ETC celebrates at PLASA

ETC is celebrating winning the only Gold PLASA Award for Innovation at last week's PLASA London show. The Eos® software version 2.3 provides unprecedented colour control options for LED fixtures, including abstract colour spaces and fade tools, allowing users to adapt their workflows in this constantly evolving art form. Giving the Gold award, the judges described the software, which also provides access to the OSC protocol for the first time, as "a game-changer."

The control desk itself was busy on the stand throughout the three day show, with Product Manager Anne Valentino giving hands-on demonstrations.

On the stand

Also popular on the ETC stand was the new ColorSource® Spot fixture, and the new ColorSource Relay and Transmitter . ColorSource Spot follows the launch of the hugely popular ColorSource PAR , which marries RGB emitters with lime, completing gaps in the spectrum to provide high quality lighting for venues on a tight budget. ColorSource Relay and Transmitter, meanwhile, transform small-system design, by combining power control and wireless data in a budget-friendly, effective package.

Cobalt® and Eos Programming Wings were also seen for the first time, bringing powerful and programming power in a small, portable package. The systems allow programmers to travel with a physical control surface, in combination with an ETCnomad™ system .

A separate stand across the aisle was dedicated to ETC Rigging™ , which was displayed at PLASA for the first time.

Seminars

In the seminar areas, ETC's Jeremy Roberts discussed how the company has been working on improving the control of colour changing fixtures, with the aim of making LED lighting as natural and easy to use as tungsten; and Luke Delwiche led a seminar showing how OSC can be used to bring lighting to life. A free one day workshop covering the topic in greater detail is set to be held at ETC's London offices on 23 October; for more information, please visit the training and events section of the ETC website.

ETC also brought their popular student sessions from USITT and LDI to the PLASA show on Monday evening. Students were able to ask about the future of lighting control and product development, as well as about training and work opportunities.

Also winning

There were other winners at the show, with student Robert Butler given a £250 ETC Award at the Michael Northern Bursary presentation; and ETC's Luke Delwiche and Sarah Clausen presented a cheque for almost £20,000 to the Behind the Scenes charity, following sales of the iRFR and aRFR mobile apps .

At the Knights of Illumination Awards presentation, which was held on Sunday evening, ETC's CEO Fred Foster was presented with the Lifetime Recognition Award. When he won the Wally Russell Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007, the judges said that his "visionary leadership has propelled ETC into the top rank of the world's leading manufacturers of stage lighting equipment." This time, the judges commented that they wanted to celebrate "his astounding influence on performance lighting technology and the innovations achieved with his colleagues at ETC." 

Lighting designer Durham Marenghi said the judges "wanted to recognise Fred's support of theatre across the board from training and all the way through to manufacturing."

The developer of the acclaimed ETC Source Four® luminaire and lamp , David Cunningham, also won a Gotellier Award at the PLASA show. Although he has never been directly employed by ETC, the independent inventor also worked closely with the company on Sensor® dimming and the x7 Color System™. Fred Foster collected the award on his behalf.

ETC's next trade show outing will be at LDI in Las Vegas, 23-25 October, with another chance to see ETC's newest products. In addition, ETC's Education and Training Specialist Tom Littrell will give a Master Class, 50 Shades of R80 , which goes beyond his popular 'Layers of Light' presentation to open up a world of colour control, allowing you to experience new LED colour sensations.