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Phaseshift Productions has purchased a MA Lighting grandMA console for their busy hire department. Simon Aitkin, Phaseshift’s Production Manager, has just completed a nationwide tour for Scottish band Belle & Sebastian using the grandMA. The lighting for the tour was designed by Simon and for this he found the grandMA’s visualiser software extremely beneficial – in fact he sold the design using the visualiser software!
“I really liked having a lot of faders at your fingertips, that’s fantastic for live shows,” said Simon. “The live time set ups are great, the ability to do live preset times. I like having the macros at a touch of a button and the touch screens are great.
“The amount of display that you can get is really good. The grandMA can do a lot that Hogs can’t. The executor fader choices are quite good and the timing is a lot easier than on a Hog. The UPS in it is fantastic. I’m still touching the surface but so far I love it!”
www.showtech.com.au

grandMAs at The Logies
The 2006 TV Week Logie Awards, celebrating fifty years of Australian television, were held last week at Melbourne’s Crown Casino and for the first time grandMA was in total control!
Channel 9‘s lighting director Rohan Thornton chose three full size MA Lighting grandMA consoles plus a grandMA light to control this important event that is telecast live to an estimated audience of 2.4 million.
“I learnt more about the grandMA console whilst doing the Commonwealth Games Opening and Closing ceremonies and I knew it would be ideal for this event,” said Rohan. “It was also readily available in the required quantity. Our Compulite Sabre console is getting a bit old and tired but we liked the fact that it has an outboard wing. We came up with a similar concept with the MA consoles using the grandMA light and full size grandMA as one control station so that I could also operate things like the audience lighting as well. It worked really well.”
Rohan describes the grandMA console as very intuitive and he likes the way that it can be set up in a variety of ways.
“The more I use the grandMA the better I am getting,” he stated. “It’s really good for Media Servers and has great networking capabilities.”
www.showtech.com.au

Toyota Stand at Melbourne International Motor Show
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The Melbourne International Motor Show is a flagship event for the Australian automotive industry. In 2006, the Motor Show hosted the latest in design and technology, futuristic prototypes and concept vehicles.
Visitors to the stunning Toyota stand were given a chance to see the future of the Aussie V6 when Toyota unveiled a breakthrough vision for 2006. Also making waves this year were the All New RAV4 redefining the compact SUV, the 2006 model Prius i-Tech, and sneak peeks of the upcoming Yaris Sedan and All New Tarago.
Other highlights of the show included the advanced technology of concept vehicles such as the Motor Triathlon Race Car (MTRC) - which is a star of Sony Playstation’s Gran Turismo 4 - and the ever popular 4WD Test Track, allowing you to experience your own 4x4 adventure.
Event Marketing company George P Johnson contracted Francesco Calvi to design a lighting concept for this prestigious stand. In his flown rig Francesco chose twenty-four VL 3000 spot , twelve Martin Atomic Strobes and fifty-six Pulsar ChromaBanks whilst under the revolves he placed a further twelve Atomic Strobes as well as twenty-four of the Pro Shop LED Honeycomb fixtures; a RGB-LED high power floodlight ideally suited for lighting large surfaces.
In the set there were twelve more Pulsar ChromaBanks and eight 12-metre lengths of Pro Shop LEDNeon Flex in Red. LEDNeon flex is easy to install, can be bent to any shape, can be used indoors and outdoors and can withstand the toughest of environments.
General stand lighting comprised of eighty Kupo MSR 575 Multi Pars and a dozen Phillips Arena Vision lights.
Lighting control was via a MA Lighting grandMA which was triggered via timecode so the show ran itself for the length of the event.
www.showtech.com.au

The Veronicas
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Entertainment Installations recently toured with The Veronicas through NSW with managing director Neale Mace acting as their lighting guy.
