The three-day Summer Well event recently celebrated its 12th edition, utilising GLP lighting fixtures.
Production manager, Vlad Darieis a confessed fan of GLP lighting fixtures, runs Film Location. So impressed was he when the JDC1 hybrid strobe first came out that he decided to invest personally for smaller shows he was producing, later adding FUSION Stick FS16 Z, followed by FUSION X-PAR 12Z and impression FR1. JDC1 in particular had caught his eye when he noticed a rider insisting that “no substitute product was permitted”. “The JDC1 is a benchmark, and I always expect to see this as a mandatory fixture despite all the copies on the market,” he explained.
For larger events such as Summer Well, which saw around 30,000 people per day descending on the site of the Știrbei Domain estate in Buftea, he turned to his regular dry hire supplier, Heli Heinrich at German-based Motion because he needed more than 300 fixtures.
The principal stage saw the deployment of 48 JDC1 and a further 40 JDC Line 1000. The JDC1 was run in maximum SPix 68-channel mode while the JDC Line was programmed in DMX Mode 7 MultiPix Quadpix (76 DMX channels). In addition, production deployed 52 of the large impression X4 L, 47 impression X4 Bar 20 battens, 34 impression FR10 Bar and six impression FR1. Installed at other locations around the site were 24 FUSION Stick FS16 Z linear battens and 32 IP65-rated FUSION X-PAR 12Z’s.
Vlad Darie says production was fortunate in being sent the plot by Florence and the Machine’s LD, Sam O’Riordan, and then adapting it slightly for Yungblud LD Liam Griffiths: It was the task of local lighting designer Gelu Popescu to turn O’Riordan’s plot into 3D reality.
Handling the lighting for Norwegian electronic duo Röyksopp was their LD, Dave Ross. “They also wanted some small fixtures for around the DJ booth,” revealed Darie, “so I provided some impression FR1’s.”
Other key personnel who played a major role in the event’s success included stage manager Rik Benbow, the production manager stated that the stage itself had been enlarged this year to enable it to accommodate any size of show.
Gelu Popescu was quick to endorse the impact created by GLP’s high output range of fixtures. “Working with these GLP fixtures was an absolute game-changer for me as a lighting designer,” he noted. “Their versatility and precision allowed me to create stunning visual experiences that perfectly complemented the music on stage. The JDC1’s unique dual-mode capabilities, combining strobe and wash effects, added a dynamic dimension to the stage design, while the impression X4 L’s powerful output and beam control allowed me to sculpt the environment with precision and finesse. The impression X4 Bar 20 and impression FR10 Bar were indispensable tools in my arsenal, providing seamless colour mixing and a wide range of creative possibilities.”
“In short, GLP fixtures not only met but exceeded my expectations in terms of performance and reliability, and by elevating the visual experience for both the artists and the audience,” Popescu added.
Vlad Stoenescu, agreed: “Despite having more than 200 GLP fixtures on main stage rig, across more than 50 DMX universes, over the three days we had no issue with any of the GLP fixtures. These fixtures revolutionised our festival with their technical prowess and reliability – from pixel-perfect accuracy to real-time synchronisation without any latency.”
