Page 319 - Protec PR Book Volume 2

Dazzling special effects in du Forum were synchronised with the show in Belgium to create an exciting atmosphere which highlighted the unique global connection. Party-goers got the opportunity to dance in real time to the tunes of renowned international DJ’s including Afrojack, Armin van Buuren, Dmitri Vegas and Like Mike via the live satellite connection. This also involved remote control of lighting to ensure each of the 7 venues shared an almost identical visual as well as audio experience.
Protec were called on by Envie Events to deliver audio, lighting, video, scenic, staging and rigging solutions for what can only be described as probably the most elaborate festival on earth. Having successfully delivered the technical production for the festival held in Dubai in 2017, Protec’s project manager Pieter Smuts said, “the show in Abu Dhabi was almost a breeze – which was fantastic because the heat of the UAE summer can really put a lot of pressure on the crew as temperatures hover in the high 40s. As the theme for Abu Dhabi was the same as the one in Dubai, it made it a lot easier for us as we already knew the challenges we could have potentially faced.”
Abigail Bates, heading up Protec’s lighting crew, said: “The major difference for lighting was that the venue was smaller than last year. This meant that we didn’t need to implement a large amount of audience lighting, as we did last year, because the audience area was not as spacious. Not having to install a large amount of audience lighting also made the install slightly easier, as it meant that we could concentrate all our efforts on rigging the fixtures into the stage set, which is the most complex and time consuming part of the lighting rig.”
When asked about the challenges she faced, Bates explained, “The main challenge for lighting on Tomorrowland, in both years that we have done it, has been the physical rigging of the fixtures. For every fixture, and there are around 80 fixtures attached to the stage façade, firstly the exact position of the fixture needs to be determined. It is important to be as precise as possible when determining this because the lighting/stage design has to look the same as the other UNITE events, and a fixture or group of fixtures rigged in the wrong place would be very noticeable when the live stream footage is playing from the other countries. Once the position for the fixture has been determined, a hole has to be made in the set, a pipe put through this hole, and then a rigging structure installed on the back of the set to hold this pipe in place. This whole process means that for every fixture, at least 4 lighting crew and 1 staging technician is needed.”
The lighting spec was outlined by the main Tomorrowland show designers in Belgium and Protec’s broad inventory had all the required fixtures. These included Robe Pointe, K10 Wash, Scenius Profile, VL3500 Wash, Stormy CC Strobe, SGM P5, and Molefay 4 light/Par 36.
“It’s important that we used fixtures as specified in their lighting rider so that all the Tomorrowland UNITE shows around the world have the same visual aesthetic. In addition, we used SGM P2 and some more Pointe to light the VIP deck, and a combination of SGM P2 and LED Parcans to add some colour and atmosphere to the catering/bar area outside,” Bates explained.
From a video standpoint, Smuts listed Protec’s Mambo 9mm LED 16×10 panel Screen – 1280×800 pixel resolution with 2x VX4S Controllers for Main/Backup and automatic failover switch – Roland V-800HD switcher to switch Resolume, Satellite Camera Feed and Playback Pro to screen.
He added, “Last year the switcher was analog way saphyr and we had 2 IMAG screens for camera feed. This year required only 1 main screen and a less complicated control. We supplied a duplicated output signal from satellite to an activation stand with an LED wall so people there could see other countries on the advertisement screen.”
The video team overcame any challenges that could have potentially arisen with the live stream due to their experience from last year. Foreseeing any potential obstacles, the show went smoothly and the audience in Abu Dhabi were transported to Boom in Belgium for a couple of hours.
Ed Ross, Protec’s HOD described the audio setup, “It was all relatively simple this time with no challenges at all. We used our L-acoustics K2 with K1-SB flown above and SB28 subs on the ground. It differed from last year as we had a lot more weight