As with most Entertainment Installation tours that have already been on the road this year, including Xavier Rudd and Leo Sayer, the lighting rig included plenty of Show Technology gear. Moving heads were twelve Martin MAC250 Entours whilst analogue lighting included sixteen Kupo Par64s, eight Kupo Multipar 575w NSP, six ETC Source 4 Junior Zoom profiles and four Molefay Duet. Effects included a Martin Atomic Strobe and a JEM 24/7 Hazer. Control was a Jands HOG1000 with Jands HP dimmers.
www.showtech.com.au

Royal Easter Show Arena Xtreme lighting
As usual the centrepiece of the Royal Easter Show’s entertainment took place in the NAB Arena where Sydney’s favourite horsepower display, Xtreme Korruption , took centre stage in the Arena’s evening entertainment programs. The daring combinations of the Sydney Royal Roughriders, the Freestyle MotoX team, the Holden Stormriders and Lady Cannonball ensured thrills aplenty.
A whirlwind of death defying action and never-before-seen stunts, Xtreme Korruption featured an amazing display of technical skill and fearlessness. The Roughrider stunt horses herded up Holden utes, Lady Cannonball was fired 120 feet from a cannon at 65 miles per hour, utes were pushed to the extreme by the Holden Stormriders and the Freestyle MotoX team showed what the top riders in the world are made of.
Lighting this spectacular event was designed by Paul Collison with Anthony "Bazz" Barrett as lighting director at the show every night. Chameleon Touring Systems provided the gear which included 56 x Martin MAC2000 wash units with PC lenses, 14 x Martin MAC2000 Profiles, 8 x VL3000 profiles, 4 x Syncrolite 3k's, 4 x Studio Due CityColors, and 4 x Robert Juliet follow spots.
The show was hung off five trusses flown off the Grandstand roof structures plus two scaffold towers on the far side of the stadium.
“The show started with a blackout of the stadium flood lighting and a big old bally of all lights to let the crowd know something big was about to happen,” explained Bazz. “The MC then introduced the roughrider act where the oval was lit in white finishing with all 12 horses in 12 sperate spots, courtesy of the MAC2000’s. This was followed by the national anthem with the VL3000 gobo's in the arena plus the Syncrolites and followspots on the anthem singer.”
During the rodeo section of the show the lights were all pointed into the rodeo ring. They then moved to the rodeo clown act thus moving the attention away from the rodeo and down to the front of the stands. Enough light was left to dismantle the rodeo ring and set up the ramps for the stunt acts to follow. The Xtreme Korruption act consisted of bikes and cars being mustered by horses with the lighting action as wild movement and spinning gobos as the bike's and cars enter. However, as this freaks the horses out a white state was quickly established before they entered the arena.
For the cannon girl act the lights provided colour chases around the track for her entry and introduction as well as highlighting the cannon and net on cue. As she entered the cannon the stadium lights were turned on so that she was highly visible as she was shot out of the cannon. The stadium lights them stayed on for the duration of the Holden cars and the Motor cross. This is where the power of the Syncrolites and the Martin MAC2000s really mattered.
“You could still see the movement of these powerful units over the stadium light intensity,” said Bazz. “A blackout was cued to the split second the last bike hit the ground and then we went into fireworks mode. We followed the vibe of the music and try and match the colours of the fireworks with the lights. All in all it was a fun night.”
Chameleon crew included Cliff Bothwell , John Stepthas, Tiana Salmon and rigging was supplied by Pollards.
www.showtech.com.au

INXS on tour in the US
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INXS is traipsing the globe for the Switched On tour, sporting both a new lead singer and a new album, with fellow Australian LD/programmer/operator Sean “Motley” Hackett along for the ride and Delicate Productions providing lighting and video.
According to Hackett, much of the original concept for the basic set and lighting came from the band's drummer Jon Farriss, the “visual one in the band,” who wanted the stage to have a silver and chrome feel to look like liquid mercury when lit, as well as from video projection. The result is “punk, industrial, monochromatic, rock, 2006, with a bit of love thrown in for good measure,” the designer says.
“If you go to a band meeting, you get six different views of it all,” he adds. “If you pick bits of those six different views, it always ends up pretty cool. I usually start with Jon. He comes up with the canvas that he wants.” And what Farriss wanted for this tour was a “modern day punk-looking stage — sort of industrial with loads of white light,” says Hackett. “Keep the colors simple and monochromatic. I only have 10 colors, including white. They are the classic rock colors that everyone uses over the years.”
