PROJECTS up to August 2002
Paint the Town Red is the theme for this years Sydney Design Week. ULA worked with leading interiors firm Spence & Lyda, using Griven, AVR and Optikinetics products and colour changing in particular to demonstrate the use of red interiors pieces against different colours.
The result as part of "Watch This Space" was a hit, enhancing Spence & Lyda and the Surrey Hills Central design precinct.
www.ula.com.au
HSV7
Dorcas street studio update
Coemar De Sisti Australia have recently completed the conversion of Channel
7's dimmers in Studio 7 to operate on DMX512 control protocol. The dimmers
were installed in the studios many years ago and operate off 0-10v control
only. Channel 7 wanted to have the dimmers upgraded so that today's standard
lighting control protocol (DMX512) could be used together with the existing
0-10v control system which is from a Galaxy console. The other advantage
of adding DMX was the fact that it provided Channel 7 with a means of
having easy backup for the galaxy console if required.
Coemar De Sisti
Australia manufactured a special PCB to carry out the works and also installed
the systems into the existing dimmers. The pcb was built into a custom
metal box which made the installation and any future work on the dimmers
extremely easy. In addition we fitted standard XLR connectors in the metal
box which means that a technician or operator can connect any standard
dmx tester or console directly to the electronics for testing or fault
finding of the dimming system.
In addition
to the conversion of the dimmers Coemar De Sisti Australia also built
and installed a simple DMX patch system for the studio.
Earlier in the
year Coemar De Sisti Australia converted Channel 7's studio 6 dimmers
(which are the old tried and tested Strand Electric JTM racks) to DMX
also.
www.cdaust.com.au
Superannuation
services company NSP Buck recently installed a Optikinetics GoboShow to
the entrance of their new Sydney office.Supplied by Herkes Professional Lighting, the specification was by leading lighting consulting firm LightMatters
The GoboShow was selected for it's high prescion optics, range of features and good looks - the white exterior finish of the GoboShow ideal for the corporate environment, fitting in seamlessly with the white ceilings.
www.optikinetics.com
www.herkes.com.au
The Sydney Panasonic
Imax Theatre is located at Darling Harbour in the heart of the city. With
the recent closure of Adelaide's Imax, the Sydney complex was fortunate
enough to acquire some new lighting equipment that was previously installed
at Adelaide. The fixtures consisted of four Clay Paky Miniscan HPEs along with a couple Selecon Acclaim profiles. The package also included a LSC Atom console that was being used to control the system.
The theatre previously had 2 FAL 2000 fixtures installed to provide a lighting show prior to each feature whilst the audience was being seated, however they had since removed them as they felt the whole thing looked a bit on the 'tacky side.'
Clint Dulieu of Pure Magic Productions was contracted to provide a more suitable light show.
"Tim Gunn, head projectionist, informed Clint that they were looking to use the equipment, in conjunction with what they already owned if possible, to get a more 'professional' looking light show.
"I then set about designing a system that would be suitable, using the equipment they already had. It was a little strange designing a system around equipment, as it's normally the other way around but we worked around it.
"The Miniscans had had a hard life at their previous home - they had all be sitting upside down on H-stands all day, everyday, which is not that ideal for mirror units. I was surprised that all we had to do was replace a fan in two units and that was all. That's the great thing about the HPEs - they are really solid little lights, its pretty hard to kill one."
Clint ended up installing two of the Miniscans where the FALs had been previously, just under the projection room. The remaining two were placed one each side of the theatre, on the vertical lighting bars that were already in place. Rather than mount the lights on their sides Clint actually built some custom brackets so that they would still hang vertical and thus improve lamp life.
As well as that, Clint placed the two profiles and the FALs on floor stands down below the screen in what is known as 'the pit.' Here they get a reasonable coverage compared to if they were out front. Clint also put in a dimmer rack to control the profiles.
The theatre also wanted the ability to use the Miniscans right out front as spots for the lectern that is occasionally used. Thus Clint had The Gobo Factory make up a couple of 'iris' gobos to reduce the beam size, as its such a long throw, and they work great. Clint also had a custom glass logo gobo made up to project the company logo and he says, "with the classic Clay Paky optics it comes up beautiful as well".
"Although its such a big surface to cover for a low powered fixture the Miniscans are doing a really good job," continued Clint. "I don't think it's any secret how good the optics in all of Clay Paky's lights are and that, in combination with the fact the IMAX screen is a high gain one, allows them to be pretty effective.
"Special thanks must go to Andrew Winslade from Show Technology for all of his assistance in getting the project together and putting me onto the long life lamps available for the Miniscans. These will save the client a lot of money.
Thanks also to Josh Moffat who was quite invaluable when it came to all the installation work and long nights. We had a few as all the work had to be completed between the theatres night closing and morning opening times."
www.puremagicproductions.com
Mt Hotham enjoys
a reputation as one of Australia's leading ski resorts, and with the winter
season now in full swing, popular Mt Hotham venue, Swindlers installed Griven
Kaliedo 575 CMY outdoor colour changers to add more colour to the night.Installed outside Swindlers, the Kaliedos light up the snow providing dramatic effect, and with the nightlight as popular as the skiing, the Kaliedo's show weary skiers where the night's action is to be had.
Supplied by ULA dealer Phaseshift Productions, the Kaliedo's have certainly been a talking point at Mt Hotham this year.
www.ula.com.au
University
of New South Wales Interior Design students presented their end of term
works at a exhibition at the Sydney Antique Centre - and ULA was there to
support these up-and-coming designers with Optikinetics GoboShow theming
the evening.Optikinetics GoboShow, fitted with custom images featuring the design course's logo for the exhibition - "Flaunt", were projected outside providing visual signage for those attending, while further GoboShow's were used inside oscillating around the room to give ambience and theming.
www.ula.com.au
Scooby
Doo - The Movie
The new
big-screen adaptation of Scooby Doo has now been released in all participating
cinemas.
