4 Nov, 2019 | ETC
Model railways, with their enduring charm, remind us of an
America before the Interstate system and airline travel. As the full-scale
versions struggle to survive, their legacy is kept alive by enthusiasts who
combine architectural, electrical, and scenic skills to amazing effect.
When programmer Zach Moore got the call from Laura Green of Kinetic
Lighting (Glendale, CA) to work on the Pasadena Model Railroad Museum, he could
not have been more delighted. “I love trains and lately I have really got into
Echo programming,” he said. This was the perfect opportunity to combine them
both.
Founded in 1940, the Pasadena Model Railway Museum is a
Mecca for model and railway enthusiasts from all over the world. It inhabits a
5,000-square-foot building in Los Angeles. (Yes, they know. They moved decades
ago, but the name stuck.) The Museum is the home of the Sierra Pacific Lines,
an HO-scale model railroad that is one of the largest in the world.
The scale of the project is impressive: the main line
stretches nearly 1,700 feet (28-scale miles) between Alhambra and Zion. It
takes trains about an hour to traverse under normal speeds and traffic
conditions. The principle yards at Alhambra, Midway, and Zion can store about
2,000 cars. The railroad requires more than 20 operators to fully staff the
yards, branch line, and industries.
Members of the Museum went to Kinetic Lighting’s Annual Open
House looking for an LED upgrade lighting and control solution and a dynamic
way to create more colors, effects, and dimming. At first they decided to
replace 14 fluorescent strips with Rosco VariColor units and control four basic
looks with an ETC Echo system. But the job quickly grew in scope. Soon, Moore
found himself building and programming a hybrid system.
Using an Echo button station and scene controller to send
DMX signal to a Mosaic Show Controller, Moore programmed a 35-minute sequence
that encompassed changes in the light from sunrise to sunset and included a
wave of clouds that passes over the model. “With high overhead angles, the
challenge was to create motion within the cues,” says Moore.
To intensify the color saturation of the sunsets, Moore
introduced four new colors into the crossfade. Strobe and thunder-clap effects
are triggered independently by the train dispatcher who controls the lighting
and audio sequences.
Moore’s background as a train enthusiast with extensive
theme park experience made him the perfect choice for the job. A native of
Boston, he graduated from Cal Arts, became the resident lighting designer at
Magic Mountain and has worked for Universal, Disney and a series of corporate
shows. “I own a couple of ETC Gios and I like to keep them – and myself – very
busy.”
31 Oct, 2019 | Dynacord, Electro-Voice
Founded and organized by Eric Clapton, the Crossroads Guitar Festival
is a two-day music event and trade show that benefits the Crossroads
Centre substance-abuse rehabilitation facility in Antigua. The 2019
edition was held at American Airlines Center in Dallas, with the indoor
arena augmented by an all-day outdoor Village Stage featuring special
guests and surprise performances in a master clinic format, sponsored by
Ernie Ball.
The sound system for the Village Stage was an
Electro-Voice X-Line Advance X2 line-array loudspeaker system, powered
by the latest Dynacord DSP amplifiers. Notable performers included John
Mayer, Eric Johnson, Joe Robinson, Andy Timmons and Paul Reed Smith. The
system was supplied by Gulf Coast Sound (Rayne, LA), with owner Larry
Habetz doing most of the mixing for crowds of up to 5,000. Electro-Voice
applications engineer Mike Reynolds was on hand as system tech.
The
main PA consisted of twin nine-box arrays of X2-212/120, supported by
eight ground-stacked X12-128 dual 18” subwoofers. Two EVC-1082
loudspeakers were deployed as front fills. The system was powered by
seven of the new TGX20 DSP amplifiers by Dynacord, which enabled 96 kHz
Dante audio with full redundancy. System monitoring and control were
handled via Dynacord’s new SONICUE sound system software. Two Dynacord
IPX10:8 multi-channel DSP amps powered the stage wedges.
On stage,
the microphone deployment was also Electro-Voice based, with ND76 and
ND86 dynamic vocal mics, and the ND44 handling the critical guitar amp
duties. Drum mics included the ND44 and ND46 on snare and toms, ND66
overheads, and ND68 on kick drum.
Larry Habetz reports that the
system was very well received by both artists and audiences. “The great
thing about this system is that it’s accurate and transparent,” he says.
“This show is all about tone, and the X2 really lets it shine. All
these artists have their own distinctive sound. Our job was to deliver
that sound accurately, and this EV line array makes that possible. We
had nothing but compliments all weekend.”
Guitarist Paul Reed
Smith, founder and Managing General Partner of PRS Guitars, was in the
unique position of hearing the FOH mix from his display area, then
experiencing the monitor system on stage. “While performing on the
outside stage at the Crossroads Festival and not knowing the brand of
line array and monitors, the people I performed with and other famous
musicians who played on the same stage, commented very positively on the
quality of the sound of the gear,” he notes. “I subsequently asked the
front of the house engineer and owner of the sound company what brand of
gear they were using ‘cause I liked it so much. They said it’s an EV
system. Nice job!”
