The festival was production managed by the redoubtable Dick Tee, who was engaged in other projects when the site build started, so the co-ordination of the Maldon event fell to his associate Laura Sands. DPL were called in to suppy lighting production for the fifth time. The first night had a pop cabaret theme and starred Jaki Graham, Rose Royce (with Gwen Dickey) and The Three Degrees, rounded off with a specially choreographed Techno Show son et lumière number, complete with fireworks and projection, directed by Sean Canning from Hotcakes UK. The following event was dedicated to popular classics.
DPL’s lighting rig was shaped to follow the curves of the Orbit stage (supplied by Serious Structures). Equipment included Martin MAC 250s, 500s and 600s, over 150 PARs, UV cannons, ETC Source Four PARnels, blinders and ACLs, tech’d by Andy Higgins, who was also LD. For architectural illuminations, DPL lit the sea wall with Studio Due City Colors and also supplied four large silk flame effects for the front of the stage which looked out across a large artificial lake to the audience, who sat on the other side. The lake was drained for the get-in and then re-pumped with water for the show.
Lighting control came from an Avolites Pearl, operated by Andy Higgins and Darren Parker. The FOH platform actually stood in the water, with the multicores (housed in a special waterproof jacket) also travelling through the water to the stage. As back-up, DPL had an Artistic Licence radio DMX up-and-downlink on standby, with a pair of ELAs Ethernet transmitters. These were in place in readiness for any problems with the wire multicore following an incident a few years back where it was mangled by a boat’s outboard engine!
Other production elements included lasers by CMT, a Flashlight sound system from Skan PA, internally lit water fountains from Strasbourg-based Aquatique and fireworks from Millennium Pyrotechnics.
(Ruth Rossington)