Key Lighting, the well-known firm from Melbourne, and in particular Mr
Ian Dewhurst, were successful in securing the lighting side of the project,
which required Ian moving to the Gold Coast for the duration of the production.
Key and Ian being long term supporters of Coemar De Sisti Australia and
De Sisti products in particular, and Ian contacted CDA needing to add
to the stocks of products already in the Key inventory.
The size of the order placed CDA in a difficult position, particularly
the extremely tight delivery schedule. Confirmed on their last working
day for 2000 - 22nd December the order necessitated delivery on-site by
16th of January in 2001. The factory in Italy was, naturally, closed for
the Christmas and New Year period.
With excellent cooperation from the factory, the equipment was prepared
in Italy and air freighted direct to the Gold Coast. David Lee, from Coemar
De Sisti Australia QLD, met the shipment and carried out our checking
and commissioning procedure at the Warner Brothers studio facility. The
result was that delivery actually took place 1 day before the required
date.
A follow-up visit by Peter Kemp on the 29th of January saw the start of
set building in the Warner Studios.
Ian's comments to Peter were most gratifying with Ian extremely happy
with the service and support that he had received. He was particularly
impressed with the ability of both De Sisti and Coemar De Sisti Australia
to meet such a short deadline. Ian commented, "...as usual, you performed
brilliantly."
The De Sisti Equipment used in the making of the film included:
2 x 20kW Super Leo Fresnel M.O (400.110) - Stainless Steel Fresnel spotlight
including: 625mm Fresnel lens, wire guard, G38 socket, built in dimmer,
125 A toggle switch, 1.5 mt. detachable cable, 4 leaf barndoor, M.O stirrup.
2 x 4kW Remington HMI Par M.O (2340.610) - Stainless Steel Daylight Par
including: 0.5 mt. power cable, 7.5 mt. extension cable, barndoor, wire
guard, set of 5 lenses, fly case for lenses, DEB 2500/4000w dual power
flicker free electronic ballast, complete with MSR 4000 lamp, M.O stirrup.
10 x 10kW Leonardo Piccolo Fresnel M.O (390.110) - Fresnel spotlight including:
350mm Fresnel lens, 5mt. power cable, 60A toggle switch, G38 lamp holder,
wire guard, 4 leaf barndoor, colour frame, M.O stirrup.
20 x 5 kW Leonardo Piccolo Fresnel M.O (380.110) - Fresnel spotlight including:
250mm Fresnel lens, 5 mt. power cable, 60A toggle switch, G38 lamp holder,
wire guard, 4 leaf barndoor, colour frame, M.O stirrup.
20 x 2kW Leonardo Piccolo Fresnel M.O (370.110) - Fresnel spotlight including:
150mm Fresnel lens, 5 mt. power cable, 20A toggle switch, G38 lamp holder,
wire guard, 4 leaf barndoor, colour frame, M.O stirrup.
10 x 1 kW Leonardo Fresnel M.O (310.110) - Fresnel spotlight including:
150mm Fresnel lens, 5 mt. power cable, 10A toggle switch, G22 lamp holder,
wire guard, 4 leaf barndoor, colour frame, M.O stirrup.
In addition
to the large inventory of De Sisti products in the project, Ian required
several moving lights fixtures for various scenes in the movie. Coemar
De Sisti Australia were happy to be able to put Ian in touch with the
folks at Schuster's, and, after some tests, Ian booked the following required
fixtures from Schuster's:
4 x Coemar CF7HE
- CMY colour mixing, carbon fibre moving yoke profile spot with 700w MSR
SA lamp, 7° - 69° zoom beam angle, dual gobo wheels, rotating
gobos, 2 rotating variable speed prisms, dimmer and strobe.
4 x Coemar CF1200HE
- CMY colour mixing, carbon fibre moving yoke profile spot with 1200MSR
SA lamp, 11°-24° multi-stage zoom, dual gobo wheels, rotating
gobos, rotating prisms, rotating tri-colour effect, dimmer and strobe.
www.cdaust.com.au
Burswood
Resort Exterior Lighting Installation.
In November 2001 Concert & Corporate Productions were approached by
the Engineering Department at Burswood International Resort, Perth, to
write a proposal for the installation of an automated lighting system
to illuminate the North and South exterior faces of the Hotel.
For the December Gala Opening of the Resort's Ruby Room Nightclub C&CP
put in a temporary install illuminating only the northern side.
"The management were so happy with the results they contracted us
to design, supply and install a system to illuminate both sides of the
resort," said Sean McKernan, C&CP's systems programmer. "We
looked at several different manufacturers and their products eventually
deciding on the Studio Due 2500w CityColors. We liked their brilliant
colour mix system and we needed the punch that the 2500's can deliver."
The Resort is huge, fourteen storeys at the highest point, and so C&CP
decided to use ten units, five units per side, to give an even coverage.
The hotel gave strict instructions that they were not allowed to project
light into the VIP Suites as this could disturb the high paying guests
staying in the western rooms. Hence the CityColors bleed off to the east
and western edges to prevent "resident feedback" - a term created
by C&CP.
The five units installed on the southern side of the resort are mounted
on custom designed poles that support two units ten feet above the ground.
This height was essential as they are installed in a car park. C&CP
specified the design of the poles and a local fabrication company constructed
them.
The five southern units were painted white so as to blend in with the
white surroundings of the resort. C&CP painted the units in-house
using a specialist high temp etch primer. Whilst painting the five south
units white, they also painted one unit Forest Green as this unit was
going to be installed on the northern face in a garden bed.
