Melbourne’s RMIT University is justifiably well-known for its provision of excellent training to future lighting, sound, and production workers. Its delivery of Diplomas, Certificate IVs, and short courses in Live Production and Technical Services are an exemplar in the sector, and its graduates find themselves welcomed by professionals on their entry into the workforce. Live Production and Technical Services Programme Coordinator Rebekah Naim delivers up-to-date lighting training to her students, and ensures that their tech skills are relevant. That’s why she recently updated RMIT’s teaching equipment with two High End Systems HedgeHog 4X lighting consoles.
“The Hog operating system is popular in the field, and I’m ensuring that my students learn consoles that they’ll find in industry,” states Rebekah. “The HedgeHog 4X was ideal for teaching as it’s small, affordable, and doesn’t need a computer to run.”
At just 527mmwide and 555mm deep, the HedgeHogs are the perfect size for the classroom environment. Their internal 12.1-inch multi-touch monitor, ten faders, and four encoder wheels provide enough hands-on control to make the students feel like they’re running a real show. As a bonus, the HedgeHogs are supplied with a free light converse visualisation software license, which is running on the lighting lab’s computers.
“My students started using the HedgeHogs the day we got them,” relates Rebekah. “They were really excited. Quite a few of them already knew their way around the Hog operating system, as they’re already doing gigs. It was great to see how keen they were to teach others.”
Rebekah has been familiar with the Hogs since her early days on the job. “It was a system I knew as young operator,” she recalls, “Back then, it was the only console that could handle moving lights. I’m really enjoying the new model; it’s intuitive and very easy to use. My students have picked it up really fast, so I’m pretty impressed. They really like the patching system, and how easily you can assign parameters and palettes. The logic of the touchscreen operation comes completely naturally to them.”
Hog users emerging, present, and future all benefit from the support of High End Systems Australia and New Zealand distributor Lexair, who themselves are well-known for the excellent Hog training they run for their clients, new and more experienced users.
