Making a MegaPointe at Transmission
- Details
Ministry had just taken delivery of 24 new Robe MegaPointes in the weeks before the event and these multi-purpose fixtures took centre stage on the lighting plot, positioned prominently around the DJ booth at the suggestion of Rudo.
“I was really keen to get MegaPointes right at the epicentre of the event” explained Rudo, “so deploying them around the DJ booth was an obvious place.”
Two rows of eight MegaPointes were placed directly in front of the DJ mixer with another eight on a truss directly above.
From these vantage points, they made an impact around the massive arena space and were a key element in the mission to create a spectacular environment showcasing the innovative and carefully selected line up of international trance gurus erring towards alternative rather than mainstream.
Ferry Corsten presented his classic trance project Gouryella and guests were also treated to Slovakian DJ Driftmoon, Egyptian melodic trance duo Aly & Fila, Purple Haze (Sander van Doorn) and transmission regular Markus Shultz presenting his ‘Dakota’ audio visual phenomenon plus many more.
LD Bas, based in Netherlands, focussed on bringing fresh and invigorating lighting and visuals to dance and electronic events and festivals - and has worked on all the Transmission events since the start of the concept 12 years ago in Prague.
Anco van der Kolk, founder and owner of United Music, the main organizer of Transmission, also has his roots in the Netherlands and asked him to operate lights for the first one with the promise of “Free beer and a nice weekend in Prague”, which proved a perfect ruse as Bas still loves working on the event and visiting the Czech capital!
A typical Transmission stage design will include a large upstage screen, which this year comprised 260 square metres of LED, with the central portion shaped like a shield in keeping with the Warrior theme developed by Vision Impossible. Behind this were some detailed cloth elements, designed by Bedrich ‘Ciggi’ Vlach who also has a knack of creating multi-layered ‘soft’ sections so they look like a solid scenic piece when lit.
Running lights on the night were two very experienced operators and regular collaborators with Bas - Martijn Deenen and Zis Ankone.
The laser operators were Adam Chrenko and Rudo Tucek, and they were running 24 full colour laser systems and 18 red bar-lasers, all adding to the rich visual mix.
(Jim Evans)
