Project News
Preview video of 3200 Lighting’s Sydney Harbour Bridge spectacular
Posted on Thursday, May 23rd, 2013
On Wednesday night, May 22nd, the interactive LED spectacular for the Vivid Light festival from 3200 Lighting had its media preview.
A video of the preview along with some interviews with all the pollies and sponsors who want credit, and finally, Ian Reed himself from 3200 Lighting, can be found on Vimeo at vimeo.com/66730061
AMF are bowled over by Pro Shop LED Products
Posted on Tuesday, April 16th, 2013
John Collyer of audio visual design and construct (avdc) has been on a mission to revamp AMF Bowling and Kingpin Centres, as well as M9 Laser Skirmish Centres, around the country by adding sparkling colour and light courtesy of Pro Shop LED products.
“We’ve installed heaps of Pro Shop LED PAR cans particularly in the Kingpin venues,” said John. “Added to that are Mega Flowers, X-250 LED Profile Moving Heads, LED Strips, and LED Quad Blasters.”
Each type of venue follows a format; the Kingpins have LED Par cans down the side of the lanes and on trusses, the M9’s go for colour and movement whilst the AMF have developed a hybrid model using LED tape in the counters and LED PAR cans on trusses throughout the venue.
“Because the M9 venues have a lot of ramps up and down over various levels, the LED Strips are great for leading the way and alerting the players to a change in elevation,” commented John. “The Pro Shop products are reliable and deliver lots of bang for buck.”
Haze is supplied by a Martin K1 hazer. This is used in the M9s to create atmosphere as well as letting the punters’ see the laser light as it shoots from the guns.
Microhire add more Martin MAC Auras to popular venues
Posted on Wednesday, March 27th, 2013
Last year Microhire installed eight Martin MAC Auras into Doltone House Jones Bay Wharf and they have been so successful Microhire are now in the process of ordering fourteen more for the new Doltone House Hyde Park.
The MAC Aura is the first compact LED moving head wash light with zoom that uses two independent colour systems to produce new ‘eye-candy’ effects plus functions as a highly capable single-lens wash with fully pre-mixed colour.
“We were looking for a fixture that could provide a colour wash over a broad area from fixed locations within a venue that has many operable walls,” explained Thomas Armati, General Manager at Microhire, on the initial purchase. “The MAC Auras have a broad zoom range – narrow enough for good beam looks but can also go wider to do a good wash without losing a lot of intensity. The speed of the pan and tilt is great. The colours you can get out of them are fantastic; really good colour mixture and colour spectrum from pastel tints to deep saturated colours.”
The MAC Auras have proved to be a valuable tool for the venue with their small and attractive appearance a bonus for the venue. This small moving head fixture can fit into limited spaces and not be obtrusive.
Not only have the MAC Auras been providing clients with fabulous colour washes, their Aura capability – the ground-breaking optical system that combines multicolour LEDs with backlight colour mixing – has delivered the wow factor to many events.
“The MAC Auras have performed really well ,” commented Thomas. “They create a great effect and certainly deliver bang for buck.”
Jands Light Hamer Hall With ETC, Vari*Lite & Chroma-Q
Posted on Tuesday, March 26th, 2013
The AUD$135.8 million redevelopment of Hamer Hall was part of a larger revitalisation project for Arts Centre Melbourne and the first step in the Southbank Cultural Precinct Redevelopment plan. The project was overseen by theatre consultants Schuler Shook, and designed by architects Ashton Raggatt McDougall.
The heritage listed Arts Centre Melbourne is the largest and busiest performing arts complex in the southern hemisphere; Hamer Hall is the concert hall within the centre. Home to the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Hamer Hall also hosts a wide variety of performance events throughout the year, from theatre to rock and roll.
Jands supplied much of the venue’s lighting including 20 Vari-Lite VLX’s, 28 ETC Desire D40 Vivid LED Pars, and over 50 ETC Source Fours.
Adrian Sterritt, head of lighting at the Melbourne venue, says his team chose the VLX Wash luminaires following a shoot-out between the Vari-Lite fixtures and other brands.
“We were looking for a number of aspects from the lighting fixtures; speed, quality of light, operation modes,” says Adrian. “The VLX Wash zoom was better, its quality of light was similar to what we were used to, and in terms of colours we wanted to produce, it was more suited to our desired colour palette. There was also an environmental aspect to the project so ‘green’ products were favourable.”
One of the key decision drivers for the Hamer Hall technical team when choosing lighting fixtures for their new venue was the ability of the VLX Wash to colour match with conventional luminaires as Sterritt reports, “Incoming LD’s love them. They have a lot of punch, especially with the saturated LED colours, however they also produce the more subtle pastel hues that we require in a theatre environment.”
The ETC Desire D40 Vivid LED Pars were chosen primarily for their colour range which according to Adrian more suits the theatre environment palette.
“It’s a bit more subtle with the pastel shades,” he added. “You can get a wider range of colours from them than your standard RGB fixtures which we felt were a bit too rock’n'roll. They’re good although we don’t use them all the time – when we go into full rock’n'roll mode we just use the VLX’s. For the more subtle work they’re great.”
Not only do the Desire D40 Vivid luminaires give Adrian the broadest colour range for spectrally-balanced saturated and tinted light, they feature no-noise, fan-free convection-cooling for acoustically sensitive installations such as Hamer Hall.
The ETC Source Fours supplemented the stock already owned by the Arts Centre.
“The ETC Source Four is a standard tool in performance and architectural use across the globe,” remarked Adrian. “They have a wide range of useful accessories and lenses plus they are very reliable.”
Ten Chroma-Q Color Force 72 LED battens were installed to ensure smooth and even coverage across large areas. With their smooth washing effect, even colour mixing, and lack of hotspots, the Chroma-Q Color Force 72 LED battens are ideal for multiple types of applications, ranging from subtle hues for theatre and opera lighting to vibrant effects for live events.
