When Juan Ocampo sets up a festival rig one of his primary goals is to make it versatile enough to accommodate the varying styles of different visiting LDs. He designed the rig at this year’s Winnetka Music Festival to be as flexible as possible, selecting CHAUVET Professional Rogue R2 Wash and STRIKE 4 fixtures, in part because they can play so many different roles well.
However, shortly before the festival started Ocampo learned that most of the 28 bands performing at the event wouldn’t be traveling with LDs. Instead of relying on the rig to work with various individual styles, he and his team would have drawn on its versatility to create unique looks for the different acts themselves.
“Initially, the biggest challenge I had was to make sure that the lights were positioned and placed in a way that would make the visiting LDs happy,” said Ocampo. “But we ended up lighting 99-percent of the acts ourselves. The challenge then became how do we create different looks for each band and genre? We were able to do this by using a variety of colours, positions, and movements that complement their performances.”
Positioning 16 Rogue R2 Wash fixtures upstage, midstage and downstage, Ocampo used them for a variety of effects, while also building a wide, even wash of colour to add depth and dimension to the stage. He also relied on their intense output to cut through the atmosphere and throw brilliant colour on the bands and audience. For more dynamic performances, he used the Rogue units for chase sequences.
“The Rogue R2 Washes are a go-to fixture for us,” said Ocampo. “Their smooth, fast movement offers a lot of positions we can choose for the lighting angle, plus the built-in macros provide intense eye-candy effects for the audience. We can easily coordinate the washes for really intense color. Plus, the fixture works equally well as top light, side light, or when placed on the floor. This kind of versatility is critical in a festival light.”
Ocampo also had four STRIKE 4 fixtures, placed almost to the edge downstage, to use as strobes, blinders and warm white audience lights. Angling the individual LEDs on each STRIKE 4 allowed Ocampo to cover the entire audience with light that was bright enough to have an impact even during the daytime performances.
“We had a lot of fun at Winnetka,” said Ocampo. “A big thank you to Joey and John Wagner from AYRE Productions for bringing us on board, and to my colleagues Ben Keene and Jack Weimer who helped LD the performances with me. Anytime we have the opportunity to get in there and design for such a diverse range of artists, it’s always a rush. We love the opportunity to really get creative, so we could help keep the performers and audience revved up!”
