Our Technology & Services for Music Festivals
Every summer, our music team are dedicated to supplying lighting, video and rigging services to some of the biggest music festivals in the UK and Europe. From the early days of Donington’s Monsters of Rock in the ’80s, we’ve been committed to continually improving the service and range of technology we offer and are proud to add more festivals to our roster year on year.
Concert lighting packages range from a multiple truss main stage ‘house’ rig featuring the latest moving and LED lighting fixtures, lighting control consoles and special effects products to band extras for additional lighting requested by artists at festivals. Very little is impossible when it comes to the provision of lighting technology at music festivals.
Our proprietary Festival Server software is a popular application used at several festivals, enabling live social media updates, adverts and trivia to scroll across the borders of an IMAG side screen, the software was developed by PRG specifically for use at music festivals. Other video technology products widely used include customisable LED video screens, camera and image magnification (IMAG) systems and digital projection. Most video content is tied together using one of the wide range of media servers we stock including PRG MBox, d3, Catalyst and Resolume.
Our rigging services are in exceptionally high demand during the summer festivals. We supply motors, truss, motion control systems, rigging accessories and riggers to a catalogue of outdoor events across Europe.
In addition to the on-site services and products available from PRG, we offer a comprehensive support network, including 24 hour international support, project management and pre-visualisation, and use of the 1600 square metres of space in our Longbridge facility dedicated to show prep.
To discuss your festival technology needs, please contact a member of our music team.
Please view the options below to see what PRG has to offer and visit our news blog to see examples of the shows we’ve recently been working on.
Lighting Products
Event lighting hire is one of the core services PRG offers. Our inventory of moving lights, LED lighting, conventional and tungsten luminaires, followspots and intelligent lighting products has a global reach. In addition to our own cutting-edge range of proprietary lights and control consoles, PRG stock lighting products by leading event technology brands including Clay Paky, Vari*Lite, Martin Professional, SGM, GLP, High End, Robe, ETC, Aytron, Lycian, Robert Juliat and Philips.
Video Camera Systems
To work alongside our cutting-edge LED video screens and digital projectors, we use high specification portable production units (PPUs) which include the latest broadcast quality camera systems on the market. Our video camera hire stock includes models by leading manufacturers such as Sony, Bradley, Grass Valley and our own proprietary cameras developed for specific customer requirements.
Projection Solutions
Video projection is a multifaceted effect that can be used in many ways, most of which can be defined as either image magnification (IMAG), ultra-widescreen effects projection or projection mapping over a 3D surface. The creative possibilities of video projection are immense, so why not talk to one of our team of video and projection product specialists and discuss a package that suits your needs? We have a well stocked inventory of projectors from Barco and Panasonic in a variety of different sizes, which enables us to manage intimate projects such as a small screen projection at an AGM, through to projecting on the exterior of a national landmark.
LED Video Screens
The significant improvements in LED technology over the past few years mean that LED video screens are more popular than ever.
PRG have a comprehensive stock of LED tiles from manufacturers such as Barco, Unilumin, Lighthouse and ROE Visual, with pitches ranging from 2.5 to 40mm. Our LED solutions are easily customisable and offer almost limitless creative opportunities. Gone are the days of a single flat video screen at the back of a stage, as designers are increasingly using multiple layers of varied pitch sizes to create a multi-dimensional look to their stage set. LED video tiles have also been used to create backgrounds for major feature film productions, as high-brightness IMAG screens at outdoor music festivals, as well as making a car ‘disappear’ into it’s surroundings for a TV advert.
Pre-Visualisation
Lighting and video will be some of the most important elements of your show and have the power to make or break the event. To aid the design process, PRG’s team of visualisation specialists use state-of-the-art What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) software to create a 3D render of your event, which can be used for planning purposes or pre-programming of fixtures. Video mapping can also be visualised using media servers such as Pandora’s Box. Allocating a little extra time and money at the start of a production period will save a lot of expense on site. Being better prepared enables you to spend less time in the venue and less money on crew and rental costs. Pre-visualisation can also be used as a pitch support tool, illustrating how the venue will look and demonstrating the different lighting moods and themes you will use.
Rigging
Rigging is the area of event production used whenever lighting, video or scenic elements need to be hung or supported.
Rigging is the little seen infrastructure that holds the show together and should be part of event planning and design from the original inception. Often bearing the weight of many tonnes of equipment, rigging is subject to many regulations and technical requirements, with which our rigging engineers are highly experienced. PRG have decades of experience providing rigging solutions for music festivals, trade shows, light-entertainment television, music concerts and more. Our rigging inventory includes products by respected industry manufacturers such as Thomas Engineering, Tomcat, Columbus McKinnon (CM) hoists, Petzl, Lift All, The Crosby Group, Doughty and Kinesys.
Lighting Design
Choosing a lighting design which suits the theme and tone of your event is essential.