Larry Habetz notes that the accuracy and
responsiveness of the Electro-Voice and Dynacord system is a perfect
match for an event like Crossroads Guitar Festival. “The X2 system gives
you the truth, and the new Dynacord amps really take it to the next
level in terms of efficiency and system control,” he reports. “Once we
were up and running, I knew we were in a great place sonically. But when
a tone legend like Paul Reed Smith compliments your sound from the
stage, it says a lot. That made it a great weekend, both for me and EV.”
24 Oct, 2019 | ETC, High End Systems
High End Systems has announced the launch of the
SolaPix 7 and SolaPix 19 wash luminaires. The SolaPix family takes the
traditional concept of a pixel wash and pushes it to its maximum potential.
With a wide variety of looks to help set the mood and steal the show, SolaPix
features an additive LED, RGBW colour mixing system for extremely powerful
saturated colours and tunable white control, a versatile 4.5° – 60° zoom range,
FleX Effects Engine and Pixel mapping on all models.
HES national sales manager Sean Hoey commented, “We
are excited to bring this new fixture range to market. SolaPix is truly an
innovative wash fixture. It provides incredible wash capability with great
output, and the face of the fixture brings a new, unique look.”
Automated Lighting Product Manager Matt Stoner added,
“Ever since High End Systems created the pixel wash with our ShowPix fixture,
it has been an integral part of lighting rigs of all types. The SolaPix family
builds on this technology by introducing new optics and next-generation
brightness in a fixture that is far more versatile than ever before. The
lenses and efficiency have been maximised, plus the size and footprint have
been minimised. SolaPix also features HaloGraphic Pixel definition, the newest
patent-pending innovation from High End Systems.”
“The fixture’s FleX Effects Generator is a macro
system that allows users to choose from a library of different patterns; once
selected, up to three colours can be selected for use in the pattern.
These patterns will display over the background of the fixture, which is also
completely user-controllable. Effect speed and fade rate add the final
touches, giving the user a massive level of control for fixture face looks.”
23 Oct, 2019 | Symetrix
Boasting nearly two dozen locations, plus ATMs in even more spots, in May 2019 Bank Iowa opened a new corporate headquarters in West Des Moines, Iowa. The new facility accommodates training, meetings, and administrative offices for departments such as accounting and Internet banking, and offers such workspace perks as art from the owners’ extensive collection and desks operated with a mobile app.
To design and install up-to-date AV systems that would support its current needs and provide for future expansion, the bank brought in Iowa Audio Video (IAV) of neighboring Clive, Iowa. Drawing on the experience of countless previous designs, IAV owner James Harle specified digital signal processors from Symetrix to route audio and control the facility’s systems. “They wanted us to meet AV needs for two training rooms, a boardroom, huddle space TVs throughout the building, and sound making for the whole facility,” details IAV Operations Manager Mike Holmberg, who managed the install and programmed and commissioned the system.
The large training room and the board room are managed by a Symetrix Radius AEC processor. The training room is equipped with six Audio-Technical ES933 hanging ceiling mics, taking advantage of Radius AEC’s dedicated wideband acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) processing, zero-latency direct outputs, and discrete references per AEC channel. In the boardroom, two Shure MXA310 table array microphones send up to five channels of audio each over a Dante network to the Symetrix DSP.
The Radius AEC’s basic audio duties are supplemented by facility control tasks normally performed by a wall-mounted control panel. Rather than executing triggers and commands, the RTI KX7 touch panel passes them to the Radius AEC for execution. “We’ve paired the RTI controllers with Symetrix processors many times,” Holmberg comments. “It’s very simple to get them to work together, and everything went smoothly.”
A Symetrix Radius NX 12×8 DSP with 12 analog inputs and 8 analog outputs controls the small training room system. This system has two Audio-Technica ES933 hanging ceiling mics and a Audio-Technica belt-pack wireless mic for hands-free presentations. A belt-pack wireless mic from the large training room also feeds to this Radius NX 12×8. The two Symetrix DSPs are linked via Dante, enabling the NX 12×8 to share the Radius AEC’s acoustic echo cancellation for the wireless systems.
The training rooms and boardroom are set up for Skype or other video conferencing, and their respective Symetrix processors are tied together for cooperative applications. The boardroom and each of the training rooms are set up as separate zones in the DSPs. The huddle space TVs receive control signals from the Symetrix units, but not audio, so they do not need to be assigned to audio zones. Audio outputs from the Symetrix processors run in the analog domain to Crown amplifiers, which drive Bose FreeSpace speakers.
Video is distributed though the spaces using Just Add Power products, so all video travels as HD-over-Ethernet. As with the audio, RTI controllers provide users with a visual interface, but the Symetrix processors do all of the stream management. “It’s nice, with the Symetrix, to have a product that I can deploy and have it just do everything for me,” remarks Holmberg appreciatively.
