Lots of Watts were one of the first Australian production companies to purchase the Martin MACIII which offers a perfect balance between a superior feature list and ultimate performance. This high-output profile spot combines a new 1500 watt lamp technology with superb optical efficiency, a new design and great feel to take moving head performance to a higher level.
“We always like to keep up to date with our equipment and to meet our client’s requests for brighter, punchier lights,” said Daniel Munroe, Lots of Watt’s Production Manager. “I believe that our client’s will also love the new gobo set. We purchased eight MACIII’s and they’re great; the gobos look fantastic and the intensity of them beats, by far, anything else on the market at the moment. Of course, there’s also that Martin reputation for reliability.”
Upon delivery the MACIII’s were put to the test at One HD’s live coverage of the two day swimming meet ‘Duel in the Pool’ featuring Australia and Japan and held in Canberra’s AIS Pool.
Josh Moffat of All Things Technical was contracted to commission and design the lighting for the event, working alongside regular associate and veteran TV Lighting Director Tom Carey.
”It was an unusual situation with some very odd constraints to work with,” said Josh. “The venue had a very low roof combined with minimal weight capacity and sections where the daylight comes in across parts of the pool.”
The system comprised of a run of MAC2000 profiles and MAC2000 washes as well as the MACIII’s on a run of scaffolding along the length of the pool behind the seats. Above the inhouse gantry five six metre trusses were rigged supporting MAC700 washes and MAC700 spots.
”The MAC’s were chosen for the reason that ambient lighting was constantly changing throughout the day and also we were not able to see how even the wash was until the first race,” remarked Josh. “In the end we had five cues along the pool so we were effectively following the swimmers up and down to keep the light levels constant and up to broadcast standards.
”This was especially important as there were super slow-motion cameras as well as the titles keyed over the lanes. The system was controlled from a site shed outside as space in the venue was scarce – let alone when a twenty camera OB moves in! Plasmas with multi-viewers and a couple of Hot Head cameras facilitated vision.”
Josh used his console of choice: as always a full size grandMA running through a NSP Node with a MA Ultralite for tracking backup and remote programming in the venue.
“The Lots of Watts crew went above and beyond on this event as we had a very tight schedule and the conditions were far from ideal,” Josh commented. “As always, the Martin Fixtures performed flawlessly and it was good to have the MACIII’s in the rig as they helped fill in the gaps – they are so punchy and crisp and didn’t miss a beat.”
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