Tony Gottelier and Rick Fisher, co-founders of Light Relief, arranged for Julian to receive a copy of WYSICAD, the 2D and 3D visualization software program, with the co-operation of ETC and CAST Lighting. Then, when Glyn O’Donoghue, marketing director at AC Lighting, heard about the presentation, he immediately offered Julian a day’s training on the product at High Wycombe, plus follow-up technical support. Glyn said: "I’m a big believer in WYSIWYG – it’s a tremendous product and I want to help Julian get the best out of it."
Julian has not worked since October 1999, when his cancer treatment began. Now completely cleared of the disease, thanks to a combination of radio therapy, surgery and back-up chemotherapy, Julian has used his time at home to learn computer skills and to keep up to date with the technical side of the lighting business. He said: "WYSICAD will enable me to work at home, thus alleviating some of the underlying stress of not earning! I eventually hope to upgrade to the full version of WYSIWYG, which has become an essential tool of modern stage lighting design. This software will enable me to learn how to produce stage lighting plans associated with AutoCad files and then, in time, learn how to programme a lighting system from a drawing."
Making the presentation, Mark White said he was delighted that WYSIWYG would play a role in helping Julian get back on his feet after such a traumatic period of his life.
