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PRG Europe Lights up Live 8
Originally scheduled to finish at 8pm, then 9.30pm, London's Hyde Park concert was widely expected to over run. "There's a massive difference between running a show that finishes at 8pm, when it's still light, and one scheduled to finish after dark," said Peter. "So the day before, we got a team to go and rig six VL2416s on each of 16 delay towers in the park. Not only did they provide light on the crowd at night, but during the day they also gave a sparkle for the cameras when they filmed from the back of the stage.
"We didn't start planning the lighting until the end of May, because the concert wasn't confirmed until then, but some of the lighting was already in the park, because it had been used to the O2 Wireless festival. All the LED fixtures above and either side of the stage were put there with a view to it being a daylight show, for the cameras to look at."
Supplied by PRG Europe, the lighting had to work for both the live audience and the TV cameras. Six articulated trucks took 47 tonnes of lights to the site, which were suspended up to 10 metres above the stage from almost 180 metres of truss. Some 250 moving lights - including VL3000s and Mac 2000s - were used, along with 200 Pixel Lines, 120 static lights and eight followspots, controlled by two Wholehog II consoles with wings.
"I had no idea what each band would be doing," added Peter. "Sometimes one of their crew would approach me shortly before they were on, and give me some guidance as to what they wanted, and most of the time I was left to get on with it. But I was at the desk all the time, and lit what I saw on the fly."
Designed to go with Peter Bingerman's set, the lighting plot was sent to each of the other countries holding Live 8 concerts, for them to follow the design to a greater or lesser extent. "Above all, we needed lighting which worked well in daylight," said Peter. "We filled the space between the roof and stage with lighting and Pixel Lines; everything was layered, rather than being on one plane, so the front truss was higher than the back truss, which was just above the LED screens.
"Because we were lighting the whole thing for TV as well as the live audience, we had to get the flesh tones right. The photographic side of lighting is different to the effects side: you have to get good lighting for the audience, but the close ups also have to look good, and I think we achieved that."
Heading the team from PRG Europe were account manager Mickey Curbishley and project manager Yvonne Donnelly Smith. "It was one of my finest days ever," said Mickey. "We had 30 of our most experienced crew on the job, and everything went unbelievably well. We normally work on Capital FM's Party in the Park, so we're used to people wandering in and out of the hospitality area, getting drinks or food, but this was different - everyone was so caught up in the moment, they watched the show from start to finish."
"Mickey and I worked on Live Aid in Wembley 20 years ago, and there was no comparison regarding the event's technical complexity," added PRG Europe's managing director Dave Keighley, who was on site throughout the build-up. "So many more technologies are available now, with more equipment to control and the equipment itself more complicated - which means more margin for error. Audiences today expect video screens, LEDs and a fantastic light show, and it wouldn't be right to offer them anything less."
The following day both the PRG Europe crew and the lighting headed for Edinburgh, ready for Wednesday's Final Push concert at Murrayfield.
pic courtesy Empics
11th July 2005
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