latest news headlines
Zero 88 in Control at the Pleasance for Festival Fringe
“It is an important environment in which to soak test equipment as it is used intensively for 12 hours a day for the duration of the festival,” stated Craig Colin, who acts as hire company Black Light's representative at the Pleasance throughout the Festival.
So what made Matt Britton and Tom Wright, Chief LX and head technician at the Pleasance, choose Zero 88 Frog and Illusion desks?
“I wanted to try something different,” said Britton, “but with the varied range of experience amongst the technical crews and the heavy emphasis on education at the festival, it had to be something that was easy for a beginner to understand.”
Britton was concerned about the Illusion as an entry-level desk at first and needed to convince himself it would fit the criteria for both the technicians and the venue. Would it be easy enough for a beginner to operate moving lights within a small-scale theatre environment? His test was to give an Illusion, a wash light and a spot to a friend with limited lighting experience and challenge him to master the basics within half-an-hour. This was successfully achieved and Britton decided to take the product on board.
Initially there were a few moments of confusion with some technicians over features such as the tracking but this was easily overcome with a small amount of training. “The confusion was largely due to operators trying to unlearn habits from previous desks and once the basics were mastered the desk's potential became evident and proved very popular. It is a very powerful desk for the price,” continued Britton, “and fulfils the brief for the venue very well.”
This is good news for Zero 88 as the venue now includes the 700 seater Grand Theatre and Beyond - both new venues for this year. The Illusions and Betapacks specified for this year have set the standard and will continue to be used in the venue in future years.
The product was backed by a high level of service offered by Zero 88 in the form of Grant Bales-Smith who was on hand to advise during the fit up period. Feedback offered by Britton and Wright during the fit up was used by the Zero 88 R&D department to adapt software to accommodate the specific needs of the unusual festival venues.
“We were very impressed with the rapidity of response from Zero 88's R&D department and the level of service and technical back up offered by Zero 88,” said Wright. “Grant was excellent and the technicians were able to benefit from first hand training direct from the manufacturers.”
The Frogs in the meantime were showing their versatility in a variety of venues - including cabaret at the Cabaret Bar in the Courtyard, live work for the BBC stand up show, and theatre for the daytime City show.
Zero 88 continues to provide high quality product and service, showing an adaptability which illustrates their deep understanding of the market and the need to respond rapidly to the requirements of its customers. Whilst moving away from its reputation as a manufacturer for schools into the professional market, it has still retained its ability to listen to its customers and dedicate a large part of its efforts to the education of future lighting technicians, thoroughly fitting in with the spirit of the festival.
In picture: Matt Britton (chief electrician) and Tom Wright (head technician) with a Zero 88 Illusion at Grand Theatre, Pleasance.
7th September 2004
HEADLINES
news archive
search stories
FOOTNOTE: Select the news type you require in the red band above; this will enable you to see the current news stories from that section
© 1999 - 2012 Entertainment Technology Press Limited News Stories
