Strand News

Transcript

STRAND News AUTUMN 2005 INSIDE THIS ISSUE ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► C21 Dimmer wins Product of the Year at LDI 2005 Vietnam TV (Studio 10) Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre OneLights light up Paris Fashion Show First EC21 Installation at St David’s Hall, Cardiff Woman In White on Broadway Trey McIntyre Project PLASA & IBC Reviews Strand 500 Series Master Class NEW OneLight 1200W NEW 6pack and 3pack Digital Dimmers Console Programming Tips John Wright celebrates 40 years with Strand C21 Dimmer Rack wins Lighting Product of the Year Award at LDI 2005 by Peter Rogers The C21 Dimmer range was recognized as the Product of the Year at LDI 2005 in Orlando recently. Tim Burnham, President of Strand Lighting, accepted the award at the LDI Awards ceremony “All of us at Strand are pleased to receive this recognition. I am very proud of the technical achievements of the entire C21 – EC21 design team led by Michael Lay and Steve Carlson.”, he said. C21 and EC21 dimmer racks are designed for global operation and provide a number of advances in technology. In addition to providing support for conventional SCR dimmers including Quad, Dual and single modules with ratings up to 12kW; sophisticated Sinewave dimmers are also available. Dual Sinewave modules may be freely mixed and matched with standard dimmers in the same rack for complete flexibility. No special wiring or separate racks are required for Sinewave dimming as we offer dual modules that are the same size as our standard dual dimmers. Strand TrueSine Sinewave dimmers offer a fully symmetrical Sinewave output for completely silent lamps and control for a wide range of loads. All systems are simple to use and set up through a Web Browser interface and an Ethernet input is standard on all racks. Strand has already demonstrated the full range of standard and TrueSine™ dimmers at trade shows throughout the world along with our powerful web based configuration and monitoring tools. Further product information is available on our website: www.strandlighting.com Vietnam Television (VTV) Studio 10 by Gary Yap Completed in July 2005 Studio 10 at Vietnam Television (VTV) in Hanoi, has been designed specifically for the popular “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” game show. Designers also needed to consider the need for flexibility, as Studio 10 will also be required to accommodate any drama or game show in future projects. Design of the studio was completed in conjunction with VTV Technical Center For Program Production’s Mr Tran Van Long, Director and Mr Cao Van Liet, Deputy Director Strand Lighting were appointed for the design, supply, supervision, testing & commissioning of the project. Strand’s local distributor Tech Ventures System Pte Ltd worked closely with contractor Equipment and Materials of Information ImportExport Company (EMI Ltd) to ensure timely completion. Training will also be provided by Strand Lighting. Equipment List Rigging System 1 x 6m diameter Prolyte CircularTruss lifted by 4 x 1000kg Prolyft Chain Hoists 4 x IFF Combi Hoists with 10m triangular truss 16 x IFF Combi Hoist with 7.3m Lighting Batten 1 x Double Track IFF Type Rail Cyclorama Tracks with Off White Cyclorama Cloth and Surge Wool Black Curtain, with 2 x Side Tensioning Towers for Cyclorama Cloth Luminaires 6 x Bambino 5kW P.O. 16 x Bambino 2kW P.O. 15 x Studio 1kW P.O. 50 x 1kW PARCAN 25 x 1kW Short Nose Parcan 30 x Iris 4, 1.25kW, P.O. 24 x Orion 4 Rigid 6 x Orion 4 Hinged 25 x SL15/32 Zoom Profile 12 x Arturo 2 (1.25 / 2.50 kW) 6 x Coda 500/1 12 x Martin Mac 550 12 x Martin Mac 600E Project Information Client Vietnam Television (VTV) , Hanoi / Vietnam Distributor: Tech Ventures System Pte Ltd Contractor: Equipment And Materials Of Information Import – Export Company (EMI. Co.) Accessories Lighting Control and Dimmers 5 x Orion Input Cables 6 x Eggcrates Narrow for Arturo 2 6 x Eggcrates Wide for Arturo 2 10 x Hercules Stands 8 x Large Gaffer Grips 2 x Operating Poles (1.4 - 4m & 2.1 - 7.5m) 25 x 19 degree SL Lens Tubes 25 x 36 degree SL Lens Tubes 1 lot of Socapex Extension Cables, 16A Extension Cables 1 x 520i Console 500 channel plus 500 Attributes 1 x A4 Digitising Tablet for moving lights 1 x DMX Distribution System with Patch Panels and Strand 1-In 6-Out DMX distribution amplifier 220 Way CD80SV Dimmer System comprises: 2 x CD80SV Large Racks 1 x CD80SC Small Rack Single Processor for all racks 22 x Dual 5.5kW Std Rise Time Dimmer Modules 82 x Dual 3.3kW Std Rise Time Dimmer Modules 12 x Dual 25A Relay Modules Additional information DMX data is distributed on Cat 5 cable. This will provide an easy upgrade path to a fully networked system. The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre by Stephen Yim, Chia Kah Leong The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (PentasSeni KL) is fast becoming the hub for the performing arts community, fostering creative excellence through the development and nurturing of performing arts culture. Main Theatre Barrel View Main Theatre Pentas1 A not-for-profit organisation, the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre is designed to meet the needs of an ever more demanding and diverse performing arts scene in Malaysia. Located in the midst of parkland and lakes in Sentul Park, the arts centre is located only 10 minutes from a railway station and 20 minutes by car from the city centre. The complex comprises a 504 seat proscenium theatre, a 200 seat experimental black box, the IndiCine for independent film makers; an onsite set construction workshop, an academy with 10 studios, and much more. KLPac collaborates with companies from around the world on a regular basis. They also work closely with organisations such as the British Council, The Japan Foundation and the cultural sections of