ETC News Feed

ETC rolls out new Congo™ v5 software

Fri, 09 May 2008 19:58:28 GMT

ETC has released a major new software version for the popular Congo and Congo jr lighting control consoles: Congo v5. Version 5.0 introduces an impressive new effects package, new graphics and handling, as well as better editing tools, more functions and accessories. Congo users at theaters, TV studios and other entertainment venues worldwide will find a raft of new solutions in v5 for their multimedia lighting rigs.

New effects

Congo v5 rethinks the management of lighting effects for theater and live events, making them as easy to control as a dimmer with a scroller. Using all the tools available for device control, new v5 functions create endless new effects. The new Chase effect provides a simple editor for creating intensity effects without eating up presets and sequences. The new Dynamic effect uses the existing dynamics concept and brings them into the new Effect Playback world. The new Content effect lets users reuse their existing show data - groups, palettes, presets - to create complex effects quickly and on the fly. All of these effects are handled in the new Effect Playbacks – users will select and control them just like channels, and record them into presets within sequences or on masters. Existing Dynamic Effects and chase-sequence settings remain in the software so that past work can be brought into v5 without any problems.

New graphics

ETC has changed the underlying graphics-handling in Congo for improved speed in channel layout views, better display within tables, and small enhancements like ‘clickable-go,’ pause and go-back controls in the Playback tab.

Better editing tools

ETC has added a new Groups & Palettes Overview tab showing all the texts of items that have already been recorded. This tab can be used as a portal to the editors for those items as well. Track Editing for Attributes has also been improved, allowing users to choose whether to update the last preset that sourced a move, or multiple presets containing repeating data.

Improved show management

ETC reorganized the Browser to make it more task-based and added important settings information to the New Play dialog. They have also added a Default Show Data wizard to extract things like patch, groups and palettes, among other things, to always start with in a new play. And they added a Delete Data wizard to make it easer to clear larger sections of a play.

Improved Masters

ETC added Inhibit and Exclusive modes to all the Masters. These roles are determined in the Master Page settings. They also added the ability to assign any console key or soft key to any master.

New Direct Select options

Screen layouts may now be given text names and may be deleted. The Direct Selects also provide quick access to the direct Gel picker function (users can also assign colors from a Gel Picker tab that displays the complete libraries of the ten supported gel manufacturers, including gel numbers and color swatches).

New accessories and network tools

ETC’s Net3™ RFR, Net3 I/O Gateway, 2x20 Universal Fader Wing and 1x20 Universal Fader Module are all supported in Congo v5. Also, a new large-venue management tool is included that allows the user to assign output universe mappings to named logical networks - such as Studio A, Studio B, etc. and choose which configuration the system should start up in.

See the Congo v5 video! Click here.

UC Berkeley graduates to ETC lighting

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:02:19 GMT

Zellerbach Playhouse at the University of California, Berkeley, recently underwent a $1.1 million lighting systems renovation – a long-awaited project that equips the school’s technical theater program with the latest tools of the trade, including state-of-the-art controls, dimming, distribution and fixtures by ETC.

The renovation was needed – in part – to keep pace with UC Berkeley’s philosophy of exposing students to equipment they’ll use in their professional careers. “We need to train students to work with the tools and technologies they will encounter when they leave the university,” says Lighting Design Lecturer David K. H. Elliot. “As technical theater continues to innovate and incorporate new and upgraded technologies, the training of people to design with, operate and maintain that equipment becomes increasingly important, even urgent.”

Part of that training now includes ETC’s newest lighting control consoles, Eos® and Ion®. A student just beginning to study lighting design can feel comfortable working with Eos and Ion, while advanced students can experiment with the powerful features the desks offer. Two ETC Net3™ Remote Video Interfaces also let students view and program data remotely from anywhere in the theater.

Zellerbach’s lighting rig now sports more than 200 ETC Source Four® conventional fixtures of varying degrees, as well as many automated lights, including six Source Four Revolutions®. Eos and Ion control all these fixtures, allowing UC Berkeley students to experiment more in their designs. Says Production Manager Katherine Mattson: “With Eos and Ion, we have much more control over performances, using moving lights that we could only begin to work with previously.”