The production teams at PRG are well connected with all the major lighting designers in the UK and many more around the world. If you’ve already appointed a lighting designer for your event we’ll happily work alongside them, or we can connect you to a designer suited to your project. We have excellent relationships with dozens of lighting designers whose areas of expertise include trade shows and corporate events, award shows, live television, fashion shows, theatre productions and live music concerts.
Rigging Design
The complexities and design critical elements of specifying your rigging requirements is the job of an expert. If you’ve dreamed up the perfect conception for a stage set, lighting rig or video experience, let our team of intrepid rigging experts help facilitate the rigging infrastructure needs of your project.
The rigging infrastructure which supports the weight of a lighting or video rig needs to be intricately designed, the particulars of which will vary depending on the rig and venue it’s being hung in. Our team of rigging experts and engineers are National Rigging Certificate (NRC) level 3 qualified and use the latest Autocad software to calculate your rigging needs and design a package accordingly.
PRG sits on the National Rigging Advisory Group (NRAG)
For more information, please contact our Head of Rigging Services
Video Design
If you have an idea for a show involving video, but don’t know how to make it happen, we’re here to help!
PRG’s team of video specialists have a proven track record of making the impossible possible. We’ll always try to use an off-the-shelf solution so we can keep your costs down and don’t add any unnecessary complications to your event. However, if there’s no product or set-up already on the market, we’ll make it for you. PRG Projects division in Belgium & China is an R&D and manufacturing facility dedicated to creating custom LED solutions. Whether it’s wearable LED panels, non-standard projection screens or custom metalwork, our team of innovative video experts can help.
Stage Automation
The movement of people, set and scenery during a live show is covered by the technical discipline of stage automation.
PRG have a rich history of making things move on stage, having introduced the world to the Stage Command motion control system when it made its entrance on Broadway over 25 years ago. Theatre technology has moved on significantly since then but PRG are still at the forefront of stage automation innovation with our proprietary motion control system: the Commander Automation Console which has been used on shows such as Beautiful in the West End, Queen & Adam Lambert’s 2015 European tour, Wicked UK theatre tour and Drake’s headline performance at the 2015 Wireless music festival.
Media Servers
A media server is the central point of a video system which has the ability to deliver multiple streams of video to multiple playback surfaces. PRG stock a variety of media servers including the PRG MBox, d3, Catalyst, Resolume and Pandora’s Box. Common features of most industry standard media servers include projection mapping, live feed (IMAG), standard playback and live image manipulation as well as the ability to display live social media interactions on your playback surfaces.
CAD Services
A detailed CAD drawing is essential for the planning and production of a live event.
Clients mostly approach us with their idea and a rough sketch of what they want. Our experienced CAD draughtsmen use the latest Autocad and Vectorworks software to create 2D and 3D scale drawings of your lighting, video and rigging requirements. As well as having a thorough knowledge of the technical requirements and rigging capacity for most UK event venues, we also have a comprehensive library of fixture blocks to ensure our drawings are as detailed and accurate as possible.
Crewing Services
Cutting-edge event technology systems require highly skilled and versatile crew to set up and operate them.
Production Resource Group have a sought-after team of in-house event crew to compliment our extensive database of experienced freelance crew. Our Crewing Services team allocate site staff according to their product knowledge and expertise, ensuring our events are staffed by the best personnel in the industry. In addition to the hundreds of employees and freelancers in the UK, PRG can supply crew internationally through our colleagues in the 40 countries we operate in around the world. As part of our passion to ensure our crew are the best qualified and supported in the industry, PRG continually invest in the education and training of our crew so we can be safe in the knowledge our events are looked after by world class event technicians.
Logistics
Once you’ve picked the kit you need, you’ll need to get it to the venue or between multiple venues for a tour.
Why not let our logistics team take care of all your transport needs? Whether it’s a small delivery dropping a support package around the corner or multiple articulated lorries and tour buses if it’s a tour, PRG can take care of it. We have our own fleet of vehicles and an extensive network of couriers, freight forwarders and bussing companies around the UK. As well as booking transport, PRG’s freight team can also complete the relevant customs documentation needed when shipping outside the European Union.
Power Distribution
Power distribution is the technical discipline which takes a main power supply and splits it into many smaller outlets.
If your show has multiple items of event technology, a well designed power distribution system is essential. PRG have a versatile stock of mains distribution units that can be configured to the individual needs of each event. Whether you require just a handful of 13A sockets for a fashion show dressing room or over a thousand ways of hot and dimmed power for a stadium tour, we have the resources and expertise to ensure your event technology has all the power it needs.
All our power distribution units are compliant with BS7909, are PAT certified every 6 months and electronically tested for RCD integrity every 12 months.
Prep Facilities
Whatever your event, you’re bound to want the load in to be as quick and efficient as possible.
Many crews take advantage of our prep facilities in Longbridge. Being our main UK warehouse, Longbridge has over 1600 square metres of space dedicated to show prep and is perfect for looming cable, marking up truss, addressing fixtures and packing and marking up road cases. We also have 2 ground support structures for hanging lighting and video trusses which help to eliminate snagging issues in the design and are often used by lighting designers and programmers to pre-program the show on the lighting console.