Anolis Illuminates the iconic Red Sticks in Melbourne
Posted on Monday, March 25th, 2013
A landmark new Anolis lighting scheme has been installed to illuminate Melbourne’s iconic ‘Red Sticks’ urban sculpture on CityLink. It is 80% more energy efficient … and also ensures that the installation looks fantastic and crystal clear to all using the city’s Tullamarine & Flemington Road Interchange.
Denton Corker Marshall’s Melbourne Gateway (originally completed 1999) is described as the ‘Mother of all architectural interventions’ on the city’s freeways
A massive 70 metre yellow steel beam cantilevered at precarious angles traverses 8 lanes of freeway and 39 elegant 30 metre high steel and concrete red sticks run north / south either side of the road over 420 metres, depicting the city’s panache and freedom for design, style and ideas.
The North section contains 21 sticks which are 7 metres apart from one another stretching over a 142 metre distance, while the South is a section of 18 sticks also 7 metres apart, spread over an 120 metre area and sitting in an artificial lake.
Transfield Services – the primary Maintenance Contractor for CityLink – approached Anolis’ Australian partner The ULA Group with a brief to create a lighting design that improved the color, light qualities and ambience of the original installation.
CityLink stipulated that the lighting must have a contemporary edge, be a vastly more eco-friendly package and reduce on-going running costs to meet its sustainability principles
Prior to discussions with Transfield Services, Jason Saunders worked on calculations to assess the most appropriate product that would deliver the right results along with the best energy savings. Through the Choice of product Jason Saunders was able to deliver a massive 80% saving on energy. “It is imperative that the client gets the results that are predicted to make a system change like this viable”.
Jason Saunders Project Managed for ULA, working in close collaboration with Manny Micallef, Transfield Services’ Technical Officer Mechanical and Electrical Assets.
ULA specified the robust high quality Anolis ArcSource 96 LED fixtures, chosen for their “Impressive light output, ruggedness and ability to customise the product lensing and also the casing for vandal-resistance” explains Saunders.
The ArcSource 96 has a maximum power consumption of 100Watts, compared to the previous incandescent sources, which were a hefty 1000Watts each – facts which spoke for themselves!
The ArcSource 96s were fitted with tough protective back-plates, Anaconda cable casing and a special lens array to ensure that the light reaches exactly the right places.
When it came to the physical installation, the Transfield Services electricians simply removed the old lighting fixtures from their posts and replace them with the ArcSource 96s, again saving time and costs to the client by utilising the existing infrastructure.
The Anolis units were additionally customised at the factory and fitted with wireless receiver cards and special antenna, providing a neat solution for data control, saving masses of time and the trouble of running more cables.
A total of 78 Anolis ArcSource 96s (two per stick) are utilised to light the Red Sticks – which look resplendent – glowing, shimmering and clearly visible for the enjoyment of all crossing the Melbourne Gateway. Each fixture is individually and independently controlled.
The control signal from the main transmission hub is sent directly to the Northern fixtures. At the furthest – 154 metre – point here, a repeater unit beams it to the Southern ArcSource 96s, and that repeated signal then runs from 148 metres to the most distant unit at 268 metres away.
The lights are controlled by an E:Cue Butler XT system with automatic triggers for seasonal changes and special occasions. The lights are on for 10 hours each night, year-round.
The Red Sticks’ lighting has a seasonal signature look which benefits from the ArcSource’s additive color mixing. They turn red in the summer, blue in the winter, cyan in the spring and yellow for the autumn. The exact hues were all fine-tuned by the ULA team to ensure that they work best visually when combined with the art.
Cuono Biviano, Managing director of ULA Group comments, “As a born and bred Melbourian it was an absolute honour for me and my team at The ULA Group to have successfully illuminated such an iconic and prominent piece of modern art, one that has millions of viewers and a major gateway to the Melbourne CBD with a totally energy efficient intelligent LED light solution, that meets both today’s environmental standards and more importantly those high standards placed on us by Transfield Services”.
He continues: “Anolis LED solutions are built with a design life to ensure return on investment through both running costs and physical durability. It was a pleasure to have worked with Manny and his team and we look forward to a long and prosperous relationship with Manny and Transfield Services in the future.”
Martin MAC101’s deliver venue options to Alumbra
Posted on Tuesday, March 12th, 2013
Situated in the heart of Docklands, Alumbra with its waterfront views, serves as the most sought after venues for parties and functions in Melbourne. Alumbra lives up to its name which literally means “to light up” in Spanish language even more so with the addition of twelve Martin MAC101 LED moving head fixtures.
Supplied by Audio Lighting Services, the MAC101’s are hung from a circular truss suspended over the dance floor from where they can provide a wide variety of lighting. The venue caters for private functions during the week and at the weekend it serves as a nightclub.
“The venue needed something that could serve as a generic club fixture over the weekend but could also cater to the corporate events, weddings, fashion shows and such,” remarked Louie Constantinou, director of ALS. “The MAC101’s have proven to be a trusty workhorse for us starting at table lights and ending with all out flashy disco lighting. They recently held an event to celebrate the venue’s 10th anniversary and I used then as detail lighting in the room.”
Louie is most impressed by the MAC101’s highly efficient LEDs with true colour calibration.
“When you use them in the balanced RGB mode the colours are just amazing,” he said. “The pastels are great, reds are red, greens are green …. they’re bright and punchy. The beam is nice and tight too plus they are super fast. They really are awesome.”
Since acquiring the MAC101’s eight months ago, Louie reports that they have been incredibly reliable.
Also on the truss are twelve Pro Shop LED MultiPAR Quad Colour which are used to highlight the venue during the day whenever there are walk through inspections by prospective clients.
Two ELC DMX Scene Player (one with a keypad and one with faders) panels have been patched with presets so any staff member can light up the room by the press of a button.
“It’s a very straightforward installation that any technician could simply walk into and run with,” concluded Louie.
