The new Burnie Arts Centre is a reimagined, fully-integrated multi-platform arts centre offering an annual program of performing arts, functions, changing exhibitions and historic displays.
The first stage of the renovation included the refurbishment of the Town Hall which seats 750 and has a flat parquetry floor, tiered balcony seating and stage area of 10m x 7m (excluding the apron), and 3.4m x 6.9m wings.
As well as a neat stage lighting package, the venue space has been given a new life by 10 x ShowPRO LED Moonlite 80 HEX and 18 x ShowPRO LED Moonlite 150 HEX creative house lights plus an AV Stumpfl Inline Motor Strata 16:9 to help keep the room stylish. With a highly efficient optical system and HSIC colour mixing system, the Moonlite fixtures add a whole new dimension to the integrated lighting system.
“In this room, we do anything from conferencing, to expo, to dinners so we wanted something that could easily change the colour and the mood of the room from the console,” commented Stewart Holmes, Technical Operations Coordinator. “The Moonlite fixtures are punchy, fully DMX and have lots of colour options. The Moonlite units were a perfect fit for the pre-existing downlight holes, so that was a welcome bonus!”
For moving lights, 8 x Martin ERA 400 Performance CLD and 12 x ERA 150 Wash were chosen on the back of Martin’s reliability and industry standing.
“It was nice to get some high-end features, like shutters and excellent CMY colour mixing,” said Stewart. “The ERA 400s have a nice punchy beam and their pan and tilt is exceptionally smooth, even for their size and weight. They’re very agile. They’re just a great workhorse lamp overall.”
Stewart says that he was most impressed by the speed of the ERA 150 Wash as well as how nice the beam is out of them.
“They’re just fantastic,” he added. “With Martin lights you just know you’re getting a quality light with quality components; they just work. In the short time these fixtures have been with us, the touring shows we’ve had through have been really impressed with them as a unit as well.”
Six ShowPRO Profile HP with 18-30 lenses were chosen to be more eco-friendly with all six using less power than one of the previous Selecon Pacific fixtures. They are also significantly brighter.
“We didn’t require full-colour mix compatibility for this room, so we opted for just a warm white option,” Stewart said. “They are a nice, bright lamp. The lenses are phenomenal; you can get them nice and sharp, and they look and feel just like a halogen fixture. The build quality feels really good, and despite their rather affordable price point, they don’t feel cheap. There’s a bit of weight behind them, the lenses move smoothly, and the shutters are really nice. We’re really happy with them.”
For added flexibility in the venue, two sets of LED Apollo battery-powered uplight fixtures were supplied, totalling 12 x individual units.
“We’ve primarily used them in our foyers when we have had dinners and events after a show,” explained Stewart. “We’ve been able to change the mood of our foyers, our exhibition spaces as well as in our museum. The battery life is fantastic, the colours are great and the IR remote makes life easy. It’s in a convenient charging case that we can roll to site and deploy in minutes.”
A couple of Look Solutions Unique Hazer 2.1 fixtures have been a welcomed addition to the venue. As Stewart says, everyone knows Unique, they’re rider-friendly, they are just a solid hazer.
Touring LDs have been delighted to an MA Lighting grandMA3 compact chosen for control.
“That’s one of the reasons why we went with the MA – the touring scene is fairly MA-heavy these days and people know them well” commented Stewart. “A large majority of the art centres in Tasmania now run MA, so there’s a nice bit of consistency between venues for touring groups.”
Stewart says that Show Technology’s Keith Bradshaw has been unbelievable, always happy to help if we’ve got any questions.
“We love his visits, he knows his products, and brings a wealth of expertise,” he said. “Their product range is exceptional, and after-sales service is amazing. I can’t fault Showtech, they’ve been great to work with from start to finish.”