many foreign missions to bring overseas productions to the Malaysian stage. The founding partners in the complex areYayasan Budi Penyayang Malaysia, YTL Corporation and The Actors Studio. Penyayang’s role in the newly formed KL Performing Arts Centre/ PentasSeni KL is in keeping with their objective of assisting the promotion of cultural heritage and the arts. Datin Paduka Seri Endon Main Theatre Grid Floor Mahmood, who heads the charitable Foundation, is the Patron of KLPac. YTL Corporation is widely recognised as a supporter of the arts with their sponsorship of the Penang-YTL Arts Festival, the annual YTL Concert of Celebration and past sponsorship of the Kuala Lumpur Symphony Orchestra. KLPac is a continuation of this commitment to share the gift of the arts with the community and to promote cultural development in Malaysia. The Actors Studio is one of Malaysia’s l e a d i n g t h e a t r e companies. Founders Joe Hasham and Faridah Merican, in their respective roles as Artistic Director and Executive Producer of KLPac, will be instrumental in managing the artistic programme and helping to realise KLPac’s vision of establishing the Centre as the performing arts heart of the community, making quality live theatre accessible to all Malaysians. www.klpac.com Equipment List Control & Dimming Systems Main Theatre 4 x CD80SV (192 channels) with SN110/ POE Controlled by a 600 channel 520i control desk Network & Accessories: R140 Wired Remote Focus Unit, xConnect USB Designer Remote, SWC System Wide Control, 6 x SN110/POE Ethernet Nodes Experimental Theatre 1 x CD80SV (48 channels) Controlled by a 125 channel GSX desk Luminaires Experimental Theatre Grid View Experimental Theatre Dimmer Room 48 x Alto F Fresnel Spotlight 26 x Alto PC PC Spotlight 24 x Cantata F Fresnel Spotlight 18 x Cantata PC PC Spotlight 40 x SL19 Coolbeam Profile Spotlight 40 x SL26 Coolbeam Profile Spotlight 40 x SL36 Coolbeam Profile Spotlight 30 x SL50 Coolbeam Profile Spotlight 30 x SL15/32 Coolbeam Profile Spotlight 30 x SL23/50 Coolbeam Profile Spotlight 20 x Quartet F Fresnel Spotlight Collection d’hiver mise en lumière par le OneLight™ PAR 575W Ecole des beaux Arts, Paris. 25 Juillet 2005 Lumière et Son Paris a inauguré l’utilisation du OneLight PAR 575W à l’occasion d’un defilé de moded’une marque de haute couture. “C’était en fait l’un des derniers défilés de la saison,nous venions tout juste de recevoir les OneLight et nous avons tenu à les utiliser avant la prochaine saison qui débutera en Octobre”, indique Monsieur Pierre Heyligen, Directeur général de Lumière et Son Paris. L’utilisation de projecteurs en lumière du jour est unetendance actuelle des défilés, elle permet de recréer les conditions photographiques d’un studio photo. Les OneLight PAR ou Fresnel 575W sont tout particulièment adaptés à cette utilisation, en effet leurmise en place est aussi simple que pour des projecteurs tungstènes: plus de montée de lampe, plus de ballast à cacher ! De plus, le pilotage par DMX rend l’ensemble dusystème très facile à gérer depuis le pupitre. 20 x OneLight PAR 575W on the set Winter Fashion show put in light with OneLight™ PAR 575W Ecole des beaux Arts, Paris. 25 July 2005 Rigging the OneLight: a piece of cake Lumière et Son Paris has pioneered the use of the OneLight PAR 575W during a Paris Fashion show held at the Ecole des beaux Arts in Paris. “It was one of the last fashion shows of the season, and we’d just received the OneLights. We wanted to test them live before the next season started in October”, indicates Mr Pierre Heyligen, Managing Director of Lumière et Son Paris. The use of daylight luminaires is a new trend in fashion shows, recreating the conditions of a photographic studio. The OneLight PAR and Fresnel are particularly suitable in this application. Installation is as simple as tungsten luminaires: No head to ballast cable, nor ballast to hide! In addition, the DMX function allows easy control of the whole system by the control desk. St David’s Hall, Cardiff - turns on first EC21 installation in Europe by Bethan Dickson August 2005 saw the commissioning of the first EC21 installation in Europe. Strand distributor, Northern Light, completed the installation as part of ongoing improvements to the venue, which is situated in the very heart of Cardiff, capital city of Wales. St David’s Hall is the National Concert Hall and Conference Centre of the principality. St. David’s Hall has a main stage platform with capacity for a full international orchestra of up to 120 musicians, with the flexibility of ten lifts within the stage area to accommodate any performace requirement. Today the venue presents a multitude of live entertainment, including pop, rock, jazz, comedy, children’s shows, lunchtime concerts, classical music, light entertainment and dance. The new EC21 dimmers replace the long-serving Strand MCM dimmers which were installed during a previous redevelopment of the site in 1982. David Vandepeear, Project Manager for Northern Light, led the installation team with Strand commissioning engineers also attending in support of the new product debut. EC21 dimmers proved easy to install and were quickly up and running. St David’s Hall also features Strand 530i control desks with 510i backup. A new fibreoptic connection to the dimmer room now links the consoles, nodes and dimmers using Strand ShowNet making a comprehensive Strand network installation. Equipment List 2 x EC21 digital dimmer racks with 166 channels comprising: 40 x Dual 3kw modules 37 x Dual 5kW modules 12 x Single 10kW modules EC21 Now ex-stock Delivery of first EC21 racks and modules. Kirkcaldy, Scotland Mike Stanners, Customer Service Manager (right), takes possession of his first EC21 racks. www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk www.northernlight.co.uk Woman in White: From the West End to Broadway