An
Avolites Arena console has been selected to control the custom designed,
automated house rig on debut electronic dance music series \’Issue 001\’ at
London\’s new, experimental cultural hub \’Printworks\’. The 001 series sees some
of the industry\’s most progressive electronic dance music promoters
including Junction 2, Melt Festival and Knee Deep host top and
emerging dance music talent.
The Arena
was selected and installed alongside the rest of the event\’s lighting package
by Poole-based lighting and rigging expert Wolf Lighting. The console is
networked in the venue\’s \’crown jewel\’ event space; a 16.8m high, 120m x 30m
area dubbed \’The Press Halls\’ on account of the original printing presses that
still flank its sides.
\”There
was never a question of not using an Avolites console for the
Printworks project,\” says Jonathan Oliver, director of Wolf Lighting.
\”We needed a console that could offer a wide range of live control options
for each show. Lighting programmer and operator for the Printworks Issue 001
series, Jonny Godsmark, worked alongside me in selecting the Arena for its
substantial, intuitive control surface, large touchscreen and audio
input.\”
The Arena
is the latest lighting control console to be released by the British
manufacturer and is currently providing Godsmark with full creative control for
the 13 week Printworks run. The console hosts two touchscreens, the
second screen providing an additional workspace window and labelling the
adjacent macro buttons and rotary pots. The fully assignable playback encoder
pots allow Godsmark to intuitively control channels and effects during the live
shows. The six LCD screens display electronic legends for 30 faders, providing
access to pre-programmed playbacks, fixtures and palettes.
\”For
Printworks I wanted a console where I had access to as many control options as
possible,\” says Godsmark. \”I have been an Avolites user for years and
their consoles just keep getting better.\”
For the Printworks
shows Godsmark is making heavy use of the Key Frame Shapes feature, which
allows designers and programmers to create spectacular lighting effects from
scratch using pallets and tools such as transition curves, phase
and spatial direction to craft the light.
\”I
have a huge amount of creative freedom on this project,\” says Godsmark.
\”Because of the live and varying nature of the shows I do not always know
what is going to happen next; trying to creatively balance this with expert
control is a really enjoyable challenge.\”
The
Printworks project is managed by London Warehouse Events (LWE),
an underground promotor and producer of events in unusual and disused
spaces, and international festival producer Broadwick Live. \”LWE
is a long term client of Wolf Lighting,\” explains Jonathan.
\”For Printworks we worked closely with Loz Poulton, production manager at
LWE, to put together a lighting package that would showcase the original and
dramatic features of the venue, whilst playing to the incredible height of The
Press Halls.\”
Completing
Printworks\’ lighting control network is a backup Avolites Quartz console, the
most compact of the brand\’s control surfaces which still retains the formidable
processing power and range of control options of its larger cousins.
\”We
chose to network up the Arena with the Quartz as our house technician,
\’Diggers\’, wanted a console that would give him a full, seamless switchover
should there be an issue or power loss at front of house,\” explains
Jonathan.
The
Printworks Issue 001 series started on February 4th and will complete its run
in April 2017; during this time it will host artists such as Nina Kraviz, Joy
Orbison, Maribou State and Adam Beyer. Printworks is a temporary venue located
in the Surrey Quays area of London. As well as hosting the Issue 001 music
series the venue also hosts various art, culture, fashion and film events.
