Robe gets Unlocked in Perth
- Details
Unlocked, staged mid-July, was possible due to the Western Australian state lockdown entering Phase 5 on 27 June, and Zaccaria Concerts’ ‘Castaway’ and VenuesWest took the opportunity to present a sizzling array of Western Australian electronic / DnB talent including Crooked Colours, ShockOne with Reija Lee, Slumberjack and Tina Says.
The venue was sold out to an enthusiastic audience of just under 3,000 people, reduced to 50% of its normal capacity and run under new safe operating procedures (SOP) regulations.
Lighting and LED screens were supplied by Perth-based rental and production specialists Showscreens, headed by brothers Ryan and Bryce Varley, who dipped into their 150 plus stock of Robe moving lights choosing BMFL Spots, MegaPointes and Spiiders to be the core of the lighting rig.
A total of 20 x Robe BMFL Spots, 24 x Spiider LED wash beams and 20 x MegaPointes, together with strobes and 4-lites were rigged on the three overhead trusses and the stage deck.
BMFL Spots on the front truss provided key light and specials while Spiiders were a solid and effective choice for full stage washes and additional effects, and more BMFLs, MegaPointes and Spiiders on the mid and upstage trusses added to the layering of lights.
On the floor, Spiiders were used for cross stage key light, shooting in from the downstage corners, with MegaPointes and BMFLs deployed along the back below the LED screen for classic beam looks and WOW-factor blast-throughs.
All the lighting fixtures were programmed via a GrandMA2 full size with a GrandMA2 Light for backup and the console was operated by Rio Hall-Jones (ShockOne & Crooked Colours), Kale Tatam (Slumberjack) and Mason Farley (Tina Says), all regular LDs and operators for Showscreens. They were additionally also able to visualise their shows in the warehouse in the days before the show.
“With all those Robes on the production rig we knew everyone would have plenty of choice for their creativity and imagination to fly,” commented Bryce.
Lighting and video - comprising a single upstage 8m wide by 4.5m high screen made up of Yestech 4.8 mm Black LED, run by video tech Brad Hodgkiss - was loaded in the day before .
Ryan, Bryce and their team have also used the lockdown time constructively to update their Occupational Safety and Health policies, moving from a paper-based system to a mobile app that is used to initiate and record all the pre-start inspections, toolbox meetings and hazard reports in one place.
Unlocked was the first proper opportunity to implement this new approach which involved a toolbox meeting conducted by safety officer Michael Monaco talking through parameters like social distancing and sanitising whilst working. The HBF Stadium’s own HSO sat in on the toolbox meeting and offered positive feedback.
Unlocked’s sound was supplied by Audio Technik.
