Australian Idol, now in its eighth year is broadcast nationally and has enjoyed great success over the years. However, with such a well-publicised and popular format there is always pressure to improve on the previous year’s production. Lighting designer Francesco Calvi of Calvi Lighting Designs, explains:
“What started out as a light show with a central screen on the first series of Australian Idol has now evolved into a ‘big’ light show involving several video screens accessed by media servers all of which are linked to the lighting console.
“When ArKaos released its new version of MediaMaster this year I decided it had everything I needed to take this show through the 2009 season.
“I am using two Power Macs to give me three video feeds. The first Power Mac is feeding the 6-mm main screen and the 28-mm video floor. I decided to run these two feeds off one machine as they work very closely together: the content at times needs to flow from screen to floor as one image and, as they are different format screens, I needed to be able to control each screen separately.
The second Power Mac is feeding the side screens – 16 columns of 28-mm screens – which is treated for the most part as one screen. Both Power Macs are controlled via a grandMA.”
“ArKaos has obviously spent a lot of time on this version of its MediaMaster but, as good as any product is, it is only as good as the support it has from the company. The people at ArKaos have been very responsive to all my queries (even the stupid ones!) and special mention must also go to my local distributor, Show Technology. I am looking forward to working with MediaMaster for many more shows to come.”
Australian Distributor: Show Technology www.showtech.com.au
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