ETC Source Four Junior Zooms a perfect fit for Canberra Theatre Centre
Posted on Tuesday, February 5th, 2013
Canberra Theatre Centre is Canberra’s premier performing arts venue, providing world class performing arts and entertainment to the people of Canberra and surrounding regions. The main venue is the 1,244 seat Canberra Theatre which up until late last year was home to over 120 rather ancient Strand Patt. 23 – last manufactured in 1983!
“I believe it may have been the largest operational rig of Patt. 23’s in the country,” said Andrew Tweedie, Head of Lighting at Canberra Theatre Centre. “But they were getting harder and harder to maintain, especially as you couldn’t find spare parts, and were not as punchy as they should have been. They were also a bit of a running joke with touring technicians when they came here!”
Fortunately a decision was made to replace the Patt. 23’s with the main criteria being that the replacement had to be the same size as the space they would be housed in is very small. Canberra’s Sound Advice recommended the ETC Source Four Junior Zoom and Andrew was impressed by their offering.
“Essentially they were the best optically for their size,” he commented. “There was another manufacturer that could supply a unit of that size but it didn’t come up to the same specifications optically. ”
Juniors were the perfect solution because of their high output and compact size combined with significant zoom range. Andrew reports that the ETC Source Four Junior Zoom can certainly punch above their weight and the venue technicians love them.
“We’ve found the ETC Source Four Junior Zooms to be very punchy; two of them together is almost as much as our 2000 watt fresnels,” he remarked. “They are also very nicely manufactured and have a good feel about them. In the four months we’ve had the ETC Source Four Junior Zooms installed we haven’t had any failures. Usually I buy 10% more of everything as I find that 10% of everything you buy these days goes back to the factory within 12 months – but the ETC Source Four Junior Zooms have been 100% reliable.”
Finally Andrew and his crew will no longer suffer cruel taunts and can hold their heads up high in the knowledge that technicians Australia-wide will be impressed by their new rig of ETC Source Four Junior Zooms.
www.etcconnect.com
Australian distributor: Jands www.jands.com.au
Austage put their faith in the mighty Martin MAC101
Posted on Friday, February 1st, 2013
Austage Melbourne is the in-house audio visual supplier for Peninsula, Melbourne’s most avant-garde waterfront event-space. Recently they decided to replace their Martin SCX700 scanner lights which had for many years been dutifully lighting table tops for hundreds of events and functions.
In keeping with current technological advances, Austage decided to switch to LED lighting and again they chose the reliability and solid reputation offered by Martin. In fact a whopping 166 Martin MAC101 compact LED moving heads were installed into three of the four rooms at the venue.
“The size and profile of the MAC101 was perfect for the venue as we managed to place them inside our existing trussing,” commented Michael Rankin, Austage’s Senior Technician. “They have really nice colour mixing, are very fast and extremely bright. It’s an amazing little fixture.”
Not only have the MAC101’s performed great since the install, Michael is also relieved that there is no lamp changing do be done plus they’re easier to clean and maintain.
“And of course, they use next to no power compared to the scanners,” he added. “Now we’re running twenty lights to a point instead of only four previously.”
Palco 3+ the silent winner at QPAC
Posted on Tuesday, January 15th, 2013
In 2009 The Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) reopened its doors after a $34million dollar refurbishment. The Concert Hall benefited from the refurbishment with a colour changing LED lighting system that illuminated the stalls, balcony, walls and ceiling. The success of the system has been noted by the hundreds of clients that have used the hall since then.
There were a few legacies from the refurbishment. The ceiling LED wash units did a terrific job of lighting the textured ceiling creating a wonderful effect but unfortunately the Palco 5s that were used had clearly auditable cooling fans. QPAC lighting quickly undertook research for products to replace the noisy fixtures as clients such as orchestras and chamber musicians did not allow the fixtures to be powered up. The challenge was to find a fixture that lit the ceiling as well as the Palco!
Show Technology were approached and forwarded many excellent products but the clear winner was the new Palco 3+ which had the output of the Palco 5 but without the noisy fans.
Even though SGM is not one of Show Technology’s distributed brands, their commitment to their client saw them source the correct product for the job. Keeping their clients happy by providing the best products for an application and first class service is what Show Technology is all about.
According to Doug, the QPAC team were really happy with the support from Show Technology and Palco to come up with the solution that was a simple swap of the fixtures and only took a few days in and around venue usage.
“Once again the team at Show Technology have really shown that they understand the need of the industry and our venues by providing us with a solution that works first time,” said Doug Brimblecombe QPAC’s manager of lighting.
Vari-Lite VLX’s at Melbourne’s Hamer Hall
Posted on Wednesday, January 9th, 2013
A cast of VARI-LITE VLX Wash luminaires have been installed as part of a massive AUS$136 million revamp of the iconic Australian theatre, Hamer Hall.
Adrian Sterritt, head of lighting at the Melbourne venue, says his team chose the VLX Wash luminaires following a shoot-out between the VARI-LITE fixtures and other brands.
“We were looking for a number of aspects from the lighting fixtures; speed, quality of light, operation modes,” says Sterritt.“‘The VLX Wash zoom was better, its quality of light was similar to what we were used to, and in terms of colours we wanted to produce, it was more suited to our desired colour palette. There was also an environmental aspect to the project so ‘green’products were favourable.”
Hamer Hall is used for a wide variety of events from rock-and-roll concerts to orchestral and theatrical shows, and the VLX Wash luminaires are now incorporated into the standard rig configuration.
One of the key decision drivers for the Hamer Hall technical team when choosing lighting fixtures for their new venue was the ability of the VLX Wash to colour match with conventionalluminaires as Sterritt reports, “Incoming LD’s love them. They have a lot of punch, especially with the saturated LED colours, however they also produce the more subtle pastel hues that we require in a theatre environment.”
