This provided an opportunity for Gearhouse Media and Lighting divisions to utilise the latest version of the Green Hippo Hippotizer HD digital media server for the first time. This was specified for the event by Gearhouse director Tim Dunn and made available by UK-based Green Hippo.
The event was headlined by Oasis and Snow Patrol, and also featured Panic! at The Disco plus six Africa-based bands - The Dirty Skirts, Zebra & Giraffe, Casette, Foto na dans, aKing and One Day Remains.
The overall production design included a series of onstage LED screens, which, combined with the content run through the Hippotizer were used to provide a strong visual backdrop for the daylight section of the performance. This included the five opening acts at each venue, and part of Panic at The Disco's set.
Supplied by Gearhouse's sister company LEDVision, the centre stage screen comprised 6 x 6 panels of Lighthouse R16 LED, flanked by two columns of 2 x 6 panels. This was augmented by two 6 x 6 panel side screens for the IMAG mix. EventCam provided seven cameras, two of which were locked off backstage.
The Hippotizer was run by Gearhouse Media's Chris Grandin via a grandMA full size lighting console, and used for the first six bands of the day, concluding with Panic at the Disco. Headliners Snow Patrol and Oasis both of had their own self contained shows.
Grandin also operated a Barco Encore multi-screen control system, allowing any source - including the Hippo, other media servers and the camera feeds - to be output to any destination.
"I set the Hippotizer up to run in busking mode" he explains, "I had no set lists and there were no rehearsals, so it was a highly improvised show." Each layer on the Hippo has two effect engines, which allowed him to use a wide variety of effects - colour sparkles, neon bumps, altering the hue, saturation and brightness.
Gearhouse's StageCo roof system was utilised for both shows, and the lighting and sound rigs were also trucked from Johannesburg to Cape Town for the show there 2 days later.
The lighting rig contained 85 Martin Professional MAC 2K moving lights - a combination of Spot and Wash fixtures, along with 26 High End Cyberlights, adding a slightly vintage feel to the stage, together with 32 Atomic strobes and 4 new MDG smoke machines.
Generic lighting included a healthy mix of PARs and ACLs, with 28 i-Pix BB4 LED blinders, and 24 i-Pix Satellite LED 'bricks' used for truss toning. Gearhouse supplied another grandMA full size console to run lights for the local bands and Panic at The Disco.
Gearhouse Audio headed by Dave Tudor designed the VDOSC sound system, with 15 flown elements plus two dvDOSC downfills a side, 32 ground stacked SB28 subs and a row of dv's along the lip of the stage for front fill. Two delays per side each comprised eight flown VDOSC speakers. "We built on last year's very successful design and adapted it to suit the new venue in Johannesburg" says Tudor.
The FOH console was a 56 channel Amek Recall, specifically requested by Oasis engineer Dan Lewis. For Snow Patrol, Gearhouse supplied a DigiDesign D-Show Venue, and for Panic! at The Disco and all the other bands, the third FOH console was a Yamaha PM5D. GHSA's FOH systems engineer was Jako de Wit.
Onstage, there were also three consoles - a Midas XL8 for Oasis engineer Nahuel Gutierrez, another PM5D for Panic and all the openers, and Snow Patrol brought their own PM5D.
(Jim Evans)
