Many of ETC's staff also work as freelance lighting operators and designers, so it was no surprise that when Daniele Peroni, ETC's Rome-based field project coordinator, was asked to look after the lighting for the night. He jumped at the chance to see how the Cobalt desk would perform. The job required keeping thousands of clubbers entertained, using 140 fixtures and a media server to control a giant LED wall behind the DJs, who included legendary DJ Carl Cox.
"My brief was simply to create nice lighting in a great environment," he says. "We used some of the basic palettes, presets and colour programming, but the rest of the night, we controlled the lighting on the fly. Cobalt's very quick touchscreen operating style makes it perfect for live performances and events, and I was able to make great use of the effects generator."
Circo Loco comes to Rome once a year, and this is the first time that Peroni has controlled the lighting. He was even able to use some of the latest ETC Source Four LED Series 2 fixtures, using three to highlight the DJs.
(Jim Evans)