The VLX Wash is a powerful and flexible luminaire, which harnesses the benefits of LED technology to give brilliant colour and long-life sources. Its low energy consumption also means it is eco-friendly and economical, ensuring that it meets the needs of 21st Century venues such as the redesigned Hamer Hall. Its output is approximately 14,000 lumens, with 70% intensity maintenance over the 10,000-hour life of the chip.
“What make them ideal for Hamer Hall are their output, speed of pan/tilt, and their ability to match conventional fixtures,” concludes Sterritt. “It’s great to have a light that can do a ballet pastel blue wash in the daytime and then work at night to produce a heavily saturated wash for concerts.”
Hamer Hall, part of the Melbourne Arts Centre, has a long history as an entertainment space but was badly in need of an update when it closed its doors two years. Theatre-goers were thrilled when it re-opened in July 2012 to reveal its glorious new image. Foyer areas have been redesigned, as has the seating in the theatre itself. The space now seats 2464 people over three levels. Extensive work has been carried out on the ceiling and walls to ensure sound is distributed evenly and clearly to audiences and performers alike. The project was overseen by theatre consultants Schuler Shook, and designed by architects Ashton Raggatt McDougall.
www.vari-lite.com
Australian Distributor: Jands www.jands.com.au
Crown’s The Palms doesn’t gamble when it involves lighting
Posted on Monday, December 17th, 2012
With its stylish finish and fantastic stage views, The Palms at Crown is one of Melbourne’s great entertainment venues. This amazing theatre venue has just been given a technical facelift by Let There Be Light. Lightmoves supplied the equipment and naturally there are plenty of Show Technology products helping in the rejuvenation!
Kait Hall and Cam McKaige have been looking after the venue’s lighting requirements for the past fourteen years, taking time out to tour with a variety of artists.
Martin MAC700 fixtures have been part of the venue’s standard rig for some time but the recent overhaul has seen the numbers swell to nineteen Martin MAC700 spots and fifteen MAC700 washes.
“They’re such a reliable fixture and they are something that most touring lighting designers are happy to use,” commented Kait. “They work really well in the room and between the two models we pretty much get the bulk of our touring acts requests satisfied.”
After many years of faithful service the Clay Paky Stage Zooms at Crown’s The Palms have been replaced with seven Clay Paky 1500 HPE’s.
“We looked at lots of different models but have always liked Clay Paky’s range of gobos which is really important because we use them not just as front wash but also to project onto the cyc and other drapes,” remarked Cam. “We were impressed with the zoom range and output compared to some other similar products on the market.”
“We’ve always been very happy with the optics of the Clay Paky fixtures in general,” added Kait. “The Clay Paky 1500 HPE’s are very versatile as we can use them as a frosted wash or for projection. They really were head and shoulders above the other fixtures on the market in that size. They’re punchy, they have a lot of good gobos and the frost is superior to anything else on the market. That was very important to us.”
Eight StudioDue CS4 were chosen to replace the venue’s conventional ACL fixtures.
“They are a good, safe, OH&S-friendly option” said Kait. “Plus they’ve proven to be really flexible as far as how people use them. With the old ACLs there was a lot of labour involved changing bulbs and refocussing the ACLs so the CS4’s save a lot of time.”
The venue has had Pro Shop Tri Colour MultiPARs installed for a couple of years with the recent upgrade introducing thirty-two Pro Shop Quad Colour MultiPARs.
“The QuadPARs have replaced the entire traditional analogue PARs and they have been really well received by everyone who uses the room,” said Kait. “At the moment we use all of the QuadPARs for rear wash but I guess they’re more for eye candy than anything else. The Tri Colour MultiPARs are used for truss toning vertical truss and also for front wash.”
Having used a Robert Juliat 1200 follow spot for quite sometime, Kait was delighted to get two Robert Juliat Flo 1800 follow spots in the upgrade.
“They have probably been one of the best purchases,” she revealed. “We surveyed all of our follow spot operators beforehand and everyone put their hands up for Robert Juliat. They are far superior to the follow spots we used to have. I like that they have a frost that is easily usable without taking up the colour frame slot. The colour changing mechanism is really easy to use too. The dimmer is a really nice feature; the fact that you can dim whilst moving the spot without taking your hand off the fixture makes them really popular.”
A MA Lighting fullsize grandMA console has been installed for several years and as yet there are no plans to upgrade to the MA2.
“We’re still more than happy with our grandMA as its ultra reliable and easy to program,” said Kait.
Pictured are images from ‘Voices – Reaching Out’ with lighting designed by Rohan Thornton
Photographer : Gary Davey, Lighting Lab
Robe DLX’s for GreyHound Hotel
Posted on Thursday, November 29th, 2012
Landmark Australian live music and performance venue The GH Hotel in St Kilda, Melbourne has recently taken delivery of twelve Robe DLX Spot moving lights – which have been added to the lighting rig in the main room.
These were specified by Technical Manager Jason Rooney, and join 16 existing Robe ColorSpot 250 AT moving lights, which were added to the rig in an upgrade of the whole lighting system earlier in the year.
The idea is that the GH Hotel can offer the best quality technology and production values for all its shows, and averts the need for any visiting artists and performers to bring in their own lighting and sound equipment.
The GH is open five nights a week offering a lively schedule of entertainment. This currently includes production-tastic, high-energy stage shows like Boylesque and Saturday nights with ‘The Classics’, together with DJ’s, dance events, bands, acoustic performances and Superstar Karaoke. It is also available as a hired event space.
The lighting rig is designed to take this versatility into account and offer the best looking and most flexible solutions to anyone playing the GH.
Once Jason and the technical team at the GH saw the DLX’s in action they knew that these were the right moving lights for the venue.
“We wanted a TV friendly moving light around the stage that had real power and punch for the reds, blues and deeper saturates – the DLX is a huge step forward and the output is incredible” he states.
Jason handles lighting design and production for all GH’s events, and operates many of the shows himself, alternating with one other person using their Chamsys lighting control system.
