Lighting for the opening event was provided by GLP Inc and Maryland Stage Lighting Inc, and constricted of 18 MAC 2k washes, 24 MAC 2k profiles, 12 MAC 600s, 16 MAC 500s with an additional 200 conventional fixtures, all run from one of the first grandMA lighting consoles ever sold in North America. Lighting designer Gary Pair, lighting director/programmer, Demfis Fyssicopulos and ME Bob Halem, were responsible for lighting all three main ballrooms.
In order to control all three of the ballrooms from one console, Pair and Fyssicopulos relied on the new grandMA remote software for Pocket PCs. This free software allows up to six users to control a grandMA console from a low-cost hand-held Pocket PC using a wired Ethernet or "Wi-Fi" wireless connection.
"This was exactly the kind of gig that the new grandMA remote was designed for," said Demfis. "I was able to review and update cues in one ballroom while the console was in another. Having this kind of capability, for less than $500, is fantastic for a freelance programmer. As with most things on the grandMA console you never knew you needed it until you try and do without it!"
The free remote software, a PC emulator software for the remote and Pocket PC specifications can be found on the website of A.C.T Lighting - the North American distributor of the grandMA and the rest of the MA Lighting range.
(Lee Baldock)
