Fineline was working with TAO Productions with whom they also regularly collaborate as a technical solutions provider for the annual Eden Sessions concerts. The concert was broadcast live on BBC Radio 2, aired a few nights later on the BBC 2 TV channel and available via The Red Button interactive channel.
Lighting for the band was designed by Vince Foster. He submitted a plot and a spec to Fineline who built the Eden production lighting rig based on this, with some fixture swaps related to their stock on consultation with Vince, explains Fineline's Stu England, who project managed the event for them.
Eden has a permanent 18m wide stage and roof structure that is a hybrid flown / ground supported design and familiar to Fineline through their 'Sessions' work at the popular visitor attraction.
Four flown over-stage lighting trusses were added for the show plus another on the deck.
The fourth flown truss was right upstage and low slung under the video screen, utilised for eye candy fixtures.
Fineline provided an 8 by 4.5m surface of 6mm pitch LED at the back and the band were touring a custom curved floor-mounted video screen which sat in front of their risers.
Twenty-nine Ayrton Magic Blades were the principal fixtures on the low flown truss, joined by 16 Solaris Flare LED strobes.
Above these, on LX 3 the full height upstage truss, were 12 x Clay Paky K20s fitted with B-EYE lenses rigged on drop arms adding depth and height variation, joined by another 12 Magic Blades also on drop arms.
All these pixel-mappable fixtures combined and contrasted with the video to great effect.
Ten Robe Pointe multi-purpose moving lights were also on LX3 adding to the dynamics.
Moving further downstage, on LX2 were six Robe LEDWash 600s, another 12 x Pointes and six linear 4-lite Moles. On LX1 were an additional four LEDWash 600s, six Robe Robin 600E Spots and four 6-lamp PAR bars for providing comprehensive base stage washes.
For key lighting on LX1 were six ETC Source Four profiles with 26 degree lenses and six 8-lite blinders on the front rail of the truss were perfect for blasting out into the audience.
On the floor truss upstage, eight more Pointes and seven more Solaris Flare strobes were deployed.
The production lighting console was a Hog 4 - with a live backup unit supplied by Fineline running via DP8000 DMX processors.
Multiple networking was involved in the control set up, as there was also another Compulite console and a backup supplied by TV lighting operator David Bishop and overseen by BBC lighting designer Nigel Catmur, running a number of additional TV key lighting fixtures also supplied by Fineline, all amounting to a total of 23 x DMX universes. Duran Duran's production also carried their Catalyst media server which ran playback video to the screens, triggered via their Hog 4 console.
Fineline's crew of four - including Stu - was chiefed by Tim Williams and joined by Will Dale looking after assorted FOH elements and technician Sam Kenyon.
(Jim Evans)