He really appreciates the smooth iris and speed of the DLX’s versatile 10 – 45 degree zoom, and uses both these features extensively in his shows, together with almost all of the other features offered by the units. He also likes the super-sharp gobo selection.
The DLX’s are positioned all around the main stage area on ladders, above the upstage LED screen and on the FOH gantry – giving full coverage all around the room.
Adding the DLX’s and their impressive brightness to the rig has made it infinitely easier to light the stage action without to having to reduce the brightness of the LED screen as the DLX output easily rivals the luminosity of the 6.5 mm pitch video surface!
“Truthfully I can’t think of a single DLX feature that I don’t utilise” he continues, even though they have not been installed for that long …. he is loving it! “The output is fabulous, the power usage very expedient, they start up fast and there’s no waiting time while the lamp powers on / off, etc.”.
Jason emphasises the importance to a busy venue like the GH of investing in top quality kit.
It ensures that all shows enjoy the visual benefits, while working with a company like ULA offers the highest levels of proper after-sales and technical support. “ULA is well established. I have worked with them for many years and intend to continue” he concludes.
New Perth Arena home to six Robert Juliat Lancelot Followspots
Posted on Friday, November 23rd, 2012
November saw the official opening of Western Australia’s proud new home of entertainment, music, and sports – Perth Arena. Jointly designed by architectural firms Ashton Raggatt McDougall and Cameron Chisholm Nicol, its design is based on the Eternity puzzle. The venue holds up to 15,500 for concerts and has a retractable roof, 36 luxury appointed corporate suites, a 680-bay underground car park, five dedicated function spaces, and touring trucks can drive directly onto the arena floor.
Frontier Lighting provided the Perth Arena with six Robert Juliat Lancelot followspots whose innovative optical train improves on the power and very long throw capabilities of its smaller counterparts.
Lancelot is now the benchmark fixture for big events and concerts where its innovative technology, outstanding light output and extremely flat beam set new standards for both followspots and automated lighting products.
“The Lancelot can quite easily do a 120 metre throw and still be strong at the other end,” remarked Jared Hawke, Lighting Designer at Frontier. “They’re a great followspot and really well made plus they’re very user-friendly. At Frontier, we’ve always liked the Robert Juliat range for its quality and good engineering and, although big and bright, the Lancelot followspot can be easily maneuvered to react quickly under live conditions.
As well as possessing an outstanding light output, Lancelot followspots have an extremely flat beam, very narrow zoom, fully closing iris and dimming quality.
Operator Justin Twible had the honour of using one of the new Lancelot’s on the Arena’s first concert starring Sir Elton John and he was delighted with its performance.
“The Lancelots were great – well balanced and powerful,” he commented. “They cut through the arena’s lights perfectly. The iris on them is nice and smooth as is the dimming. They’re easy to move around in an operating sense and generally they’re just a really good unit.”
The Lancelot followspot is renowned for being smooth to control, and can be completely tailored to individual needs using a set of onboard plug-and-play accessories, including the choice of manual or DMX control. The ergonomics have been designed with the operator in mind, and include an easy to balance counterweight system for steady long distance movement, a large wrap around handle and compact size and weight.
VuePix LED Billboard at Pines Point Retail Complex
Posted on Thursday, November 1st, 2012
Pines Point is an architecturally designed L shape complex featuring a selected mix of tenancies from Dominos Pizza to Raine and Horne Reality and many more leading business.
Developers of Pines Point wanted to add a difference to the site and offer their tenants extra advertising opportunities and to let locals know about their special offers. They decided to utilized the road side sign space at the entrance of the complex with an VuePix LED Billboard in the top half.
Each LED Billboard on either side of the sign is comprised of 6x VuePix L10 Outdoor Front Service panels creating a dynamic means of advertising through an externally managed media centre where content can be updated and scheduled for release any time, from anywhere over an internet connection.
Since opening, stores have recorded vast improvements of walk in traffic as a result of the screen been a prominent feature that locals travel past every day.
VuePix L Series have excellent brightness, outstanding contrast, and can be configured into a wide range of standard and custom ratios all housed in an innovative slim-line design, making them ideal for use in the most demanding environments.
A truly modular design approach means very simple and fast replacement of all components, whether it’s a LED module or control/power module.
Carmen’s nightclub reborn
Posted on Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012
The Miranda Hotel has had a spectacular facelift that includes a totally revamped Carmen’s Nightclub. Compact Monitor Systems Australia designed and installed a new lighting system into the nightclub choosing six Martin MAC250 Kryptons, a high performance profile with a separate gobo and colour wheel, an achromatic lens system and a rotating prism.
“Martin was always a no-brainer and we really wanted to use the MAC250 Kryptons as they are very bright, have every colour under the sun and perfect for the application,” commented Bill Richardson, managing director of Compact Monitor Systems Australia.
The roof above the stage area is very low and so recesses were cut into the ceiling into which could fit a Martin MX-10 scanner.
“A moving head light would have hung down far too low but the MX-10 was perfect,” added Bill. “They are out of sight and out of mind, yet still delivering a great effect. They are very fast and the colours and spinning gobos are very nice.”
Four Kupo 2way blinder effects and a couple of Max Strobes add effect whilst two JEM Magnum hazers add the atmospherics.
The venue features a custom box truss from Design Quintessence complete with scene stealing truss warmers.
“My general manager Jade Wallace suggested we use truss warmers but I was hesitant as I thought it would look a little bit too rock’n’roll,” admitted Bill. “However I agreed and consequently eight Pro Shop LED Miniblock truss warmers were installed and they look awesome! It really is a killer feature.
“We decided upon Martin LightJockey 2 for control as it is tidy, small and after you’ve used it a few times you become very at home with it. LightJockey is easy to interface with the other equipment from Martin and other leading manufacturers products.
“The team at Show Technology was awesome as always. They were with us from the design stage to commissioning, always there with their support and expertise.”