The units on the northern side consist of the one green unit in the garden
and four black standard units on the roof of the restaurant where they
are not visible to the public.
To control the system Sean McKernan specified a Martin Lightcorder, a
product Show Technology's Architectural Products Manager Jonathan Ciddor
introduced him to at Entech 2002.
"I could see that the Lightcorder's specifications would fulfil all
the future requirements for the system," said Sean. "Due to
the Lightcorder being a pre-official release we had a few software glitches
but once the programmer in Denmark finally finished it the system is great.
Jonathan and Vince Haddad were great at getting the unit running even
though we have the first in the country and possibly the world. Once the
scheduling software is finished we can schedule annual events such as
NYE, Australia Day, Mothers Day, Valentines Day etc where Burswood Marketing
require us to change the look of the building."
The installation was completed in two days, once the electrical system
was fitted, and a further week of adjustment was need to focus and programme.
The initial programming was completed on a Wholehog PC and a Hog 1000
as the Lightcorder is a DMX capture& replay unit only.
The installation was completed on the 7th May 2002, a result of seven
months of planning with Burswood Engineering and two weeks of installing
and refinements. Any alterations can be programmed in house at C&CPs
offices then uploaded to the Lightcorder in a matter of minutes.
System Design and Specification: Tim Bradsmith & Sean McKernan
CCP
System Programmer: Sean McKernan CCP
Installation Technicians: Les Cross & Michael Wood CCP
City Colour repainting: Marty McKinney CCP
Electrical and Data Installation: Mike Green GREENCO
Burswood Engineering: Kin Lim
Concert & Corporate Productions www.iinet.net.au/~ccp
Iguana
Joes
Entertainment Installations on the NSW Central Coast have supplied and
installed the lighting for a stunning new bar/restaurant/club called Iguana
Joes.
Neale Mace, managing director of Entertainment Installations, said:
"We have
worked with this client on nightclubs in the past so he was well aware
of what was available," said Neale Mace, managing director of Entertainment
Installations. "The client extensively researched venues both in
Australia and overseas to give him ideas and inspiration. He was quite
specific about the result he required - lots of colour, light and movement.
He also wanted a lighting system that was simple to operate and that was
hung only from the roof."
Sixteen Martin
CX-4 colour changers, eight MX-4 scanners and sixteen Geni Shimmers are
hung from a custom designed powder-coated oval shaped truss manufactured
by MEC Trussing. Control is by a Martin LightJockey 2.0 with a direct
access panel.
"For this
particular job the way the MX-4 and the CX-4 look was very important,"
explained Neale. "The client did not want moving heads, he wanted
moving mirrors and a fixture that was architecturally appealing. There
are not many straight lines in the building and he wanted this reflected
in as many elements as possible.
"A lot of colour and movement was requested. It's not a dark, dingy
nightclub, - this place appeals to older, more affluent clientele. However
they did not want flashing lights and strobes. We've programmed a bright
colourful look without making the place look like a disco."
www.entertainmentinstallations.com.au
In the May edition of Lighting Dimensions Magazine is a special report, written by Catriona Strom, on the Australian War Memorial's latest installation. Geoff Cobham of Bluebottle was commissioned by Freeman Ryan to design the lighting for ANZAC Hall. Sound Advice of Canberra installed the system.
Click here to go to the Lighting Dimensions web site.
The new NIDA building contains the Parade Theatre, a drum shaped theatre for plays and musicals. Tony Youlden has acted as Theatre Consultant on the project. Lighting control equipment includes a Strand 520i 250 Channel Control desk with Tracker, Communique and Networker software. Front of House dimmers are 8 Jands HUB 24 - 15 Channel Dimmer Racks, back of House 15 Bytecraft APC 12 Channel Wall Mount Dimmer Racks.
DMX & Ethernet Network is by Stage & Studio with three stream DMX and Ethernet distribution.
Lighting bars are 18 Stage & Studio 6 metre internally wired lighting bars with multi-core cables and Wieland connectors.
Most luminaires are from Selecon - in fact 282 in all plus 2 Selecon Performer MSR follow spots. 60 Kupo 250 Volt Par 64 Cans with CP61 Lamps make up the inventory.
National
Museum of Australia
The National Museum of Australia opened in 2001 as a part of the celebrations
of Australia's centenary as a federated nation. Just as museums around
the world are rethinking their role and purpose in society as they face
the new millennium, the National Museum of Australia has also been defining
its role as a museum for the 21st century.
The National Museum of Australia has been developed as a forum - a place
for sharing stories and exchanging information about different cultures,
as well as displaying rare and unique objects and interpreting the complex
origins of the Australian continent and the nation.
As a new museum of the new millennium, the National Museum of Australia
cannot simply be the same old museum concept with new technology. Both
educational and entertaining, the Museum employs a fresh and exciting
approach to Australian history, culture and the environment - presenting
its varied subject matter through the blending of exhibits, technology,
media, live performances and hands-on activities within dynamic architectural
and landscape spaces.
The National Museum of Australia is located on Acton Peninsula adjoining
the Australian National University campus. Acton Peninsula is a spectacular
and prominent location within the central national capital area. From
its setting on the foreshore of Lake Burley Griffin, the Museum has expansive
views to the city, the parliamentary zone and farther afield to the National
Botanic Gardens and the Brindabella Ranges.
One of the most spectacular views of the Museum is from the Commonwealth
Bridge and at night the building is lit up in a sea of ever-changing colour.
Four Studio Due CityColor 2500 colour change floods wash the external
wall facing the Commonwealth Bridge. The CityColors scroll through a variety
of colour changes every night. Combined with Prolite 575W MSR Weatherised
Spotlights and Selecon Pacific 575W MSR's (in custom housings illuminating
the orange roller coaster style hoop and spotting the Boolean string)
is a stunning new look on the Canberra skyline.
