Silverstone LIIR
Persistent and torrential rain didn’t dampen any spirits or enthusiasm at Silverstone Circuit in the UK where moving light manufacturer Robe UK, rental and production company Antire Technical Productions and Silverstone’s events and conference team transformed the world-famous race track’s ‘Wing’ building and conference centre ‘resplendent red’ for the evening of 30th September 2020.
#LightItInRed, one of many elements making up this general technical production industry alliance, helped coordinate thousands of similar lighting interventions which took place across 25 countries and all continents … to highlight the urgent need for the global live events / entertainment industry to be allowed to safely get back to work.
Over 100 Robe & SGM moving lights supplied by ATP and Robe helped light two key locations at Silverstone – The Wing pit lane and paddock building, which resembles the wing of a race car with extensive event and conference facilities on the higher floors, and the BRDC (British Racing Drivers’ Club) Clubhouse which was a couple of kilometres away on a different part of this enormous site.
At the BRDC building, the lighting scheme for the night was designed by Ryan Murfet of Antire Technical Productions, who utilised a Robe MegaPointe, a Pointe and an ESPRITE to fire beams out from the top of the balcony, skimming the low clouds to be visible from all around the site. The balcony canopy roof and the atrium of the building were lit with LED PARs.
The Robe luminaires were combined with around 150 other lighting fixtures sourced from ATP, with additional fixtures from Clearsound, Dragonfly Lighting and CSR Lighting plus extra control from ATP, all contributing to the spectacle, together with the respective permanent lighting schemes of both buildings.
On site, Ryan and Robe’s head of marketing Theresa Gibson liaised with Silverstone Circuit’s technical manager Paul Goodall, PR / communications consultant Alison Hill and head of sales Hayley Smith to ensure things ran smoothly and the crew had all they needed to make the installations run seamlessly and look amazing.
“The feeling of unity, togetherness and empowerment was really something else and not only did it help raise vital public awareness about this usually unseen industry, it brought people together and created some unique memories in the way that only this industry can! A heartfelt thanks to all of you that made this happen!”
As parts of the Silverstone installation were initially planned to be outside and the weather started looking highly erratic a few days in advance, the final lighting plans stayed fluid right up until absolutely the last minute on the day!
This illustrated first-hand the brilliant solution finding savvy for which the industry is known as ideas flowed and decisions were taken quickly and incisively to ensure that the event was still delivered to the highest standards … despite truly abysmal weather!
Most of the Robe fixtures – a mix of Pointes, MegaPointes, Spiiders, Spikies and LEDBeam 150s – were located inside on Floors 3 and 4 of the Wing’s 360 metre length, blasting out through the glass into the cloudy, wet night skies.
The side of the building was lit red with waterproof LED floods deployed on the ground along its length, while additional beams of light blasted out from the pit garages below.
On the track starting grid adjacent to the pit lane garages, Silverstone provided a selection of super-fast vehicles – Ferraris, Aston Martins and BMWs – together with two fire trucks, which were lined up together with a selection of flightcases!
This Project was a colaboration with Robe UK, CSR, Clearsound, Dragonfly Lighting, ARB, MLE, Silverstone Circuit and OnPoint Logistics