by Bobby Harrell software enables us as designers to work in either tracking or Genius mode dependant on the show requirements and our approach. In New York and London, our programmer, Vic Smerdon, has worked hard in her set-up of the console and software to allow us to quickly respond to what is I asked David Howe, Associate happening on stage, attributes, Lighting Designer for Paul Pyant, to color and Moving Light templates tell me a little about the process for are all laid out on the sub masters selecting control for this show. for ease of access. “We chose the Strand 500 Series console for ‘Woman in White’ for a In the UK the relationship between a designer and the programmer is variety of reasons: integral to the lighting of the show, Strand consoles are well used in we rely on the operator to undertake the UK especially as many houses a great deal of the ‘behind the (theatres) own their own consoles. scenes’ programming and the 500 For the West End we augmented series software and consoles give the house desk with an upgrade us and the programmer this high of channel software to their degree of control.” existing 520i console and 510 backup. For the production period we then rented a larger 550 console as a programming surface which acted as a slave console to the house desk, allowing our Programmer, Vic Smerdon, to use the extra sub masters and faders for the plotting of the show. For the New York production it made sense to transfer the show and console spec directly from London, we used Vic Smerdon is programming in a 550i console and 520i backup New York on a Strand 550i with a console and imported the existing 520i for backup. She is controlling show file as a starting point for 13 VL3000Q Spots, 14 Clay Paky programming. Due to the network Halo Alpha Washes, 18 ETC capabilities of the console also we Revolutions, 10 City Theatrical were able to provide the amount of Auto Yokes, 6 Strand Pirouettes video output for the LD and team with Rainbow Scrollers, 14 Strand both via Video Nodes and also the Tocatta Effects Projectors with xConnect software to our PC’s at the White LightVSFX Discs, 1 PANI 2.5k tech table to save on the multiple HMI projector, over 100 Wybron scrollers, over 200 conventionals number of Video Monitors. and 15 Look Solutions Unique From a designers point of view Hazers and Viper NTs. All the the console gives us a very stable lighting equipment is provided control platform from which to by Hudson Sound & Lighting. light the show, the flexibility of the “Woman in White”, the popular West End musical, is making the trek across the pond from The Palace Theatre in London to The Marquis Theatre in New York this fall. The show goes into previews on October 28th with an opening night on November 17th. Here are her comments on the desk: “As someone who is very familiar using the 500 series as a theatrical lighting console, for a show like this I feel that it is absolutely the best for the job. It enables us to control both the generic and automated units with ease and fluidity, and gives us a greater control of cue structures than is perhaps available with some of the more common ‘moving light’ desks. Because each cue sequence is closely tied in with complex projection and automation cues, we quickly discovered during the original process in London that if we could create a sequence of cues that would run happily along with the various scene changes, it would make life easier for the DSM (Stage Manager) and board operator alike. Thus for every scene change there is generally a linked sequence of cues and part cues, which means that in a fairly busy show there are little more than 50 called cues for each act, but a total of at least 400 cue parts for the entire show. The ease with which we did this is, I think, down to the Strand’s functionality and versatility in building such sequences. Furthermore, from my point of view, the presence of preset focus groups made transferring the show much easier than I expected - coupled of course with FocusTrack it became a very straightforward process for focusing all the moving lights even without focus notes we would have been able to figure out how it should have looked with preset focus groups for positions, zoom, gobos etc. From a programming point of view, the Strand is one of the most versatile systems I have ever come across. Things like the user-edited ATC pages mean that you can set up the console exactly how you might like, and with the ability to double or even triple macro buttons by using the submaster bump buttons, almost everything is accessible at the touch of a button. Hence we’re able to keep up with changes from automation and video very easily, and so we all look good!” Vic mentions FocusTrack. Go to http://focustrack.co.uk/ for details. One of the things that David mentions is the xConnect software that Strand has developed to expand the way that designers think about video for the tech table. With xConnect, the design staff can choose their own screens in their own format independent of the programmer’s choices on the console itself. Here is what Jared Sayeg, the US Assistant Lighting Designer, had to say about xConnect: “X-Connect became an invaluable aid during production by providing a unique way of viewing information through customizing screen displays and user settings. This gave me the information I needed to be viewing without interrupting the command line of the programmer or interfering node display’s on the network. For year’s designers, assistants, and technicians have become used to viewing the typical 2-screen node display, only changing at the keystroke of who is operating the console. Now with xConnect, not only have you gained flexibility in viewing the console’s information, you have completely bypassed taking the programmer away from their work by asking to ‘PAGE’...a