There are over 1300 channels of lighting controlled by a Dynalite "ControlSoft"
system. A central computer controls all building lighting uses a Dynalite
Dynet-DMX Bridge Node to interface the two system requirementsThis system
is unique as the NMA required not only overall control from a central
location, but also multiple interface points throughout the galleries,
with the many localised AMX systems that are controlling a variety of
audio visual shows throughout the building. To facilitate this the system
was broken down into a high-speed data trunk with slower speed spurs using
the Dynalite network bridges to filter network activity and stop congestion.
Some areas allow dual control via standard DMX when required. This was
particularly important in the Main Hall & Temporary Gallery as they
are ever changing. Day to day operation is scheduled via ControlSoft utilising
Planview which gives a quick visual indication of the status of all galleries.
Display lighting in the Museum comprises Selecon Aureol Beamshapers and
Beamspots, Selecon Astral PC's, Fresnels, Zoomspot's and Wall Washers.
All fixtures are finished in a custom chrome finish and supplied with
UV filters.
The Circa Theatre
is a rotating theatre, divided into four sections, where visitors are
introduced to the Museum's three main themes of Land, Nation and People.
"One of
the more interesting and complex areas is the Circa introduction,"
said Norman Korte, managing director of Sound Advice Australia. "This
is a ride-on turntable holding a total of 120 people. Visitors are loaded
into seating at the main gallery's entrance and then rotated through 90
degrees into three introductory AV theatres before spilling into the main
gallery of the NMA."
The first theatre,
entitled Land, uses four Martin MiniMACs as well as four Martin CX2 colour
changers. The Martin MiniMacs are used to mimic the MinMin phenomena -
a weird natural night-time effect that happens in Northern Australia that
looks like a floating orange rockmelon. They are also used to highlight
emotions as part of the Eternity exhibit.
Also in the
Land section are Selecon Cycs, and motorised Plasma Screens that float
over a rear projection screen with full surround sound. Simultaneously
the Nation and People quadrants use multiple visual displays such as LCD
projectors, TV's and Plasma Screens with mood lighting via multiple channel
HF Ballast Controllers colour mixing colour wrapped fluorescent tubes.
All of the lighting is dealt with as one show using Showcad software linked
to the SMPTE time code supplied by the AMX control system.
"A few
sleepless nights went into this one!" said Norman. "All of the
programming of the Circa Theatre was by Brett Fraser from Sound Advice
Australia."
Consultant:
Vision Design Studio - Melbourne - Steve Brown
Electrical Contractor: O'Donnell Griffin
Display lighting, special effects lighting & lighting control: Sound
Advice Australia Pty Ltd
www.soundadvice.com.au
TCN9
choose Compulite & De Sisti to upgrade their Studio System
The revamp of one studio within TCN9 Sydney saw Geoff Sparke (Head of
Engineering), Steve Turner (Production Manager) and Andrew Veitch (Lighting
Director) evaluate their options with regards to lighting consoles within
the studio and the purchase of additional luminaires.
Obviously, the fact that the production team at GTV9 Melbourne had been
down this road before and chosen Compulite control and De Sisti lighting
had some bearing on the selection of products to be evaluated. The decision,
however, was to be made entirely on their opinions of the products on
offer in the Australian market. Consoles from such respected manufacturers
as ETC, Jands, and ADB were all evaluated prior to a purchase decision
being made.
Following these comparative trials, we were extremely pleased and proud
that CDA's stable of Compulite and De Sisti won out once again (as it
had done in TV studios including Melbourne's ABC, GTV9, and HSV7).
The Ovation 4D features a powerful hardware platform, coupled with a real-time
operating system, controls up to 2048 DMX channels. The channels can be
flexibly assigned to control 1536 dimming channels (including scrollers)
and 250 moving lights or other DMX controlled devices. Numeric Soft Keys
provide access to all Effect Templates, Palettes, Libraries, Macros, Groups,
and Snaps, The built-in Touch Screen has additional editing functions,
another set of Numeric Soft Keys, and the Effects Editor. Numerous pre-programmed
Effects are provided with the console and are easily customised with the
Effects Editor. All show data can be archived to the integral hard disk
or saved on floppy diskettes. MIDI In/Out/Thru and MIDI Show Control,
internal SMPTE, DMX input and full Ethernet support are also standard.
As with all console installations, CDA's Technical Products Manager, Richie
Mickan, provided intensive training for the operators at TCN9.
Having been responsible for training many of the Compulite operators around
Australia, Richie has witnessed first hand the ease with which operators
learn the intricacies of the consoles.
"The Compulite consoles offer far more features than most people
will ever need to use" says Richie, "but learning how to use
them is unbelievably easy. Most operators love the fact that they can
master the console's basics within a matter of minutes and then have time
to explore the fantastic features. It's like letting them loose in a lolly
shop!"
Equipment Listing:
1 x Compulite Ovation 4D Console with 3rd Video option and Online Tracking
Backup
2 x Compulite wired universal remote controls
1 x Compulite CompuCAD - online / design software package
1 x TechArt Auto DMX Switcher
1 x TechArt Video Switcher
15 x De Sisti Leonardo 1kW P/O Fresnels
Australian Distributor: Coemar De Sisti www.cdaust.com.au
Western Australia's tourism, hospitality and leisure industries have received a major boost with Burswood International Resort implementing a major upgrade of its Resort facilities.
The atrium area of the resort has also been refurbished with the addition of commercial retail areas. As the atrium is housed under a large glass dome the resort management were concerned about heat gain and light glare in the area. Architects Silver Thomas Hanley decided to address this problem by hanging large perforated reinforced PVC sails internally over the atrium thus providing heat and sun control to the lower areas of the atrium.
