The event, produced by Old School Productions, was staged in the round and lit by Sean Caie, the venue's head of lighting, using an all Robe moving light rig including BMFL Spots.
It was the first time that organisers had moved the event indoors and the first time it was extended to two days due to massive public demand.
The floor layout comprised a complete skate / BMX Park, with vert ramps and all the death-defying obstacles you'd expect in this raw and uncompromising environment.
This made lighting a major challenge from many perspectives. The cameras - doing IMAG relay to screens, the audience and of course, the competitors themselves all needed sufficient light in the right places to be able to judge the distances, heights, angles and gradients of the obstacles.
Sean used a combination of 42 x Robe moving lights. This included four BMFL Spots and Four miniPointes which were on trial from DWR, plus 12 x ColorSpot 700E ATs, 12 x ColorWash 700E ATs, six LEDWash 600s and four Pointes, which are all part of the house system at the Grand Arena.
The BMFLs were positioned on the edges of the main rig as their powerful beams could easily deal with the extreme throw distances and the 10 metre trim height.
The four Pointes were positioned on the downstage fly bar over the FMX area and used for beamwork and as back light for commentators.
The ColorSpot 700E ATs were rigged on the main X truss and filled and textured the vast floor area, and occasionally they were used for beam effects, while the ColorWash 700E ATs on the outer trusses provided efficient floor area and audience coverage as well as basic side and front lighting.
The LEDWash 600s were on the four ends of the X truss and used for cross lighting and colour washing the space.
The miniPointes were also on ends of the X truss, where they were used for texturing and worked hard to keep up with their full size counterparts! They provided key lighting to several locations on the set and added to the general beam and audience looks.
In addition to all the Robe moving lights, there was a quantity of LED PARs on the rig, all of which Sean programmed and ran using a grandMA2 light console.
(Jim Evans)
