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Rambert Dances the Light Fantastic with ETC’s Eos
When Rambert Dance Company – England’s oldest contemporary dance company – was looking for a new lighting control desk, they knew they had to have the best. They spent some time looking around at different control systems before settling on the multi award winning Eos by ETC.
Technical director Malcolm Glanville explains: “We’d had an ETC Obsession for 10 years, and with the introduction of moving lights, programming became quite a time consuming process. The Rambert Company’s presentation is primarily based on its lighting and when we had a lunch break, the programmer would have to stay behind to continue working.
“So as soon as I got my first look at Eos, I decided that was the way we wanted to go. We’ve also always had a very good relationship with ETC, and I really feel that I can pick up the phone at any time if I have a query.”
The Company holds regular dance workshops and shows across the country, returning twice a year to London’s Sadler’s Wells, but the first outing for Eos was at Truro’s Hall for Cornwall in July, when the Company performed several pieces created by some of its own dancers.
As part of an eight year project to review the company’s entire range of lighting and controls, Malcolm has, he says, spent a lot of time and money packaging all its kit so that it runs well. He has had a cabinet built for the Eos, complete with spaces for the screens to be permanently mounted, along with a pull out shelf to make the Eos more comfortable to use from its position in the wings. Although Malcolm had been using a beta version of the desk and software, his feedback to Eos product manager Anne Valentino proved invaluable in making sure the final version worked well. Software updates for Eos, as with all ETC desks, are released regularly, and can be downloaded free from the company’s web site at www.etcconnect.com.
“A lot of the syntax is the same as with other ETC products,” Malcolm continues. “Eos gives you the opportunity to be more sophisticated in the way that you handle and manipulate the data. The desk is very logical and intuitive. Generally speaking, we were able to perform basic cue functions within about 60 seconds of the desk coming out of the box.”
ETC’s most advanced lighting control system, Eos was designed to handle the most complex, multimedia-filled lighting rigs, and has been rewarded with the Product of the Year awards at both LDI 2006 and Showtech 2007. The system combines innovative features and functionality in a powerful system fully networked for ETCNet2 and the new ETC Net3 protocol (powered by the new ESTA ACN standard). Eos is also unique in offering features tailored to the needs of each member of the lighting design and production team. The system is available in two models, Eos 8K (which supports 8,000 outputs) and Eos 4K (4,000), with powerful accessories to further enhance and streamline production work.
Rambert also has an Eos remote processor unit for backup and rehearsal use and is set to take delivery of the new advanced wireless remote unit (RFR) for Eos within the next few weeks.
In addition to the Eos, Rambert has in the past invested in many other items from the ETC range: Source Four luminaires and their moving light sister, Source Four Revolution; and Sensor dimming. The Revolutions were acquired when Malcolm received a specific request for them from a lighting designer, so they paid for themselves in one outing. They’re now regarded as part of the rig. “It’s surprising the number of times where a lighting designer says, ‘no, I won’t need them,’” he explains, “but suddenly in the lighting session they need a bit of light somewhere. It’s great to be able to fire up a Revolution and point it in the right direction.” Meanwhile, ETC’s Sensor dimming is, he says: “the epitome of plug and play. We just stick the power in the back, plug everything else in and it just works.”
Rambert’s Eos will have its first full outing at The Lowry in Salford at the end of September – at which point not only will it be running all the shows but it will also be lighting the company’s first new major production for the autumn.
In picture: Malcolm Glanville programs at the Hall for Cornwall; Rambert Dance Company (photo Carl Fox Photography)
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