So went the narrative for Thorpe Park’s end-of-season spectacular, a stunning, action-packed amalgam of lighting, sound, lasers and fireworks.
Lighting designer Dave Gibbon (pictured) designed a massive 216 Par can matrix for the project (36 x 6-lamp bars). This was rigged on the island on a tower above his operating ‘bunker’ which also contained six 48-way Avolites ART dimming systems, Dave himself, his trusty Avolites Pearl console and his right-hand rigger-in-chief Chris Henry (Carrot) and Avolites’ John Snelling.
Avolites wrote custom software for the Pearl to allow Gibbon to programme letters, numbers and text for the matrix on a PC - using a mouse and a grid mimic - and then record them as chases. These were then imported directly into the console and stored, edited and replayed just like normal chases. The software also allowed him to select figures directly from the Pearl’s keypad and apply them to the matrix. This saved literally days of programming time and removed the need for a conventional matrix controller. The majority of the show was programmed beforehand at Avolites using a Visualiser system, allowing Gibbon to start the project well prepared.
As part of his brief, Gibbon also lit the Island of Doom, the centrepiece of the action, with eight Studio Due City Colors, also controlled from the Pearl, and a 70kW Lightning Strikes strobe burned into the sky and clouds.A major challenge was the island location, 300 metres across the lake from the viewing platform. Others included the weather - inevitably - and the get in . . . a 100m haul through pure quagmire and sludge at the back of the island, aided only slightly by a 45ft arm forklift vehicle.
The 21-minute timecoded show was run just like any conventional theatrical performance, with a show caller administering cues to all departments. SMPTE timecode from the sound desk, located on the audience viewing platform, was bounced over to the lighting desk via radio link. It was decoded into MIDI timecode before being fed into the desk.
Creative Media Techniques (CMT) co-ordinated the overall visuals and supplied the lasers for the show with Darren Parker Lighting (DPL) from Southend supplying the lighting equipment, LD and crew.