One of the challenges of the Zellerbach renovation was to allow use of more lighting fixtures in more flexible ways without increasing the existing power service or adding to the electrical load. To accomplish this, ETC designed raceways that held six-circuit Socapex outlets, single-pin and network connections, outlets for worklights and 50-amp connections, and three-phase 30-amp motor power connections. ETC’s Dimmer Doubling™ also reduced the number of circuits required and helped keep the project within budget. “We can mount and plug in lights in much greater quantities and more locations than ever before, without any need for ridiculous cable runs, rented dimmer racks or other nonsense,” explains Mattson. “With the networking infrastructure we can plug a node in most anywhere and provide for DMX connectivity.”

The lighting system has gotten a real workout since the renovation. The hall is in use constantly, with scores of theater and dance productions and rehearsals put on by department. “We opened our 2007/2008 season last fall with a production of Continuous City, a workshop/residency with the Builders Association. In March, we mounted a production of Euripides' The Bacchae. The first, clearly a product of the 21st century, continued the innovative merging of live performance and high theatrical technology that we increasingly see in productions. The latter, a play from the beginnings of the western theatrical tradition 25 centuries ago, explores human themes as old as people. Between the two lies nearly all of recorded theatrical history. We needed a lighting system that could cover all that,” says Elliott. That kind of variety will characterize the future roster as well: upcoming productions in the venue will include a residency by the Joe Goode Performance Group, Robert Lepage’s The Andersen Project, and department productions of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, and Feydeau’s Sauce for the Goose.

ETC helps revive Azores’ Teatro Ribeiragrandense

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:11:22 GMT

The Teatro Ribeiragrandense (Ribeira Grande civic theater) in the Azores island of São Miguel has recently been restored to its former glory with help from ETC’s lighting systems. Portuguese dealer Luzeiro was the consultant on this project and specified an ETC Congo™ jr lighting control console with Master Playback Wing for the installation.

Maria Alexandra Pereira Bastos, Commercial Director at Luzeiro says: “We wanted a modern, uncomplicated and economical lighting system, and we immediately thought of ETC. We are so happy with the Congo jr desk, it has surpassed all expectations. Moreover, the support we have had from the ETC team has been exceptional.”

The theater opened in 1921 and was for decades the cultural center of São Miguel, staging film screenings, musical acts, plays and operas. The theater was even transformed into the Circo Equestre for the Portuguese Grand Circus Company’s International Equestrian Show. In recent years, however, the historic theater became run down and needed updating. It has since been reconditioned architecturally and fully reequipped.

ETC’s Regional Manager for Southern Europe, Fulvio Cotogni, says: “Working with the Teatro Ribeiragrandense was plain sailing, and we were proud to help with the restoration of this iconic building. The Congo jr is perfect for the Teatro Ribeiragrandense because its small footprint does not impose on the elegant building.”

The Congo jr combines the simplicity of classic lighting control systems with the feature-rich functionality of a moving-lights desk in a compact, modular solution. With the full functionality of the larger Congo console and operating the same powerful software, as well as an optional add-on Master Playback Wing, which adds 40 faders and two LCDs for full playback capability and complete control of all masters and Direct Selects, Congo jr is the ideal lighting desk for venues like the Teatro Ribeiragrandense.

New SmartSoft edition of Capture visualization software

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 02:20:15 GMT

ETC SmartFade® ML users can now enjoy full bidirectional visualization at a very low cost. For only 190€ ($285), Capture Sweden has launched a new SmartSoft edition of their popular Capture visualization software.

Visualization software acts as a virtual lighting rig and can be used to pre-cue or set up a show via SmartSoft, with or without a SmartFade ML console. Users in an educational setting can employ visualization to support class projects with lighting rigs containing a wide variety of equipment that may not otherwise be available in their light lab. SmartSoft is currently distributed with a demo show file and corresponding visualization demo file. With the purchase or implementation of Capture or other visualization software, users can design and operate their own lighting rigs.

Those who already own Capture don’t need the newly announced version, as the SmartSoft compatibility is included already! The new SmartSoft edition is available through Capture Sweden's dealer network, and SmartFade users can evaluate the demo version for free, by downloading it at Capture Sweden's Web site, http://www.capturesweden.com . ETC’s SmartSoft can be downloaded for no charge at www.etcconnect.com/product.downloads.aspx?ID=20363 .

