15 March 2010
Photos with kind courtesy of Daniel Haywood MGG Production’s ColorBeam 700s had hardly been taken out their boxes when they were set to work at the InniBosVeld 2010 Festival, held on the 20th February. Amazingly the show pulled in a crowd of 25 000 people which really says something about local talent.
It was our pleasure to be able to send questions to Lighting Designer Johan Ferreira, who gave us really great feedback.
Festivals and carrying out work for mainstream Afrikaans singers is what Johan Ferreira is typically known for. He is the LD and operator for the main stage at the InniBos Festival in Nelspruit, which sees some 100 000 people pass through the gate during the week and well over 45 000 people on the field for the Saturday performance, that usually includes an international acts like Boney M (2008) and Smokey (2007).
InniBosVeld (In the bushveld) is a partnership festival between InniBos and Kurt Darren. The production was by Sound Headquarters. “This is the second time that we did the “Kurt Darren en Jukebox vriende” show,” said Johan. “The first time was in 2009 and that was a huge hit! I helped conceptualize the stage look, both set and lighting, for the production.”
MGG Productions supplied the lighting, AV, truss, screens and crew for this event, with Herman Wessels at the helm. Besides other gear the event saw 24 Robe 700s and six Robe 700 Beams controlled by an Avolites Pearl console. A triangular shaped truss hung over the stage. While Herman confesses that the crew worked solidly without any sleep for 48 hours, the gig was fun and the client’s positive response made it all worthwhile.
Perhaps an extra drawing card for the ardent fans who attend this festival is that InniBosveld is held on singer Kurt Darren’s farm, situated just outside Naboomspruit, about 180Km from Pretoria. The event also celebrated his birthday.
“There were no big complications on the farm involving the rig,” commented Johan Ferriera. “Alvin Bruinders from Soundheadquarters and his crew did an amazing job with the stage. Uneven terrain was the only thing that was really difficult, so getting the stage deck level was a huge task. The other thing we had to keep in mind was that we were working on a game farm with quite a number of animals.
“Because of the concept of the show, I wanted the Lighting to have a theatrical feel, even though it is on an open stage in front of a crowd of 25 000. It was very important to me to be able to light the individual parts of the stage as there was so much going on. One thing that complicates this type of show is that there is no set list. We have over 40 songs in the show and the audience choose what they want and to hear and when, which can play havoc on the technical team and band.
“I was not sure what to expect from the 700s as I have never seen them before and had heard very little about the fixtures. All of this changed when the units were turned on by Herman from MGG and I saw the capabilities for the first time. I could not believe the power of the units – I think that these are perfect fixtures for an open air stage!!!
“I used the 700s on the back of the stage, 4 on the rear roof truss and 2 on the band raisers. The incorporation of the 700s changed a lot of my original lighting ideas, but they outperformed all the units on stage – visually and brightness. I am so glad Mark sent me the 700 Beams. They will be the first units I ask for on my next big event!!!!”
Equipment List
125A Distro
Power locks 30m with tails
Avolites Art 2000
Proplex Splitter
W/DMX – Black box – 1 X Transmitter, 3 X Receivers
Avolites Pearl 2004
12 x Robe 700 Spot
12 x Robe 700 Wash
6 x Robe 700 Beam lights
6 x 2K Molfeys
12 x 750W Source 4 Profiles
4 x Mac 550
4 x Mac 500
2 x Mac 2000
6 x Mac 600
10 x ½ Ton CM Motors
H30V truss
2 x XF60 Projectors
2 x 6m X 4.5m Truss Screens – Trussing is X30D
Kramer Processing
