting.com

CAMPER CALLING

CPL returns as video supplier for the festival’s main Lakeside stage.

Organisers Jazz Events upped the ante for this year’s Camper Calling, investing in more production to ensure that loyal fans of this fun-filled, family-friendly event enjoyed a diversity of entertainment to the full.

CPL has been involved since the first festival in 2016, and this time added LED IMAG side screens to the package for the first time. The line-up included Skunk Anansie, The Fratellis, Ash, The Feeling, Craig Charles,

Sleeper, Tony Christie, Artful Dodger and many more.

The stage – one of Star Live’s mobile structures – was bigger this year, around 15m wide, and the two IMAG screens were rigged either side, each measuring 6m wide by 3.6m high and made up from CPL’s ROE Visual CB5 LED product in Air Frames.

Onstage more ROE Visual CB5 was set up as a 2.4m-wide by 4.8m-deep centre screen flanked by four different length columns – two per side – with drops of 4.2m and 3.6m. The interesting and gently asymmetric look was designed by CPL’s Events Director, Lee Gruszeckyj. The purpose of the design was to break up the stage and to ensure that all the acts could benefit from having video even when playing in the daylight. All the screens

were processed by Brompton Tessera SX40s – main and hot backup – for full redundancy. Meanwhile, a disguise 4x4 media server was supplied to feed the onstage screen elements, and CPL produced and composited all the content.

Also feeding into the Barco E2 system used for screen management were four cameras: two Sony HXC-100s, one with a Canon CJ12 lens was stationed in the pit for close-ups, and the other was located back at the FOH position, fitted with an HJ40 lens for overall shots and some zoom-ins.

Two of CPL’s Agile remote cameras were positioned onstage – one fixed on the stage left structural leg truss, and the other on a movable stand. This often sat behind the drum kit to capture a reverse shot of the crowd from stage, but this was variable depending on the act and their backline setup of choice.

“We all really enjoyed being back for another year,” stated Gruszeckyj. “There is a fantastic atmosphere, and it’s great to work with a client committed to investing in and delivering proper production values and a great guest experience.”

TPi

Photos: Charlie O’Beirne @Lukonic

www.campercalling.com

www.cpl.tech

TRNSMT FESTIVAL

Adlib supplies a full technical production package to the popular Scottish festival.

Adlib enjoyed another bumper, busy and successful summer festival and event season, from which recent highlights have included supplying full technical production – lighting, audio, video and rigging – for the third hugely popular TRNSMT Festival, staged by DF Concerts over three days at Glasgow Green, Scotland.

It was the first time that Adlib had supplied all four primary technical disciplines – including a production rigger – having been the lighting and audio contractor since the festival started in 2017.

The three-day event – headlined on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday by Stormzy, Catfish and the Bottlemen and George Ezra respectively – was serviced from the company’s Glasgow office and project managed by Chris Neary, assisted by Graham Cochrane and Craig Hamilton. “It made sense for everyone to have one locally based technical solutions provider this year, which ensured the whole process ran smoothly and efficiently.”

The stage was a Serious Stages 25m Space Roof, and below this, Production Rigger Jimmy Johnson – who has also been involved with the event since the start – flew a series of trusses. The ‘house’ lighting rig was flown on four straight trusses and two side trusses. This setup emanated from their knowledge and experiences of the previous two events and was designed by the Adlib team to work for all the major acts. Neary worked closely with Lighting Crew Chief, Jon Barlow.

The overhead and side trusses were populated with more than 90 moving lights, including Martin by Harman Viper Profiles, Claypaky Mythos hybrids and MAC Quantum Washes, 30 of each.

The two headlining bands each night brought their own floor set-ups which, as well as those mentioned above, were Gerry Cinnamon, Bastille and Lewis Capaldi. As Cinnamon and Capaldi are existing Adlib clients, they provided their specials for LDs Pete Hutchison and Gary Wilson.

The house lighting console was a MA Lighting grandMA3, plus a hot backup, and a WYSIWYG suite was provided at FOH, so visiting LDs could tweak their shows as necessary and maximise any additional time.

