Manchester based lighting specialist dbn was providing lighting and visuals. When the organisers confirmed they wanted something inventive and different, the db1s were proposed by dbn and i-Pix' Chris Ewington ... and they found the additional production budget needed for the 23 fixtures to grace the main stage at the Mayfield Depot.
Jon Drape, MD of Ground Control which co-ordinates all production for the WHP organisers, commented, "We've been waiting to get the DB1s on a show since Chris first invited us to see the fixture in development. The collaboration between the Warehouse Project and Manchester International Festival was the perfect opportunity. The db1 is a ground-breaking product, and like the audiences, we were completely blown away with its impact."
The db1s were used on the second of the two 12 hour events, which ran from 2pm to 2am at the occasional venue and former train station in the heart of the city.
"It was a perfect opportunity to show the versatility and high impact of the fixture," commented db1 inventor Chris Ewington, who was delighted with the results.
Twenty-three db1s were arranged in four pyramids stacks on the main stage for the evening which was headlined by Carl Craig and Mike Banks.
The db1s were run as both a lighting and a video fixture. Video sources were fed into them via an Avolites Ai Infinity X8 server run by Chris from a Tiger Touch II console which produced beautiful organic and powerful mesmeric patterns and movement.
These effects were further enhanced as the db1's 15 powerful LED cells were manipulated by being mapped, with strobing and intensity run as a lighting fixture by Edwin Croft from his Avo Pearl Expert console.
Chris ran a selection of original content through the fixtures while Edwin added a whole new dimension of patterning, spirals and swirls, etc. which really brought a 3D element as well as intense luminosity to the output.
Working together, the two of them effectively made the db1s a moving lightsource with a huge repertoire of individual, never-repeated liquid and flowing effects and looks in a wide range of rich, distinctive colours.
Says Chris, "I had the privilege of designing and operating at these two very special nights. It was an exciting and creative journey made all the better by a great team working with me behind the scenes. Good on them for having the balls to try something new."
(Jim Evans)