The lighting runs alongside the video from an MA Lighting grandMA. “I like the multiple views [of the grandMA],” says Hackett. “We can have a show one, a program one, a video one, and a support one.”
The rig consists of 30 High End Systems Studio Beams®, 14 Martin MAC 2000 Profiles (with another six to be added for the next leg), six ETC Source Four® 19° 575W ellipsoidals, and one Source Four 26 ERS for the backing vocals, plus a variety of PAR64s, TMB ProCan 4-lite Molefays, Altman 1kW Q-Lites, and festoon-style Star Strobes. There are also two ETC 48×2.4kW Sensor dimmer racks, two Reel EFX DF50 Hazers, Jands DD8 splitters, a mirror ball, and a combination of trussing from Total Fabrications and Trilite. Rigging for both lighting and video consists of 17 motorized hoists from CM Lodestar.
Video content is all prerecorded; there is no live feed for the show. The content projected on the on the screen — used for just two songs — was created by Scott Duncan, who also makes the band's music videos. “Some of it is stock footage that looks cool,” says Hackett. “We start the show with a five-minute countdown clock on a black Kabuki. We tried to find one everywhere but could not. Danny Whetstone, our video guy, sat down and stitched 1,800 JPEGs together to make a 30-minute one. Then it got shortened to five minutes.”
A Kabuki drops just as the show starts, revealing the metallic environment of the set, which includes a three-level drum riser with black vinyl flooring, silver backdrops in a chrome fabric for most of the songs, and a custom 9'×21' Da-Lite screen. “We have the screen, but we only use it for two songs, and the rest is on the silver crush curtain,” says Hackett. Toward the edges of the set, the curtain opens only twice during the show to reveal the screen.
“I like the way the projection looks on the silver backdrop. With [the Coolux] Pandoras Box, we can make masked shapes and 3D objects to map video on. I like all the white light, as the band and I have a white light fetish.” Also used for projection are two Sanyo PLC-XF45 LCD projectors and two Kramer VP-22 VGA/XGA line amplifiers for graphics processing.
When using lighting and video simultaneously, Hackett likes to keep it dark, so the images onscreen pop well. “On one song, I just use six ETC Source Fours and the video. Other times, we use video to light the whole center drape with texture.” Two pods of lights, comprised of PAR64s, flank the stage for the duration of the show.
To design, integrate, and run both video and lighting, Hackett says, “Keep it simple, keep it simple, keep it simple, and keep it simple. The thing with running digital video through the desk is not to overdo it. If the content is good and simple and used sparingly, it can make an impact.”
Reproduced by kind permission from Live Design magazine www.livedesignonline.com

MACs on parade at the Anzac Military Tattoo
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The Anzac International Military Tattoo 2006 featured elite service bands, military, naval and air force units from around the world. A cast of hundreds of Australian and international performers entertained in a dazzling spectacle of pageantry, ceremony, and precision. The event was staged at the Sydney SuperDome.
The ANZAC legend was born 90 years ago when Australian and New Zealand soldiers earned the respect and admiration of friend and foe alike. The ANZAC International Military Tattoo showcased our modern day ANZAC heroes as they remembered, saluted and celebrated the Diggers.
Australians and New Zealanders were joined by members of defence forces from around the world to showcase one of the world's favourite forms of entertainment. A tattoo is an event that allows military personnel and the people they protect to come together in celebration.
The spectacle featured massed bands featuring hundreds of musicians, precision drill teams, highland bands, Gaelic dance displays, gymnastic routines, a choir of 200 participants and individual routines by participating international service groups.
Lighting designer for this amazing event was Trudy Dalgleish, a master at lighting arena spectaculars. Trudy used her tried and tested arena lighting formula that included Martin MAC2000 fixtures – 64 x MAC2000 Profiles and 64 MAC2000 Wash - as the only intelligent light source. Chosen for their punch and intensity, the MAC2000’s had no trouble filling the SuperDome with colour and pattern.