The upstage ‘house’ LED screen was a 15m by 8m wall of Adlib’s new ROE Visual V8 LED product, which was utilised by the final acts of the day, as dusk fell into darkness.

George Ezra’s production was a festival version of his distinctive touring set with windows built upstage of the house LED screen for the Sunday night slot. In the changeover, Adlib flew in and de-rigged the screen in just 18 minutes, re-revealing Ezra’s full set. A move that was “pretty impressive even by our exacting standards,” exclaimed Neary, clearly proud of the achievement and combination of good organisation and engineering. The side screens were two portrait-oriented 6m by 8m surfaces constructed from Unilumin 5.9mm – another Adlib stock LED product.

A full 4K camera package included three Sony HDC4300 broadcast cameras, which were positioned at FOH, in the pit and handheld onstage, with Adlib also supplying dedicated operators.

These were supplied with one of Adlib’s custom PPUs, which included a Panasonic AV-HS410 switcher. The TRNSMT video elements were coordinated by crew chief Rob Bickerstaff.

A media server was supplied for the playback of ad stings, sponsor messages, public announcements and safety messages. Visiting artists with video content all brought in their own media servers and hooked into the Adlib system.

The festival system was made up of L-Acoustics K1s and K2s, hung in a variety of configurations. The rig comprised left and right main hangs plus side hangs either side of the IMAG screens, utilising a total of 24 K1s and 24 K2s. The subs were L-Acoustics KS28s – 36 in total, all ground stacked in columns in front of the stage. Twenty-two boxes of KARA were used for infills, outfills and lip fills. Four delay hangs were built either side of, and parallel with, FOH on two towers 20m apart, and these utilised a total of 28 K2 elements. The ‘house’ consoles were DiGiCo SD12s for FOH and monitors – with five supplied in total including a spare system.

Most of the bands brought in some sort of audio package of varying sizes and complexities, all of which were accommodated with minimum fuss, and for those utilising the house monitor system, 12 Adlib MP5 wedges were available.

Adlib’s Audio Crew Chief, Aaron Greig, worked alongside eight audio techs and engineers spread between the stage and FOH, and they made up part of the 24-strong crew covering lighting, video, audio and rigging. “Being the third year, we knew what to expect, which made things a lot easier and enabled us to refine some elements,” he stated.

“Having a fully Adlib technical team also had many advantages, and everything worked out well including the weather,” he concluded.

“We enjoyed the teamwork and camaraderie with the visiting crews and we’ve received some excellent feedback.”

TPi

Photos: Steve Sroka

www.trnsmtfest.com

www.adlib.co.uk

PYROTEK FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

The SFX and pyrotechnical specialist reflects on a memorable festival season.

Pyrotek Special Effects provided looks for Shinedown at Rocklahoma, Slayer at several of Europe’s metal festivals, and The Killers as the band headlined the Main Stage at Glastonbury.

Memorial Day weekend saw the company head to the festival grounds of Rocklahoma in Pryor, Oklahoma. Supporting Shinedown, the company provided a full tour load of pyrotechnics, lasers and flames.

Pyrotek’s Kinetic Wave 2.0 systems, an arsenal of La Maitre Quad Pro Salamanders, high-powered audience scanning lasers and a flurry of varying mine and comet looks (including large scale pyrotechnics) combined for an exhilarating ride through the band’s biggest hits.

The company also worked with Slayer as the band played at the likes of Hellfest, Download and Graspop during 2019 festival season. Notorious for their unparalleled intensity, the band commissioned Pyrotek to provide its own propane-powered Dragon Head and Dragon Tail units, alongside Le Maitre Salamanders and Xplo flame units. The band also had two separate effects rigs prepared for the European festival runs to abide by fire regulations in several countries.

The Killers also benefitted from Pyrotek’s large-scale pyrotechnics for their headline slot at Glastonbury Festival. With over 150 different comets in varying colours, a mystifying waterfall of sparks and a staggering 45kg of confetti in hot pink and the colours of the Union Jack, the effects were nothing short of stunning.

TPi

Photos: Pyrotek

www.pyrotekfx.com

LOLLAPALOOZA BERLIN

Colour Sound Experiment provides lighting, LED screens and sub-rigging for the Perry’s Stage.

