Radio One’s “One Big Weekend”, Birmingham

Radio One’s “One Big Weekend”, Birmingham

January 21, 2005

LD Nick Jevons chose an entirely Martin-based rig, including two Maxxyz consoles, for his show on the Main Stage of BBC Radio One’s “One Big Weekend”, in Perry Park, Birmingham.

Jevons’ company Electric Fly Productions designed lighting and visuals and also supplied both elements. Lighting was supplied in conjunction with Bandit Lites UK. It’s the second year and the fourth ‘Big Weekend’ event that Jevons has done for Radio One.

The two equally animated days of music action featured a Dance Day headed up by Tiesto, Fatboy Slim, Judge Jules, Darren Emerson, Deep Dish and other gurus from the world of groove. The band day on the Sunday saw superlative performances from hot up-and-coming acts including Razorlight, Joss Stone, Goldie Looking Chain, The Lost Prophets and others.

For lighting, with so many different acts to cater for, encompassing such a variety of musical styles, versatility, flexibility and dynamics were the keys. The fixture count was 10 MAC 2K Profiles and 8 Washes, 4 MAC 600s, 2 MAC 500s and 4 of the new MAC 250 Entours. The Jem ZR 24/7 Hazer supplied smoke and environmental effects, and the rig was rounded off with 4 Atomic 3K strobes.

The instruments were arranged across three trusses and scattered around the floor. The rig also included 60 James Thomas Pixelline LED battens, used for video effects.

Jevons ran the show with one Maxxyz console, complete with new Maxxyz Wing – which adds 20 playback masters for a total of 30. The other Maxxyz was available offline for any guest LD’s to plot and pre-programme their shows using the onboard Martin ShowDesigner (MSD) 3D simulation software. This festival style set up proved invaluable in a schedule that was extremely tight for any programming time.

Jevons has used the Maxxyz extensively over the last 12 months, having used one for the Super Furry Animals. He likes many features of the console including its power and programmability.

He’s also well impressed by the Jem ZR 24/7 – which emits various selectable climatic settings - fog, smoke or haze, and also by the new 250 Entours, which are brighter and have better optics than their predecessors plus a rotating as well as a fixed gobo wheel.

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