dream finally realized!” Jared has setup his laptop with a four screen view using multiple logins.The top two screens are in Monitor mode. This means that xConnect is simply monitoring the console screens. (This is what we are all familiar with using an SN100 video node.) The unique thing is the bottom two screens that are in Login mode. In Login mode, Jared is logged in as a console! If this were a non-union situation, Jared could actually have control of the lights. He could bring up channels, dimmers, run cues…anything a console can do. But since this is a Broadway show, I have restricted the functionality to conform to Local 1 limits. That’s to say, he can’t actually control any lights, but he can control how his screens are configured. With Vic programming the show in Genius mode, she likes to use the Galaxy screens which layout the channels in a vertical format. Since this is a screen format that most American designers are not used to, Jared has configured his screens for LightPalette mode. These limits are actually a good thing. This way, Jared can’t accidentally press the wrong key and affect the programming of the show. He can look at any screen he wants, (live, preview, groups, subs, fx, or macros) or page to a different channel screen whenever he wants and not affect the programming…ever! xConnect can be utilized with any current 500 series installation and any 300 series console that has a network card. Intelligent programming…that’s what it’s all about! Assistant Lighting Designer Jared Sayeg’s xConnect screens at the production table for Woman in White Additional production staff includes: Vivien Leone - US Associate Lighting Designer John Lawson - Production Electrician Trey McIntyre Project 2005 Inaugural Season by Nic Phillips When planning TMP’s first tour I decided it was necessary to have the company tour with a lighting console. The company was touring, for the most part, to festival venues where there would be significant recreation work to be done as no two plots were the same. Without question the Strand 500 series was the only choice for me with its unique features to translate shows within the console. The rep consisted of three ballets, one a premiere, and the other two from two existing with cues from different sources. One of which was a Trackmaster 2 (by Status Software) file, and the other an ETC Expression file. Using Strand’s Showport program, I was able to convert both to a Strand Show File, and then use the console to translate the old channels to the new. This saved an immense amount of time since the console already had cues in the console ready to go for the first tech. I could then quickly track changes needed to make the pieces look as they did when originally set. Features like trackback, spreadsheet style editing in the live command line, the ability to renumber channels globally, selective loading of show data, and all the features of the Tracker Preset application are what make the Strand system stand out. To me it equates confidence in not having to be concerned with how the console is going to get done what I need done. Strand’s software actually helps the designer! This would have all been so easy if I could have actually sent a 500 Series desk with the company. On the other hand, this would not be so interesting if there was not some sort of limitation, and in this case the console needed to travel as checked luggage on a commercial flight. This requirement put the 500 Series form factor out of the question, so the compact and arrange-able panels of the 300 Series fit the bill exactly. To make the 300 Series tour able this way I turned to Strand dealer Parlites. Cary Levitt, Walt Dowling, and their staff worked with Strand to devise a system that fit the travel and design requirements. Our “custom” solution consisted of a 300 Series programming panel, a fader panel, a 300 Series processor, two 15” LCD displays, a Linksys WiFi router, a UPS, and a SN110 node. All of this was packaged into two hard cases that fit airline checked luggage regulations, so it worked quite well. The console was packaged with 400 intensity channels and 200 attribute channels, WiFi, and all of the applications commensurate with a 500 Series package. Networking and the SN110 node proved to be invaluable. Being able to put two universes of DMX away from the console let me quickly place the faceplate in the house for tech, and then to the booth or backstage for the performances. XConnect running on my Powerbook then allowed me a remote console and monitors anywhere in the theater, and of course, wireless remote via the iPaq, need I say more? Thank you greatly to Parlites and Strand Lighting for their assistance in making Trey McIntyre Project’s inaugural such a success! “Without question the Strand was the only choice for me ” PLASA & IBC PLASA (September 11-14) Our new digital dimming products took centrestage on the Strand booth this year. Appearing at PLASA for the first time was the EC21 series dimmer rack. The new racks support a wide range of dimmers including Quad 2.5kW, Dual 3kW and 5kW and Single 10kW thyristor dimmers. There are also dual 3kW and 5kW Snewave modules and each features a fully symmetrical Sinewave output with less than EC21 digital dimmer rack 1% harmonic distortion. Sinewave dimmers may be mised and matched with standard dimmers in the same rack for complete flexibility. Also shown for the first time was the new 6pack digital dimmer, featuring 6 x 10amp dimmers in a compact rack or wall mounting package. Our thanks to Sparks Theatrical Hire for their work installing lighting for our stand. 