The Art House in Wyong has added Martin MAC Encore Performance WRM fixtures to its lighting rig as well as a couple of Robert Juliat Roxie LED follow spots.
The entire lighting rig in the theatre is LED and it was important that any new fixtures were LED too. The MAC Encore Performance WRM is a full-featured, LED moving head with an innovative light engine that generates pristine, full-spectrum light with ultra-high colour rendition.
Tom Skelton, Production & Operations Manager at The Art House, explained that not only did they require an LED fixture, it also had to be bright, reliable and from a reputable brand. Local support was also very important. Martin and Show Technology ticked all the boxes.
“The feature set on the MAC Encore was obviously crucial too,” added Tom. “The framing shutters were very appealing to us as was the range of zoom. The quality of light they emit is incredible, they have a super, super high CRI and they have fast shutter speeds.”
The MAC Encore Performance has a precision optics system, including an ultra-fast 1:4 zoom, and four framing shutter blades with individual +/- 30° adjustment and entire system rotation of +/- 55° for high-precision cue repeats.
Tom revealed that they debated internally whether the MAC Encores would be an add-on or part of their standard rig, but he decided they’d be part of the standard rig mainly to make the crew’s lives easier.
“They have standard positions in our rig and we find the flexibility and the ease of use for the crew to be great. We discovered they are useful for all kinds of specials with the touring shows, no need to fly bars in as everything we need is in the fixture.”
Tom was skeptical as to how bright an LED follow spot would be but he was blown away by the Robert Juliat Roxie, the little LED wonder with the power punch.
“Most examples of LED follow spots I’d seen before were somewhat average but the Roxie was very impressive,” he said. “I find it indistinguishable from a follow spot with a discharge lamp in terms of brightness. The quality and flatness of the light that comes out of them is impeccable. It’s a really flat beam with no hot spots. The optics are really good too; nice sharp edged beam if you want it with plenty of options to colour or frost it.”
The Roxie is the ideal energy-efficient solution for all those venues where running costs need to be significantly reduced.
“Our crew love operating them especially as they don’t get hot,” Tom said. “They don’t have to wear gloves or burn their arm when they knock them!”
With no heat, no lamp change, and less maintenance, the crew at The Art House are finding the Roxie makes their days easier and safer.