It was the second year for the festival at the Olympiapark site in Berlin, and once again the Perry’s Stage was inside the Stadium, where a fantastic line-up was headlined by Underworld on Saturday and Martin Garrix on Sunday, and also featured the likes of Don Diablo and Scooter.

Crew Chief Ricardo Lorenzini and Dave Ross led the Colour Sound Experiment crew, who sub hung three LX trusses from the roof and four vertical tower trusses per side in the mid-stage area. Another lighting truss was rigged either side above the IMAG video screens, and the rest of the fixtures were positioned on the deck along the front of the stage lip and in the stage wings.

The upstage video screen measured 17m by 9m, made up from Colour Sound’s Unilumin ROE Visual CB5 screen supported by the two portraitformat side screens, each 7m by 5m, built from BT7 LED screen.

Nearly 250 moving lights graced the ‘house’ rig – comprising Robe MegaPointes, Pointes and Spiiders, together with ProLights Diamond7 LED washes and 69 IP-rated AquaBeams.

Robe Pointes and MegaPointes were dotted over all the trussing, with some on the floor front and back, selected as powerful workhorse fixtures due to their wealth of features, extremely quick movement, ease of programming and reliability. The AquaBeams were positioned in an arc behind the stage – from the seating stand area to the front, level with the side wings – with more on the wings as well as some strobes.

The AquaBeams also combined well with the Robes to provide a barrage of contrasting and slightly different textured shafts of light that shot all the way to the back of the massive audience area.

There were also 94 Molefay blinder units dotted around the trusses and the stage – a mix of 2-lites and 4-lites – along with 52 GLP JDC1 LED strobes. To ensure the atmospherics kept pumping, 26 smoke and haze machines were deployed on and around the stage.

Dave Ross operated for any artists who didn’t have their own LD and the house console was one of Colour Sound’s MA Lighting grandMA3s with an MA2 as backup and a ChamSys MagicQ MQ500, which was used for Underworld’s headline show. A Resolume media server system and a fivechannel

Panasonic remote camera package / PPU was integral to the video set up. This was looked after by Ed Blackwell, who cut the camera mix.

Joining Lorenzini and Ross on the lighting crew were Geno Welburn, Cian Leow, Maria Richardson, Gergely Lokos and Alex Bratza, who worked alongside Janos Fodor and Ed Blackwell, who tech’d the LED and video. Underworld’s specials involved another 52 moving lights – more Diamond7 LED washes, Claypaky Sharpies for beams, Chauvet Rogue R2 washes, 14 active Sunstrips and 10 strobes. The kit for Martin Garrix’s ANIMA show, meanwhile, included 110 Robe Spikies and four SuperSpikies. TPi

Photo: Philipp Gladsome www.lollapaloozade.com www.coloursound.comg

UNTOLD FESTIVAL

CLF fixtures light up one of Europe’s most visually impressive festivals.

Untold Festival has swiftly become one of the most beloved and acclaimed festivals worldwide, winning the award for Best Major Festival at the European Festival Awards, from its first edition. Now in its fifth year, attracts a global audience with its leading artists and exceptional visual production. Almost all stages for the fesitval were packed with CLF fixtures.

Lighting Director André Beekmans from The Art Of Light was responsible for designing the mainstage, while Chris Das from Four Aces took care of production management and design of the secondary stages.

The main goal was to make the light design even better than in previous years. To that end, 14 trusses with CLF Ares and Orion fixtures were added to the arena setup. “We used the Ares to create a massive audience wash, which worked really well for the livestream and pictures,” said Beekmans.

“We used the Orions as effect lighting and, due to the double spot/beam functionalities, it was the perfect fixture to create spherical momentums that hyped up the crowd.” The stage had to be suitable for touring artists

with their own floor kits. The house rig made sure the whole stage was covered with a combination of spots, washes and beams. The wings of the stage were filled with scenery. CLF Yara fixtures took care of the small details, while CLF Ares fixtures functioned as main scenery wash.

Das commented: “The Ares surprises me every time, in terms of their output and intense colours. The flexible diffusor kits make it very easy to find the right balance.