Chris Durrant, Show Technology’s fabulous Customer Services guy, went well beyond what was required of him in ensuring this project ran smoothly and was a success for all.
ETC Selador Desire D40 Lustr+ Fixtures For The Adelaide Festival Centre
Posted on Wednesday, September 26th, 2012
Twelve ETC Selador Desire D40 Lustr+ LED fixtures have found a welcoming home at the Adelaide Festival Centre, which was the first of Australia’s performing arts centres and is still acknowledged by audiences and performers as the best of its kind in the nation .
ETC’s Desire Series D40 fixture puts the seven-colour x7 system into a round theatrical wash light. Highly efficient primary lenses and careful colour choices make the D40 fixture ideal for stage, studio and anywhere strong colour and high-intensity are requirements. The Selador x7 Color System produces the widest range of spectrally- balanced saturated and tinted colour choices available. D40’s rugged die-cast enclosure, noiseless fan-free operation, multiple lens options and advanced user interface make it ideal for multiple applications.
“We wanted a fixture that was robust and really an industry standard,” explained Phil Haddy, head lighting technician. “The ETC brand is well known and respected which is why we looked to them first. Plus the Selador Lustr has the seven colours and is more theatre-orientated without sacrificing the energy efficiency and long life you expect from LEDs.”
According to Phil, the Selador Desire D40 Lustr+ fixtures have been performing well and responding beautifully.
“I really like that they offer a lot more colours than other units do and their output is really good,” Phil added. “The fact that you can use a variety of lenses to get your desired effect is useful too.”
The photographs show the Silver Jubilee Organ at the Festival Centre bathed in colour light for the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s proms concert. By using the Selador Desire D40 Lustr+ fixtures to uplight the organ it became the backdrop for the concert.
Sydney Olympic Park awash in LED
Posted on Friday, September 14th, 2012
The Sydney Olympic Park Authority is on a mission to bathe the events precinct in a sea of coloured lighting to mark special events. Con Andrews of Beyond AV has supplied them with four Studio Due Dual 800 high-power LED wall washes to aid in the task. The Dual 800 RGBW is a very robust and reliable product with an IP66 rating.
Thanks to the high luminous flux generated, the Studio Due Dual 800 is suitable to light up big façades and wide surfaces such as the ANZ Stadium at Sydney Olympic Park.
“We wanted to add some extra colour to the area to add to the atmosphere,” commented Craig Gilliver, Public Events Manager at SOPA. “I knew about Studio Due CityColors but when I started to ask around about fixtures a few companies recommended I look at the Studio Due LED fixtures. Several suppliers – independent of each other – recommended them.”
The Studio Due Duel 800 fixtures are in cases so they can be used in a variety of places within the precinct. The Dual 800 fixtures have been particularly effective when positioned on top of ANZ Stadium to light up the area underneath the eastern grandstand.
“It’s the part of the stadium that people see as they arrive by train or bus,” added Craig. “On a big game day we’ll also use our eighteen Pro Shop LED Honeycombs (supplied by Be Productions) to light up the train station in the home team colour. They have been great and cast a bold light. When we used them for the Bledisloe Cup they looked amazing in gold, the station was just glowing gold. I was worried that the gold wouldn’t be effective enough but it really came up punchy.”
On leaving the station the coloured light theme can continue via the in-ground Pulsar MR16 LED lights – again supplied by Beyond AV – set into the paving of Railway Square. These lead to the final destination of ANZ Stadium where coloured light and animated projection act as a beacon to the throngs of people.
“The Studio Due Dual 800 fixtures been great,” remarked Craig. “We’ve had them gold for the Wallabies, red for the Swans, blue for the Bulldogs ….. the possibilities are endless.”
Using 128+128 high power LEDs of 5W each incorporated in groups of 4 RGBW and coupled with a quad lens, the Dual 800 RGBW achieves a very high luminous flux as well as optimum colour mixing. For instance, a lens with a medium opening can be used on one head to light up the lower part of a building and at the same time, it is possible to use a narrow lens on the other head to light up the rest of the building.
RTR Productions complete the Sircuit
Posted on Tuesday, September 4th, 2012
Melbourne’s men-only gay venue has had a spruce up in time for spring including a new lighting system, new sound system and bar areas. RTR Productions have been looking after their AV needs for the past five years and so were called upon to supply and install the new gear.
Most nights of the week the venue operates as a bar but with a change around of the trussing it is turned into a nightclub.
Cris Cochis, operations manager at RTR Productions, installed twelve Martin MAC250 Entours for the main lighting feature in the venue.
“The Entours have great colours and gobos plus the famous Martin reliability,” he said. “They are very bright for a 250 lamp and the definition of the gobos is awesome. They are fairly quiet too although that doesn’t matter so much in a nightclub! The texture of the colour is very, very good.”
Forty Pro Shop LED Mini Blocks are installed within the truss where their narrow lenses mean that the truss features can be lit quickly and easily.
“They’re a very simple and very affordable solution,” said Cris. “They add atmosphere to the room when the MAC250 Entours aren’t on. We also have twenty LED PAR36 cans as truss warmers and a couple of the Pro Shop Max strobes.”
Control is by a Martin M1 console which Cris believes is fast becoming an industry standard.
“It’s a very flexible console which is easy to learn with a small amount of training,” he added. “It’s an awesome console.”
LSC rule the roost at The Bird’s Nest
Posted on Wednesday, August 29th, 2012
A state-of-the-art black box theatre, complete with retractable seats, motorised truss systems, operable walls, an impressive digital sound and lighting system, recording studio, dressing rooms, and box office are just a few of the features of Redcliffe State High School’s new 260 seat blackbox theatre ‘The Bird’s Nest’.
The Queensland School will now be able to engage their students through the performing arts as well as through vocational education with students able to complete a Certificate II in live production theatre and events, as well as technical operations, and a Certificate II in set production and prop making.
As a blackbox theatre, The Bird’s Nest has the flexibility to host any kind of performance, ranging from traditional theatre set up, theatre in the round, or they can run conferences.