6pack digital dimmers IBC (September 9-13) IBC 2005 proved to be very busy and we were able to showcase the latest additions to the OneLight PAR and Fresnels range. The new 1200W MSR daylight luminaires were introduced at IBC. Like the 575W OneLight units introduced last year, the new OneLight 1200W features a quiet fully integrated high frequency electronic ballast designed with ClearArc technology for maximum useful lamp life and performance. OneLight 1200W PAR & Fresnel These new OneLights also support an optional DMX control module. Our thanks to Barndoor who assisted us in the design and build of our stand again this year. Strand 500 Series Master Class by Bobby Harrell Many new features have been added to the Strand 500 series consoles over the course of its 10 year development. So much so, in fact, that official training has been requested by operators that have been using the desks for years! Compared to the functionality of the consoles from the late 1990s, it’s like having a brand new desk for some users. Many of the features that have been recently enabled allow for much smarter use of conventional fixtures and so many more of the features increase functionality of automated luminaire programming. Philadelphia Local 8 Training I have developed a training course that I teach for user groups all over North America. This summer, I was brought in by IATSE’s Local 8 in Philadelphia for a 3 day masterclass at the Kimmel Center. This was taught to users of all levels that work with the 500 series consoles all over the city. Each class starts with conventional lighting programming and then moves into automated fixture programming. We had full use of the Kimmel Center lighting rig with 5 Strand 500 series consoles all linked together IATSE Local 8 members discussing on the same network running moving light programming. conventional lights, scrollers and movers. Here is what David W. Cecil, a participant, had to say about the class… “Although I had been operating integrate moving and conventional Strand Lighting Consoles for fixtures on a single console and several years I found Bobby still program complex lighting Harrell’s instruction for the Strand presentations. It is, without a 520i and 550i to be invaluable. In doubt, one of the best professional his course, Mr. Harrell outlines courses I have ever attended.” an efficient approach for the operation of intelligent lighting Many thanks to Michael Sweeney, fixtures. His demonstrates how Master Electrician of the Kimmel to edit fixture libraries, attribute Center and Jim Utterback from filters and profiles. His methods Local 22 for their help. for organizing groups and macros proved to be most illuminating. His comprehensive methodology enables you to successfully Canada Training in Edmonton & Calgary In September, I traveled to Edmonton and Calgary to teach master classes for Canadian users. Always starting with conventional programming then moving into automated fixtures, each class is customized to the students’ level of experience. Each Canadian class lasted one day but I have taught extensive 5 day classes. That gets very hands on and finishes with a single day design and cueing project for the students. Thanks to Richard Goode of Strand Canada for all his help. The Masterclass in Edmonton. 5 – 520i consoles, 4 - Technobeams with xConnect and WYSIWYG. If you have a need for training in your area, don’t hesitate to contact your local union. Many have education programs for funding of training. For non-union training of designers, programmers, electricians and students…contact me directly or sign up for my classes at LDI Orlando! NEW PRODUCTS ∙ NEW PRODUCTS ∙ NEW PRODUCTS ∙ NEW PRODUCTS NEW OneLight PAR 1200W by Alain Wisniewski, Quartzcolor Product & Sales Director The OneLight family welcomes the 1200W Fresnel and PAR. The OneLight concept of integrated ballast technology makes the use of daylight luminaires very easy - no more hassle with ballast to head cables, and no separate ballast. This technological breakthrough uses a sinewave ballast designed by our partner Power Gems Ltd. This ballast is flicker free, through the innovative use of a high frequency sinewave (300 kHz ) to operate the lamp from the integrated ballast. OneLight units provide totally silent operation; crucial in sensitive applications like movies, interviews, studio work. OneLight 1200W also has a weight advantage. At 16kg, it is only slightly heavier than many of the “head only” alternatives available on the market! One Philips MSR 1200W HR lamp is provided with the unit. As with others models in the OneLight family, the 1200W very cost effective with savings of up to 25% for similar separate head, ballast, and lamps systems. Successfully introduced at both PLASA, London and IBC, Amsterdam, the first units will be available early next year. NEW Philips Lamp: MSR 250W HR by Alain Wisniewski, Quartzcolor Product & Sales Director Philips has announced the launch of a new daylight lamp MSR 250 HR. This development enables the immediate extension of our OneLight family with the 250W Fresnel OneLight. This product is already listed in the Strand Product Guide (originally developed with the CST lamp) a Figure a : existing 250W CST (3200 ºK) Figure b: NEW 250 MSR HR (6000 ºK) b OneLight Fresnel 250W CST and now also MSR 250W HR NEW PRODUCTS ∙ NEW PRODUCTS ∙ NEW PRODUCTS ∙ NEW PRODUCTS 6pack 6 x 10A Digital Dimmer 3pack 3 x 25A Digital Dimmer Ideal for use in small to medium size Three dimmer curves including linear, installations, rental applications and for non-dim and square may be assigned portable use. to each dimmer The 6pack and 3pack are a family of cost effective, flexible digital dimmer packs with a wide range of features and socket options. Each channel is protected by a magnetic circuit breaker and rated at 10 Amps (2.3kW) for 6pack; 25A (5kW) for 3pack. All racks are convection cooled for quiet operation. The 6pack features 110µs chokes (3pack 140µs). The sliding electronics tray gives easy service access even after installation. The simple control interface enables users