A further 10 x MAC2000 Performers were situated on the floor and acted as ballet shin busters.
“They were great for bringing out the brass in the uniforms and instruments, in fact they were the real work horses of the rig,” commented Trudy.
Analogue lighting included 30 x 5k fresnels , 20 x 2k fresnels, 24 x ministrips, 3 x 8 way molefay , 6 x FOH spots and 2 x truss spot, with control by a MA Lighting grandMA.
www.showtech.com.au

Show Technology, Bytecraft, Chameleon team up for largest MAC event ever
Martin Professional's Australian representative Show Technology were among the companies servicing the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne recently. The largest number of Martin MAC 2000 fixtures ever used on a single event graced the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Games. Distributed through Show Technology, some 806 MAC 2000 series fixtures (868 MAC fixtures in total - also a single event record) were supplied for the quadrennial spectacular by local partners Bytecraft and Chameleon, with additional fixtures brought in from Procon of Germany.
"We are very excited to be associated with such a high profile event and to work with such talented people," said Emmanuel Ziino, MD of Show Technology. "Show Technology's vision statement is 'Lighting Solutions with Imagination' and it was a thrill to have had the opportunity to prove it."
The Commonwealth production team boasted a wealth of industry experts, many with experience from the Athens and Sydney Olympics and Rugby World Cup. Lighting design was by Mark Hammer with Paul Collison as associate LD and programmer. Others included Rohan Thornton, LD (Broadcast); Philip Lethlean, LD (Yarra River); Nick Eltis, technical director; and Philby Lewis, production manager; among others. The Opening and Closing Ceremonies were produced by Jack Morton Worldwide with executive production and creative direction by Andrew Walsh.
"Having to put together a lighting spec we wanted to come up with fixtures that would cut in a large arena," said associate LD Paul Collison. "At times we're trying to project at 100-140m, so choosing those kinds of fixtures it was pretty obvious where we had to head. The MAC 2000 Wash did such a sterling job on the Athens Olympic Opening and we had used it previously on the Rugby World Cup in 2003, so we went in knowing exactly what we were getting. It then turned into more of a question of what kind of numbers we could get a hold of in this country."
Those numbers turned out to be 314 MAC 2000 Profiles, 352 MAC 2000 Washes and 100 MAC 2000 Performances used in the stadium with an additional 46 MAC 500 profile spots, 40 MAC 2000 Profiles and 16 MAC 600 washlights located just outside the stadium at the Yarra River. Other Martin effects included 12 Atomic 3000 strobes and six Cyclo 03 fluorescent luminaires. Atmospheric effects were from seven Jem ZR33 Hi-Mass foggers and four Jem Glaciator X-Streams. Essentially the same rig was used for both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
"Having so many of the same fixtures from the same manufacturer and series was very beneficial," comments Technical Director for the Games, Nick Eltis. "We went to Denmark for a few days and went through the set-up and brainstormed any problems that might occur, but we never had to deal with any. The support of the manufacturer combined with knowing that the fixtures were reliable was great."
The two hour Opening Ceremony at the MCG on 15 March was attended by 81,000 spectators, with millions more watching across the globe. The parade included 4,500 athletes from 71 countries with a theme focused on Australia's cultural heritage. LD Mark Hammer's lighting brief came from producers Jack Morton with vision input from creative director Andrew Walsh and other ideas contributed from various segment directors. Lighting needs were twofold: to address the big picture - with a focus on TV lighting - while not losing sight of the details. "Everything comes and goes from what they call the 'million dollar shot,'" Mark explains, "that TV shot that works on an aerial where you can see the whole stadium, a media look that encompasses the audience, the main feature, pyro, etc. For some of the sequences we would start with the main look, or work into it and then out of it again.
"I used appropriate colours and lighting for the different segments and areas, whether it was a nighttime look, daytime look, indigenous segment or whatever. We didn't want each segment to look exactly the same so we used different treatments. Sometimes we didn't use background lighting for example, just a black background, to have elements stand out - but at other times we used background lighting to give it some depth."