The lighting installation was installed by Macrosphere. The system consists of Clarity (VX20) and a single 12 channel Redback dimmer (controlling low wattage conventional lighting), an LSC Delta DT12/10A suppling power to LED par cans, an MDRR distributing DMX, and a Redback Patch system for 96 channels.
“Clarity seemed the ideal choice from a user point of view,” commented Ian Tucker, Technical Co-Ordinator at Macrosphere. “The venue has a mix of incandescent lighting and digital DMX-driven lighting so Clarity was perfect. Students can use the software on multiple computers simultaneously to commence their own program before connection to the system. No more large groups of students crammed around one console.”
However according to LSC’s QLD Sales Consultant Greg Hughes, it became quickly apparent that something was amiss with the mains power supply.
“Conventional lamps were only lasting a matter of hours and then prematurely failing,” reported Greg. “Power related problems were also apparent within the sound system. At this point, investigations into the mains supply were commenced by the Electrical Engineers who designed the building, the Electrician that installed the power throughout and me.”
For LSC’s part, Greg measured approximately 255 volts from both the three phase outlets and normal GPO’s. It was found that the conventional lighting when plugged directly into GPO’s, failed within twenty minutes. This overvoltage was confirmed by both the Electrical Contractor (who reported this to Energex) and Energex themselves who measured voltage at the transformer (not inside the building) at 251v and pronounced the supply “within parameters”.
Whilst there is a movement to standardise mains supply in Australia at 230v and most states have endorsed this, the exception is Queensland where the mains voltage parameters are 240v + or - 6%. This means that voltage can be as high as 254 volts and still be perfectly acceptable to Queensland (Energex) standards.
Unfortunately, in the realms of filament lamp manufacture, overvoltage equals reduced lamp life. Theatre lamps are manufactured to 220v, 230v or 240v standards and no matter which of these voltages are used, feeding 254v will dramatically shorten life.
Fortunately, the LSC Redback dimmers came to the rescue as they have a minimum / maximum setting. So by limiting the dimmers output to 80%, the Redback Dimmer now supplies lamps with sub 240v – the result being that premature lamp failure has not since occurred!
Jands supply lighting for the Lend Lease Darling Quarter Theatre
Posted on Tuesday, August 21st, 2012
As part of the new Darling Quarter precinct and in a collaborative effort between Lend Lease and Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority (SHFA), a new state of the art children’s theatre and performance space has been created. Lend Lease and SHFA jointly selected Monkey Baa Theatre Company as the resident company for the new Lend Lease Darling Quarter Theatre. The venue houses the company’s office, as well as facilitating rehearsals and performances.
The theatre is the only purpose-built performance space for children in Australia and the first major addition to Sydney’s arts infrastructure since Carriageworks, which opened in Redfern in 2007.
The technical fit out of the theatre is a turnkey project Jands completed in partnership with The PA People. Rob Mitchell of RTM International was the theatre consultant engaged by Lend Lease.
An ETC Ion 1000 console with radio focus remote and a remote playback unit for backup was chosen for lighting control. Production and Operations Manager Toby Knyvett has been using it since Monkey Baa moved into the venue earlier this year.
“The Ion is definitely becoming the standard in Australian theatres,” commented Toby. “It offers the best compatibility with what regional theatres have in terms of older and newer generation equipment. It has a traditional theatre style of operation but offers much greater control of moving lights and intelligent fixtures than the older generation of consoles. Our Ion 1000 console has been fantastic.”
The theatre is currently showing ‘Goodbye Jamie Boyd’ with lighting designed by Luiz Pampolha. Goodbye Jamie Boyd requires very detailed timing in its lighting control including lots of part cues and split times plus follow-ons, and Toby reports that the Ion has coped flawlessly.
“The way the console is laid out makes it easy to follow, it’s easy to see which part you are editing,” he added. “We also have a complete Pathport DMX over Ethernet distribution system which is a great partnership with the Ion system. As both the console and the backup unit send DMX over Ethernet, if we were to lose one the take over would be immediate with no external switches, swapping of DMX cables or similar. We even have a level of network redundancy by running two Pathport VIA network switches. The console and the backup unit run into separate VIA switches so in the remote chance one of them goes down, we would still have control of the remaining nodes until we could plug them all across to the remaining switch.“Lighting fixtures include twenty ETC Selador Vivid-R 11” LED luminaires that offer the brilliant, bold saturated colour only LEDs can deliver. Vivid-R combines high-power Luxeon® Rebel LEDs and high-efficiency lenses for a strong, cutting beam of light and maximum colour production. And with the low heat output of the Selador Series, Toby is not in danger of overheating the talent.
“The Vivids have a very theatrical colour palette and flexible lens options,” said Toby. “We can do the saturated looks that are only possible with LED but we haven’t the lost the ability to be more subtle when we need to. And of course the low power consumption is great.”
Monkey Baa also took delivery of twenty-six ETC Source Four Zooms 15-30 degrees, twelve ETC Source Four Zooms 25-50 degrees and twenty-six ETC Source Four Fresnels.
Toby comments “What’s really great is that they all use the same lamp – the HPL750 – which has been very reliable. In fact in the four months that we have been using them we haven’t blown a single lamp! They’re also all the same frame size which makes cutting and ordering gel a lot simpler. All round, I believe they’re a really good investment.”
Twenty-one segments of Jands JLX-Lite lighting bars, a static unit not to be flown, are installed and Jands distributed general purpose power to all of the lighting bars for running gear such as the Selador fixtures. Six of the Jands WMX wall-mounted, 12-channel (2.4KVA) dimmer racks specifically designed for contracting and theatre applications were installed.
Staging elements are fairly simple with no fancy machinery; Jands supplied a drapes package, a cyclorama and rigging points in the ceiling.
