Life can be tough for aquarium-bound fish. Their days are spent patrolling the confines of their tank, staring back at the young faces pressed against their glass walls. On the upside, there is companionship, regular meals, and freedom from predators. For the denizens of the Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium in Omaha Nebraska, there is the added bonus of a stunning environment and a spectacular after-dark light show, controlled by ETC’s Mosaic system. The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) added Special Citation for Playful Use of Integrated Color to its outdoor lighting award, and it’s easy to see why.
The playful element starts with the re-designed entry canopy that established the aquarium as the focal point of the Omaha Zoo. Blue stainless-steel panels with a rippled surface texture and a front canopy of perforated metal suggest a coral reef seen from underwater. The theme carries upwards to a roof decked with eight stainless-steel wave sculptures. The stainless steel oceanic-inspired structures reflect sunlight in daytime and become a pallet for dynamic lighting after hours.
Lighting designers Steve Gollehon and Jeff Frank of Morrissey Engineering were part of the original project team. “As we got into it, we realized that color changing effects would play a key role in the final design,” says Head Designer Steve Gollehon, “and this led us to the ETC Mosaic control system.” Power and control for the color-changing fixtures is provided by a 50-universe Mosaic Show Controller X, 15 Response Mk2 DMX Gateways, and an Echo Relay Panel. A Mosaic Tessera touchscreen controller acts as the user interface.
“For added effect we imported custom video content into Mosaic to support the standard effects. We had fun creating the effects of waves crashing, bubbles forming, and fish swimming and a couple of bio luminescent themes that caught the attention of passersby.”
– Head Designer Steve Gollehon
Nine custom shows were created to cover the various social functions that the aquarium hosts. “The ETC wireless interface proved essential as we experimented with the effect of light and video on the diverse surfaces we were dealing with,” says Gollehon. “We were able to color-correct on the fly.”
Heartland Scenic, with Michele Yindrick as project manager, provided the ETC control elements. The one-year time frame for construction and installation allowed the team to test full-scale mockups in Kansas City and design the custom touch screen for show control. “The main challenge was integrating the multi-manufacturer lighting fixtures and keeping track of it all,” says Yindrick. But ETC’s Mosaic system provided a clean, comprehensive interface that got them all working in harmony. “This was a smooth project,” finishes Yindrick.
ApexPro is the sole distributor and supporter of ETC lighting technology in Southern Africa.
ETC’s automated luminaires and entertainment fixtures have been selected by rental company Papadimas AVL S.M.P.C in Greece for renowned TV shows ‘The Voice’ and ‘Just the 2 of Us’, as well as a recent production of the hit musical ‘Phantom of the Opera’ in Athens, and Thessaloniki.
Almost 200 High End Systems moving lights feature across the productions, including Lonestar, SolaPix, SolaFrame and SolaSpot automated luminaires. ETC’s affordable Lonestar fixtures took their Greek TV debut on the talent show ‘Just the 2 of Us’, bringing their professional feature set, and quality output all wrapped up in a small package. They joined over a hundred other High End Systems moving lights as well as 50 Source Four LED Series 3 Daylight HDR profiles, all controlled by a mix of Hog 4 and Eos consoles. Series 3 continues to wow on-camera around the world, with its patented X8 array giving unmatched control over how skin tones and objects render on-screen.
SolaPix 19 luminaires returned to the world-famous reality competition show ‘The Voice’ this year, working alongside High End Systems SolaSpots and almost one hundred Source Four LED fixtures. The unique face-look of SolaPix, with its HaloGraphic Pixel Definition and innovative FleX Effects engine, is a big hit on camera, but the fixture is also capable of incredibly smooth washes, adding even more versatility to the rig.
Papadimas AVL S.M.P.C established its presence in the broadcast market in Greece by working on such shows and supplying ETC products. “We met the demand for high quality equipment and services on the ‘The Voice’, ‘Just the 2 of Us’ and the ‘Phantom of the Opera’ with ETC gear, which has also set the bar high for our competitors. The certified quality of ETC products combined with the large quantities we own have helped us create a fleet that provides exceptional results, with consistency and competitive prices,” comments General Manager at Papadimas AVL S.M.P.C, Panagiotis Papadimas.
The live productions of ‘Phantom of the Opera’ used a wide range of High End Systems spots and wash-lights alongside the industry standard Source Four LED Series 2 Lustr profiles to bring the story to life. Released in 2014, Series 2 continues to earn its keep-in-hire stocks worldwide, with venues and rental companies continuing to invest in its reliability and incredible color control, all backed up by ETC’s industry-leading warranty and support.
