The Mackay Entertainment & Convention Centre (MECC) is a purpose-built venue that caters for a broad range of events, including meetings, conferences, product launches, award dinners and exhibitions.
When it was time to replace their auditorium’s overhead lighting fixtures, a shootout of various moving-head fixtures was arranged with Dan Grace, Head of Lighting at the MECC, stating, “All of us at the venue just fell in love with the Martin MAC Viper XIP.”
The result was the purchase of 34 MAC Viper XIPs, the most feature-packed fixture to date, with a focus on higher output, crisper optics, lower noise, and a lighter-weight, outdoor-rated construction.
As the venue caters to a variety of gigs, one day they will be doing theatre, the next there will be a rock-and-roll concert, and the following day a conference, so versatility was a must. With its standout light output, whisper-quiet operation, and lightweight build, the MAC Viper XIP meets all challenges head-on.
“The MAC Viper XIP’s optics are the sharpest I’ve ever seen,” said Dan. “They’re truly stunning. Its 28,000-lumen output is powerful, and the 5.7–54° zoom range offers excellent flexibility, from tight, clean theatre beams to wide conference washes. The shutters are extremely fast and must be seen to be believed.”
Dan adds that he loves the gobo set, saying they remain crisp and bright across the entire zoom range.
“The animation wheel is amazing; the horizontal and vertical are really funky to get all kinds of different effects happening,” he said. “The colour mixing capabilities are exceptional. The blue is very nice, and I also like its natural white as it’s got warmth to it, even though it’s not really warm.”
Initially, the venue was not looking to purchase any wash fixtures, but funding came through, so Sam Walter from our Brisbane office sent Dan a Martin MAC Aura Raven XIP to review. This led to the acquisition of 30 of the fixtures.
The MAC Aura Raven outputs a staggering 27,000 lumens while retaining a compact, quiet profile.
Already a fan of the larger-faced washlight, Dan was immediately impressed by the MAC Aura Raven’s colours. The RGBL (Red, Green, Blue, Lime) engine offers outstanding colour rendering, skin tones, and TM-30/CRI metrics.
“The colours are rich and vibrant, and the white light has a pleasing softness,” said Dan.
The MAC Aura Raven features a “dark lens” that provides higher contrast for the pixelated Aura backlight. It houses 234 individually controllable LEDs for soft lens glows, video playback, and dynamic eye-candy effects.
“I’ve played with all the built-in effects, macros and stuff, and yeah, it’s something else!” Dan commented.
Recently, the venue hosted a local production of Grease with the Mackay Musical Comedy Players, where Dan used heaps of the built-in macros on the Aura side of the fixture.
“Being able to use all the built-in Effect Macros as different Bumps / Hits really added a lot to the show, it’s like you have the one fixture, but it’s just doing a thousand different things at the same time,” said Dan. “The beams it produces through the haze are just incredible.”
Of the utmost importance was Martin’s smart weatherproofing technology, an innovative patent-pending XIP water and dust ingress protection. This ground-breaking technology does not compromise weight or cause internal condensation issues.
“Most people would think IP-rated fixtures are purchased for outdoor use, and we will occasionally use them outdoors, but in this case, they were also purchased to reduce maintenance,” said Dan. “We need a sealed unit due to the battle we have with mould up here in the tropics. In 2024, we had to shut down our theatre for 9 months due to a mould infestation, so it’s a major issue for us.”
Dan describes the service from Show Technology as outstanding, saying they consistently provided updates, especially during the delivery stage.
Dan is clearly proud of his new Martin rig, saying, “Everyone that I’ve spoken to and said, this is what our new rig is, they’re all like, holy crap, can’t wait to come through!”
