Running every Friday and Saturday nights from September to New Year's Eve each year, the WHP unites DJs and live artists in an energetic, vibrant dance party environment, all staged in a former air raid bunker underneath Piccadilly station, which is part of the Store Street Car Park by day.
DBN's Pete Robinson created the production design which had to be flexible and offer plenty of variety for the 14-week season. Since WHP has been at the Store Street site, they have created over 70 rigging points, chemically fixed to the concrete shell of the venue, to accommodate decor and scaff bars as well as lighting and sound. Some are rated at 50kg and some at 500kg.
This year, there are three overstage trusses to light the bands and the DJ performance area, with another four trusses around the dancefloor, the longest measuring 8m.
Due to the arched shape of the ceiling, shorter trusses are used in the highest positions over the stage to maximise the headroom. Moving lights for the stage are eight Clay Paky Alpha Beam 300s and four Alpha Spot 575 HPEs which give plenty of options, plus 12 of the new i-Pix BB 2x2 LED units with 10 degree lenses.
It's the first time Robinson has used the new i-Pix fixtures, and he reports: "They definitely make a statement."
Also over the stage are six ETC Source Four Juniors used for key lighting, six 4-way Moles and four Martin Professional Atomic Strobes - a staple for any dance environment.
The dancefloor lights consist of eight Alpha Wash 300s, 12 Martin MAC 250 Entours and four Atomics, and new for this year are 20 Sunstrip battens. The four dancefloor trusses run down either side of the venue, with five Sunstrips on each, arranged so interlacing patterns can be run through them or they can be used as blinders.
The control desk is an Avolites Pearl Expert with a Touch Wing which gives a whole raft of additional programming features like more encoders and access to presets.
For the first time, LED surfaces and video have been supplied as a core element of the design and visuals package, with production company Ear To The Ground keen to keep the look and feel of WHP events developing. The LED surfaces are also a new acquisition for DBN.
At the back of the main stage are 50 panels of Hartwell Media P18 LED. Content for this is fed directly from the Warehouse Project's VJ mixer into a Folsom switcher and then out to the LED.
(Jim Evans)
