Adlib's Chris Neary evolved and interpreted the initial visual briefs for the massive Cream Arena, the hyperactive Skream & Benga Arena, emerging talent in the Annie Mac Presents Arena and the Hospitality area.
There is a strong local and regional affinity between Adlib and Cream, the night club that began as a cool house music experience in the heart of Liverpool in 1992 and grew into the vibrant, global brand it is today which includes staging the annual Creamfields UK event.
Chris Neary designed lighting and co-ordinated visuals for all four arenas based on the fundamentals of offering an amazing visual experience; the rigs being flexible enough to look different throughout long periods of operation - and accommodating specials and the additional requirements for specific artists.
Cream Arena was the biggest tented space on site and the starting point for visuals was trying to make it appear bigger and wider still, extending the lighting into the auditorium to envelop the audience and further involve them in the action.
Three ground supported goal-post structures were installed and hung with video - supplied by XL Video - extending the sides of the stage right and left out to the edge of the tent. Neary took full advantage of these as hanging points for lighting as well, attaching Showtec Active Sunstrip fixtures on the goalposts, together with 12 x Martin MAC Aura LED wash fixtures to break up the blocks of video screen.
Onstage there was a large video wall behind the DJ booth, so Adlib rigged three trusses over the stage, and on the back two of these installed a total of 12 x Martin MAC Vipers profiles and 12 x (of their new) MAC Viper Washes. Neary wanted bright high-impact fixtures that would hold their own against the very bright LED screens. Two Atomic strobes also graced each truss.
On the front truss were six MAC Auras for front wash onstage and three 8-lite Moles for audience illumination.
Above the audience two trusses were rigged from the tent king poles running across the width of the space, each fitted with a total of 16 MAC Vipers, 16 Viper Washes and 8 Atomic strobes.
The operators in Cream were Adlib's Andy Rowe and Nathan Harrison using a Road Hog Full Boar and an Avolites Pearl Expert to offer any visiting LD a choice, both consoles running expansion wings.
Adlib provided both lighting and LED screens in the Annie Mac Presents arena
The original visual concept for Skream & Benga involved 'shards of video' for the environment so Neary created an apex-down triangular LED centrepiece onstage from 17 panels of Pixled F-30, which was flanked by two trusses making V shapes either side, loaded up with Clay Paky Sharpies, MAC Auras and 2-lites Moles to delineate the architecture.
Beneath each truss on the floor were another six pieces of F-30 staggered in a 3-2-1 format from the stage edge into the centre. Above the main triangles each side were another four MAC Auras and four Sharpies. The Road Hog Full Boar with Playback Wing and Avo Pearl Expert with touch Wing were operated by Charlie Rushton and Chris Richardson, and Adlib supplied another Catalyst media server for the video, again with tailored content for the event.
For Audio, Adlib pooled their vast experience and knowledge of designing EDM sound systems and again delivered results with Coda Audio and JBL VerTec.
In the Cream Arena Otto Kroymann and Rhys Roberts looked after a large JBL system.
Keen to showcase the adaptability of the Coda systems Adlib deployed these in three areas - Skream & Benga, Annie Mac and Hospitality.
Says Adlib director Peter Abraham: "Expectations are h
