(01/10/2014) The Outlook Festival is staged over four days in the beautiful and slightly desolate environs of Fort Punta Christo just outside Pula, the main city on Croatia's bustling Istrian coastline, known for its mild climate, smooth sea and unspoiled nature.Outlook this was the seventh edition - features the largest collection of dub step, bass music and Soundsystem Culture in Europe with an action-packed line up uniting some of the biggest names from these vibrant dance genres.
Overall project, production and site management for Outlook 2014 and the four day underground electronic beats Dimensions Festival on the same site the previous weekend was undertaken by Bristol UK based WNY, headed by Ben Price, with lighting design and rigging site wide by Fineline Lighting, also from Bristol. They were working for the event organisers, NVS Promotions.
Each year the production values increase and become more demanding in line with the success of the event itself. This year, the 15,000 capacity Outlook saw over 400 international acts perform. Ben Price, as overall Production Director, was responsible for the site design and technical realisation which saw a 1.5 x 1.5 Kilometre area on the Punta Christa peninsula divided into three main zones.
The main Harbour Stage was nestled into one of the Adriatic's many scenic sea-side coves and could accommodate audiences of up to around 7000. The second stage was located in The Clearing, mid way across site which was accessed by a network of dirt tracks. (For the smaller capacity Dimensions Festival, The Clearing had been the main stage)
On the opposite side of the site to the Harbour was The Beach area, complete with the Beach Party stage directly on the waterfront which fired up every afternoon and ran until the main two stages and the Fort, with its seven live areas, kicked off at 8 p.m. each night. Farther along the waterfront from this was the camp site.
The late 19th century fort, Pula's first line of defence during the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, presented an eclectic collection of seven pop-up' performance spaces all ensconced in and around the charismatic ruins of the extensive fort. These ranged from the 75 capacity Ballroom to the 1500 capacity Void Stage.
Ben Price's team included Lead Production Manager Stuart Witcombe plus three highly experienced Zone' Production Managers, each of whom co-ordinated their own zones on the site, which was challenging to work on from many angles including the rocky terrain and the limited transport links between the areas.
Tommy McMillan was Harbour Area Production Manager, Jamie Wiseman co-ordinated the Beach Party, Campsite and the Clearing Stage, and Fineline's own Rob Sangwell was engaged by WNY to leverage his experience by coordinating the production needs of The Fort.
Each Production Manager worked alongside a local site crew supplied by WNY's Croatian partner Pozitivan Ritam, who brought invaluable local knowledge, insight and a whole range of skills and talents to the equation. They were absolutely essential to the mix and the smooth running of all the production elements, states Price.
Other suppliers brought in by WNY included RG Jones from the UK, who provided the audio requirements for all performance stages; Swiss staging company N ssli, who built all the main structures; The Power Company from Austria who provided site-wide power and Croatian plant specialist Magrad who were the source for portacabins, trackway, fencing tele-handlers, safety lighting and other related infrastructure.
The site build started in mid-August. Price and crew - which peaked at 120 people - ran the site to the same CDM standards as they would any event in the UK, with a few local interpretations to take specifics into account.
The most galvanising aspects of working at Fort Punta Christo were the unforgiving and difficult to negotiate topography and its own micro-climate. During the build and changeover, crews had to contend with 120 Km-an-hour winds, sudden and violent electrical storms and driving rains as well as enjoying the late summer sunshine and warmth for which the region is renowned.
It's also a gruelling project for all site staff and crew, with long and intense working hours, no days off or breaks between the two events and multiple music stages operating simultaneously across a large geographical area.
Having the right people and contractors on-board with the right attitude is absolutely fundamental, and once that is in place, the different areas will virtually run themselves, explained Price.
He adds, Everyone's commitment, passion and dedication to making Outlook and Dimensions 2014 the best yet has been really amazing .
Treading A Fineline
It's the third year that Fineline Lighting has been involved with supplying lighting and rigging for the Festival and their first supplying all eight major performance stages plus all the Fort's environmental and architectural components including trees, bushes, landscape and historical features.
Fineline's MD Rob Sangwell this year took on an additional dual role as Production Manager for The Fort, and the company also supplied all the rigging, trussing and motors required for all areas and created lighting production designs for the eight stages.
Fineline's crew of 10 were Chiefed by Stu England and also included Rob Watson, Nick Ayres, Wingnut, Will Dale, Sam Kenyon, Adam Morris, Johnny Westal & James Box.
Harbour Stage
Fineline asked LD Nic Ayres to design and operate lights on the main Harbour Stage, which included a live mix of reggae, dub and dancehall stars as well as a selection of DJs, so his objective was to create a fabulous, flexible and dynamic visual space, which he approached utilizing curves and spheres.
The roof structure was an 18 metre wide d
