Writing about this year’s edition of the Stereofunk Festival, one critic declared: “it isn’t just a music festival; it’s a vibrant D.I.Y community… a whirlwind of art and culture.” At the center of this “whirlwind” (at least as far as the performances on the main stage were concerned) was Steve McCracken of Mac-Events, who used the ChamSys Stadium MagicQ MQ250M to busk lightshows for Wanda Dee, iconic hip-hop artists from The Bronx, Vengoboys, a Top-10 Dutch Euro-dance group, and Urban Cookie Collective, a UK electronic duo, along with a wide range of other global acts.
“None of the artists brought their own LDs, so we busked the entire festival,” said McCracken, whose boldly colored looks flowed as freely and joyfully as the do-it-yourself artwork that seemed to be everywhere at the festival site, which was set against the background of a hunting lodge from the 1700s. The flexibility of his MQ250M was invaluable for McCracken, who designed his show in Capture and programmed it onsite, then added to it throughout the festival. “There was a bit of time pressure in this project,” he said. “The user-friendly features of my MQ250M really helped me manage my time more efficiently.”
McCraken appreciated how the Cloning and Morphing features of his console made it easy to take elements from his extensive collection of show files and adapt them to the acts he lit at Stereofunk. He also relied on the Group Cues feature of his console to update entire groups of cues to fit his design for the festival. “Both the Cloning/Morphing and Group Cues were very essential in this particular situation,” he said. “They really helped me cut down on programming time onsite, which was important since we had a very tight schedule at load in. Another feature that really came in very handy was the MQ250M’s Blind Mode,” continued McCracken. “I relied on it to create some very nice looks on the fly during the festival when so many things were going on around me.”
McCracken worked closely with VJ Richie Wilson to coordinate light and video. “Our company, Mac-Events installed the video wall, and the images were from Funktion Creep,” he said. “The VJ and I took turns running out looks. One took the lead while the other followed, then we reversed positions. We used big bold colors, so they would not get lost next to the video output.”
Working closely with his team, McCracken found Stereofunk to be a “fun experience.” It’s a safe bet that every fan who attended this “First Festival of Summer,” felt the same way.
Further information from ChamSys: www.chamsysusa.com