From the beginning of the design process, Silver Thomas Hanley were aware that the sails would make an ideal canvas for coloured light.
Read more about this project in an article written by ALIA's own Andy Ciddor. It appears on the Lighting Dimensions website.
The following appeared in the New York Times, click here to read full story
Not one life will be reclaimed, not one page in the calendar restored. But next Monday, if all goes according to plan, two luminous columns will cleave the night sky over Lower Manhattan, conjuring those pillars that New York took utterly for granted before Sept. 11 and has desperately missed ever since.
Aimed straight up from Battery Park City and visible — the designers hope — for miles around, two parallel beams created by 88 powerful searchlights will glow every night from dusk to 11 p.m., cloud cover, helicopter traffic and bird migration permitting.
"It's like a votive candle," said Saskia Levy, the project organizer for the Municipal Art Society, the primary sponsor of the installation. "It will have its time and its place. And then it will go out."
It has not been easy to light.
To bring technical experience to this crowded table, the Municipal Art Society invited Paul Marantz, a founding principal and design principal of Fisher Marantz Stone, an architectural lighting firm.
"I thought it was a great idea," he said. "I never thought we couldn't do it." The heart of the installation will be 7,000-watt searchlights made by Space Cannon of Fubine, Italy. They look a bit like stout four-and-a-half- foot cannons.
They will be arrayed so the beams collectively form two distinct columns, much as the trade center's twin towers created a colossal gateway. "We're reconstructing the void as opposed to reconstructing the buildings," Mr. Bonevardi said. These pillars will not be nearly as large as the 200-foot-square outlines of the towers themselves.
A test run in Las Vegas assured the designers that the beams would not disperse and cast light directly into surrounding buildings. But the actual appearance will be imponderable until all 88 fixtures are turned on at once.
"My fear," Mr. Marantz said about March 11, "is that it will be the clearest, darkest, coldest night of the year and the light will be invisible." Without something to reflect it, light cannot be seen.
Digital photographic rendering by Charles Nesbit
The "Tribute in Light," designed by John Bennett, Gustavo Bonevardi, Richard Nash Gould, Julian LaVerdiere, Paul Marantz and Paul Myoda.
Melbourne's new Museum has embarked on a five year project to reflect the inside of the museum on to the outside of the magnificent Royal Exhibition Building, a potentially heritage-listed building, in a colourful and lively manner
The tender for this project went out to a number of different companies including Lightmoves and
the design ideas submitted by Lightmoves, in partnership with Vision Design and Classical Electrical, were chosen."We were given a fixed dollar value that was not particularly large!" said Braham Ciddor, Managing Director of Lightmoves P/L. "So between our three companies we elected to provide sponsorship as part of our package. That was provided in the form of labour for commissioning, programming and ongoing maintenance. That way we managed to free up enough money to provide equipment that was really going to make an impact.
"One advantage we had was the fact that we had already supplied the entire lighting control for the museum and this new project had to interface with that system, so we were able to seamlessly interface the two systems."
The team decided that, with such a distinguished classic building to look at, the best results would be obtained from a dramatic colour wash. Gobo projection representing images from inside the museum was the next priority.
Once their design concepts were accepted by the museum, the team had nine weeks to produce the finished product.
"We
did a thorough assessment of all the available lighting fixtures on the
market and eventually decided that the Studio Due CityColor 1800 gave the
best value and the coverage that we needed," said Braham. "For
the projection work we found the Clay Paky Goldenscan HPE gave us again
the best value in regard to light output, number of gobos and quality of
projected image. They are also easy to maintain over a long period."The show runs every night on a fifteen minute cycle, four minutes of show time with a static period in between, with the CityColors providing colour washes. Every three months the show changes with special events such as Christmas and Australia Day celebrated with a variety of gobos.
"The show was programmed on Martin Light Jockey utilising it's ability to start the audio track and thus lock the lighting to the audio site," said Braham. "Due to time restrictions and inclement weather conditions the Visualiser, that is part of LightJockey, was extremely useful for pre-plotting the show off."
Lightmoves's Technical Director Andrew Sherar programmed the majority of the time cues, gobos and positioning in the factory warehouse. That way we only had to spend about a week on site adjusting focus and positioning. Had we not used LightJockey it would have taken a lot longer."
Seven CityColors and four Goldenscan HPEs are used on the project. The Goldenscan HPE's are positioned high on poles with custom-made enclosures protecting them from the elements. The CityColors are positioned on the ground with custom-made concrete enclosures protecting them.
www.lightmoves.com
Indiana University in Bloomington Indiana, have purchased 54 Selecon Pacific fixtures. The fixtures were sold by A.C. Lighting, Inc's dealer: Production Advantage, Inc. of South Burlington, Vermont. The Pacifics will be part of the University's diverse fixture inventory, which is a feature of their professional lighting design training program.
The new Theatre and Drama Center at Indiana University houses a 450 seat proscenium and a 250 seat "courtyard"shaped theatre which are at the core of Graduate and Undergraduate theatre instruction at Indiana University. Rob Shakespeare who holds the post of Professor of Lighting Design in the Department of Theatre and Drama chose the Pacifics after an extensive period of research and testing.
"Of course I had seen their exotic shape on A.C.'s booth at LDI and other tradeshows, and the rationale behind their engineering was interesting, but our theatre consultant, Bob Davis, encouraged me to take a closer look" said Rob. He continued: " Yes, they are novel in shape and engineering, but I really appreciated their quality of light. The high output, range of focus, smooth peak to flat alignment, lamp options and reduced color aberration sold me on their value within our inventory."
