Creating Stunning Visual Effects at Music Festivals

In an increasingly competitive market music festival organisers are striving for ever more spectacular special effects to wow their audiences. What options are available for organisers when considering incorporating an impressive visual display to accompany artist's performances.

Festival-goer's expectations of the visual effects they expect to see at a music festival are high and organisers must create ever more ambitious presentations. This requires meticulous planning and involves balancing budgets, safety and producing the required visual impact. Other considerations can be the genre of music being presented, electronic dance music, pop and rock are a good fit for visual effects but jazz, folk and bluegrass are more likely to be mellow affairs with no more than limited lighting effects.

Lighting and Lasers.
The lighting effects available is constantly evolving being driven by technical innovation and ever more sophisticated control systems. A combination of colourful LED lights and strobe lights can be set up to match the artist’s performance and requires expert installation and operation. The stage lighting is often complimented by laser installations that enable beam shows where multiple moving lasers are used to create complex synchronised displays directly into a crowd.

Pyrotechnics. 
The use of fireworks, flames, and other pyrotechnic effects can be great for impact, but costs can rise quickly if they are used to excess. Safety is a big concern when using any pyrotechnics due to the dangers of increased fire risks and potential injury to anyone close by should something go wrong. Installation and use of pyrotechnics are subject to strict regulations and can only be handled and operated by suitably qualified individuals.

Dry Ice.
The use of dry ice can create an amazing visual impact especially when used with lighting and laser beam shows. For an outdoor festival the use of dry ice will probably be limited to stage areas as any light breeze or wind will blow it away before reaching the audience. Dry ice is created when solid carbon dioxide is exposed to water or heat and can be dangerous if not handled correctly, exposure can lead to respiratory problems for some people.

Other Popular Visual Effects.
Projecting images onto large screens or surface areas by using video mapping can create both 2D and 3D or holographic visual effects. The use of holographic projections is an evolving technology that is likely to gain more traction as it becomes more affordable and accessible to festival organisers.

Most festival organisers incorporate plans for visual effects to accompany their artist’s performances and the only limitations are their own creative imagination and of course budget. There are health and safety risks with most visual effects used and organisers must work with experienced and qualified individuals when awarding contracts for their use. A music festival that has great visual effects helps create a more immersive and memorable experience for festival-goers making them more likely to return for future events as well increasing the probability of recommendations to others.

For festival organisers planning their events using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

Photo by Wendy Wei via Pexels

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