Rather than hide away all of its shiny new AV and IT equipment, Bank Iowa decided instead to feature it. “The building is more or less designed around the IT rack and room, which is kind of a showpiece,” Holmberg describes. “It’s glass-enclosed and situated right in the middle of the main area. Bank Iowa brought in a muralist to paint a mural on one of the back walls, which is made of drywall, not glass, and the racks are backlit with blue LEDs, so they glow.”
IAV turns time and again to Symetrix to anchor their systems for reasons that go beyond the products’ broad functionality. “We probably have several hundred Symetrix units installed,” reports Holmberg. “The reason we use Symetrix is that it’s stable, the audio quality is very good, and the service from tech support, when we need it, has been great. I love working in the Symetrix Composer software, and with so many Symetrix units in the field, the fact the products are so stable makes them one less thing for us to worry about on a bigger project.”
21 Oct, 2019 | ETC
The
Festival de Nederlandse Dansdagen (Dutch Dance Festival) is recognised
internationally as the main event for dance in the Netherlands and 20
ETC
Source Four LED Series 2 luminaires were used to light the performances
during the festival this October.
The
six day event invites dance companies from all over the country with
styles varying from ballet to urban, avant-garde to modern dance and
performance
art. It welcomes a national and international audience and also
presents its own productions including Bloedbanden, dansMuseum and Club
Tweak.
Theater
aan het Vriithof, based in the south east city of Maastricht, hosts
acclaimed performances such as the National Ballet as well as a youth
dance day that caters for all ages and audiences throughout the
festival.
The
venue traditionally used 10 booms with conventional tungsten profiles
as side lights but the technical team at the Dutch Dance Festival found
the frequent changes of colours particularly challenging for so many
shows. For the 2019 edition of the festival, they wanted to replace
these profiles with ETC LED fixtures.
“Our
wish for the 2019 edition of the festival was to replace the
traditional profiles with LED fixtures. It would save time and give all
the Dutch
dance companies the opportunity to work with the newest technology
which we were able to achieve with ETC,” says Marijcke Voorsluijs,
technical director of the Festival de Nederlandse Dansdagen.
When
testing each side light boom using two ETC Source Four LED Series 2
profiles and one traditional par can, the lighting designers from the
dance
companies were convinced that the Lustrs would create the atmosphere
that their pieces needed whilst also eliminating gel changes between
pieces.
“As
the largest dance festival in the Netherlands we bring innovation and
sustainability to the audience but also provide a space where all dance
companies can meet and exchange ideas. We’re proud to encourage them to
broaden their horizon whilst using the latest LED technology by ETC
alongside traditional lighting fixtures,” remarks Marijcke.
10 Oct, 2019 | ETC
The Rossini
Opera Festival (ROF) is an international music festival held in August
of each year in Pesaro, Italy, the birthplace of
the opera composer Gioachino
Rossini. The festival – and its technical team – have always paid close
attention to technical innovation, often leading new trends in the
field of operatic lighting.
“Here
we’ve experienced the whole journey of theatrical lighting, starting
forty years ago with analogue systems, incandescent or discharge
sources. Then there was the transition to digital, the advent of the
scroller, the first scanners, the yoke, the moving head and now we have
LEDs used to their full capabilities,” says Fabio Rossi, head of the
festival’s lighting department.
For
an event like the Rossini Festival, where almost all the shows are like
intricate works of art, the technical equipment used is of
utmost importance. “The products used must be silent, high quality,
versatile and, above all, reliable,” continues Rossi. “The equipment is
subjected to intensive use, it must remain operative for up to sixteen
hours a day, for more than two consecutive months
in rather high ambient temperatures. In this context, the console – the
heart of the system – must be absolutely guaranteed to work reliably.”
Serendipity
played a crucial role in the inclusion of ETC’s Gio @5 lighting console
in the festival. “My personal encounter with Eos was
rather fortuitous,” says Rossi. “I was working in a theatre in Eastern
Europe and a series of unexpected events meant I found myself working on
an ETC Gio, without ever having seen one before. In about an hour I was
able to configure it and have enough control
to do exactly what I needed. This eventually led to Gio @5 becoming our
core system here.”
Gio
@5 is a powerful and versatile console, which takes full advantage of
the features offered by Eos software, albeit in a compact package.
“The features that convinced us to choose an Eos system over other
brands are the simplicity of programming; the cue management system, the
particularly high-performance tracking system; but most importantly the
color management,” concludes Rossi.
During
the course of the festival, several people were tasked with operating
the console and their experiences were overwhelmingly positive.
“The system appeared stable and well organized, the learning curve was
fast and I immediately realized that Gio @5 offers a wide choice of
options,” says operator Alberto Cannoni.
“The
network configuration and the patch were simple and immediate. In
recording and editing the cues I found the pleasure of working
with a machine that meets the classic needs of a theatre console.
Working in Blind also represents a quick and effective solution for
tracking,” concludes Andrea Valentini.
