When executing a successful lighting design, the question of color is often considered near the end of the process, and in some ways, it seems to make sense. We first ask ourselves, what’s my budget? Which fixtures do I have? What are my hang positions? And then, finally, what color should those fixtures be? In this class replay from CUE 2022, Declan Randall, ETC Training Program Coordinator, challenges that idea. He’ll show you why if you care about light, you should care about color from the very first moment.
Color does not exist without light
We only see color because of light and how an object reflects that light to our eyes. So, it stands to reason that controlling that light is incredibly important. As a designer, you want to decide why you change light, how you change light, when you change light, and its native source. Your design success is ultimately tied to your level of light and color control. Choosing a fixture that gives you the options you need to control the light in a way that fits your needs is more important than ever. And having a console that works with your fixtures is equally important.
Since LED fixtures came on the market, we’ve started thinking about color differently. With LEDs, you start with nothing and build up, adding color and intensity as you go. The more of the spectrum you have available, the more you’re able to add, and the better your light will render on the objects you have – costumes, scenery, backdrops, etc. With LED fixtures, you are now able to manipulate color to a degree of precision that was never possible with gel. And that’s really exciting.
Fixtures and console control
If you were to connect the same lighting fixture to different manufacturers’ consoles and then select a standard color – Lee 201 or Rosco 58, for example, you’ll start to see how drastically control options vary. This is because some consoles are only capable of calculating color based on RGB values. They ignore any extra emitters because they’re not capable of processing the extra color information beyond an RGB array. With other consoles, spectral data and intensity are ignored. These variances in control make a big difference in how you’re able to reproduce color on your stage. Without even realizing it, you may be missing out on features that limit the performance of your fixtures and your design.
“If you care about light, then you must care about color too. And thanks to the selection of ETC consoles, these tools are available for everyone -not just Broadway and The West End.”
Start with white light
In this class, Declan will take you back to the beginning and talk about how white light is created. Using that same formula, he then dives into other colors and how each is created within different fixtures. You’ll quickly see that not only does the array matter, but how you control the array, matters too. The “color recipes” that make up light are called metamers. And while metamers are not new, the way we are able to control them is.
Watch the full session below to learn more about the benefits of changing metamers to improve your design.
Harry Potter fans may recognize the Glenfinnan viaduct, as it was part of the scenery in the Harry Potter films showing the Hogwarts Express puffing through the beautiful landscape of the Scottish Highlands. But there is another famous connection, the Glenfinnan Highland Gathering, which features a traditional program including highland dancing, athletics, caber tossing, heavy weight events, bagpiping and more.
To provide optimal sound reinforcement with defined directivity for the large event area, Glasgow based rental partner The Stage Group opted for the high-output MTS point-source loudspeaker systems. As if by magic, only two MTS loudspeakers driven by one IPX20:4 power amplifier delivered crystal clear commentary, music, announcements and vocals across the large six-acre site.
Open Air Gampel in the middle of the alps is one of the biggest live music events in Switzerland. The four-day festival near Bern presented a popular lineup of top acts such as Sido, Mark Forster and Robin Schulz, attracting up to 30,000 attendees at the end of August. Since its foundation in 1986, local rental company FreepowerEventtechnik is in charge of the sound reinforcement for all stages of the festival. The team once again relied on a powerful combination of Electro-Voice X2 line-array loudspeakers powered by Dynacord TGX series amplifiers.
The main sound system for the White Stage saw a total of 30 X2 line-array elements plus 24 X12-128 subwoofers driven by four SR20-TGX system racks from Dynacord. The 10U TGX system rack is preconfigured with three TGX20 DSP amplifiers plus two independent network switches for glitch-free operation and offers a variety of professional features such as integrated sliding rack doors, customizable I/O options, and a reversible mounting for the power distribution. SONICUE Sound System Software handled quick and comprehensive configuration and control of the entire PA.
Suzhou Bay Cultural Center is located at the shore of Lake Tai in Suzhou of China, and adjacent to the Taihu New Town CBD. It is one of the signature development projects initiated by the city through the Wujiang Lakefront Masterplan. The 215,000 square-meter center consists of two wings, the Suzhou Opera House on the north side, and Wujiang Exhibition Center on the south.