Illumination Physics Presents ‘Tiffany’s at Collins Street Melbourne’
Posted on Monday, August 13th, 2012
Increasingly elaborate technical designs are being employed to provide enticing facades for high end retail brands. Tiffany & Co. are one of the trendsetters and each new or refurbished Tiffany store will have a highly distinctive glass façade which will be illuminated.
Illumination Physics was selected to provide the LED lighting solution for Tiffany’s flagship store in Melbourne. The project was complicated by the extremely limited space and the need to develop a completely new luminaire.
The distinctive ‘Wheat sheaf’ cast glass would be illuminated on its edges by a hidden linear fixture that made use of the latest generation of multi-colour 4-in-1 high powered LED chips.
The result is a powerful and distinctive façade that enlivens Collins Street with a variety of colours including the famous ‘Tiffany Blue’.
Philips lights up Australia’s first Martian Embassy
Posted on Friday, July 20th, 2012
Philips Lighting has donated a range of state of the art LED lighting solutions towards the creation of the Sydney Story Factory and Martian Embassy.
The Sydney Story Factory is a not-for-profit creative writing centre for young people. It utilises a volunteer base to offer students free one-on-one or small group help to write stories which it then seeks to publish. The Martian Embassy gives the centre a space-age theme to inspire young writer’s imaginations.
The programs are open to all, but are catered towards marginalised young people and those from indigenous or non-English speaking backgrounds.
“Philips is proud to be involved in the creation of the Sydney Story Factory and Martian Embassy,” said Michael Downie, General Manager of Philips Lighting Australia. “Our mission is to improve people’s lives through meaningful innovation. With the creativity and collaboration of Xenian and Arup, the Philips LED lighting technology now creates a Martian environment which will inspire children to write and create.”
Designers from global consulting firm Arup designed how the Philips LEDs would work with Philips Color Kinetics distributor Xenian donating the commissioning of the lighting solutions. The installation which includes 220 ColorFuse Powercore LED modules provide professional-grade colour mixing to give the space a colourful and dynamic ‘Martian feel’.
“The Arup design team are proud to have had the opportunity to creatively assist in the development of this remarkable community asset,” said Tim Hunt, lighting designer at Arup. “The facility encourages creativity and we believe we have helped design a space which will fire the imagination.”
The Sydney Story Factory and its attached Martian Embassy and Gift Shop will be unveiled on Friday July 20 to the media, ahead of its official launch on July 21 by the Governor of New South Wales, Her Excellency, Professor Marie Bashir.
Images: Brett Boardman Photography
Brisbane Nightclub upgrades with Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures
Posted on Tuesday, July 17th, 2012
The Met is a huge purpose-built nightclub in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, Brisbane that prides itself on being state of the art. Consequently technical upgrades are a necessity and the latest sees four Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures added to the lighting rig.
With its small footprint and lightweight frame, Sharpy is a groundbreaking 189W moving beam light which produces and unprecedented bright and perfectly parallel, laser-like beam with an incredible output of 59,760 lux at 20 meters (5,100 footcandles at 65 ft).
“Unfortunately we’ve only got four – we should have got a heap more because they’re great!” declared Pete Smith, The Met’s music and technical director.
Two Clay Paky Sharpy are positioned at the top of the onstage mesh LED screen that is located behind the DJ position. An additional two Sharpy’s are found either side of the DJ booth in front of the screen.
“The Sharpy is a nice new fixture we’d seen around although I have to admit it’s a little more powerful than we need,” commented Pete. “However they really cut through and are something different in a club environment.”
Although a couple of the Sharpy fixtures are placed quite low, their intensity is not too much for the punters due to the high ceiling in the club.
“Their beam is awesome and I love their colours and their speed,” added Pete. “Everyone is amazed with the lighting effects and the kid’s refer to them as ‘those searchlight things’ as even they are astounded at the amount of light that comes out of such a small fixture.”
Photos: Alex Singleton www.axlimaginging.com.au
The Met installs Martin MAC101’s
Posted on Tuesday, July 10th, 2012
Comprising of five bars and three rooms, Brisbane’s The Met sets to impress with a plasma screen wall, dancing cages, amazing sound and lighting and a world of luxurious booth areas for lounging.
Recently the venue took delivery of sixteen Martin MAC101 LED moving head wash lights from Josh Frey Productions and these join the Martin MAC600, MAC575 and Atomics already in situ at the venue.
“We wanted to give the club a bit of a refresh with the lighting,” commented Pete Smith, The Met’s music and technical director. “We’ve been open for a few years now and wanted some new technology.”
The MAC101’s are usually mounted in four columns of four fixtures behind the onstage mesh LED screen that is located behind the DJ position. In that position their tight beam emulates a big pixel to match the look of the show.
“I had seen this idea at a couple of concerts overseas and we thought we’d give it a go,” said Pete. “We wanted to try something different in a nightclub experience. The MAC101’s are a brilliant fixture – they’re quick, the colours are great and they’re very versatile. They stand up well against the other MACs. From behind the screen, the MAC101’s match the low res look of our content and the beams are fantastic.
“For special events we can place them elsewhere either as a wash or as a fixture-style light point of attention. They’re very handy like that and are so small and easy to move.”
Photos: Alex Singleton www.axlimaginging.com.au
Argyle in Bloom
Posted on Friday, June 29th, 2012
Argyle in Bloom is the latest creation of lighting designer Mark Hammer and collaborator Andre Kecskes and featured at VIVID Sydney 2012.
The Argyle Cut came alive with flowers and vines growing out of the rock and cement. The installation has been achieved using SPX Profiles from Philips Selecon aswell as Pacific Profiles and Robe 575w Profiles. Each were fitted with full colour glass and steel gobos from Gobotech.
“The quality of the fixtures and gobos were paramount to the success of the installation,” said Mark. “Without the output of the SPX profiles I would not have been able to get the crisp clear images I required. The installation was programmed to gently fade in and out over a two minute cycle and showed off the texture, shape and colour of the Argyle cut.”