black light already stocks a variety of ETC equipment, but the company realised that an upgrade to Emphasis would prove beneficial, both for its own use and for its clients. Project manager Paul McGreal explains: "Apart from renting the system out for productions, we also intend to hire it to lighting designers and programmers, as well as inviting them to use it in our pre-programming studio. We already owned both an Express and an Expression desk, and as the Emphasis server has software for both, the decision to upgrade was an easy one."
The first rental of Emphasis was in early March to Robert C Kelly, a Glasgow-based theatrical company, for its production of ‘Dean Park in Concert’ at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. Lighting designer Simon Wilkinson knew that he’d have little or no time to make preparations at the venue and so programmed the show in advance at black light - 50 miles away from the theatre. Wilkinson explains: "One of the big advantages of Emphasis is its interface with WYSIWYG. I carried out the design work of the venue and the placing of lights at home using WYSIWYG Design which I’d previously bought from black light, but being able to do all of the actual programming at their studios using the Emphasis system was really useful. At the concert hall the WYSIWYG capabilities of Emphasis were invaluable, as I could plot while the lights were still on and even when the view of the stage was obstructed. I was even able to make ‘blind’ changes at the last minute after the doors had opened."
For designers like Wilkinson, the bonus of rental companies offering Emphasis is that they can own the Design version of WYSIWYG and only pay for the real-time visualization features when they actually need them. Wilkinson now uses WYSIWYG for all his shows, regardless of the control desk.
(Ruth Rossington)
