The new Clarity LX series consoles have proved invaluable for Sydney broadcast lighting director Grant “Doc” Watson and his operation Strauss Productions.
Up until the final series of 2011, Watson was lighting the Australian productions of The Biggest Loser and My Kitchen Rules on a series of LSC maXim consoles. The Biggest Loser saw the largest maXim XXLP console loaded to its limits with moving lights and dimmers.
With the need for a platform upgrade in mind, Watson was able to assess Clarity software on his Mac notebook and realised just how easy it was to use in the “live” environment most of his productions demand. Rarely are the shows shot in a broadcast studio with some being produced in disused military buildings and naval dock yards, agricultural sheds, community centres and bare walls studios. The key to this style of operation and its success has been off-site planning. The Clarity LX series cross platform inter-operability with the PC and Mac software has allowed Strauss to create shows on Clarity software on a laptop while the LX Consoles are in use elsewhere and then bring the show file to site on a USB stick. This has minimised the time required onsite doing patching etc and maximised resources available for rigging truss and luminaires, and running the power and data distribution that these locations and sizeable rigs demand.
Since September 2012, Strauss have used Clarity LX300 and LX600 consoles to create the top rating My Kitchen Rules, The Biggest Loser, Top Model and the interview components of The Voice.
Watson, who is over the moon with the versatility and ease of use of his Clarity LX300 and LX600 consoles states, “Some of the shows we do are simple and straight forward, whereas others use highly complex rigs. Clarity LX300 and LX600 and the Clarity software and wing solutions give me the flexibility to make each and every one of them a breeze.”
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