Creative fights fires with BMFLs

An exceptionally short planning period and get-in time were among the many challenges facing the production team behind Fire Fight Australia, the 75,000-capacity concert for bushfire relief at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium, according to Dave Jackson of Creative Productions.

He was able to use the same stage roof as Queen and Adam Lambert, who had played the venue the previous night, and who were part of this line-up, but had to install his own production for artistes including Olivia Newton-John, Alice Cooper and k.d. lang.

“The design had to provide great looking lighting for both the 20 diverse artistes on the bill and the cameras,” says Jackson, who only had 10 days’ notice that the event would be telecast live worldwide. His only other brief was that there would be a large LED screen upstage plus left and right image magnification (IMAG).

“I needed something with serious punch not just because it was a stadium show but for the daytime filming,” he says. “Robe BMFLs, especially BMFL WashBeams, are still the only moving light where colours are properly perceptible in daylight.”

He used 32 BMFL Blades on the floor upstage, aiming for a dramatic contrast to the overhead rig where 36 BMFL Spots and 36 BMFL WashBeams were rigged, providing the core of the stage and effects lighting.

The 30 of the Czech Republic manufacturer’s Spiiders – 15 per side – hung on three ladders stage left and right for their “wide range of colours” and for “excellent” back-of-camera effects for the side shots.