The sister festivals are held every year in Croatia's medieval town of Pula in the ruins of the town's 150-year-old Fort, 'Punto Christo'. Providing the lighting and video aspects for both Outlook and Dimensions was UK lighting, rigging and production expert Fineline Lighting, which has been involved in the festivals since 2012.
"This year we looked after The Void, Mungo's Arena, The Stables, Noah's Ballroom, The Moat, The Garden and the main stage," says Fineline Lighting's managing director Rob Sangwell. "The two festivals celebrate EDM and soundsystem culture, so lighting and visuals are always high on the agenda."
Sangwell and his team's biggest task was Outlook and Dimensions' flagship stage The Clearing, which boasted headline acts such as Stormzy, Andy C, David Rodigan, Noisia and Lary Heard AKA Mr Fingers. The stage itself was a 10m wide by 10m high triangle with a clear skin. Alongside the on-stage video and lighting system were four towers of video and moving lights, with further video panels also installed on the PA masts.
Sangwell chose two Avolites Arena consoles, two Ai Infinity EX4 media servers and a multitude of DMX Rack Splitters and ArtNet nodes to power the colossal set-up.
"A fully integrated approach to lighting and video control was needed to link all the visual elements together, both on stage and out in the arena," continues Sangwell. "We used two Arena consoles running in multi-user mode with individual work spaces so that the video and lighting elements could be operated together on one console or separately if required. This allowed visiting operators to take control of the entire show or just the visual elements they wanted, at the same time as providing a complete backup of the control system."
Networked up with the Arena consoles for seamless, integrated output were the Ai Infinity EX4 media servers. "The flawless integration between the control system and servers and the ease of use and speed of the output mapper made the Infinity EX4 exactly the right fit," continues Sangwell. "The reliability of the server and the superb backup provided by Avolites was also a big factor in this decision."
For the festivals' two medium capacity venues The Void, Mungo's Arena and The Moat, Sangwell and his team used two Avolites Tiger Touch II consoles and one Expert Pro.
"The consoles were selected based on the needs and complexity of each stage," explains Sangwell. "The Void stage had a punchy LED lighting rig capable of illuminating the substantial set pieces with vibrant colour and also delivering high-impact looks. Some of the artists bring their own video and floor packages which need to be integrated and due to the variety of music types and styles, versatility and flexibility is key here. The Tiger Touch II ticked all the boxes and its compact size was a bonus too."
Sangwell was also responsible for the lighting at The Stables; a small venue featuring grassroots drum and bass acts such as Levelz, Lex Luger and Hucci. Due to the space available, Sangwell opted for Avolites' most compact console - the Quartz.
"The speed with which programming can be achieved on Avolites products makes their consoles ideal for festivals such as Outlook and Dimensions," says Sangwell, "The products have fantastic buskability and are reliable. Additionally, the support that Avolites provides its end users is fantastic - they are with you for the whole life-cycle of the kit."
Dimensions and Outlook festivals are set within one week of each other. Dimensions Festival took place on 25-28 August 2016 and Outlook between 31 August - 4 September.
(Jim Evans)