Each semester approximately 25 students participate in the first level of stage lighting courses. During the summer, an additional 15 students take the intro course, so in addition to 4 MFA Lighting Design graduate students and an equal number of advanced lighting undergraduates, about 75 students will handle/design with the Pacifics every year.
Rob concluded:"One of our goals was to expose our student designers and technicians to a palette of fixtures used by the most acclaimed lighting designers in our profession. I hope other training environments have similar opportunities in their future".
Attached is a picture of three MFA lighting students, on the tension mesh grid of the new Wells-Metz theatre at Indiana University.
From left to right: Rob Graham, Laura Dowling, Becky Hardy
www.seleconlight.com
'Neon
Colonial - Making the familiar strange' has been running in Sydney as part
of the Sydney Festival. Neon
Colonial plays with Sydney's favourite colonial architecture - enormous
projections transform buildings into gingerbread houses, ancient ruins and
glowing fantasias of fluorescent colour. Illuminating the fine architectural
details, the follies and the grandeur of our great buildings - Customs House
(middle), the State Library of New South Wales (below) and Hyde Park Barracks
(top) - are seen as never before."Each night sees a different image on the buildings with a wide variety of looks designed by The Electric Canvas. Projection is via Pigi projectors.
Many, many years ago, at the inaugural Entech trade show in Sydney, a seminar session with many of Australia's most prominent LD's from a variety of disciplines within the industry were discussing the consoles available on the market at the time.
One question to the LD's from the chair was along the lines of "If you were to buy a console today, which would it be?"
Rob Coia, then and still Ch7 Melbourne's LD, answered that the Compulite consoles would, at that time, be his choice.
Some 10 years later, and obviously Compulite have maintained their standards. With what is, without doubt, the biggest selection of consoles available at any time in the short history of consoles, Channel 7 Melbourne have selected the Compulite Micron 4D Moving & Ethernet console to be installed in their new studio development at the Docklands precinct. Alongside the ABC, the A.F.T.R.S. and Channel 9, Channel 7's selection of a console from the extensive Compulite range is another string in the bow for Compulite and CDA.
"Why Compulite? Because there is nothing else! Peers within the industry highly recommended Compulite, they also altered their software to suit our methods" Rob Coia states.
One of the biggest concerns of Rob Coia was that such a powerful console would be too complex for "occasional" users to operate. After many discussions with users, the idea of a Channel Controller mode of operation, as made popular by the Strand Galaxy series, would be very desirable. Compulite set aside resources, and over the next 3 months developed a Beta version of a Channel Controller mode for the 4D consoles. This 1st Beta was then shown to many operators around the country and the feedback was compiled into a comprehensive list of suggestions, changes, bugs and improvements. Compulite took this list and 6 weeks later released a public Beta software with all the changes incorporated.
The end result is the ability for all the 4D range of consoles to be switched between normal memory/editor operation and the new Channel Controller mode of operation. This allows the operator to select the mode of operation that best suits them, or the situation. It is believed that this is yet another first for Compulite, giving it a leading edge in the competitive console market worldwide.
www.compulite.com
www.cdaust.com.au
Pacifics
keep going at National University of Singapore
Paul Callander, Technical Manager at the University Cultural Centre, National
University of Singapore writes:
"This 65 million dollar Cultural Centre opened in Sept 2000. Within
10 days of arrival we ordered 44 Pacific zooms mainly for our number one
FOH bar. From experience in Australian theatres I knew the value of the
Pacific for a
punchy light with their adaptability of changing lens tubes, quickly.
They have proven so reliable that we have only moved them for maintenance.
"The 1724 seating concert hall has been in constant use since opening,
with international touring shows and local companies. All have been impressed
with the Pacifics especially the 90 degree super wide and their cool gate
and shutters.
"The front of house lighting is supported with 10 High End Studio
Colours and 6 Studio Spots. The mix of fixed Pacifics and Intelligent
High End luminaries gives us a fast focus and plot with a constant quality
of intensity between the units.
"I am very happy with the Pacifics and just wish more venues would
consider them as a cost effective alternative from US and European luminaries.
I have always found them to be almost maintenance free and ideal for those
(poor
access) front of house fixed positions".
The Selecon Pacifics for this project were supplied by Singapore dealer,
Te Deum Engineering.
www.seleconlight.com
Queensland
Performing Arts Centre Zooms into the 21st Century
In a move being reflected
around the world the QPAT technical team chose zoom luminaires in preference
to the fixed angle luminaires of old. Part of the Queensland Cultural
Centre, located on the South Bank, Brisbane, Australia, the Centre comprises
four performance areas - the Lyric Theatre, Concert Hall, Optus Playhouse
and Cremorne Theatre. Since its opening in 1985, the success of the Centre
has been measured by the wide variety of Australian and international
performances that have been staged within its walls.
The upgrade to the luminaire stocks at QPAC has been a work in progress
for over three years. After the completion of the Optus Playhouse in 1998
and it's fitout with Source 4's and Selecon luminaires the age and condition
of the luminaire stock in the Lyric, Cremorne Theatres and the Concert
Hall became very apparent. QPAC originally intended to start the refit
with the Concert Hall and the first sample fixtures (Selecon Arena Narrow
and Medium Zooms) were supplied for testing in early 1999. Under the guidance
of Lighting Director David Schultz and Executive Manager of Technical
Services Richard Stuart an ongoing series of luminaire tests took place
in all venues throughout 1999 and 2000.
The luminaire upgrade was put to tender in July of 2000 with the bulk
of the profile stock being made up of ETC Source 4s along with Selecon
Fresnels & PCs. Due to budget issues the Trust only proceeded with
followspots and Cyc lighting with the bulk of the upgrade held over.