“Because of the heavy-duty housing, excellent colours and high output, we decided to purchase Ares, Yara and LEDbar PRO fixtures,” said Das.

As effect lighting for the complete mainstage, CLF Aorun beams were used. “The Aoruns were really helpful to extend the stage visually into the arena,” said Beekmans.

“We are familiar with the usage and possibilities of the CLF fixtures and we use them on many other shows, including Amsterdam Music Festival. These fixtures were also very much appreciated by visting LDs,” he concluded.

TPi

Photo: Alive Coverage

www.untold.com www.clf-lighting.com

The CLF Hera features high output and outstanding smooth RGBWAUV color mixing. Rich colors, subtle pastle tones and a very homogenous 30° beam angle are delivered by 12 high power LEDs which can be dimmed precisely by the 16bit dimming control. IP65 rating makes the Hera suitable for both in- and outdoor use.

BACK TO THE 80S & 90S

Light Design delivers impressive production for the UK’s largest retro music festival.

Returning for its fourth year working on Back to the 80s & 90s, Light Design brought back the team from last year’s show, with James Dean heading up video and SFX production duties and Nick Humphrey as Lighting Designer and Show Operator.

As well as upping the production values, this year’s festival also stepped it up a gear with a line-up comprising Tony Hadley, B*witched, S Club Party, D:ream, Nik Kershaw, Jive Bunny, East 17, Vengaboys, Heather Small, DJ Sammy, Sash, Alice DJ, General Levi, and Ratpack.

The main stage lighting and video design consisted of a stage full of industry-standard fixtures and control equipment. The video element of the show centred around a 5.8m by 3.45m main backscreen using Light Design’s 6mm High Resolution Black Faced LED screen panels. Video control and processing consisted of two Green Hippo Amba Plus V4 Media Servers, Novastar MCTRL660 processing with Barco ImagePro-II scalers to facilitate all the necessary in and outputs required for the show.

Humphrey rendered all the pre-vis designs and plans in Wysiwyg R42 Perform, to ensure all the show-critical elements worked in the company’s in-house Milos MR2K 12m by 10m Stage system, which was spec’d complete with PA wings, cow sheds and large off-stage technical areas for all the demanding stage changeovers required. The Main lighting rig comprised 16 Robe LED Wash 1200s, 12 Robe Pointes, 10 Martin by Harman MH3 Beams, six Robe LED Wash 600s, 16 Colorband Pix IPs, six 8way Thomas Stage Blinders, 12 Procan 2 way Stage Blinders, six Claypaky Stormy CCs, a pair of Look Solution Unique Hazers Mk2, two Jem ZR45 smoke machines, and eight Spectra LED Par Cans, all of which were hung from 16 Doughty large H Frames.

Control and power consisted of an Avolites Arena as the main stage desk, all powered by a SES 72way distro with CHAUVET Professional and Proplex data distribution and LSC dimming.

While special effects comprised a floor package of two Force FX Confetti blaster XLs, four Le Maitre Salamanders, four Le Maitre twin pods firing silver jets and theatrical flashes with four Magic FX CO 2 jets, hung inverted from the stage roof and a pair of Magic FX Stadium Shots, which fired a combination of streamers and Vengaboys banknotes into the crowd.

Light Design team, along with its client, James Dean Events, was delighted with the end result. Dean said: “I’ve used Terry and the Light Design guys for the past eight years; their creative designs and excellent delivery put them ahead of all others in the industry. We listen to our fans and they tell us year on year how much they love the production. Terry’s help and guidance has been invaluable to our company – especially in the early years – and it’s for those reasons we keep going back to Light Design.”

TPi

Photo: Ash Youd

www.lightdesignltd.co.uk

HIDE & SEEK FESTIVAL

Funktion-One sounds all four stages of the festival, including the latest outing for Vero VX.

Funktion-One systems sounded all four stages at Hide & Seek festival, which was organised by Manchester’s You&Me.

The sound crew, which was headed up by Audioserv directors, husband and wife team Pete Rollinson and Marianne Springham, featured eight members for build days, scaling to four tech crew for event day. Funktion-One’s Tony and Ann Andrews were also onsite for build-up, taking a particular interest in the deployment of Vero VX.