ETC’s Ion makes European debut, Prolight + Sound 2008

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:54:56 GMT

Introduced to North America at the LDI 2007 tradeshow, ETC’s new Ion® lighting control console is now hitting the European stage with its debut at Prolight + Sound 2008 in Frankfurt, 12-15 March, at the ETC stand in Hall 9.0, #B80.
Only a few months old, this new Eos-family console is already taking control of the lighting at venues like London’s National Theatre and the Central School for Speech and Drama, as well as Norway’s TV2 Oslo and Rogaland Theatre. ETC has shipped more than 140 Ion consoles since the product was released in January.

Like its bigger sibling Eos, Ion is designed for today’s multimedia lighting rigs – delivering seamless control over conventionals, moving lights and LEDs. Theaters and TV studios are among the venues that will benefit from Ion’s popular ETC style of operation. With its convenient small footprint -- only 19” wide -- Ion is a compact, affordable solution for space-starved venues, with the flexibility to grow even more powerful as needed.

Lighting professionals and beginners alike will find Ion highly intuitive and easy to use. Ion comes in 1024, 1536 and 2048 channel/output configurations and features an integral LCD for softkeys and non-intensity parameter control. The desk offers a dedicated master playback fader pair, grand master and blackout switch. The Ion programming keypad makes frequently-used functions easy to access, while physical rotary encoders take the work out of changing color, focus and gobos. For further functionality and power, Ion can connect up to six optional USB fader wings for 240 additional faders -- playbacks or submasters -- with paging controls.

Ion can be used as a stand-alone console or networked system with up to four Ion devices, such as additional Ion consoles, Ion RPUs (Remote Processor Units), Net3™ RVIs (Remote Video Interfaces) or computers running Eos/Ion client software. Now available, ETC’s new Net3 RFR (Radio Focus Remote) provides an advanced, wireless solution for remote control of the Ion system (RFR is also compatible with ETC’s Eos®, Congo™ and Congo™ jr systems). This handheld device allows users to work away from their console, easily accessing frequently-used console functions, such as dimmer and channel checks, as well as update and record functions.

Ion can also be used as a client on an Eos system, where it will support the full output of that system.

A must-see at ProLight, Ion shares the stand with the rest of ETC’s Complete Control™ lineup, including the ultra-portable SmartFade® ML console now with the new SmartSoft™ PC software application, as well as the Congo, Congo jr, and the award-winning Eos consoles.

ETC releases free SmartSoft™ for SmartFade® ML

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:00:06 GMT

ETC’s new SmartSoft software is now available for free download at www.etcconnect.com/
SmartSoft. With the power of SmartSoft, users can connect their PC to their ETC SmartFade ML lighting control console via USB and gain live displays of show data, as well as direct data-editing tools. SmartSoft works as an offline editor and allows users to save SmartFade ML show files directly to the hard disk. SmartSoft also allows users to access a virtual version of the SmartFade ML, via an on-screen console facepanel.

SmartSoft provides numerous live and blind tabbed displays to show current connected console status, live output, recorded data, patch and diagnostic views. The virtual console facepanel allows users to interact with their show data as they would on a physical console, or edit values directly using their mouse and PC keyboard.

SmartSoft lets board ops work in the dark without being in the dark: SmartSoft displays are designed with a muted color scheme so that light output from the screen doesn’t interfere with the board op’s perception of the stage lighting.

SmartSoft is compatible with the SmartFade ML console, requiring that the SmartFade ML be updated to v2.0 software (update included within the SmartSoft installation package). Users wishing to update their consoles to v2.0 without installing SmartSoft may download the software separately, if desired, at www.etcconnect.com/SmartFadeML

A version supporting all variations of SmartFade and SmartFade ML is expected later this year. Additionally, SmartSoft is currently compatible with Windows® XP or Vista® PCs and requires a minimum display resolution of 1280x1024. A beta version of SmartSoft, offline operation-only, will be available for Macintosh a short time following the release of SmartSoft v1.0 for PC. The full version of SmartSoft for Macintosh will be available after the release of the PC version of SmartSoft for all SmartFade consoles, later this year.