Earlier this year The Production Shop, Selecon's dealer in Quensland provided
up to date samples of the Pacific including the new 5.5-13, 12-28 and
23-50 degree fixtures for re-evaluation by QPAC lighting staff. Improvements
to the fitting since they first examined the unit included the new rear
handle and universal reflector package. On side by side tests against
all comers the Pacific outperformed the opposition. Interestingly after
all the tests and all the cutting edge technology tested the choice for
the Concert hall roof remained the Arena Zoom from Selecon proving that
good design holds it's value.
In what is now Selecon's single largest order ever, The Production Shop
is supplying the equipment list which includes - 190 x PAC 5.5 - 13; 326
x PAC 12 -28's; 20 x PAC 23 - 50's; 8 x PAC 90's; and 76 x Arena 2.0kw
High Performance (250mm Lens) Fresnels; 29 x 1200 High Performance (175mm
lens) Fresnels; 16 x Arena 2.0kw P.C.s; 36 x 1200 High Performance (175mm
lens) P.C.s.
www.seleconlight.com
Clay
Paky re-ignite the Olympic Cauldron
On September
15, 2001, exactly a year since the start of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games,
Sydney's world famous Olympic Cauldron was re-kindled in it's new, permanent
home at Sydney's Homebush Bay.
The Olympic
Cauldron was re-lit at dusk to beating drums and resounding cheers in
its new location in The Overflow Park on Olympic Boulevard. The stainless
steel bowl is suspended on new stainless steel legs and will stand as
a permanent reminder of the success of the Games.
The project
was conceived and designed by Barry Webb, Iain Clark and Fiona McVicar
of Barry Webb & Associates, with Show Technology's Architectural Products
Manager Jonathan Ciddor assisting with the configuration, control and
integration. Beyond AV, as the installation contractor, were responsible
for the co-ordination, preparation, installation and programming of the
lighting system for the Electrical Contractor, Heyday Electrics and the
builder, Thiess Pty Ltd.
The Cauldron
sits upon a concrete slab at ground level and beneath it is a large chamber
5 metres deep, housing the lighting equipment, pumping and gas controls,
and a large water tank. On the ceiling of the pit are twenty-two Clay
Paky Goldenscan 3 arranged in two rings. The outer ring has sixteen fixtures
whilst the inner ring has six. The Goldenscan 3 are positioned with their
mirrors up near the ceiling of the chamber projecting light through 220
mm round glass portholes.
The Goldenscan
3 were chosen for the project because their mirror offered the ability
to move the light beam into a precise position. Another critical factor
in the choice was the fact that the Goldenscan 3 deploy a HMI 1200 watt
lamp enabling the beams to project over ten metres to effectively illuminate
the cauldron and support structure, and water flowing down from above.
The beams remain static and usually white in colour, colour changing reserved
for special occasions.
"Because
the beam angle is quite wide and the porthole quite narrow in diameter
it was very difficult to get the beams to line up properly," explained
Con Andrews, Managing Director of Beyond AV. "Consequently movement
of the beam is virtually impossible."
Through out
the design phase Fiona McVicar spent considerable time ray tracing the
beams from multiple locations to ensure they would get through the port
holes and at the same time achieve an even light distribution across the
whole of cauldron and water flow. Once the portholes were cast in the
pit's roof slab there was minimal opportunity to adjust the beams, so
design accuracy was paramount. To accommodate the requirements Show Technology
and Clay Paky provided a special wide angle lens combination to increase
the beam angle from the standard 16° beam angle out to 23°. This
enabled a more uniform coverage of the Cauldron.
The control
system is centred on the Martin LightJockey PC based control system and,
with the recent software upgrade to include real time scheduling, can
operate stand alone to activate specific cues as specific times or integrate
to accept triggers from a diverse range of sources. The whole Olympic
precinct exterior lighting was controlled by a conventional Clipsal CBus
control system, including the Overflow Park, so it was essential that
a simple interface allow the pre-programmed Cauldron shows to run reliably,
precisely and in co-ordination with the park lighting. The Martin AD-DA
interface for Light Jockey allows multiple external triggers to activate
whole cue sequences. This way C Bus provides a contact closure and initiates
the show.
Con Andrews
described the significant components of the system "With 22 luminaires
operating in an industrial environment, 5 metres off the deck, and below
ground, with high pressure water and gas piping running all over the pit,
the DMX is via individual opto-isolated runs through LSC splitters. This
way if there is a cabling fault it is very fast and easy to locate. Luminaire
interruptions are also minimised using opto-isolation.
"We also
had to co-ordinate the power up of the Goldenscan 3's. Striking 22 off
1200w HMI lamps pulls a significant current that would have required excessive
power engineering. Using DMX to drive standard mains electrical contactors
the Goldenscan 3's are turned on and off in a sequence and are ready for
each show."
"The photos
show some odd looking Goldenscan 3's. All have been fitted with galvanized
drip covers to ensure any condensation from the port holes is deflected
away from the luminaires. The body of the units have been flipped as well.
This enables the whole bottom plate, as well as the end plate and PCBs
to be removed for cleaning and servicing. So when you are standing 5 metres
off the deck life is as easy and safe as possible. It also means that
the critical focus is not altered during servicing and maintenance."
Jonathan Ciddor
confirmed that these were significant issues identified right back at
the design stage and were easily solved by Show Technology and ClayPaky
recommending Goldenscan 3 for the project. When these issues were combined
with the proven track record of Goldenscan 1, 2 and 3 over the last 10
years, the number of units in the Australian marketplace and the support
available, it was a clear choice.
"I believe
that the success of the project is a tribute to the team of lighting designers
and technologists as well as the Australian architect Alec Tzannes,"
concluded Barry Webb.
