dbn has been the lighting supplier for the festival organised by Ground Control since it started five years ago, since when it has grown in stature, popularity and physical size. Last year, it moved from the original site in Platt Fields to Heaton Park to allow for expansion and this year the capacity was increased to 70,000.
dbn's project manager Pete Robinson created an individual production design for each area, all of which served as eye-catching backdrops for the heterogeneity of acts appearing over the two days.
He comments, "It was great to be involved again! We are all really excited to see the festival develop and to be able to help stage a world class music event like this in Manchester."
The Main Stage (Stage 1) was the biggest performance space on site with a 22m Serious Structures Stratosphere stage, under which the dbn crew sub-hung several trusses including a drapes truss upstage and seven lighting trusses. The design was flexible and included the accommodation of specials for headliners Rudimental, Snoop Dog, Bastille and The Foals plus points for the IMAG screens - adding up to 34 points and motors in the roof.
The four main lighting trusses were rigged on diagonals, raked upstage / downstage making two V's, with ladders dropping down at the ends to maximise the height and produce very dynamic looks.
The moving lights were chosen and positioned for greatest versatility. Sixteen Clay Paky QWO 800s, 24 x CP Sharpies and 16 x Sharpy Washes were at the core of the design, together with 10 Atomic strobes with scrollers, 12 x CP Alpha Beam 700s and eight x A. leda 20 B-Eyes. The B-Eyes and Alpha Beams were used as part of a highly effective 'house' floor specials package for bands that didn't bring their own.
There was also a splattering of 4-lite blinders, 2K fresnels and ETC Source Four Profiles, together with Reel EFX DF50 and Jem ZR44 hazers and smoke, plus two Robert Juliat Victor follow spots.
For control, dbn offered an Avo Pearl Expert for the house rig which was looked after and operated by Edwin Croft for those bands not bringing their own LD or FOH set up.
In addition to the five arenas, dbn also supped three other performance spaces.
One of the most fun was The Smallest Club in The World, a 12 x 8 ft garden shed with DJ set up which was also one of the most popular places on site. This miniscule environment was packed from start to finish with people - the audience had to work out their own rota system to share the experience around. It was lit with Datamoons, egg Strobes, smoke and imagination!
The Tree House was another idiosyncratic concept with DJs performing several metres up on an artificial tree, also illuminated by dbn, and finally Robinson and his team also lit the VIP area.
In addition to all this, 60 panels of dbn's Hartwell Media 18 mm pitch LED screen product was supplied to Stage 6, The Temple, a massive structure built around one of Serious's Stratosphere stages.
dbn's crew peaked at 20 people during the setup which was accomplished very efficiently in three days. The ground support structures were all constructed first on the Wednesday, with the lighting load in started on the Thursday (before going live for the Saturday & Sunday) and when the main areas were nearing completion, they commenced rigging everything for the smaller stages on the Friday.
(Jim Evans)