Suspended 37m above a main stage was a 20m diameter truss circle supported by six lighting towers around the outside of the venue. This meant power runs of about 250m to fixtures. Suspended from the circle were 36 MAC 2000 Profiles equipped with Woodroffe gobos, 36 MAC 2000 Washes and 12 Atomic 3000 strobes to help out with lightning and strobe effects. The 72 MAC fixtures were outfitted with Martin RainMAC protectors. "We had a lighting position above the stage which was great," Paul Collison explains. "It allowed us to push back in the face of the audience or get some tight shots right down on the stage."
From the roof were 29 lighting trusses each with six MAC 2000 Washes, two MAC 2000 Profiles and four Vari*Lite 3000s. "These fixtures lit the audience and were at an angle to effectively cover the center of the stage for any tight pickups that the overhead truss didn't quite cover," Paul says.
Spread evenly across a top tier balcony rail were 120 MAC 2000 Washes (installed with 30 mm aperture rings), 100 MAC 2000 Performances and 40 MAC 2000 Profiles with additional fixtures ganged up behind the Queen's stage and another orchestra stage. "It's a hard working area," Paul says. "At no point are those fixtures not lighting something. From this position we can light the roof, the audience in the lower bowl and the stage area. This position is basically fill lighting, and projection from the Performances work well from that point."
MAC 2000 Washes were used all over the stadium. Mark comments: "Because it's in the round I was looking for something that could cover the field . . . We needed something we could use in a layer situation, different layers of colour and different levels of light to get the coverage. We also had to keep in mind the TV audience side of it - not only lighting that main stage. We had protocol as well, so we not only had fun with the artistic side but we had to keep in mind the cleaner, sharper protocol that happened at various other areas.
"I used different apertures for the 2K Washes. In the balconies I used the 30mm aperture ring because of their angle. I used them in the booster mode, the super tight mode. They just cleaned the beam up at a throw of 40-60m and they really defined some of the shots. Even the ones up high we had with the PC lens, but the standard rings work just as well; they did a lot of the big coverage area and on the audience." In addition, approximately 150 MAC 2000 Washes were used to supplement the stadium lighting throughout the 12-day event.
Paul describes the stage as an 'upside down saucer,' 100m across at its base with a flat top approximately 33m wide. Each side is therefore raked 33m down to the field. On the field of play around the stage were 180 MAC 2000 Profiles in 45 custom boxes, each housing four fixtures with standard gobos and a custom slot gobo that helped to light the stage. "Part of the reason for those Profiles was because we had PIGI projectors providing images on the stage and we needed a position where we could light performers or set pieces on the stage that didn't blow out the PIGI image," Paul states. "A slot gobo around that periphery wall gave us the ability to do that."
Inside the stage was an additional 22 MAC 2000 Washes. "They lit up different entrance and exit points," Paul explains. "There was a central hydraulic lift in the middle of the stage and a dozen 2K Washes filled that area." Jem ZR33 Hi-Mass foggers and Jem Glaciator X-Stream heavy foggers were used to fill the hydraulic lift with atmospheric fog. In addition, hung vertically in a 360 pattern to a central stick, were six Martin Cyclo 03 fluorescents used to illuminate an 8m blow up sphere that emerged from the stage.
Show Technology's Emmanuel Ziino was pleased with the successful event. "Show Technology positioned itself throughout the event as a support organization and ensured that whatever level of local support we could possibly provide was provided. I'm lucky to have such a great team. Our technical director, Vince Haddad, poured his heart and soul into this project early on and his hard work paid off. The effort expended by the technical team, internal and external, was tremendous and they should be very proud."
www.martin.com

The Grand Prix Ball 2006 was held at Crown Casino's Palladium ballroom. The dinner this year featured a fashion parade, Human Nature and Leo Sayer. Concert Lighting Systems provided, installed and operated the lighting as well as providing crew, CLS trussing, hoists and rigging.
