Eos is the largest and most powerful of the trio, with up to 16,000 DMX channel outputs or parameters against Ion's 2,048 and Element's 1,024.The first Eos installation in Switzerland was to the Grand Theatre in Geneva.
Anthony Newton, production manager at London's Bush Theatre specified the much lower spec Element because he didn't want anything so complex to operate. He comments, "We wanted something pitched at just the right level, with the most important functions immediately available and many others available to those who wanted it. We use freelance production electricians, so it was important that they should be able to use it without much training - and we're finding that more and more people have experience of the Eos or Ion, which have a similar programming style and syntax to Element. So even if they've never seen an Element before, they're soon up and running on it.
"Some of the lighting designers who have been here in the past and been frustrated by the venue's previous desk have been giving us great feedback. The Effects Engine is particularly powerful and they've been able to do some very exciting things with it which they couldn't do before."
Newton recommended the Element to Kath Geraghty, technical manager at the Granary Theatre, part of University College, Cork, Ireland. A university theatre with just 150 seats, the Granary has a very high turnover of shows and is operated by a variety of people with a broad range of skills, from first year students who have never seen a theatre light before, to theatre studies graduates and paid crew. All need to be able to use as much or a little of the desk as they are comfortable with in as short a space of time as possible.
"We were thinking of buying an Ion," says Geraghty, "but it was a lot more desk than we needed. Having said that, we still wanted to get a desk which students are likely to see when they go out to work, and while we wouldn't want them to be overwhelmed by the functions and look, nor would we want them to be held back by it. Element offers the best of both worlds, so is ideal for a space like ours. I bought it without even trying it out, after reading reviews online and hearing Anthony's recommendation; I've not been disappointed."
(Jim Evans)
