28 Aug, 2017 | ETC
2017 Norwegian Joy Architecture Photo Shoot – Galaxy Pavillion
This summer, Norwegian Cruise Line welcomed the spectacular Norwegian Joy to its fleet. A custom-built ship for the Chinese cruise market, Joy offers a luxurious experience for up to 3,850 guests. The ship features the first racetrack at sea; multiple bars, restaurants and casinos; a shopping centre; a water park; and a theatre. To help set the right mood for the ship’s many and varied attractions, the vessel is equipped with multiple lighting control desks and an array of lighting fixtures from ETC.
At 167,725 tons and 326 metres (1,069 feet) long, Joy is one of the largest cruise ships ever built, and was constructed by major German shipbuilder Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany. AV systems integrator Wärtsilä Funa Solutions was appointed to deliver the entertainment systems for the ship’s numerous attractions. The Funa team specified a total of 10 ETC lighting control consoles, positioned in strategic locations throughout the cruise ship. Sarah Wegner, a freelance lighting programmer and event technology specialist, was entrusted with the installation, setup and programming of the desks. Reliability was the overriding factor in determining the choice of consoles. “It’s essential that the consoles function reliably, since it’s not possible to get a replacement when the ship is on the high seas,” explains Wegner. “There is a mobile Ion, which could be exchanged in an emergency, but otherwise you have to wait until you’re back on dry land.”
In the ship’s theatre, which provides an experience to rival venues on the mainland, an ETC Eos® RPU is used for primary lighting control, with a Gio® console as backup. Ion® and Gio consoles are dotted around the ship for lighting control for a wide range of the other on-board attractions. The requirements are quite diverse: the Supper Club restaurant offers an intimate theatre experience; the Spice H2O bar takes inspiration from summer beach parties; there’s an aqua park with waterslides; a small atrium stage; and an outdoor disco. An ETC lighting control desk is also used in the Galaxy Pavilion, which transports visitors into a virtual entertainment world featuring thrilling interactive experiences, including racing simulators and a virtual roller coaster.
“The theatre shows are programmed by the production team,” says Wegner. “For all the other areas I have saved cues and stored them either on a server or in the desk.” Media Tubes installed in the Galaxy Pavilion and Spice H2O for effect lighting take advantage of Eos’ pixel mapping capabilities. To achieve the desired looks, Wegner created the Media Tubes on an Ion control desk in pixel mapping view. “Eos software is ideal for this,” adds Wegner. “I was able to check in the preview how the parameters affected the overall picture. I prepared everything in there and saved some sample cues.”
Additionally, the Galaxy Pavilion, Supper Club and atrium are equipped with a selection of ColorSource® Spot and PAR luminaires. These four-colour LED fixtures are capable of supplying bright, colourful light that can be tailored to suit the distinct needs of the different venues. And, it’s not just the cruise passengers benefitting from ETC technology on Norwegian Joy. Behind the scenes, in the crew disco, Wegner has programmed an Ion console with a selection of different cues, comfortably retrievable by the crew from the server.
For more information about ETC products, please contact us or your nearest ETC Dealer.
16 Aug, 2017 | ETC
New versions of the iRFR and aRFR remote apps for Eos will be available for purchase on the App Store and Amazon Marketplace starting this week. The overhauled mobile applications feature fully redesigned user interfaces, more intuitive connectivity, and expanded feature sets that include a full-featured keyboard and Direct Selects.
Software v2.6 or higher must be installed on the host Eos device for the apps to function.
The new line-up of remote apps is as follows:
- iRFR-BTS/aRFR-BTS (sales benefit US-based charity Behind the Scenes)
- iRFR-Backup/aRFR-Backup (sales benefit UK-based charity Backup)
- iRFR Classic/aRFR Classic (previous iRFR and aRFR apps, renamed and available as free downloads)
- iRFR Preview (unchanged; available as a free download)
Customers who previously purchased the iRFR and aRFR apps may upgrade to the new versions free of charge with a simple update.
The new iRFR and aRFR apps are NOT compatible with Cobalt devices. Any users who inadvertently update can revert to the old software by downloading one of the Classic apps.
