Technological triumph at Truck Fest
Friday 5 August 2011
Technological triumph at Truck Fest
Southampton Solent University staff and students recently provided video and recording facilities for independent music festival Truck Fest 2011.
Truck Fest - held in Oxfordshire at the end of July - is the brain child of Robin and Joe Bennett from the band Dreaming Spires. It has been running for over a decade and this year was the biggest yet, with eight different stages providing entertainment for an estimated 6,000 revellers.
Overseen by four University staff from the Faculty of Maritime and Technology, 28 students spent five days on-site rigging, recording and engineering audio and video on the two main stages. A further six students also worked on media and artist liaison.
Five cameras at the main stage fed Solent University’s Outside Broadcast Truck, while another four cameras at the second stage fed a temporary OB truck - an empty hired van which was filled with equipment and set up from scratch by the Outside Broadcasting, Media Technology and Live and Studio Sound students.
Both facilities also recorded and mixed up to 48 channels of audio, fed from the stages’ sound systems and ambient microphones. The team also provided assistance and advice to the festival on noise monitoring and control.
Students gained invaluable practical experience as camera operators, vision mixers, artist & media liaison, sound engineers, stage crew, recording operators and environmental noise monitors.
Dr Chris Barlow, Southampton Solent University’s Reader in Audio Technology, said: “The students worked really well together doing a number of complex jobs and everyone managed their roles well."
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT THE MEDIA OFFICE ON 023 8031 9040