If walls could talk, Carriageworks would be a cacophony of conversation about the future of our world, our political systems and how we interact with each other.
Sydney-based production company dplr was proud to once again be technical partners with The Ethics Centre for their bi-annual keynote event, the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, which happened at Carriageworks on August 24th & 25th. dplr (pronounced ‘doppler’) has partnered with FODI on the previous two festivals, providing production management and technical delivery for five separate venues and various activation spaces.
The event is a platform for internationally renowned thought leaders to come together with everyday people to discuss emerging ideas about politics, ethics and culture, through panels, keynote speeches and interactive art installations. This year saw appearances from culture critic Roxane Gay, journalist and academic Masha Gessen, political podcaster Andy Mills, activist Megan Phelps-Roper and many more.
dplr Production Director Aidan Esmond said that this project was challenging in scope and size, but seeing all venues light up for the first time was a proud moment.
“We pride ourselves on being able to provide a fit-for-purpose solution for our clients and through our long-standing relationship with FODI, we’ve been able to tinker with requirements, find efficiencies and craft the best production overlay for their event,” he said. “FODI 2024 saw our in-house experts interface with our trusted contractors to deliver over and above the client brief, with large LED screen arrays in the talk venues, designed lighting-states to enhance the audience experience, and crystal clear audio presentation.”
“Running a festival this big with this many venues is a massive task, but something our company is suited to tackle with our stock of intelligent lighting, indoor LED screen, video and audio systems.”
dplr also provided live streaming for at-home ticket holders during the event and as on-demand content, as well as audio recordings of all sessions for a specially released podcast series post-event.
dplr’s sibling company, project management firm ORBIT provided top-down event management of the venues and the art installations in the foyer, including the mind-bending TAPE sculpture by international design collective Numen/For Use which saw a large, amorphous cocoon made of sticky tape, strung between the heritage pillars in the Carriageworks foyer, meticulously shaped by the install team over 10 days.
dplr & ORBIT Director Andy Lysle said that this year’s festival was a momentous achievement for the organisation.
“FODI was the first event dplr did as a new company six years ago – this event holds such a special place in our hearts,” he said. “The festival has come a long way in that time, and so have we. Our team has grown to include project managers, technical experts and specialised operators – the trust in which FODI put in us to deliver on the vision is invigorating and exciting.”
There is no break for dplr as the busy summer season kicks off, with involvement in Fringe at Sydney Spiegeltent and Darling Quarter, Ministry of Sound at White Bay Power Station, Listen Out Festival and SXSW Sydney.
Photos: Anna Kucera, Ken Leanfore
Technical Overview –
Bay 17 –
- Audio –
- d&b Audiotechnik Y-series FOH speaker system.
- Allen and Heath S7000 audio control.
- DPA headset mics.
- Shure Axient wireless systems.
- Bolero wireless comms.
Lighting –- grandMA3 light lighting control system.Luminex Nodes.
- Chauvet Professional lighting fixtures including Storm 4 Profile, Outcast 1 BeamWash, Colour Strike Ms, R2X washes & Q40 LED wash panel.
Broadcast System –- Blackmagic Constellation processing.The Cameras were Blackmagic URSA and Birddog PTZs.PixelHue Screen Management controller.Novastar Coex processing for LED panels.
- Unilumin 2.9mm Pitch Flown LED screens including –
- 8mW x 4mH Main Screen.
- 2 x 1.5mW x 6mH Banner Screens.
- 2 x 2.5mW x 1.5mH Delay/IMAG screens.
Streaming Systems –- Allen and Heath SQ6 audio console fed by Dante.Custom fibre transport system.Neumann studio reference monitors.
- Teradeck Vidiu Go – Bond Streaming Encoder pushing to the clients Vimeo website.
Whole Site Recording Hub –- Dante multitrack capture into Reaper in every venue.Redundant Zoom F6 harddisk recorder in each venue.HDD desk record from all Allen and Heath consoles.
- Data management via Synology NAS & Cloud back-up.
Bay 20 –
- Audio –
- d&b Audiotechnik Y-series FOH speaker system.
- Allen and Heath C1500 audio control.
- DPA headset mics.
- Shure ULX-D wireless systems.
- Bolero wireless comms.
- Lighting –
- grandMA3 onPC lighting control system.
- Luminex Nodes.
- Chauvet Professional & Ayrton lighting fixtures.
- Broadcast System –
- Blackmagic Constellation processing.
- Novastar Coex processing for LED panels.
- Flown Glowshine 5mW x 2.5mH x 2.6mmP LED screen.
Bay 21 –
- Audio –
- RCF & QSC point-source speaker configuration.
- Allen and Heath SQ5
- Sennehiser headset mics.
- Sennheiser G4 wireless systems.
- GreenGo wireless comms.
Lighting –- grandMA2 onPC lighting control system.Luminex Nodes.
- Chauvet Professional lighting fixtures.
Broadcast System –- Blackmagic Constellation processing.Novastar Coex processing for LED panels.
- Unilumin Flown 5mW x 3mH x 4.8mmP LED screen.
Track 12 –
- Audio –
- QSC “In the round” point-source speaker configuration.
- Allen and Heath SQ5.
- Shure, DPA & Sennheiser wireless mics for panel conversations.
- 13 x Sennheiser 835S Switch microphone for “Circle of Chairs”.
- GreenGo wireless comms.
Lighting –- Jands Stage CL.
- TourPro lighting fixtures.
Foyer –
- Audio –
- Distributed QSC K10.2 flown speaker system.
- Allen and Heath QU16 audio control w/2412 digital stagebox.
- Sennheiser EW500 wireless instrument and handheld microphone systems.
- Rolling DJ rig with –
- Pioneer CDJ3000 equipment.
- QSC KW153/181 local speaker system.
- Allen and Heath 2412 digital stagebox managing all IO.
Lighting –- grandMA2 onPC lighting control system.24 x Volux Sisma – Moving Head Wash light.12 x Volux Spectra 300 – Moving Head Spot light.
- TourPro Zoom Pars and Chauvet 72X Bars wash the building and different sponsor activations.
Team Members –
Production and Account Management –
- Andy Lysle.
- Aidan Esmond.
- Mack Ebelt.
- Lauren Schwabe.
- Liz Astey.
Audio Engineers –
- Ben Northmore.
- Rochish Enugaala.
- Matt Fioravanti
- Harry Connolly.
- Spencer Standish.
- Dylan Robinson (Recording Engineer).
Lighting Designers/Operators –
- Darcy Cook.
- Thim Jeppeson.
- Jesse Kooraram
- Chris Pierson.
- Joe Cox.
Vision/Broadcast/Camera/Stream Team –
- Ethan Cranford.
- Nathan Moore.
- Todd Decker.
- Demitri Halos.
- Emily Williams.
- Thomas Hellier.
Stage Managers –
- Emily Oades.
- Ned Matthews.
- Nicola Sinclair.
- Crystal Goodie.