ETC Regional Sales Manager, Konstantinos Vonofakidis comments: “I would like to thank Papadimas AVL for their continued trust in our products and services even during the challenging times of the pandemic. This has been a great collaboration that has been forged through the unparalleled support of our local dealer – Audio & Vision”.
ETC’s flagship Eos lighting control family grows more powerful with every free software release, introducing features that streamline and revolutionize the design team’s workflow. Eos v3.2 – the latest major update – is no exception, bringing powerful tools to quickly adjust fixture-, device- and session-level settings, as well as massive expansions in the Augment3d programming environment.
As modern lighting systems grow to encompass more and more controllers and devices, easy access to network configuration controls is paramount. Eos v3.2 brings several key settings from the shell into the Eos application proper, allowing them to be saved in the show file and adjusted in real-time without leaving your session or stopping output. Device settings are also now stored in profiles within the show file, allowing you to bind devices for quicker configuration. With the template file feature, easily starting from a known point is as simple as starting a new show. Output protocol settings have also been brought into Eos and have been significantly expanded to support advanced configurations for dynamic and static systems large and small – laying the groundwork for future system expansion.
Color control has also received significant upgrades in the new software. You can now set color configurations for your fixtures, allowing Eos to control them with ease. As you use and build LED fixtures, Eos dynamically generates a gamut, giving you use of the color tools with any fixture — from two-emitter white light fixtures to eight emitters and beyond. The software also adds native and virtual CIE XY controls via the color tools and command line to keep you up to date on any communication path your fixtures and your team may use.
The most dynamic new control feature can be found in Augment3d, the award-winning 3D-programming and visualization environment built into the Eos software. The new Zones feature offers a revolutionary way to let your 3D environment affect your lighting. Don’t want moving fixtures to land on the projection screen? Would you like the lights to turn blue every time they move offstage or go dark when they pan over the audience? Zones allow you to define regions in your model space and automatically affect fixture behavior when they intersect with the zone – turning intensity off or on, triggering macros, or applying presets or palettes. You can even attach a Zone to a moveable scenic element in your model – allowing the Zone to intersect and affect the behavior of static fixtures as well as movers. Programming complex behaviors has never been simpler.
A 3D programming environment is only as good as its model, and Eos v3.2 makes getting started in Augment3d easier than ever. ETC teamed up with Vectorworks to implement direct MVR import for fixture and model data — no more plug-ins. In addition, you can import glTF from other drafting suites, as well as the 50+ file formats Augment3d already supports. And with the upcoming Augment3d Scanner app for iOS & Android, you can use your phone or tablet’s built-in AR tools to scan your space and instantly create an Eos-compatible model.
Eos v3.2 adds a massive suite of tools that elevates your design and programming, letting you work not just faster — but better. With additional quality-of-life improvements system-wide – including new features like macro search, cue alerts, and focus palettes that follow Augment3d objects – the new software is bound to be a game-changer, no matter which Eos Family console you use.
ETC will be returning to Frankfurt for Prolight + Sound 2023 with a showcase of the latest in lighting technology, stage machinery, product seminars and more from the 25th-28th of April at the Messe Frankfurt.
On stands C53 and C45 in Hall 12.0, ETC will present a selection of its newest entertainment fixtures and controls, including the next generation of ETC’s automated framing luminaires: High End Systems Halcyon. This best-in-class range consists of Halcyon Gold, Titanium, and Platinum, offering matching feature sets, exceptional colours, and increased output at a reduced cost.
Visitors will also see the new ColorSource V family featuring both Spot and Fresnel fixtures. With many of the features from premiere fixtures at an accessible price point, venues around the world are already excited by their possibilities. With Multiverse® wireless, NFC, and a five-colour array that brings both soft pastels and bold, punchy colours, all that’s left is to choose between spot or wash!
Having received much attention at the recent USITT Expo in St Louis, the newly launched Source 4WRD Color II will be on the stand. The powerful, new version of the colour-mixing LED retrofit offers an intensity increase of 36% in warm whites and unlocks the world of additive colour mixing for your existing Source Four incandescent profiles.
The latest in lighting control will be available for visitors to interact with, including the powerful Eos Apex 10, Apex 5 and Gio @5 as well as High End Systems Hog 4-18. The new line of Eos consoles offers an innovative programming surface with advanced technology and award-winning software.