Vero VX’s deployment on the Contour Stage comprised left and right stacks of four VX90s, along with four F124 24in bass enclosures. Power was supplied by Funktion-One D-Series amps, and a Midas Venice 320 was used at FOH.

Rollinson commented: “To have the new Vero VX showcased at Hide & Seek was brilliant. It was absolutely outstanding. In sound checks, we had issues with high frequencies bouncing off the trees at the back of the field. By making a couple of minimal adjustments to the vertical array angle, with its accurate coverage pattern, the issue totally disappeared, leaving even coverage across the audience areas.

“We have been running the F124 subs this season and they just keep on giving. Immense low end and fast tight bass that you wouldn’t expect from such a huge driver. Just four subs for an area that could hold at least 2,000 people is incredible.” Tony Andrews added: “We’ve had Vero VX on a number of festivals and shows over the summer, so we’re discovering exactly what it is capable of. One of the most surprising things is how effective it is with only four cabinets per side. We’ve been doing up to 5,000 people with that setup, with power coming from only two amps.

Stretch Disco Tent was home to four Resolution 5Ts and four F221s and a Yamaha LS9 console, while the Dome Tent system had four Resolution 4Es and four F121s. Ten Trees Stage featured four Evo 7Ts with four F124s but lost its desk due to the torrential weather conditions – the engineer had to make all control adjustments from the main system processor (XTA X04). All three systems were powered by MC2 E Series amps.

Rollinson said: “The Evo 7 tops do exactly what they are given and because of the area where we used them, their dispersion pattern meant that the crowd was covered, with absolutely no spill from them to other areas.” DJ kit included an Allen & Heath Xone:92 mixer on each stage, with an E&S DJR400, Play Differently Model One, and Rane MP 2016 with XP2016 also on hand to meet specific tech rider requirements.

Springham concluded: “Most of our touring systems are Funktion-One. We completely believe in this brand and they have been really supportive of our company over the years. Next year, we’ll have Vero VX in our hire stock. We know this is amazing for live bands and can’t wait to do some live festival shows with it.”

TPi

Photos: Funktion-One www.hideandseekfestival.co.uk www.funktion-one.com

READING AND LEEDS

Creative Technology celebrates its 25th year with the two famed festivals

This year, Festival Republic transformed the Main Stage IMAG screens at Reading and Leeds Festival, almost doubling them in size from 145 sq m to 270 sq m. Each of the huge screens, which were made up of InfiLED 5.9, measured a monstrous 22.5m by 12m, all provided by Creative Technology.

A custom double curve at each end allowed the screens to be wrapped around the festival goalpost support structures, opening the stage area and giving the crowd some impressive close-up shots of the artists. CT also supplied Barco E2 switchers and 4K signal transfer to deliver video relay to the IMAGs (each of which were larger than 4K) with the additional provision of four cameras at Leeds, feeding images for the video relay to the IMAGs, all using Brompton processing.

“As soon as conversations about the Main Stage LED started, I knew we had an exciting challenge ahead,” commented Dominic Hill, Project Manager at Creative Technology looking after Leeds Festival. “As with any large event, it didn’t happen without the odd hurdle along the way, but the entire on-site crew was attentive and hard working – they all deserve a huge pat on the back.”

The impressive upstage screen measured 16.8m by 9.6m and was made up of ROE Visual CB5. The large screen was rebuilt and repurposed into different configurations each night by a full overnight LED crew. To add an extra dimension to the Main Stage and provide an unrestricted view for the large crowds that gathered there, a FOH Screen measuring 12.5m by 7m was supplied, curving around the structure beautifully. In addition to the Main Stage LED and switching, CT supplied seven screens, which were built in the Radio 1 area.

Creative Technology Project Manager, Jim Liddiard, looking after Reading Festival, commented: “Reading and Leeds 2019 undoubtedly offered an engineering challenge. We worked closely with UK Rigging to deliver the supersized IMAGs on the Main Stage and the result was incredible. None of this would have been possible without the crew, who were second to none.”

On top of the LED element, CT Audio supplied sound to the BBC Radio 1 Dance Stage and The Pit / The Lock Up Stage. Avid Profile FOH desks were supplied to both stages, with the Dance Stage running a d&b V-series L & R system with V and J-INFRA subs, and out-fills were d&b Y-series, all running on D80 Amplifiers.