The two magnificent buildings are connected by a long rooftop ribbon-like arch. This huge ribbon waves and intertwines from the north wing to the south, forming a giant figure eight. With patterns of rotating geometry, this architectural feature is visible from afar. The ribbon represents the silk and water sleeves of the Kunqu Opera, and evokes the cultural richness of the city. It also serves as a bridge for pedestrians to enjoy the spectacular view of Lake Tai and the heart of Suzhou CBD. Suzhou Bay Cultural Center has symbolized successful economic and cultural development, marking a milestone for the city.
The north wing features an Opera House, a black-box theatre hall, rehearsal rooms, art space, cinemas, and restaurants. The Opera House is an international opera theatre which has a 1600-seat capacity. Different from the neatly arranged auditoriums of a traditional theatre, this Opera House adopts an asymmetrical design. The seating area on the upper deck is designed like several small petals stacked on top of each other. The petal-like auditorium is a unique and poetic design that brings the audiences a natural immersive and enjoyable experience. The theatre hall serves as a multi-function black-box theatre which has a capacity of 600 seats. The stage setting and auditorium will be specially arranged based on the requirement of each performance.
ETC gear including consoles, luminaires, dimmers, and networking systems are installed in the Opera House and theatre hall. Two Gio consoles with 24K outputs are installed in the Opera House, and two Gio @5 consoles with 4K outputs are used to control the lighting of the theatre hall. The venue owner was impressed by the powerful magic sheet functionality which makes managing the fixture layout, and control and programming of buttons, faders, colors, and gobos, easier. The magic sheets also provide flexibility for the user to adjust the control to fit the needs of a variety of performances.
To enjoy world-class power and dimming control, ETC’s Sensor3 ThruPower Dimmer and Relay modules are installed in the venues. These modules popular in the theatrical industry as they are famous for their reliability and stability for smoothly controlling the intensity of all types of fixtures. Using the Sensor3 ThruPower module enables users to switch freely between constant circuits, on/off switching with true air-gap relays, and dimming of the lighting loads.
Luminaries from ETC have been recognized as the standard lighting fixtures in the industry and are widely used in theatres. This is the reason that Suzhou Bay Cultural Center selected Source Four LED Series 2 and ColorSource Spot fixture with CYC adapters as the stage lighting of the Opera House and theatre hall. The lighting designer found Source Four LED Series 2 favorable as it brings high brightness from a variety of positions while having a low power consumption, thanks to the LED light engine. The lighting designer was also amazed by the rich and smooth wash of color brought by ColorSource which can enhance the moods of every scene.
To have a reliable data distribution for all lighting technology in the venue, Response Mk2 DMX Gateways from ETC are installed to securely connect the sACN network to the DMX runs. They are also interoperable as it meets the industry-standard protocols such as ANSI E1.31 (sACN) and ANSI E1.20 (RDM) using standard Ethernet cabling and infrastructure. Response Mk2 DMX Gateways once again impressed the venue owner as they offer a powerful, fast, and stable data distribution by the use of ETC’s network technology.
ETC was honored to be selected to offer a comprehensive range of lighting technology to Suzhou Bay Cultural Center and be part of the city’s cultural and artistic development journey.
Photo credit: Suzhou Bay Cultural Center and Hangzhou YiDaShi Technology Development Co., Ltd.
Bielsko-Biała, Poland, July 2022 – An extensive public address system from Electro-Voice and Dynacord has been installed at Cavatina Hall. Located in the vibrant, historic city of Bielsko-Biała, amongst the Beskidy mountains in southern Poland, the six-story building counts over 9,000 square meters of top-tier office space, a cutting-edge recording studio, a chamber music room and a majestic 1,000 capacity concert hall. The venue itself is owned by leading Polish development company Cavatina and is the first privately owned and funded concert hall in Poland.