The luscious production was designed by Solution Red and CLS’s main lighting designer and operator Tim Newman. As well as utilising 1 2 x Martin MAC2000, and 16 x MAC600, Tim used CLS’s latest acquisitions - 16 x MAC700, 20 x LED Pinspots , and 12 x Honeycomb LED wash lights all under the control of their new MA Lighting grandMA.
Since taking delivery of the Martin MAC700 fixtures, Tim has been delighted with their performance from the animated gobos to the superb optics. The Pro Shop LED Pinspots and Honeycomb LED wash lights have also added more scope to his potential lighting designs as they are ideal for lighting scenery and drapes.
Tim has found the transition from being a Hog-man to a grandMA-user as fairly smooth. He says that the operating platform is great and that he loves the manual control offered by the console.
www.showtech.com.au

A few highlights of the last few months from Res X
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It has been an amazing few months, of which I’m sure every one involved will tell you, that they’re not in hurry to repeat for while. Looking back, it was a huge challenge but what achievement on all parts!
Resolution X supplied and crewed many projects around Melbourne for the Commonwealth Games, and we wanted to share with you some of the highlights.
The Arts Centre Beach Project - The Arts Centre Lawn was transformed for the duration of the Games, with live bands, beach games, bathing boxes, performers and tons of sand. ResX supplied the lights and rigging for the stage and area lighting. Design was by Jon Buswell with crew from The Arts Centre.
Parliament House – Once again Resolution X had the privilege to light up the exterior of the building for the games.
Festival Melbourne2006 – Hidden amongst the sport was the largest ever cultural festival held in Australia. ResX was privileged to be asked to supply our equipment and services. With three main stages, the Festival Big Top, the outdoor Aerial Rig, and the Central Lawn for outdoor theatre, the Gardens were a major Festival hub for the performing arts.
ResX supplied all lighting equipment for Alexander Gardens and design for the Sound Shell and Garden stage was by Richard Grenfell. Niklas Pajanti of TrafficLight provided the designs for the Big Top and Outdoor Aerial Rig.
Sidney Myer Music Bowl - During the Festival the Bowl played host to international and local stars of the of world music, percussion and dance in nine free evening concerts. In addition to the house rig, ResX supplied all the lighting to a design provided by TrafficLight’s Paul Jackson.
The Flags of Angus Watt - Visual artist Angus Watt has many major commissions for festivals and venues all over the world that have enthralled hundreds of thousands of people with his stunning 'flagscapes’. His work could be seen all over Alexandra Gardens and at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.
The Precinct - Every Palm, tree and walk way was lit up in the Gardens to keep the ambient atmosphere flowing between the stages. That’s a lot of lights and even more cable.
All of these projects were a real team effort. It was a pleasure to work with all the great crew at Festival Melbourne2006, TrafficLight, The Arts Centre and Hede Electrics. Thanks to the ResX team – Dave, Russ, Andrew, Chad, Marcus, Colin with Troggie, AK, Kath, Richard, Harley, Charlie, Andrew, Richard, Tony, JP, Michael, Steve, Jarrod, Matt, Peter, Mark, Troy, Jed and Mark. It was a huge effort with over 1800 man hours on site and about the same at the factory.
In addition to the projects, (not surprisingly) we also have managed to increase our inventory. With two and half kilometres of new looms, 500 or so new extension cables, more flood lights, Par cans, and dimmers, all we need now is more floor space!
For more information, please do not hesitate to contact us
www.resolutionx.com.au

Robe spins into action in Adelaide
The Australian National Congress held their 34 th member’s conference in Adelaide’s Convention Centre from April 3 – April 6 of this year. The convention play host to Australia’s leading contingent of municipal councils, shires, developers and service providers to tackle many difficult problems facing urban planning. Only the key members of the government and the private sectors were given access to the government think-tank project.
Greeting the delegation in the reception area was an array of dynamic signage and flowing media broadcasted on state-of-the-art widescreen LCD monitors. These monitors were displayed on Robe MediaSpinner 50ATs, which moved to various positions throughout the show. Rigged on an arch of CLS tri-Truss with par 46 truss warmers, the dynamic screens displayed DVD loops and were used for interactive signage.