ETC holds Congo™ console training in Moscow

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:41:22 GMT

On February 18th and 19th, 2008, ETC held Congo training at the new Et Cetera Theater in Moscow. Led by ETC’s Florian Maier and Oleg Arifov from Russian dealer Sistema, the sessions brought together thirty professionals from venues across Russia, including the Maly Theater, Ermitazh Theater, Fomenko Theater, and Ostankino Television Center. Attendees used several Congos, as well as Congo jr consoles with Master Playback Wings, to operate ETC’s Source Four® lighting fixtures and Source Four Revolution® automated lights.

On the first training day, participants learned about the Congo family and basic programming functions, such as selecting channels, recording masters and presets, and patching. The second day was spent on moving light control and dynamic effects, as well as networking.

Muhlenberg College puts ETC’s newest console to the test

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 17:42:08 GMT

Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, is a small liberal arts college with a strong technical theater program. For 15 years, Muhlenberg used ETC’s Expression®-family control consoles to handle their stage lighting. With a performance-heavy schedule, and tech students testing their lighting design know-how on a variety of shows, Muhlenberg has now graduated to ETC’s new Ion®.

According to master electrician on staff, Paul Theisen, it took only a short time to acclimate to the new state-of-the-art console: “We were impressed with how quickly we were able to get the board up and running and how smoothly it was to transition into a tracking console.”

Ion’s user-friendly style of control not only speeds training, but makes it a great teaching board: “Our students come to us with varying degrees of skill and interest in technical theater,” according to Theisen. “Any console we use can’t intimidate new students, but should still have the power that advanced students and professional guest-designers want. We need a console that can be as simple to use as sliding a submaster, or as complex as any production might demand.” Ion’s intuitive layout puts beginners at ease, while more seasoned board operators have a cache of professional features at their fingertips.

In its first exam at Muhlenberg, Ion was used on a dance concert showcasing ten student-choreographed pieces. The console’s powerful control of automated fixtures allowed Muhlenberg to add moving lights and scrollers on the show. “With two universes of DMX, we are able to control all of our conventional fixtures and still have more than enough DMX to control all the rented moving lights and scrollers we’d ever want,” adds Theisen.

Having Ion on the show meant a new level of production values: “The ease in which we could control the moving lights and color changers made the board more flexible for me as a designer. It allowed me to try things I wouldn’t have had the time to work out on our older console.”

Ion features, such as its virtual encoders, make the programming phase easier. Color matching is also a breeze with Ion’s unique color picker and swatch book. With tight changeover times between productions, speed is important. Says Theisen: “The built-in moving-light fixture library made short work of what used to be a complex patching sequence. I would recommend Ion to any school that is interested in providing their students with the ability to program and control moving lights, without having to face the learning curve of a traditional rock-and-roll moving-light console.”

At only 19 inches wide, Ion offers another benefit for schools like Muhlenberg: it takes up minimal space in their smaller, student-jammed control rooms. And Ion’s portability buffers the tech budget, allowing the console to be put to use wherever it’s needed next: “Its size is small enough that you could move it from venue to venue without much effort,” says Theisen.

Ion’s next assignment at Muhlenberg will be the spring show, Shakespeare’s Love’s Labor’s Lost, followed by summer schoolwork on Muhlenberg’s productions of Kiss Me Kate and Tommy.

For more information on ETC and its products, visit the USITT tradeshow (booth #620), March 20-22, 2008, in Houston, TX.

ETC trains Hollywood pros

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:47:18 GMT

ETC West hosted IATSE Local 728 recently in a product training session at ETC’s 6640 Sunset Boulevard office in Los Angeles. Over the course of four days, ETC’s Alan Falkner and David Hilton worked with Tony Stefani and Tim Guion of ETC Sales Rep MPA to host over 40 union members in specialized trainings at the beginning of February. This was the first time many had sat in front of ETC’s new Ion® console – and it was enjoyed by novice and veteran lighting professionals alike.
This was also an ideal opportunity for people to pump up their Sensor®+ CEM+ dimming and Net3™ networking skills, with ETC experts on hand.

