HSL tendered and won the contract for lighting contractor, which was project managed for them by Thor-Andre 'Spantax' Saether. "It was a great honour to be involved in a project with such long traditions and we are proud to have picked up the ball on this contemporary version," he says referring to its origins as The Royal Tournament, a spectacle that ran from 1880 to 1999 returning to the live event calendar last year in this new format.
Spantax adds that it was also good to be working with Sinclair again following HSL's recent supply of lights to Top Gear Live in Birmingham and London, for which Sinclair is also the LD.
Sinclair said, "HSL did an excellent job. They really came up with the goods, and I'm delighted with the results."
The action packed show, directed by Christopher Joll and produced by IMG, was themed around the special relationship between the British and American armed forces, and contained an eclectic mix of entertainment including the traditional field gun run that was so iconic to the Royal Tournament; a large horse orientated section including the Musical Drive of the Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery; the White Helmet Army Motorcycle Display Team; the incredible US Army Drill Team and their flying rifles, plus several battle re-enactments from the American Civil War to the current conflict in Afghanistan.
The technical challenges included a 21m trim height for the trusses, needed to maintain sightlines all around, so fixtures that could really cut a punch were chosen. The floor was filled with a turf mix so it was soft underfoot for the horses, but this soon swallowed any amount of lumens thrown at it, so a large rig was needed to lay down the base washes.
The lightshow also had to be designed around an amount of scenic gear and props that were flown out of the way in the roof.
The basic arena washes were created using 44 x 6-lamp PAR bars. There were also 44 4-lite Moles and 20 Source Four profiles for key lighting and specials.
The moving lights were 50 Martin Professional MAC 2K XBs - among Sinclair's 'new favourite' lights -part of a recent large investment in Martin by HSL.
Thirty Four of Robes ColorSpot 2500E ATs provided powerful coverage all over the arena floor, and there were also 12 MAC IIIs, eight in the air and four on the floor, one in each corner of the arena.
In the entrance / exit tunnels either end, were Robe Robin 600 LEDWashes attached to the scaffolding supports of the seating tribunes, along with Chroma-Q Color Force 72 LED battens and 2K fresnels. Smoke machines were also allocated to each entrance.
Four Robert Juliat Lancelot follow spots were stationed at the back corners of the lower seating bleachers. Operated by local crew, they worked extremely hard throughout the performance. They were positioned specifically to spot the horses, which do not mind lights in their eyes but don't like shadows, so could not be highlighted from above.
Sinclair controlled all lighting from a Whole Hog Full Boar console with a second Full Boar running as a tracking back-up. His programming schedule was hectic and the light show evolved - some of it organically - as the show unfolded and rehearsals progressed.
HSL supplied six crew for the in and out who worked alongside three of Sinclair's own regular technicians, chiefed by Paul Makin, who looked after the show for the three day run of five performances, the first attended by HRH Queen Elizabeth II.
(Jim Evans)
