05 September 2012
This year 20 000 people gathered for Oppikoppi Sweet Thing Festival held from 9 to 11 August 2012 on the Oppikoppi Farm near the mining town of Northam in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. For the ninth consecutive year, rental company Stage Effects were one of the technical suppliers at the music festival, lighting up six of the seven stages. Avolites controlled all six stages and a grandMA was used for two international acts.
The very first Oppikoppi was held in 1994 and has become a tradition ever since. Thousands camp out in the bush and enjoy an enormous line-up which now features well over 120 different bands, DJs and artists. International acts included Bullet for my Valentine, Enter Shikari and Babylon Circus.
Theo Papenfus and his crew from Stage Effects are no strangers to the dust and tough terrain at Oppikoppi, but each year as clock-work, they have been there to create new stage plans and fresh sequences while fitting into a tight budget.
On the main stage, also called Wesley’s Entertainment Emporium, Theo specked 19 x Mac 600 Washes, 12 x Robin 600 Beams, 8 x Mac 2000, 8 x Atomics, 3x 8-cell Molefays and 24 x Par64. “The kit all behaved, commented Theo. “The 600 Beams overpower and were used constantly.” He says one of the Danish LDs, who hadn’t worked with the units before, was clearly impressed.
On the James Phillips stage were 12 x Robe REDWash 3-192 LEDs, 6 x Robin 300E Spot and 6 x Robe 700E AT Spots, all controlled on an Avolites 2004 Pearl. Also included was the LSC Optical Splitter. “The 300E Spots held up very well against the 700E Spots,” Theo added.
For the ninth year, Stage Effects asked Ni-Lou Breytenbach from Lightship Productions to work alongside them. Ni-Lou lit most the bands on the main stage besides the international acts who had their own LDs. He also ensured seamless transition between consoles.
“Every year time and logistics are a challenge,” Ni-Lou explained. “Theo had more equipment loads than ever before, but as planning is done correctly it’s pretty much smooth sailing. With festivals I try to plot as much stuff into the desk as possible and try to think of every potential pallet. You don’t know who will operate the desk and time is limited. Whoever comes in may only have an hour to set-up the console for their band. You still have to be creative and there has to be visual impact,” Ni-Lou explained.
“We always try not to keep the lighting rig the same, and this year Theo’s equipment allocation made for some great effects on a really straight forward set-up. The case that we had the dome roof there, also changed the game from previous years,” he added.
While Oppikoppi is an annual highlight , Ni-Lou’s favourite moments are during set up and watching all parties involved relax around a fire after a day’s work, the calm before the storm. “Then it’s amazing to watch everyone work to get things together,” he says. The day before the show starts there’s a frantic rush. When the gates open, crowds are already waiting outside and history repeats itself…more memories made at another Oppikoppi.