to set DMX address, minimum /maximum levels and dimmer curves channel by channel. Ordering Information Cat No Description 75301 75302 75303 75304 75305 6pack 6x10A Hardwired 6pack 6x10A Dual 15A 6pack 6x10A Dual Schuko 6pack 6x10A Dual CEE17 6pack 6x10A Dual French Special Order 6pack 6x10A Dual Swiss 75300 3pack 3x25A CEE17 Features • MCB (SPN) protection for each channel • Wide range of socket options including Dual UK 15A, Schuko, French, CEE17, CEE17 (32A connector, 5kW load) and hardwired • Suitable for portable, rack-mount and wall-mount operation (wall brackets included) • Single or three phase operation • Fully digital control electronics • DMX In/Out • Simple Set up using front panel keypad and LED display • DMX fail hold function • DMX termination switch • Selectable Minimum Level for each dimmer • Local on/off test buttons • DMX addressing with individual patching for all dimmers • Simple slide-out service access • Fan free convection cooling for quiet operation 6pack Dual Schuko 6pack Dual 15A 6pack Dual 16A 3pack 3 x CEE17 Console Programming Tips, Autumn 2005 by Rob Halliday Moving Information Around The ‘must haves’ of lighting seem to help - and, have made things harder - but only surprisingly, Console In the old days, it seemed so much easier to use lighting consoles. You brought up a bunch of channels to make a pretty look on stage, then you pressed the ‘Record’ key to commit that look to memory. Later, to get that look back you played the cue; sometimes you made some adjustments then recorded again. The arrival of moving lights, scrollers and all of the other current Getting Lights To Look As They Do In Other Cues If you want the look of cue 1 back on stage, that’s easy: run cue 1 either using [CUE][1][GOx1] or [CUE][1][CUTx1] or [GOTO][CUE][1][*] according to taste (though note that there is a subtle difference between the use of GO/CUT and GOTO: when the cue ends up on stage using the first two the channel colours on the live screen - green for channels going down, purple for channels going up - will be relative to whatever was last live; when using GOTO they will be relative to the previous cue in the cue list regardless of what was on stage beforehand; a subtle difference but sometimes an important one, particularly when jumping around a show out of order). But what if you only want to pull back part of the look - perhaps only what channel 1, a moving light, was doing in cue 50? Easy: [1] [@] [CUE] [50] [*] Channel 1 will now be doing ‘live’ exactly what it was doing in cue 50. But perhaps we only wanted to get channel 1 pointing to the right direction in the right colour rather than have it come on: [1] [@] [CUE] [50] {ATTS ONLY} [*] ATTS ONLY means ‘pull back the attributes only, ignore the recorded because with them, you want to do more complex things! If you wanted to put channel 1 to the level it was at in cue 1, you used to just look up that level then type ‘1@5’, perhaps followed by a press of the [*] key if working in command line mode. But if 1 is a moving light and you want to put it back to looking as it did in cue 1, that’s harder. Fortunately Strand 300- and 500series consoles offer lots of ways to some of the functions that at first seem to be useful only for moving lights turn out to be surprisingly useful additions when dealing with conventional lights, too. intensity’. Equally, we could have wanted just to the set the light to the level it had in cue 50 but leaving it pointing where it was currently pointing - intensity only rather than attributes only: note that in current software you can define twelve function filter combinations instead of the six described in that newsletter). You can also pull back particular attributes using the console’s [1] [@] [CUE] [50] {INTS ONLY} [*] attribute numbers if you need to INTS ONLY and ATTS ONLY appear so set just the pan of channel 1 to as softkeys on the left-hand set of its value from cue 50: softkeys on 530i and 550i consoles; [1.3] [@] [CUE] [50] [*]. on 520i and 300 consoles you may have to press the [REC MODE] Note that the console will fill in key to get them to appear on your channel numbers for you, so if you softkey LCD display; on an off-line did want to specify pan and tilt in editor or xConnect, the ‘J’ key this way rather than using {@ATT} corresponds to REC MODE. {position} you’d only need to type: It’s possible that we might want to [1.3] [+] [.4] [@] [CUE] [50] [*] - the refine things further - to leave the console would fill in the extra ‘1’ for light pointing to where it’s pointing you. Or if you just wanted to pull now, but to set it to the colour it back the pans for channels 101 and was in in cue 50: 102 you’d just need to type: [101.3] [+] [NEXT] [@] [CUE] [50] [*] [1] [@] [CUE] [50] [@ATT] {colour} [*] And, of course, you’re not limited (where @ATT is called ATTRIB on to doing this just one light at a time 300-series consoles) as all of the normal commands you This uses the consoles ‘function can use for selecting ranges of filters’ to just pull back the attributes lights can be used here: defined as colour attributes . You can [1] [+] [2] [@] [CUE] [50] [*] combine multiple function filters, so [1] {THRUON} [100] [@] [CUE] [50] if you wanted to pull back position {ATTS ONLY} [*] and colour you could have said [@A [GROUP] [800] [@] [CUE] [50] [*] TT]{position}{colour}. You can define which attributes are controlled by This means that, though useful for which function filter (and create moving lights, this is also useful for your own, if you like) by editing the other blocks of lights - perhaps the console’s ATCPAGE screen - see LD says ‘make the cyclorama look the December 2003 newsletter like it did in cue 50’. If the cyclorama for more details of doing this, but channels are 101-120: Console Programming Tips, Autumn 2005 (continued) [101] [THRU] [120] [@] [CUE] [50] macro: [*]. [CUE] [NEXT] [-] [CUE] [LAST] [LAST] [@] (INTS ONLY} [0.5] or - and this is a handy way to ‘preheat’ lights from one cue in a All of these commands also work previous cue without disturbing the in PREVIEW, so as well as setting attributes in either cue, how about, a light to its look from cue 1 live on while in cue 2: stage, you could also go to cue 100 [CUE] [2] [-] [CUE] [1] [@] {INTS (or sub 1, or an effect) in preview ONLY} [0.5] and set the light to its value from which could become a useful cue 1 there. When working in tracking mode then, as with any channel commands, you can add QONLY/TRACK and/or TRACKBACK to specify whether the change just affects one cue or tracks forwards or backwards through the show (TRACKBACK is shift-QONLY/ TRACK; see the Summer 2004 Newsletter). Setting Lights To Values Stored In Groups You can set a light to a ‘reference group’ using similar commands to those above: [1] [@] [GROUP] [50] [*] will set light 1 to ‘reference group 50’ - so, if group 50 contained the values pan 30/tilt 40 light 1 would now be pointing in the direction pan 30/tilt 40 but it would actually say ‘pan: group 50, tilt: group 50’ or, if group 50 was called ‘Down Centre’, it would say ‘pan: Down Centre, tilt: Down Centre’. If you had to fix the position ‘Down Centre’, perhaps because the height of the light changed, you’d merely move the light then update group More importantly, you don’t have to remember a group’s number. To set the light to ‘Down Centre’ you could have typed: [1] [@] [GROUP] [TEXT] [Down Centre] [*] or even just [1] [@] [TEXT] [Down Centre] [*] and, in practice you probably wouldn’t have needed to type all of ‘Down Centre’ since as soon as you’d typed enough to make the group name uniquely recognisable to the console it would show the full name at the bottom of the screen and you could then just press the [*] key. Getting Lights To Look Like Other Lights You’ve set up a great look on one moving light - channel 1. You want channel 2 to look the same. So: [2] [@] {COPYFROM} [1] [*] (copyfrom will appear as a softkey after you press the [@] key) Note that this won’t necessarily make light 2 point to the same place on stage as light 1 - if 1 was just sitting in a position such as pan 40/tilt 40, light 2 would just copy these values and so would now be pointing in the same direction as light 1. However, if you’d had light 1 set to a reference group position such as ‘down centre’, light 2 would be pointing in the direction stored for it in the ‘down centre’ group - another reason why reference groups are useful. 50 - all of the cues that had the light set to ‘Down Centre’ would automatically update. There’s more about reference groups, which are invaluable programming tools, in the June 2003 Newsletter. A variant on this command is: [1] [@ATT] {position} [50] [*] which will set light 1’s position to group 50, ignoring any other attributes stored in group 50 - so the same as typing [1] [@] [GROUP] [50] {@ATT} {position}. All of the rules about using function filters, multiple channels or any combination of these things apply when using @GROUP. The same ‘modifiers’ can be used with COPYFROM as above, so to copy just the colour: [2] [@] (COPYFROM) [1] {@ATT} {colour} [*] or to make lots of lights look the same: [2] [THRU] [20] [@] {COPYFROM} [1] [*] or any combination of these. A quirky, little known, little used, but occasionally invaluable variant on COPYFROM is this: [1] [@] {COPYFROM} [1] [@] {FULL}. It’s a strange syntax, but if light 1 had been set to some reference groups (perhaps ‘down centre’ in ‘red’ and the gobo ‘stars’) it would now look exactly the same on stage but on the consoles would be set to the actual values which were stored in those groups rather than the reference groups themselves (ie. it would say pan 40 tilt 40, colour 1, gobo 1 rather than ‘down centre’, ‘red’, ‘stars’). This might be useful if you’d accidentally stored every attribute for the light into the group ‘down centre’ instead of just the light’s pan and tilt. Copyfrom also works in preview where it has one further use: [CUE] [901] [@] (COPYFROM} [CUE] [1] will make a cue 901 which is a copy of cue 1 including the look of cue 1 but also its structure - the cue timing, cue text and cue parts, if any. Console Programming Tips, Autumn 2005 (continued) Storing Information From Live The traditional way of storing cues - RECORD - still works as you’d expect: set up a look on stage, then either press the RECORD key or type [RECORD] {CUE] [1] [*] if working in command line mode. The complete state on stage will be stored as the specified cue number. A variant on this is to use the [RECSUB] key instead of the [RECORD] key - this will store the look on stage excluding any channels that are up on submasters (so avoiding recording the houselights into cues!), or any channels that are running in effects. More useful in many cases is the multi-faceted UPDATE command. This works like a ‘selective store’ command, taking either any channels that you have changed (shown in red on the channel display on a main console, or green on the channel display on a remote console in a multi-console system) or any channels that you specify and storing them into any location - cue, Pulling Information From Live Into Blind So far we’ve found ways of ‘pulling’ information from preview into live (1@CUE 1), ‘pushing’ information from live into preview (UPDATE CUE) and copying information from one light to another. One last trick is that you can also ‘pull’ information from live while working in preview. In cue preview: [1] [@] [LIVE] will set channel 1 to its current ‘live’ value in the currently previewed cue (with this new level then tracking on if in tracking mode unless the QONLY key was used: [1] [@] [QONLY] [LIVE]). group, sub or effect step - that you [1] [UPDATE] [CUE] [200] [THRU] specify. So, you