Classes were brimming full and well received. Attendees included professional programmers for such films as Planet of the Apes, Constantine, and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, as well as TV shows like Reba and Grey’s Anatomy.

ETC Congo™ jr volunteer-friendly at Illinois church

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:57:20 GMT

Photo ©Jim Kumorek, courtesy of Church Production magazine

Harvest Bible Chapel, an 11,000-parishioner church spread out across four campuses in Illinois, enhances its worship with a state-of-the art ETC lighting system. Parishioners who attend services on Saturday and Sunday in Elgin, IL, are treated to a variety of lighting looks, courtesy of ETC’s Source Four® fixtures, Sensor® dimming, and Unison® architectural controls, with a Congo jr console controlling theatrical lighting.

As the church was being built, a plan was in the works for a basic four-point lighting plot, but Harvest soon figured out that they would need a bigger, more feature-rich system. Director of Production and weekend-service Lighting Designer Keith Neubert, says, “As the build process proceeded, we really felt it important to add flexibility to the system to accommodate special events, as well as to add semi-intelligent fixtures for color and pattern changes.”

Harvest looked for a lighting control console that would accommodate the different levels of tech staff, keep up with the growth the church is experiencing, and offer advanced functionality for events like Christmas and Easter services. They decided on the Congo jr with a Master Playback Wing. “We really wanted the console to be flexible enough to do complicated shows with moving lights with relative ease,’ says Neubert, “but simple enough for our volunteers to operate on a weekly basis.”

During the week, Neubert does most of the programming and then readies the master section for the volunteers to use during weekend services. “I have it set up so that they basically have a section dedicated to colors with various looks, and a separate section for all of the front lighting,” he says. “All they have to do is push faders up and down. It makes the whole process very easy for any operator.”

Cool features aside, a lighting system has to be counted on to work at every service. “ETC’s product reputation and reliability were the driving force behind our decision to purchase ETC equipment,” says Neubert. Harvest’s volunteers are also assured backup if they run into any problem: ETC’s 24-hour customer and technical support will be on call to help keep the system running smoothly.

Safety first at Royal Albert Hall with ETC

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:57:17 GMT

Technicians at the Royal Albert Hall will no longer have to don safety harnesses and be hoisted 90 feet into the air to focus lighting fixtures, thanks to the safe thinking of senior technical manager Luke Manning, who has replaced conventionals with moving lights like ETC’s Source Four® Revolutions.

Luke explains: “The principal reason we’ve upgraded our conventional heads to intelligent units is for health and safety reasons. The whole industry has a duty to improve working conditions and to reduce the risk of accidents wherever possible.” The reason for the choice of Revolutions, he says, is because of their tungsten lamp: “Finding an intelligent wash light isn’t too difficult, there are plenty of those around, but orchestras that come in here demand tungsten for its color.”

ETC's fixtures product manager Tom Littrell adds: “The Source Four is the most efficient tungsten fixture for entertainment lighting, given its high performance lamp and a dichroic ellipsoidal reflector that pushes more light out of the front and heat out of the back. This means a 750W Source Four is as bright as a 1200W unit with condenser optics from competitors.”

The Royal Albert Hall, says Luke, “hosts over 360 shows a year, from classical music to rock and pop concerts, jazz and world music to tennis and opera and ballet to corporate dinners, film premieres, and circuses. The Hall is very versatile and can have a show loading out one day and loading in for the next show the following day. So technicians would be in the rig refocusing lights at 2:00am – never a good time to have to concentrate at heights.

“Some of the promoters who have been in since we’ve changed to the new equipment have noticed the new look. While we’ve not told them specifically what the changes are, they’ve noticed and appreciated that we’re able to deliver better lighting in a shorter time frame.”

In total the Hall uses 100 intelligent lighting fixtures, with focusing now carried out in minutes instead of hours.

ETC at a spring tradeshow near you!

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:26:50 GMT

Given the number of tradeshows around the globe where ETC will exhibit this spring, you’re almost guaranteed to find one near you where you can see ETC’s new lighting products firsthand.

