Lighting and visuals rental company HSL supplied a substantial ‘specials’ package – including 170 moving lights, custom metal ribs inset with LEDs and a Kinesys automation system – for The Prodigy’s hell-raising headliner performance at the 2012 Download festival, staged at Donnington Race Track near Derby.

The band’s show visuals were designed by Andy Hurst. As you’d expect it was a high impact, high energy, relentlessly pumping show musically and visually.

As it was also the band’s only UK festival appearance this summer Hurst wanted to do something on an epic and grand scale.

HSL’s Mike Oates project managed with HSL’s Tim Fawkes working as system and console tech on-site, and also assisting Hurst with the WYSIWYG pre-programming, completed in HSL’s dedicated visualisation facility at their new warehouse in Blackburn.

The backbone of the rig was 16 custom 8 metre high curved ‘ribs’ which were all individually outlined with LEDs, flown across the full stage width on three staggered upstage trusses. The idea being to add depth to the whole performance space.

These trusses were flown on Kinesys beam trolleys so they could be tracked upstage during the day and concertina’d More >