If you have any questions, please contact us or your nearest ETC Dealer.
16 Aug, 2017 | ETC
This November marks the 25th anniversary of the birth of the Source Four® fixture at ETC. Between now and this year’s LDI tradeshow, we’re taking a look back at this product that has become such a major part of ETC’s story, the fixture that has made a long-lasting impact on our industry, and the product that has inspired many additional ETC fixtures.
When asked what he remembers about the first time he saw the Source Four, ETC CEO Fred Foster says “When I first saw the Source Four it was just a HPL lamp, glass reflector, and a lens on an optical rail in Dave Cunningham’s lab. But it was 40% brighter than a 1000W FEL and used only 575W of power. I was awestruck. It was even more fun to watch the looks on the faces of the LDI attendees when we launched the product a year later.”
Ellen White, outreach and training specialist at ETC, was working in ETC’s booth in 1992 when Source Four was first revealed. “We launched three products at that tradeshow and we really thought the talk was going to focus on the Sensor dimmers and the Obsession console. But Source Four started a small buzz that morning and became the topic of conversation at many dinners that evening.”
Since launching at LDI in 1992, ETC has shipped nearly 3.8 million Source Four fixtures. That gives us plenty of reasons to celebrate this milestone.
As part of the anniversary celebration, we’re creating a video showcasing the longevity of the Source Four fixture. We want to see as many of those millions of Source Four and Source Four LED fixtures as possible. As part of this crowd-sourced video project, we are asking you to send photos of your Source Four and Source Four LED fixtures hanging in your theatres, your churches, your schools, and your community centres.
You’ll find specific instructions and photo submission procedures here: www.etcconnect.com/sourcefouris25.
Between now and 1 October, please submit photos through this online form in exchange for a limited edition Source Four 25th Anniversary t-shirt (while supplies last) and the chance to win one of ten Source Four Mini LEDs.
The last 25 years with Source Four have been an inspiration. Here’s to the next 25!
7 Aug, 2017 | ETC
When Eos® family console users install software v2.6, they may find that their systems get a serious boost. As announced at CUE, ETC’s professional development conference, Eos v2.6 brings major upgrades for Element consoles, and improvements to Snapshots and other programming features. The release also marks a change in the way the console family handles output upgrades for both new and existing users.
Upgrades, unlocked
Eos v2.6 dispenses with the notion of incremental upgrades, by which customers could purchase consoles and output upgrades at a number of different levels. From now on, any upgraded console is a fully-upgraded console. Moving forward, each Eos family controller will be sold in two formats: base and unlocked. A base level Gio @5®, for example, will have 4,096 (4K) outputs, while an unlocked Gio @5 will have 24,576 (24K) outputs.
If a user wishes to increase a base-level console’s control potential, a one-time, very cost-effective upgrade may now be purchased to expand the desk to its full capacity. What does this mean for users who have already purchased incremental upgrades, or who have purchased a console above its base-level output capacity? Upon installation of v2.6, all existing upgraded desks above the new baseline – even those that have only been upgraded to partial capacity – will be automatically expanded.
Element, empowered
Eos v2.6 brings massive upgrades to Element consoles, enabling a whole host of features previously reserved for the larger Eos family platforms. For entry-level Element users, day-to-day operation will not change. More advanced users, however, can now take advantage of multi-user control, partitioned control, virtual media server functions, full display controls, new timing options, filters, presets, highlight functions and more. Touring productions and receiving houses will also find the changes beneficial; a show programmed on an Ion® or larger desk can now more seamlessly transfer to a venue with an Element console.
More features for all
The software update also adds new display and playback features for all Eos family consoles. With the push of a button, users working in the live table view can now bring up part structures, output level, playback sources, or the DMX map. Manual timing masters enhance live playback options, and the ability to assign Macros to playback buttons unlocks a new layer of playback flexibility.
