Belfast-based Production Services Ireland (PSI) have supplied lighting for the two main venues for Ireland's biggest community festival.

The work at the West Belfast Festival followed on from PSI's work for organisers Féile an Phobail for their Spring Festival and Comedy Festivals earlier in the year.

PSI's Sean Pagel commented: "It was a great pleasure to work on this event and come onboard right at the start. This gave us the chance to demonstrate how investment in production values can really enhance the look and feel of an event".

PSI designed and supplied lighting for The Marquee in Bank Square in central Belfast and for all the action taking place in Andersonstown Leisure Centre as well as for a selection of other one off venues including schools, community centres, youth clubs and a monastery.

PSI added a Chroma-Q ColorWeb 125 backdrop, which made a real difference in boosting the depth and perspective of the stage as well as looking funky and interesting, rather than having a black void at the end of the tent. "It was a real case of using the available space imaginatively and thoughtfully, rather than just rigging a set of lights that would do the job" explained Pagel.

Joe Byrne operated the Avolites Pearl Expert lighting desk, with a Hippo Express media server used to run video content for the ColorWeb.

This is a standard sports hall space with pre-determined rigging points that dictate where the trussing has to fly, so PSI put in a 12 metre wide by 10 metre deep box truss over the stage. A 12 metre audience truss was rigged in the auditorium, complete with 9 Cantata fresnels for house lighting.

An eclectic variety of artists appeared here including Lenny Henry, who headed up the Comedy Night, Celtic fusion band The Peatbog Faeries from the Isle of Skye, The Wonderstuff, Cornershop and a glam pop blast from the 1980s with ABC, so the lighting had to be very flexible.

Sean Pagel and Joe Byrne operated the lighting and a small piece of technical history was made by the PSI team in that it was the first time ever that anyone was allowed to use a haze machine in the council operated venue.

To get approval for this to happen, Joe Byrne was required to take a Fire Awareness training course, which he found an invaluable experience to add to his raft of health & safety knowledge.

(BMcN/KMcA)