As a large, multi-use facility Cavatina Hall required an extensive solution to cover public address across its various areas. This needed to be flexible enough to meet the differing needs of office workers and theatregoers and led to Audio Plus, the company responsible for the coordination and co-designers of the solution, turning to the extensive Electro-Voice and Dynacord portfolio.
The heart of this solution is electronics from Dynacord, with an MXE5 Matrix Mix Engine alongside an IPX10:8 power amplifier. IPX multi-channel amplifiers are dedicated for fixed installations and offer sophisticated speaker processing. IPX also features Dynacord’s unique variable load drive (VLD) technology. For each channel, the user can determine whether Low-Z or High-Z 70V/100V loudspeakers are driven without the need for an output transformer via direct drive technology. The IPX10:8 was the perfect choice for this project due to its ability to harness this technology across eight channels.
“The IPX 10:8 is at the core of the sound system – we wanted something that was technically optimal in terms of control and this amp allows each channel to be individually operated, along with analog inputs from Dante and OCA via OMNEO network inputs – it’s a highly flexible solution for us,” explains Stanisław Mielczarek, Tech Support Engineer, Audio Plus. “MXE5 was chosen as it’s a universal processor that complements other systems in Cavatina Hall – through SONICUE Sound System Software. It integrates perfectly for this kind of project – allowing us to have full control of the entire system of signal routing and signal processing for public address speakers.” adds Tomasz Ibrom, Project and Installation Engineer, Audio Plus, who was responsible for the system integration at Cavatina Hall.
The Dynacord electronics are driving a large 100V Electro-Voice loudspeaker solution combining the strengths of the EVID ceiling and surface mount ranges. “EVID speakers offer a big spectrum of models in the series and were the ideal choice because of their mounting capabilities,” Ibrom explains. “Each piece is exactly fitted for its location.
”In the main auditorium, a pair of Electro-Voice FM6.2 speakers have been hidden behind the wooden sound panels either side of the stage. These are linked to the RTS intercom system and used for addressing the performers onstage. The stage manager or event director can use the system via an Electro-Voice wireless mic to communicate with the musicians during rehearsals. “This additional system works perfectly because the speech is super-intelligible and the speakers are completely invisible,” says Ibrtom. “The team at Cavatina Hall are really happy with it.”
Staying on stage, Electro-Voice microphones have also been selected to cover a wide range of vocal and instrumental needs. This includes everything from the RE97Tx micro-headworn condensers, to ND44, ND46 and ND66 instrument mics, as well as the iconic RE20 and RE320 Variable-D models.
The Hall now boasts superior efficiency in terms of connectivity, which fits in well to the innovative aesthetic of the multi-functional building. Marcin Smolik, Producer and Managing Director at Cavatina Hall concludes: “We are at the forefront of Europe among the few venues that have such a system. Our technology is a treat for artists and for the viewer, it means quality.”
The station has equipped its studios with AEQ Capitol IP console as the heart of the system
Adventist World Radio AWR is a private radio station in South Africa under the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division (SID) with offices in Pretoria where all the actions of this church are coordinated. AWR offers a wide variety of programming, including religious programmes, news, information and local music, which are currently broadcast online only through its website http://af.awr.org/za/eng/4.
AWR has traditionally worked with analogue material, but the technical management of the station has decided to upgrade one of its studios with digital technology and have decided to use the AEQ CAPITOL IP console as the heart of the system. In the choice of such an important equipment, due to the characteristics of the installation and the operators, they were looking for an equipment that would offer the maximum audio quality with the latest digital technology available, but always guaranteeing a very user-friendly operation and especially working in a robust way given the big geographical isolation of the country.
AEQ CAPITOL IP is an 8-channel fixed configuration Digital Audio mixing console. In CAPITOL IP the implementation of IP connectivity is based on a single module of 16 input and 16 output channels, incorporated in its core. One of the main qualities of AEQ CAPITOL IP is the wide input capacity available: 4 mic/line, 12 analogue, 4 digital stereo AES/EBU (AES3), 2 digital stereo USB, 2 optional telephone lines, and optional digital multi-channel audio links; 16 AoIP channels over two Ethernet connectors or 64 MADI channels input over optical fibre.
