The Ensemble Theatre in Kirribilli, Sydney, is Australia’s longest and continuously running professional theatre company and has constantly maintained the highest standards in theatrical presentation.
A while back it became apparent that the theatre’s lamp stock was starting to age which meant the running costs for the fixtures were increasing. These aging fixtures were also adding considerable time to bump in and show preparation, it was definitely time to look at an LED solution.
“We also wanted to cut down on consumables such as lamps and gel stock,” explained Tom Blunt, Production Manager for Ensemble. “Prep time in cutting gels and running costs in terms of electricity were also a consideration. I had a look around at what was on offer from a few manufacturers, such as Philips and Chauvet, but the ETC products really were the stand out. The ETC fixtures also seemed to have the best reputation both here in Australia and overseas.”
As a result of his research, Tom ordered twenty-four ETC Source Four LED Series 1 with EDLT lenses from Sydney based Herkes Electrical, as well as an additional twelve ETC Source 4 fixtures with standard lenses, making a total of twenty-two units.
“We are running an ETC GIO console and the colour matching with that is just phenomenal compared to anything else. You just plug them in and turn them on. It means the designers can call up any Lee, Rosco or Gam colour that they want and it’s incredibly close, if not spot on.”
The ETC LED fixtures meant that Tom could reduce the amount of consumables he had to store such as lamp stock.
“We moved from having three different types of lamps in stock for profiles to just one,” he said. “Also the construction of the ETC fixtures is far better than our previous fixtures.”
Local support was an important factor for Tom who commented that he had a very good history with Jands and favoured their support.
“Not that we’ve needed any support with our ETC Source Fours as yet and hopefully we never will!” he laughed.
Also installed were twenty-two sections of Jands JLX-Lite modular lighting bars to enable a slightly flatter angle to the stage.
“The JLX-Lite lighting bars have opened up a whole different realm of opportunities to the lighting designers that was not available before due to their restricted position,” remarked Tom. “The ETC LED fixtures have also reduced the number of lamps in the air, so instead of having a two-colour profile wash, we’re now down to a single lamp with infinite colour possibilities for the designers. That has led to extra benefits too in terms of air-conditioning and general running costs as the fixtures are cooler.”
