SECTOR 6 Fires Up Boomtown posted: 06/09/2016 Sector 6 was an enormous brand new stage and performance area at the 2016 Boomtown Festival in the UK. A brainchild of Dan Borg, the crazy set design was created from several tonnes of reconditioned scrap metal and much ingenuity as a living, moving, breathing industrial sculpture inspired by iconic structural components from steel works, power stations, nuclear reactors, etc. all united in an post-apocalyptic masterpiece of madness!
Dan and Boomtown's production manager Robin Collins asked Dave Whiteoak of Video Illusions to be visual production manager and video designer and to co-ordinate the visual production elements including lighting and video content creation. Dave commissioned lighting designer Sam Tozer from Vision Factory - a regular LD on Video Illusions projects - to add some original lighting magic to Sector-6.
Video Illusions, who work closely with leading UK lighting rental company GLS, in turn asked them to help specify and provide the appropriate lighting kit.
Boomtown is one of a handful of music events that has successfully retained a boutique ambience with a developing theme across a large and diverse site, with a reasonable capacity of 60,000.
Says GLS's Ian Turner, We were delighted to be involved with an invigorating, fresh and imaginative project like this. The set was completely stunning, Dave's video was amazing, Sam made fantastic job of the lighting and it was clear that much thought and precision went into creating a fantastic visual harmony .
Boomtown Map
Illuminating Sector 6
Lighting was a carefully layered balance between architectural sources highlighting and emphasising the meticulous scenic detail of the structure which included several moving parts and the effects lighting needed to created WOWs for the pumping DJ sets and to immerse the audience fully in the whole Sector-6 experience.
It was also absolutely crucial that the lighting kit survived the event whatever the weather so the vast majority of it was IP65 rated and from leading brand SGM in which the HSL family has made major investments this year.
Ian continued, This stage was about using the right kit in the right place. On a structure this huge, inflatable domes just don't cut it. We agreed from the start to specify IP rated lights that did the business and could survive whatever meteorology was thrown at them. The SGM range was ideal .
The total SGM count was over 150 fixtures with 29 X G-Spot moving lights, 32 x Ribalta LED battens, 22 x Q7 LED strobes, 22 x P-5 LED wash lights, 30 x Q-2 strobe / floods and 16 x G1 moving head beams.
They were joined by 6 x Clay Paky Sharpies in weather domes, six Atomic strobes, 31 x LED PARs, 12 x GLP X4 wash lights and six ZR33 hazers which worked super-hard every night to maintain smoke coverage.
All of these were run through the lighting console operated by Paul De Villiers.
The 63 metre wide by 35 metre high stage was divided into four key areas for lighting purposes. House left / stage right was the pistons and oil silos; the centre was split into two sections, the main centrepiece and inside that, the DJ booth, which was treated separately. Stage left / house right were the wheels and chimneys.
To add an extra dimension of set lighting, four large trussing towers were installed at the back to add height and facilitate fixtures that could shoot up into the sky.
The 29 x G-Spots were the workhorse fixtures on the rig explained Sam, and these were dotted throughout the four areas, mostly clamped onto the structure itself.
Eight of the G-1 Beams were rigged to the towers together with eight Q-7s, which provided an excellent searchlight effect visible from all over the site.
A principal focal point was a 12 x 15 panel circular LED wall wrapped in G-1 Beams which was flown above the main DJ booth and above that, nearing the crown' of the structure, was an 8 metre circular video screen with another 8 x G-1s around the perimeter.
The Q-7s were also scattered around both side sections, with another 10 on towers around the arena enveloping the audience and drawing them into the action.
The P-5 LED floods were the main architectural lights, grazing up the metalwork, highlighting the different metals and raw material, texturing and providing key light in strategic areas like through the windows. They also created some effective shadowing across the moving parts enhancing the depth of the space.
The smaller P-2 LED floods / strobes were ensconced in the tighter positions and used to create multi-tonal lighting.
The Ribalta battens were positioned along the front of the stage for a nice even wash, and inside the DJ booth two banks of six GLP X4 Impressions were pixel mapped creating an eye-catching low res pixel wall behind the DJ.
Apart from 12 fixtures, everything was LED, so the whole rig was environmentally friendly as well as looking every bit as high impact as everyone had intended.
Sam was impressed with the SGM fixtures' performance - both aesthetically in terms of the design and how they physically endured the operating conditions and the environment generally. He reckons the G-Spots out-performed all expectations and will definitely be using them again!
The biggest challenge for Sam and Sector-6 production LX Simon Diggers de la Cour was getting all the fixtures into place during the three day build / technical period!
Designing it all on a computer is one thing, but then applying the kit in reality in situ to a large intricate bespoke structure which has never been built before is something totally different!
When it came to programming, Paul de Villiers worked closely with Dave Whiteoak to ensure continuity and a nice flow between lighting and visuals, together with the laser and pyro teams to give a fluid and visually provocativ