The Robe MediaSpinner 50ATs were controlled on a LSC Atom 12 Lighting desk by the in-house production team at the Adelaide Convention Centre. When we asked Peter Robins, Technical Planning Manager for the Adelaide Convention Centre, what he thought of the new Robe MediaSpinners he said “The Robe MediaSpinner 50 ATs are very easy to rig and program..” Peter adds “..they add an eye-catching dimension to the standard signage, bringing them into the 21 st century”. For the first point of contact Robe MediaSpinner 50 ATs were ideal for the signage as the convention was themed around “Smart Space”, integrating clever technology into such a simplistic device. Craig Walter from Unique Meetings and Events Australia stated “I am extremely pleased with the use of the Robe MediaSpinner 50 ATs as the first point of contact for the delegate…”
The latest in this series, the Robe MediaSpinner 50AT follows on from massive interest in the StageBanner 10 AT. The Robe MediaSpinner 50 AT is constructed to enable the displaying and rotation of advertising banners, Plasma/LCD Televisions and other media in exhibitions, on stages, in theatres and for retail where advertising/media needs to be showcased. The Robe MediaSpinner 50 AT has a panel for connecting audio, video and power supplies so that electronic media devices are given unhindered movement. The Robe MediaSpinner 50 AT can operate via a DMX controller or stand alone, enabled by an on-board programming via a LED display. To ensure that the rotation of the unit is smooth and precise, the Robe MediaSpinner 50AT uses a 16-bit DMX resolution.
www.ula.com.au

Metro Church – Gold Coast Launch
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Dominica Sound has been working in conjunction with distributor Universal Lighting & Audio (ULA) Pty Ltd to supply Metro Church Australia with the latest state-of-the-Art Robe lighting products for their Gold Coast launch. The Metro Church group is an exciting and dynamic new 21st century styled church for the Gold Coast region. As part of the ‘Australian Christian Churches” group, with over 1500 congregations around Australia, Metro represents the new “vibe” of church experience that is attracting the younger audiences who expect a higher level of entertainment than the traditional church events.
The massive Metro “Mega Launch” event, as it was advertised, was held on Wednesday the 22nd of March and featured favourite Australia Idol winner Guy Sebastian, along with Brian Houston – the host Pastor of the event. Held at the Gold Coast’s new Convention and Exhibition Centre, Robe ColorWash 1200AT featured along with Robe LEDblinder 196LTs. The event kicked off with an explosion of light and sound that really grabbed the audience’s attention – all controlled from a Chamsys PC controller using 3 universes of DMX. Luke Criss, the senior LD for Dominica, states “Over 3500 people attended the event and both Metro and Dominica were extremely happy with the results.” Luke adds “With industry leading equipment by Robe, the event was certainly one of the most successful community concerts held in this venue.”
Dominica Sound provided the Metro Church group with all the Robe products, including Robe ColorWash 1200 AT, Robe ColorWash 575 AT and Robe LEDblinder 196LT. The sophisticated lighting production went off without a hitch, with perfectly seamless performances from both the entertainers and the lighting choreography. ROBE products have always been on the frontline of simple and precise programming abilities and the latest Metro “Mega Launch” venue was no exception.
The lighting design rig was undertaken by John Buchanan & Luke Criss, with the show programming by Luke. With the lighting rig consisting of mainly Robe inventory, there were over 50 intelligent fixtures in total. The Robe LEDblinder 196LTs were mounted above mid stage, suspended on a trusses roughly 8 metres off the ground to optimize the effects. Mixed in with these Robe 196 LED Blinders were Robe ColourWash 1200 ATs & Robe ColorSpot 575s. Luke also used Robe Spot 250XT’s on the stage for closer proximity lighting.
