Founded in 1988 by two theatre specialists, The Light Site provide theatrical lighting solutions for stage productions, corporate events and outdoor concerts throughout the New Zealand. With a huge range of fixtures, control, rigging, staging, and draping for hire, The Light Site are also happy to recommend and sell what they use, bringing their live expertise to bear on their customer’s requirements. In this capacity, The Light Site have recently sold two High End Systems lighting consoles to prominent Christchurch venues.
After losing its Christchurch citadel to the devastating 2011 earthquake, the Salvation Army have rebuilt, and have chosen a small yet powerful HedgeHog 4X run the lighting in their main worship hall. “The Salvation Army staff here in Christchurch were new to High End Systems,” said The Light Site’s director, David Bosworth, “but their pastor is Australian and has worked with Hog consoles previously. The main worship hall runs a range of LED fixtures, both fixed and moving, so the HedgeHog 4X gives them the flexibility to run both. It’s a relatively simple console for inexperienced operators, and with a bit of training from us, their volunteers and local techs were easily able to step up.”
Meanwhile, the University of Canterbury Students’ Association approached The Light Site to supply a High End Systems Road Hog 4 for their events centre. “The events centre is an open space with modular staging, a full PA, and a simple lighting rig,” explained the Association’s Riley Divett. “We run band and DJ nights, with a free student club night every Thursday. The house rig is relatively basic, but we bring in extra bits and pieces as needed. Our lighting operators are drawn from the Students’ Association’s technicians, freelancers from around town, and touring LDs.”
The UCSA chose the Road Hog 4 because of its great mix of affordability, accessibility, and familiarity. “The Hog platform is well-known in Christchurch and across New Zealand,” Riley expanded. “Everyone enjoys using the Road Hog 4; it’s so intuitive you can just jump on and use it. Most of what we do is rock’n’roll, and it fits perfectly for that kind of work. It’s the first moving light console we’ve had; previously we were hiring in consoles with that capability, so we made a business decision to stop doing that. And last but not least, it sits in the right price bracket for an organisation like us.”
The Light Site and their customers enjoy industry-leading service and support from New Zealand and Australian High End Systems distributor Lexair. With offices in Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne, Lexair provide over-the-phone problem solving, and regularly run training courses on the Hog platform for beginners and seasoned professionals alike.
