Stagebar 54s for Glastonbury BBC

It’s the biggie.

The massive three day festival that showcases the world’s biggest bands in an oasis of mud and exhilaration.

This year, officially 177,500 tickets were sold to the musical and visual feast – in just 45 minutes. And that is not surprising when you look at the line up. Bjork, Iggy and the Stooges, Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs, The Who and many more, did what they do best to the joy of soggy audiences.

But Glastonbury isn’t just about the biggest names; the festival has over 700 acts played on over 80 stages - literally something for everyone. And that’s not just music styles, the lighting and visuals have to be uniquely suited to such an eclectic line up.

Martin there…
The breadth and depth of the Martin entertainment range was put through its paces over what is undoubtedly one of the world’s wettest festivals. On each and every stage Martin was there; powerful and dynamic lights, the latest LEDs, Jem fog and haze and Maxedia digital media.

…BBC too
But Glastonbury isn’t only for those who brave the tempest and turn up in their best pair of ‘wellies.’ The BBC also broadcasts 72 hours of live TV from three main backstage areas. So for those of you who chose the warmth of the sofa and tuned into either BBC 1, 2 or 3, you would have been treated to spectacular sets that would rival any in-studio production.

Lighting director Oli Richards
The task of lighting these sets was given to lighting director Oli Richards from Aurora Film & TV Lighting. His many years in television lighting have coincided with Martin’s birth and growth.

“I have been using Martin products for over ten years now,” he states. “When we started, people were laughing at us, saying we were using disco lights. Now you can’t go to any event or concert and not see Martin.”

And Glastonbury was certainly no exception.

“The set design was done by Marcus Blee, who trusted the lighting to us,” he continues. “My goal was to emphasize what was really a beautiful set, and highlight its best features.

“The main area was in a tent - ten by ten meters - so it was very critical what type of lights we used because when you’re in a tent, there is no way of hiding the lights - they have to look great.”

Martin Stagebar 54
For all LED lighting Oli used Martin Stagebars, which were provided by Martin UK. “They were integral to the whole design and worked great. The optics are the best there is out there. On television, the fixtures themselves must look good, and the Stagebar 54 is not only good looking, they’re also different. And it’s nice to see something new and fresh in LED.

“The product feels more refined and better developed. A great benefit is the amber and white pixels. To get a warm amber light, normally you would mix red and green, which you can see at source in the camera. With the white and amber pixels on the Stagebar you don’t get these horrible colors.

“We ran the Stagebars at about 30% to 40% which was more than enough. But it is nice knowing you have the punch there to blind right out when you need it. The total peak output is the best I have ever seen, it will become the fixture everyone will want.”

And despite a sea of BBC crew seen about the place, the set-up was on the tightest of schedules with no room for slip ups.

“It is really important that the set-up is fast, and installing the Stagebars is dead simple and very quick. There are not a lot of cables and it is easy to put diffusers on. It is also nice that they are integrated with all the other Martin products, so you don’t have to adapt your design. You have Martin on your mind so when you’re thinking of setting up you know you can hang the Stagebar the same way as a 2K.”