At the spring tradeshows, ETC will be showing off Congo v5.0, a major new software release for the Congo™ lighting control console. Congo v5.0 features a powerhouse effects package including Chase, Dynamic and Content Effects. Also included in v5.0 are over 100 changes and enhancements, many suggested by users in the field. Congo v5.0 software is compatible with all Congo products including the Congo jr control console, Congo Light Server, Congo Client and Net3™ Remote Video Interface.

Also on hand at the spring shows will be ETC’s new SmartFade® ML lighting board with SmartSoft™. SmartFade ML handles up to 24 moving lights and 48 intensity channels (dimmers), making this little board perfect for small-scale productions. SmartSoft software, free from ETC’s Web site, adds visuals to the power of SmartFade ML, giving users the ability to view, build and edit show data.

You’ll also have the chance to demo ETC’s newest console – Ion® – which boasts the award-winning Eos®-family power, operational style and ease of use. Only 19” wide, Ion provides integrated control of conventional and moving lights, making it a perfect solution for ambitious but space-challenged productions.

ETC will be at these tradeshows in Spring 2008:

Prolight + Sound
Frankfurt, Germany
March 12 – 15
Hall 9.0, Stand #B80
Fill out a questionnaire to take part in a daily giveaway of an ETC SmartFade ML board!

USITT
Houston, TX
March 20 – 22
Booth #620
Get an Ion T-shirt and other swag when you visit ETC’s booth!

En Coulisse
Montreal, Canada
April 2 – 3

SIB
Rimini, Italy
April 5 – 8
Hall C7, Stand #123
Enter the drawing to win an ETC SmartFade ML control console!

NAB
Las Vegas, NV
April 14 – 17
Booth #C8215

We hope to see you there!

ETC offers LDI 2008 Student Sponsorships!

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:10:57 GMT

For the ninth year, ETC is taking a deserving group of college students to LDI. Continuing the company’s dedication to education, ETC will award six students all-expense-paid trips to the 2008 LDI tradeshow in Las Vegas, Nevada, October 17 - 19. Undergraduate seniors and graduate students in lighting design, theater technology, or closely related fields are encouraged to apply. The sponsorship includes roundtrip airfare to the tradeshow, hotel accommodations, all meals, a full conference pass, an exclusive student reception, and great ETC swag. Recipients will check out the latest in entertainment technology, rub elbows with veteran luminaries of the industry, meet talented peers, and go behind-the-LDI-scenes with ETC.

Download an application here: http://www.etcconnect.com/docs/misc/LDI-08-Sponsorship-app.pdf.

NOTE: The Sponsorship application deadline is April 30, 2008.

ETC LDI-Sponsorship alumni shine
ETC sponsorship alumni have accomplished great things using the experience they gained at LDI. Alumnus M. Scott Grabau (ETC LDI ‘class of 2002’), who teaches at Grossmont College in El Cajon, California, was awarded the Patté Award for Theater Excellence in 2007 for the lighting design he did on the North Coast Repertory's production of Dracula. Andrew Cissna, a 2005 alumnus, is a freelance lighting designer based out of Washington, D.C., and has worked on many shows including as an assistant lighting designer to Stan Pressner for Robert Bly's adaptation of Peer Gynt at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis. Alumnus DJ Selmeyer (2005) is a lighting designer-in-residence for the Arizona Broadway Theatre in Peoria, Arizona, and also handles lighting for the Phoenix Coyotes NHL hockey team. Ian Garrett (2006) teaches a class at CalArts about integrating ecologically sustainable solutions into theatrical production. In 2007, he was awarded the Sherwood Award from the Center Theater Group and will be consulting with them on the renovation of Los Angeles’ Mark Taper Forum, helping to decrease its carbon footprint.

Young Frankenstein comes to life with help of ETC Eos lighting control

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:58:51 GMT

In that electrifyingly hilarious moment when the monster is shocked to life in the current Broadway production of Young Frankenstein, no effect is spared in Peter Kaczorowski’s lighting design. The stage visuals are achieved by a creative combination of projection, conventional and moving lights, with the elaborate automated rig controlled by an ETC Eos® system.

Young Frankenstein’s extensive light plot is based around a mix of 120 Mac 2Ks – including Performances, Profiles and some washes. “Eos is great for handling a large rig like this,” says Josh Weitzman, moving light programmer for Young Frankenstein. “It has unique new tools that help you manage that size of rig and work really quickly.”

