PSI Supplies Fatboy Slim Extravaganza

Last month saw the first gig staged at Belfast's new Giant's Park venue - headlined by legendary DJ Fatboy Slim, together with a star studded line-up of the hottest dance acts, including Deadmau5, Kissy Sell Out, Zane Lowe, Sidney Samson and Thomas Gandey.

Production Services Ireland (PSI) supplied lighting for event with Sean Pagel leading the PSI team. He commented: "It's always a great honour to work on a landmark event and inaugurate a new venue, so we were very proud to be part of the production team that made this special gig rock!"

Fatboy's Lighting Designer Steven Abbiss sent over the plot, together with Alan King, and PSI flew the rig inside a Star Events Orbit stage that was set up lengthways down the north foreshore of Belfast Lough to spread the audience out sideways. This also gave the performers a commanding view of the Lough and the dramatic surrounding environment from the stage.

PSI built Fatboy's full festival rig, which in terms of structural elements, comprised three overhead lighting trusses, four trussing towers and two flown ladders which they fabricated for the show. The downstage truss towers stood at three metres tall, which was the highest they could go with the curve of the orbit above, while the upstage ones were at four metres high and in the next arch back. Upstage from these in the next arch of the roof were the ladders, which were attached to each side of a central LED screen that was flown from the roof.

Each of the ladders was rigged with three Robe ColorWash 700E ATs, with the bottom fixture at head height for access purposes.

The overhead lighting trusses were at the front and mid positions overstage, with another truss flying the video screen far upstage, and a third lighting truss behind this, complete with three Space Flowers that blasted through the Pixled screen supplied by XL Video.

The moving lights totalled 62 - 28 Robe ColorSpot 700E ATs and 34 Robe ColorWash 700E ATs. Then there were 24 Martin Atomic strobes, four CityColor 1800s, five Space Flowers, two Source Four Zooms for key lighting the DJ console and 28 x 4-lite Moles, strategically positioned on the towers, the front truss and the floor. Thirty-four PixelLine 1044s were also dotted around the stage and rig.

The front truss was loaded with six Robe 700 Spots and four Washes, four Atomics, six PixelLines and the two profiles. The mid truss, positioned just behind Fatboy's DJ console, contained eight Robe ColorSpot and ColorWash 700E ATs, four of each, plus three Atomics.

The back truss - upstage of the screen - was used just for two of the Space Flowers, with the other three units positioned on the floor in an arc around the back of the stage, together with the four CityColors.

Lighting on all four towers was identical - four Moles, three ColorSpot 700E ATs, four ColorWash 700E ATs, 3 Atomics and 4 PixelLines.

On the floor - in addition to the SpaceFlowers and CityColors mentioned above, were another six ColorSpot 700s and four ColorWash 700s and five Atomics, plus two Moles, illuminating Fatboy from behind.

Pagel commented: "It was a very flexible design. It looked and worked really well in the space."

Both Fatboy Slim and Deadmau5 were production managed by Mark Ward. The show has been hailed as a great success and an exciting opener for the many acts that will be playing the new venue to follow.

(BMcN)