If you are someone who is so busy that you sometimes, regrettably, only hear of an event after it’s done and dusted, be sure to diarise 2 -5 July 2014 for the 11th annual Innibos Festival. Held once again in Nelspruit, the organisers are expecting over 300 artists and over 300 market stalls. The main stage is always a hit, and last year saw 42 Robe fixtures and 24 Clay Paky Sharpys, amongst others, controlled on a grandMA Full size by LD Johan Ferreira.
Ferrira, from JSF Productions, has lit the Innibos Main Stage for numerous years, and he answered a few questions on the previous year’s event which attracted around 35 000 people to the main stage on the Saturday night alone. The Innibos festival as a whole, saw an amazing 110 000 people go through the gates.
What was your involvement in Innibos 2013 and how many years have you been part of this Afrikaans music festival?
I was the LD, stage and set designer and one of the technical directors alongside Murray Lubbe (FOH sound engineer) and assistant technical director Henre Bornman. This was my 9th Innibos and the 8th year as lighting designer for the Main Stage at the festival.
Who were the technical suppliers for last year’s event?
Sound Headquarters were the main technical suppliers which included sound and lighting. Additional suppliers included Blond Productions (Lighting and Control), EPH Productions (LED Screens), Mike Niksch (Stage) and Fireworks for Africa (Pyro).
What lighting kit did you have on your main stage?
12 x Robe ColorBeam700 (Centre Square Truss), 6x Robe Robin 600E Spot (Side Truss), 24x Robe Robin 600 LEDWash (8x FOH TRUSS) (8x Side Truss) (4x Centre Square Truss) (4x Back Truss), 24x Clay Paky Sharpy (6x FOH Truss) (6x Back Truss) (12x Deck), 12x BriteQ LED POWER BANK (Back Truss), 14x BriteQ LED PIXEL BAR (Deck Steps), 6x 8-Way Molefay (4x FOH Truss) (2x FOH Tower), 12x 2K Fresnel (FOH Truss), 4x Softs (Banners), 2x Jem ZR 33 Smoke Machines and Fans, 122x LED Parcans for truss warmers, 2x Strong Gladiator 3K Follow Spots, 1x grandMA 1 Full Size
Any feedback on the lighting gear you used?
As always the Robin 600 LEDWash impressed me – the 24 units I had on stage were more than enough to wash the entire stage with colours ranging from very saturated to subtle pastels. The incredible zoom function on the unit also made it very versatile and going from a huge pool of light to a small special makes it the ideal LED wash.
I think we are in the age of the beam lights and I would not dream of designing a show like Innibos without Clay Paky Sharpys. I incorporated 24 Sharpys into my design this year and it really added the wow factor. Every beam could be seen for miles around the festival terrain and the LED screens were no match for the crystal clear sharp beams.
