Leading California production company Stage-Tech again dipped into its extensive
inventory of Elation Professional lighting gear to deliver an impactful lighting package
for the Hard and Pink stages at this year’s Hard Summer Music Festival. With a venue
change somewhat late in the scheduling – a move from the Auto Club Speedway in
Fontana to the more scenic environs of the Glen Helen Amphitheater in San
Bernardino – Stage-Tech had to be both flexible and resourceful, a challenge they met
with the help of adaptable Elation lighting.

Held August 5th and 6th, the popular rave event celebrated its 10 Year Anniversary in
style by paying homage to some of the artists who have filled the lineup over the past
decade, including top acts Snoop Dogg, Bassnectar, DJ Snake, Zeds Dead and Justice.

Stage-Tech has been involved with Hard Summer for the last eight years and this year
handled design, lighting, video, and staging for both the Hard Stage and Pink Stage.
“The venue change just weeks before the festival meant we had to reinvent the
design to fit into an amphitheatre atmosphere instead of a larger outdoor venue,’
commented Stage-Tech’s Charley Guest, lighting designer for the Hard and Pink
stages and owner of the Santa Fe Springs-based company. “The versatility of the
Elation gear, the variety of looks you can create and the hybrid ability of the
luminaires, all made the changeover process easier.’

On the Hard Stage, a large outdoor stage and the festival’s main performance space,
Platinum FLX™ hybrid moving heads and Platinum Beam 5R Extreme™ beam lights
were used to create a heavy beam feel from the centre of the stage outwards. Guest
used the multi-functional aspect of the 470W 3-in-1 FLX fixtures fully by shifting to
spot mode for mid-air profile looks and to wash mode for occasional floods of coloured
light. “The FLX has punch and its versatility as a beam, profile and wash light really
showed through on this project,’ said Guest. “Specing the FLX allows us to use fewer
lights but still get as much effect as we would by using many more fixtures. They
were used for the majority of the beam effects and created much of the impact.’

The Hard Stage setup also included ACL 360 Matrix™ LED moving panels, as well as
Lumina Strips™. Mounted on the downstage truss, the ACL 360 Matrix fixtures were
the main source of downstage wash. The 5 x 5 matrix panels, with their continuous
rotation and 4-degree beam from each lens, made other looks possible as well. “They
really did double duty,’ Guest says. “We would use them as wash lights and then turn
them around to face the audience as an effect light.’ Graphics and visuals on the Hard
Stage were run across LED screens made up of Elation EPV375 HO™ transparent LED
video panels, along with 7 mm LED panels.

Meanwhile, on the Pink Stage, a more intimate tent setting and the scene of 8-month
pregnant Anna Lunoe’s soon-to-be-legendary set, Platinum FLX and Platinum Beam
5R Extremes were again used to provide stunning thick beam looks while fully
rotational ACL 360 Bar™ color-changing LED battens, mounted on a circle truss over
the audience and dance area, kept the atmosphere fresh. “The ACL 360 Bars also
allowed us to get multiple uses out of one fixture,’ Guest said. “Besides washing the
audience and extending the colour scheme out into the crowd, they were used to keep
the energy high on the dance floor with a variety of dynamic colour and segmented
effects.’ Design Wash 60™ LED moving heads were also used on the Pink Stage for
added colour and effect while backdrop video screens made up of Elation 20 mm
EVLED 1024T LED panels displayed eye-catching video and graphics.

Southern California has always had a bustling rave scene, and by all accounts, Hard
Summer has retained its place as one of the region’s top summer EDM events. The
venue may have changed, but the quality of music and production has stayed
constant.