Above the audience two main FOH trusses held the bulk of Robe ColorSpot 1200ATs and a contingent of Robe ColorSpot 575ATs, along with Robe ColorWash 575 AT’s. “The whole Robe range’s output and performance is nice to work with; it’s great just to work with the art of light, creating great looks and produce a real vibe and moving atmosphere for everyone” says Luke.
Dominica Sound have built a reputation on providing superior, professional audio, presentation, lighting equipment and services to a diverse range of clientele. For over 14 years Dominica Sound has offered specialised in corporate, schools, churches, along with events large and small.
www.ula.com.au

Robe spots the 2006 Motor show
Robe dominated the 2006 Australian International Motorshow with show stopper performances in every major manufacturer’s booth. Robe emphasised the spectacular vehicles on the Mercedes, Holden, Ford and Dodge-Chrysler, Smart Car, Nissan, Honda and Hyundai displays. The motor show began touring in February and will conclude in April, touring all capital cities in Australia. The Australian International Motorshow is the flag ship event for the motor vehicle industry, with every vehicle manufacturer trying to capture business from industry members and the imagination of consumers. Distributor Universal Lighting & Audio (ULA) worked closely with Australia’s leading production company Clifton Productions in developing the solution for the many booths, which will tour for the entire international motor shows nation wide.
The Australian International Motorshow was a massive testament to Clifton’s recent expansion, with the purchase of 100 Robe AT series moving yokes in February of this year. The purchase of these lights represented the most significant purchases by any Australian lighting production company in recent times.
The Robe 1200AT Colour Wash &Colour Spot was the primary product used in all the booths, with each manufacturer putting on a superb orchestra of light and sound which magically encompassed the vehicles and the audience. Holden specifically used twenty one Robe 1200AT Colour Spots to highlight the cars and to project break-ups on the bulkhead above the stand. Holden also used eight Robe 1200AT Colour Wash lights to give an overall colour wash to the entire stand.
Dodge-Chrysler positioned various Robe Colour Spot 1200AT units through out the booth, which projected custom gobos onto the vehicles, the ground and on the banners above. The Robe Colour Spot 1200 AT were set to demonstration mode and conducted pre-programmed movements. While Mercedes used ten ROBE colour Wash 1200AT units specifically for the launch of the new M Series four wheel drive (4WD). The splash of colour reflecting off the sleek silver Mercedes emphasised the level of prestige of these motor vehicles.
The Nissan booth utilized Robe colour Spots 575AT units with custom Nissan gobos projected randomly onto the vehicles and the display. Nissan also used ROBE Colour Wash 575 AT units in conjunction with the Robe Colour Spot 575 AT units for the press launch of their new models. The full range of Nissan vehicles including the all new TIIDA and the powerful all new 2006 Navara were there conveyed to the world. The desirable NISMO 350Z Concept was also on show, with the majority of Robe lighting used to light up this one of a kind concept car.
The gigantic multi-national, Ford used the Robe Colour Spot 1200AT primarily to highlight the new Ford range. This year Ford decided to use a self illuminating wall as a backdrop for the booth, enabling the state-of-the-art lighting to focus on the importance of the products themselves and not on the banners.
The Smart Car range was brought to life with the use of foliage gobos projected from Robe Colour Spot 1200AT units, with an overall eco-friendly booth to promote the low emissions of their product. The Smart Car company also incorporated Robe Color Wash 1200 AT units in the launch of the new Smart Car Zero, the product of extensive research and development into cleaner emissions from vehicles.
Hyundai incorporated custom gobos into the Robe Colour Spot 575 AT units, projecting logos and gimmicky car shapes throughout the entire booth. The exceptional dance of flickering colours and shapes helped to give Hyundai a great looking booth for the exhibition.
The Robe range dominated the lighting arena as the primarily used intelligent moving light system due to it’s ability to be flexible and its advanced features.
Every year, more and more events and businesses are choosing ROBE products to suit their ever growing and more demanding lighting needs. To find out more about the Robe range, click here.
Not only did the 2006 Melbourne Motor Show demonstrate the latest in design and technology, futuristic prototypes and concept vehicles, it also hosted an array of exciting demonstrations and entertainment venues for the attendees.
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