Photos: Jonathan Ciddor, Cat Strom and EventPix.com.au
www.showtech.com.au
A visitor experience themed to Rotherham's (Templeborough, U.K.) heritage as one of Europe's major centres for steel production - the centrepiece of Magna Science Adventure Centre is named "The Big Melt". A vivid evocation of the steel making process using the latest AV technology, brought stunningly to light by designer Adam Grator from DHA, London. It's here that Selecon's Pacific profile lights are to be found, projecting sharp gobo images to enhance the presentation.
"I use photographic gobos to illustrate the story" explained Grator, "and chose the Pacifics for their throw. It's the first time I've used them, and this is a large space where the ambient light levels can be quite high. I found their resolution to be excellent."
That's an observation that's true of the whole installation, simple choices made with careful consideration to produce the perfect effect.
www.seleconlight.com
Since its establishment in May 1997, the Castle Hill Tavern, or 'the Tav' as it is known, has gone from strength to strength to become a leading entertainment venue in Sydney.
As Richard Neal, Castle Hill Tavern's Nightclub Manager said, "one of the main advantages is our location, we service a large district so we ensure that we provide variety, coupled with a user-friendly environment that has top notch security."
As a visitor to 'the Tav', there's something for everyone. You can simply sit back with your beer and watch the latest sports show on one of the three big screen tv's or treat yourself to some good ol' fashioned fun with the weekly entertainment lineup they provide - there's Thursday night dance, Retro Party Friday night and Syn-Rg Saturday night which includes a mix of dance and live entertainment. Soon they will be dedicating Wednesday nights to purely live entertainment.
As Richard said, "we believe original live entertainment is coming back … there is a good amount of live entertainment emerging and you'll see acts such You Am I, the SuperJesus, The Whitlams, Killing Heidi appearing".
And with the entertainment being so diverse … they need the right audio visual equipment that ensures all angles are covered.
In fact, management at 'the Tav' are always improving the aesthetics of the room - renovating and updating their sound and lighting equipment to create that wow factor for their patrons.
They have just recently upgraded their lighting rig with a unique truss design combined with a multitude of new lighting effects.
It was on the advice and with the assistance of Lamba Audio Visual Lighting Group that the design was brought to life.
As Lamba's Managing Director Steven Tanou explains, an important part of the design was using lights that were versatile and would provide for imaginative light shows with a rig that would stop people in their tracks.
He said, "we used CAD2000 to generate how the room would look".
And through these computer generated images two rigs were created. The first is located in the centre of the dancefloor and consists of two circular rigs encasing a mirror ball in each, surrounded by 14 Clay Paky Stage Light Moving Yoke Fixtures.
The rig covers the entire dance floor, with two semi circle truss appendages located on the outer four sides holding a multitude of lighting - Clay Paky Astroraggis, Geni Spyros and Strobes, and Audience Blinders - all controlled by Martin LightJockey.
And to ensure the entire room was covered a zig zag truss was used over the stage area. The zig zag truss encases 4 Geni Spyros, 8 Geni Shimmers and 20 Par 36 Pinspots.
As Steven said, "in the nightclub industry, it's an impressive rig - there maybe only one or two clubs in Australia that are of the same calibre".
Overall, the installation took two weeks, with the Lamba Group Installation team of Shannon Byrne and John Klapsis working till all hours to ensure the project was completed on time.
"It's always amazing to sit back after you've completed a project and think - look at that. It's a good feeling to help create something unique … they're definitely forward thinkers, and the industry needs more of these people", said Shannon.
And just some last thoughts from Richard's about the whole installation…
"We've been dealing with Lamba for 3 years, nothing is too hard for them and the service guys are terrific … we're very customer orientated and run an interactive premises - it's great to have the assistance and service of companies with the same philosophy".
www.lamba.com.au
Located overlooking Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra is the new National Museum of Australia, painted in bright greens, yellows and reds and filled with the iconic and quirky, the trivial and profound.
All of the displays within the NMA are lit with Selecon display luminaires - over 600 Astral Fresnels, PCs, Wallwashers and Condensers, all in a sophisticated chrome finish plus Pacifics, Acclaims, 1200s, Accents, Auroras and 300 Aureols grace everything from champion racehorse Phar Lap's enormous heart in a jar, a chunk of rabbit proof fence to explorer Charles Sturt's leatherbound telescope, bushwalker Jessie Luckman's boot and a tragically-preserved corpse of a Tasmanian Tiger.
Selecon's ACT distributor, Sound Advice supplied all of the Selecon display luminaires whilst the Aureols were supplied through Inlite to Lawrence and Hansen in Canberra, electrical contractors were Tyco. Vision Design Studio, Melbourne provided lighting design, commissioning and focusing by SteveBrown, Project Leader with assistance from David Bird. The project architects were Ashton Raggatt McDougall in association with Robert Peck von Hartel Trethowan.
Steve Brown comments:"Selecon luminaires have played an important part in creating dramatic and inviting interior and exterior spaces. They have brought a sense of theatre this landmark project, and enabled the lighting designers to achieve excellent results within some of the most challenging spaces in the country."
The development of this national museum has not travelled down an easy road - first mooted before federation 100 years ago and given form in a 1975 enquiry which was followed by 25 years of controversy and a perpetual political storm.
Created around the concepts of land, people and nation, these three themes can be explored throughout the museum's five galleries: First Australians Gallery, tracing indigenous life from pre-European culture to land rights; the Stolen Generations and the fight for reconciliation; Tangled Destinies, Land and People in Australia; Eternity, Stories from the Emotional Heart of Australia; Nation, Symbols of Australia and Horizons, tracking European settlement.
The exhibitions combine subjects such as science and technology, creative arts, and social and historical sciences, forming a museum that reflects the diversity of Australia's past - a far cry from the old information hut that once resided beside the lake housing 170,00 relics of Australian life.
Photo credits: Norman Korte
www.seleconlight.com