Bestival

dbnAudile have provided lighting and sound for Bestival and Camp Bestival since 2008

dbnAudile have worked on Bestival and Camp Bestival since 2008, contracted by festival producers Loudsound and production managers LarMac Live, on behalf of Sunday Best.

As the main production supplier for Bestival, dbnAudile provide sound and lighting for the Big Top, Psychic Worm, Bollywood, Black Dahlia and Spiegel stages. At Camp Bestival, the lineup of stages includes the main Castle Stage, the Big Top, Bollywood, Black Dahlia and the Spiegel.

Both festivals boast an extensive and eclectic line-up, with past headliners including Flaming Lips, Florence and the Machine, PJ Harvey, Madness, Blondie, Primal Scream, Happy Mondays, Hot Chip and Orbital. Both artiste and audience expectations of production standards are very high, and the stature of artistes means that a large quantity of guest production must be accommodated in addition to the ‘house’ set-ups.

Most of the big names play in the Bestival Big Top, where a large amount of guest production is required, due to the stature of the acts on show. Two dbnAudile crews therefore provide twenty-four hour cover in the Big Top, with production builds and de-rigs occurring throughout the night-time hours that the stage is not in operation.

A very high level of pre-production planning is also required, with dbnAudile producing CAD drawings and visualisations incorporating not just the sound and lighting systems that they supply, but other production elements such as video screens and rolling risers, together with guest production. Careful consideration is given to both aerial rigging of guest production and to storage and movement of floor-based elements.

This pre-production planning is a challenging task that plays a critical role in the success of the festivals.