ETC product specialists will be on hand to share further information on the latest releases as well as presenting several new seminars during the four-day show. On Tuesday 25th, ETC Product Manager for Entertainment Fixtures Jim Uphoff will present ‘LED Variance and the need for Calibration’ from 12:00 – 13:00 CEST in the Manufacturer’s Forum, Halle 11.0. This will be followed by ‘Hands-on Hog – Myths, Shortcuts, Tips and Tricks’ at 15:00 – 17:00 CEST (in German) by Lighting Designer Andreas Fink in the same space.
ETC Senior Technical Product Manager Michael Lichter will present an overview of a modern hoist and control system and its benefits on Thursday 27th. His session will be presented in German at 13:00 – 13:50 CEST on the Theatre + Light Stage in Hall 12.0. Attendees to stands C53 and C45 will also get a chance to explore the latest rigging solutions with ETC’s stage machinery specialists at the show.
This year, ETC will be supporting the Future Talents Day on 28th April at Prolight + Sound, a day for students, trainees and interns to network with industry colleagues.
“Prolight + Sound is always a highlight of our tradeshow calendar, and we can’t wait to get back on the show floor and reconnect with our partners and customers. We look forward to sharing in their excitement about these fantastic products and the strength of the industry as it rebounds from the difficulties of the past few years.”
ETC has sold millions of Source Four incandescent fixtures over the past 30 years. In many cases, these fixtures are still running strong and revered as the workhorses of their school auditoriums, houses of worship, and theatres. When it comes to upgrading from incandescent to LED, throwing out fixtures that are still in good working condition can, understandably, be a difficult decision.
Source 4WRD Color II makes this decision easy. Upcycle any existing ETC incandescent Source Four fixture to an RGBA LED fixture in minutes and use only a quarter of the power. This non-destructive retrofit maintains the majority of the Source Four incandescent fixture and reduces overall waste. Bring the flexibility of additive color mixing, saturated washes, and quick color changes to any venue with upgraded technology while staying within budget.
Compared to the previous generation of Source 4WRD Color, the addition of the new snap in reflector and the significantly brighter red emitter provide a notable intensity increase of 36% in warm whites and dramatically improves color rendering performance. Rich, saturated colors, pastel hues, and cool toning blues loved by theatre designers worldwide also see remarkable improvements.
This second generation of Source 4WRD Color is not only an incredible retrofit but also can be a full spot profile, a full PAR, or full PARNel fixture. With 12 built-in color presets and 5 built-in sequences, stand-alone operation is intuitive. Maintain the most-loved features of Source Four, including crisp shutter cuts, beautiful pattern projection, field peak-to-flat adjustment, and a full library of Source Four lens tubes.
Source 4WRD Color II includes ETC’s industry leading 5-year fixture, 10-year array warranty.
ETC has introduced a new version of the Power Pack ALCR (Automatic Load Control Relay).
ETC Power Pack ALCR (Automatic Load Control Relay).
The new ALCR-PP-Mk2 model now supports emergency control of 0-10 VDC, DALI, and DMX512 directly controlled emergency luminaires in accordance with 2023 NEC section 700.24.
When used for emergency control of 0-10V luminaires, these additional relay contacts allow two separate control circuits for luminaires that require two channels of control.
The ALCR allows emergency lighting fixtures that are also used for normal illumination to be controlled under everyday non-emergency circumstances. When normal power is lost, or a fire alarm is activated, the ALCR bypasses normal control and forces the emergency lighting fixtures to an emergency state.
Luminaires that are energized to the appropriate emergency level upon loss of control connection are no longer required to be UL 924 listed because of changes to section 700.24 in the 2023 NEC. Unlike the DEBC that actively drives DMX512 channels to full, the ALCR-PP-Mk2 will disconnect 0-10V, DALI, or DMX512 control signals, driving the emergency luminaire to its data-loss state, as well as bypassing any normal line-voltage power control of the luminaire.
The ALCR is a UL 924 Listed emergency lighting device for control of a single 120/277 V circuit. The ALCR-DIN will remain unchanged from its original version and will still support a single control circuit of 0-10V or DALI. All new quotes for the ALCR-PP will switch to the Mk2 version immediately. Any existing orders for the original ALCR will continue to ship as the original product. If you want to change your order to the new version, please contact your customer service rep or project manager.
“At ETC, we understand that emergency lighting is first and foremost a matter of life safety. This new version of our Power Pack ALCR will give our customers access to control of many more emergency luminaire types that we weren’t previously able to support.”