To download Eos v2.6, visit www.etcconnect.com/Products/Consoles/Eos-Family/Eos-Ti/Software.aspx
For a full rundown of Eos v2.6 features, download the release notes at www.etcconnect.com/Products/Consoles/Eos-Family/Eos-Ti/Documentation/
Please contact us or your local ETC Dealer for more information on ETC products.
2 Aug, 2017 | ETC
As part of its summer programme, English National Opera appeared at the Royal Festival Hall for a captivating production of Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius. Multi-award winning lighting designer Lucy Carter used light – controlled with ETC Eos® Ti and RPU3 – to create an additional layer of emotion and energy to support and reflect the music.
Widely regarded as Elgar’s finest choral work, The Dream of Gerontius relates the journey of a pious man’s soul from his deathbed to his judgment before God and settling into Purgatory. To evoke an otherworldly feel, Carter opted for simple staging with abstract lighting energies that combined with the music to create an ethereal quality.
“When I was researching this production and arrived at my eventual design decisions, I knew that in order to create the complex and detailed environments to match the expansive and evocative music and themes of the libretto, I would need an immense amount of flexibility from my rig,” says Carter. “I chose to work almost exclusively with the GLP impression X4 Bars and Eos pixel mapping, and to use video files to populate the designed structure of the lights with energies and light textures.”
Supplied by PRG, the rig consisted primarily of 163 GLP impression X4 Bars, arranged into six concentric triangles positioned over the orchestra, and three rows over the chorus. Lighting of the choir and orchestra was delivered by 12 Martin Mac Aura XBs, with the soloists and conductor lit by a combination of ETC Source Four® LED Series 2 Lustr and Vari-Lite VL1000 AS fixtures. The rig required in excess of 40 universes of DMX, delivered via 14 ETC DMX/RDM Four-Port Gateways mounted locally on the trusses by production electrician Martin Chisnall.
To deliver the dynamic range of looks required, Carter worked closely with lighting programmer Jenny Kershaw, with programming support from Andi Davis, on behalf of ETC. “Jenny and I have been working with these ideas for a few years, and the ETC desks are an essential tool for our design work,” says Carter. “I want the lighting textures to feel organic and not mathematically produced and Jenny is able to manipulate the effects tools to create the dancing light textures I want. These are not repetitive effects, but seemingly evolving and dynamic.”
“The Eos Ti’s ability to deliver pixel mapping via the on-board Virtual Media Server, along with its conventional channel-based control, meant it was the perfect solution for this project,” adds Kershaw. “The content was generated on-board via effect layers, allowing for fast and convenient creation and editing of the looks required.”
The demands of this project saw ETC further expand the capabilities of its celebrated Eos software by adding extensions to the existing Eos Family Virtual Media Server feature. The pixel map size limits have been enhanced, allowing for control of up to 16,000 pixels. Additionally, Virtual Effect Layers have been modified to enable generation and manipulation of content for much larger pixel maps, and a variable server smoothing feature has been added.
“Thanks to the fantastic support we received from ETC and Andi Davis, we managed to achieve the complexities I was looking for,” says Carter. “With almost 500 cues and effects and numerous cue lists running simultaneously, Eos never let us down.”
Please contact us or your nearest ETC Dealer for more information on ETC products.
6 Jun, 2017 | ETC
ETC has announced the addition of the DALI Gateway – that accepts DMX input and outputs DALI protocol – into the company’s line of Response products. The DIN-rail-mountable Response DALI Gateway delivers a single loop of DALI control for up to 64 devices and 16 groups.
ETC Networking and Architectural Controls Product Manager Lowell Olcott explains: “This product allows for the control of DALI devices to be added to all of ETC’s lighting systems, making the product a great option for retrofits and new installations alike.” Users have complete control over their entire system with a patchable output map, allowing for the assignment of individual DMX addresses to each DALI device.
The Gateway supports auto-replace, allowing failed DALI devices to be replaced without the need for configuration tools. The DALI Gateway uses special calculations for individual, group, or broadcast DALI commands, to optimise fade performance and ensure dimming quality.
For more info about the ETC DALI Gateway, please visit www.bit.ly/erdalig.
Please contact us or your nearest ETC Dealer for more information.