The Pit / The Lock Up Stage was running a smaller d&b Y-series system, with B2-SUBs. At the monitors end of the multicore CT supplied Yamaha PM5D-RH and run d&b M4 stage monitors with side fills comprising d&b J-SUBs with V7P tops for the Dance Stage and d&b B4-SUBs with V7P tops for The Pit / The Lock Up Stage, all running on D80 amplifiers.

TPi

Photo: Creative Technology

www.readingfestival.com

www.leedsfestival.com

www.ct-group.com

64

ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL

Quantum Special Effects supports Biffy Clyro’s headline act at this year’s Isle of Wight Festival.

With Biffy Clyro pulling from their extensive back catalogue, Quantum Special Effects provided four of its exclusive FL Spitfire flames delivering 100ft flames, four Spitfires (50ft flames) and 16 G Flames on stage.

Complementing the flames, Quantum also used confetti and streamers, with a close-proximity pyrotechnic finale fired from behind the stage.

“In total, Quantum has been working with the band for the past 10 years,” commented Shaun Barnett, Director of Quantum. “The effects and cues were a mixture of existing and new ones. We work closely with Lighting Designer, Richard Larkum, to add the right effect for each musical cue as Biffy’s shows are ever evolving.”

Collectively, Quantum had six techs on site to install and operate the SFX safely. “Our exclusive 100ft-high FL Spitfire flames are very quick and easy to install, use and refill if required,” Shaun Barnett recalled. “With the large quantity of SFX on stage, behind the stage and in the pit, we needed six techs to ensure safety – our spotters did some mileage that night.”

Barnett was happy to report that the weather throughout the weekend was kind for the FL Flames and pyrotechnic finale. “It was a busy festival for SFX. We worked closely with other SFX companies, sharing scissor lifts and planning loading times so we didn’t interfere with each other,” he commented. “Biffy’s production was as smooth as ever. We knew what we had to do before we got on site, and we all gelled together to make the show a success.”

For control, the Quantum team utilised its Galaxis wireless firing system. The company currently has more than 150 10-way receivers in its hire arsenal. It enabled the company to control confetti blowers, stadium shots, Spitfires, FL Spitfires, G Flames, stage pyro and the close-proximity

pyrotechnic finale. “We have a PFC link to enable two control desks to run simultaneously, so should one go down, the other will continue to run the show,” he added. “Using the hazard zone feature allows SFX not being fired in a cue to be isolated, therefore eliminating the risk of firing the wrong effect at the wrong time.”

Barnett concluded: “We’d like to thank Biffy Clyro and all our other clients for their continued business as we gear up for a busy autumn.”

TPi

Photo: @antoniatomlinson

www.isleofwightfestival.com

www.q-sfx.com

LET IT ROLL

Kvant Lasers supplies the world’s largest drum ’n’ bass festival.

Each year the event’s production spends a big part of resources on the main stage, and this time it was no different.

Kvant Show Production supplied six Spectrum 20 full-colour laser display systems for the atmospheric effect and two LD 30 Spectrum units for the laser mapping of the main stage. The laser show sequence for the grand opening was prepared beforehand and synced to a DJ track.

The laser mapping content was programmed on-site, with the aerial effects being adjusted for the best looks during rehearsals. The whole laser display was operated from an MA Lighting grandMA2 lighting desk, and while the opening sequence ran automatically from the timeline, the rest of the performance was done in live mode.

With regards to laser safety, Kvant masked the outputs of all eight systems with four-way masking plates, restricting their projection zones securely to avoid any unwanted scanning of the audience. Not only that, but all the lasers were run via the emergency stop distribution hub with a single E-stop button.

Due to distance between the projector locations and the laser operator position, the laser control signal was distributed via fibre-optic cables. The control signal back-up with directional wireless antennas was set up just in case of unexpected turbulence. All of Kvant’s systems were also fitted with rain covers to protect them from very likely summer thunderstorms.

TPi

Photo: Kvant Lasers

www.letitroll.eu

www.kvantlasers.co.uk