could be in cue 10, [220] [QONLY] [*] adjust channels 1 and 2 then type: (QONLY required in tracking mode so that the change didn’t just track [UPDATE] [CUE] [10] [*] - to store on beyond cue 220). the changes to channels 1 and 2 into cue 10 and tracking on if in And you can combine update with tracking mode; this is in most cases the commands described above: identical to re-recording cue 10 or [2] [UPDATE] [CUE] [1] [THRU] [50] [1] [UPDATE] [CUE] [10] [QONLY] [*] [@] {COPYFROM} [1] [*] to just store the changes to channel and other commands described 1 into cue 10, not tracking onwards in more detail in the March 2003 or Newsletter. [1] [+] [3] [UPDATE] [CUE] [1] [*] to store the levels of channels 1 and 3 UPDATE is also used to store (even though you hadn’t changed 3) information into groups when into cue 1 and tracking onwards if in making reference groups - so to tracking mode. store light 1’s position into a new or, if 1 was a moving light and you reference group called ‘Staircase’: only wanted to store its position [1] [UPDATE] [GROUP] [1] [TEXT] into the cue: [Staircase] [@ATT] {position} [*]. [1] [UPDATE] [CUE] [10] {@ATT} {position} [*] or, if you only wanted to store 1 into a known range of cues: Try It For Yourself! All of the usual tricks work, so: [1] {@ATT} {position} [LIVE] [*] would just set light 1 to its current ‘live’ position. This is a really useful way of presetting moving lights or colour changers: set the look you want on stage then go into preview, scroll up until you find the cue where you want the lights to set then: [1] [THRU] [10] [@] {ATTS ONLY} [LIVE] to set all of their attributes, which would then track onwards if in tracking mode. As always, the best way to get comfortable with these commands is to try them for yourself. All work in similar ways and all can be ‘modified’ in the same ways - by specifying particular channels, or specific attributes (1.3, 1.4) or particular groups of attributes (@ATT pos, colour, beam), or ‘INTS ONLY’ or ‘ATTS ONLY’, so once you learn a few it’s easy to start using them in different ways as required. 40 years service with Strand On September 9th 2005 John Wright celebrated 40 years service with Strand Lighting. Strand commemorated this amazing milestone during the PLASA show with a presentation and cake, which John graciously shared with our customers. In 1965 John joined Strand at the Kennington premises following an interview with some of Strand’s (and the industry’s) greatest figures - Phillip Sheridan, Arthur Earnshaw and Fred Bentham. John’s thirst for knowledge and skills for problem-solving meant that an early move to the R&D department in the late 1960’s became inevitable. John’s contribution to product development has been extensive. Over the last four decades he has been involved in most major product developments including: IDM-R, MMS, Lightboard and Galaxy control systems. His ideas and forward thinking have helped develop Strand digital dimming products and his Tim Burnham presents John with his “520i console” cake at PLASA 2005 contributions are still in demand today. John has travelled the world commissioning systems, and solving customer dilemmas. He now holds a central role in Product Support for Strand Lighting. He has had a varied career with Strand and has served many of you with typical enthusiasm, skill and precision. Group President Tim Burnham added a personal tribute at the PLASA presentation: “In the sixties, New General Manager for Strand Asia Strand Lighting has appointed Kenneth Yeung as the new General Manager of Strand Lighting Asia. “Ken brings over 25 years sales and business development experience in the audiovisual and business imaging industries to our Hong Kong operation according Tim Burnham Strand Lighting Group President. “His responsibilities include developing the company’s business in the region, establishing strategic partnerships to facilitate business growth, and managing the group’s day-to-day sales operation. All of us are pleased to have Ken join our team his experience and skills will enhance our already strong organization in Hong Kong” adds Tim. Ken recently worked with Lighthouse Technologies Hong Kong Limited as Director – Sales APAC . During his time with Lighthouse Technology, he managed to build the group’s business in Asia and generated significant financial results. Based in Hong Kong native Ken is fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin and English. The Strand Newsletter is published electronically four times a year. If you received this copy from an associate and would like to receive a copy directly please email us at: [email protected] Strand was the only game in town, and I remember as a trainee in the West End being sent to Kennington or Gunnersbury for lights or spare parts. What blows me away when I think of all the years and of everything that has happened since then, is that John Wright was there then - and he’s still here with us today! I have only had the privilege of working with John for a relatively short time, but I have developed an enormous respect for his amazing store of knowledge, his technical expertise, and the way he pops up all over the world, just when a customer needs him - I swear he travels more than I do! John is a great and unique guy, and I deeply appreciate working with him. I heartily congratulate him on his forty years with Strand Lighting.” Everybody at Strand would like to thank John Wright very sincerely for his unique contribution to the company - we look forward to his 50th anniversary! New Dealer in Sweden We are pleased to announce the appointment of Spectra Stage & Event Technologies AB as an official dealer in Sweden. Spectra have four offices throughout Sweden providing rental and installation services for local theatres, TV studios and event venues. www.spectraplus.se