Music, food, art, friends and Robe moving lights set the tone for the 2018 Spilt Milk Festival staged in Commonwealth Park in Canberra, the third year for this event on the Australian festival calendar, after it was established in 2016 by Kicks Entertainment.
Canberra based, Event Technology was commissioned to provide audio, lighting and video production for the one-day extravaganza, while MPH Australia supplied lighting for the Angrove Stage, with support from EET.
Three main stages – Angrove, Basquiat and Derbyshire – all featured Robe moving lights on their rigs, for flown ‘house’ systems and artist floor packages. Robe Spiiders, Robe BMFLs, Robe Pointes and Robe MegaPointes joined an eclectic line-up of local and international music talents who strutted their stuff and entertained the crowds with some superlative sounds. “MegaPointes are pretty ‘mega’ as the name suggests.” enthused Darren Russell, MD of Elite Event Technology.
Elite was one of the first production companies worldwide to invest in the original Robe Pointes and have loved and appreciated their multifunctionality ever since, over other simpler and less dynamic beam lights. “MegaPointe takes the concept to a whole new level,” Darren commented.
The production lighting rigs for the three main stages were designed by Michael Parsons from MPH and consisted of mixes of all these different sized units. They were augmented by some bands who brought in their own special packages.
The Angrove stage featured 55 Robes in total: 14 Robe BMFL Blades, 18 Robe Pointes and 15 Robe Spiiders together with eight Robe MegaPointes and eight Robe LEDWash 600s which were part of different floor packages. The Basquiat Stage rocked with 66 Robes, a combination of Robe BMFL Spots, Robe MegaPointes, Robe LEDWash 600s and Robe Pointes, while the more intimate Derbyshire Stage looked cool with Robe LEDWash 300s, DLX Spots and Robe LEDBeam 100s.
“All the Robe range fixtures complement each other really well,” continued Darren. “The MegaPointes hold their own against the punchy BMFLs and are closer to a BMFL than the original Pointe, but a combination of flown BMFLs and MegaPointes looks amazing. With Pointes as part of a floor package, you have an amazing range of features, power and infinite effects at your fingertips for a complete stage look.”
Darren thought the newest Robe products were “awesome”, lights like the Robe Spiider LED wash beams provided heaps of scope for Designers. He also thought that it’s a testament to the brand and the longevity of the ranges that the older Robe Pointe and Robe LEDWash units are still working hard, reliably and producing huge effects.
Elite was the first company in Australia to purchase Robe BMFLs in 2015, Darren explained that these are still desired and specified day-to-day by Designers “for their massive output and wide range of effects”.
Perfect festival weather greeted the 35,000+ Spilt Milk 2018 audience, undeterred by late changes in the line-up, with tickets again selling out in minutes.
JPJ Audio provided audio for the Angrove Stage utilising an L-Acoustics system.