Young Frankenstein’s opening scene features dramatic flashes of lightning, which involve the use of both projection and lighting. “With projection,” explains Weitzman, “you can’t change the color temperature of the lightning bolt; you’re limited to the tone the image is. So we layered the moving lights on top of the video projection. That gave us a great deal more control – in intensity of color, in terms of strobing. I could make the light linger beyond the image without having to re-render the whole video. Similarly, in the play’s hayride scene, we were able to enhance the image and effect of the moon – deepening its tones, changing its textures, all by controlling the light that is layered over the video projection. And that kind of manipulation of light requires a versatile console like Eos.”

Of Eos’ new tools, Weitzman finds the Query function especially time-saving and helpful: “Let’s say you have a palette that’s called “Monster Down Left.” You can hit Query and then select that palette button, and it will grab all of the lights that are pointed at “Monster Down Left,” and you can then change the colors in them all at once – or change some other parameter. There might be different combinations and conditions used to build the query. You can then select any or all of the lights that meet the condition you describe.”

Weitzman finds Eos’s Trace button another indispensable tool for working on a production like Young Frankenstein: “I use this feature so much I can’t believe I programmed for years without it. It saves so much time. If you’re halfway through a scene and you decide with the designer that the lights should really be green here not blue, you can take that light to ‘green Trace’ and that change will go back to where the color was originally set. You don’t even need to know what cue number you had stored that color in.”

As Weitzman attests, it’s the nature of any production that many changes are made, both in the compressed preparation for the show and during its previews, until the ideal design solutions are found. “The better the board is able to accommodate you, the freer you are to try different things,” says Weitzman. “If it’s effortless, you find yourself trying many creative permutations. Being able to do them quickly in real time with the designer and the director looking on gives you the chance to try out more things than you otherwise would if you didn’t have the confidence to do things quickly. In the end you have a better production.”

This is a musical, of course, so the pacing of the lighting must also complement dance numbers. Says Weitzman, “Eos was a big part of making that work easily. You’re able to group fixtures together into parts of a cue. And then when they make an inevitable change in the choreography, and you have to change time or something like that, you can do that quickly and easily without affecting what the rest of the rig is doing. That’s pretty cool.”

The amount of interaction between the lighting, sound and music departments on Young Frankenstein was extensive -- to coordinate things like lightning bolts, thunder effects and crescendos in the music. “Eos is often controlling the sound board, firing the sound effects, and the sound board is sometimes controlling the light board, and then they’re switching back and forth. Again, Eos was a piece of cake using ETC’s new Net3 Show Control Gateway to talk flexibly between all these different things.”

Opened on Broadway, at the Hilton on November 8th, 2007, Young Frankenstein is a happy spectacle seeking monstrously memorable effects. The production continues to sell out seats and reap praise for its dazzling stagecraft and complex lighting design.

Photo credit: Paul Kolnik

New ETC sales rep for Hawaii

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 18:41:55 GMT

ETC has welcomed a new representative for its Hawaiian sales region: Sunburst Designs, Inc., Honolulu, effective as of late January 2008.

“Sunburst has the depth of expertise and the customer-centric ethic that ETC expects from its representatives,” says Randy Pybas, ETC West Coast Regional Manager. Sunburst’s principals and owners Peter Dawson and John Hunt have been serving the Hawaiian and south-pacific lighting market since 1975, providing customer support and expertise, specification work, pricing quotations and sales demo calls to the industry. Sunburst Design’s project credentials include major performing arts centers and some of the largest resort hotels in the Hawaiian islands.

Beyond sales calls, Sunburst sponsors specifying engineer/architect/designer seminars each year in Hawaii, presenting a comprehensive look at manufacturer product lines and new technological concepts. These popular seminars are held over a two to three day period, with anywhere from fifty to seventy attendees per session.

Says Pybas, “We are pleased to be working with Sunburst Designs and also look forward to new beginnings in the Hawaiian market.”

Sunburst Designs contact information:
Sunburst Designs, Inc.
2850 PAA ST, Suite 145
Honolulu, Hawaii 96819
Telephone: 808 / 847-1960
Email: (first name)@sunburstdesigns.com