The Polynesian Cultural Centre is one of Hawaii's top attractions. Set on 42 acres on the North Shore of Oahu, the PCC offers a chance to explore many of the Polynesian cultures in the South Pacific. Billed as Hawaii's newest ancient story with a cast of more than 100, Ha: Breath of Life is an evening spectacle featuring singers, dancers, fire-knife performers and drummers staged in the dramatic 2,800-seat Pacific Theatre.
Brent Pritchett, project manager at 4 Wall, specified the Cyranos for the PCC and worked with the Centre to set up the new fixtures. "I've always been very happy with the ergonomics of the followspots and their user-friendliness which is important for this customer since a lot of their operators are students without a lot of experience," he says. "The functionality of the units and the positioning of the fast-locking focusing handles and iris are all designed to make operation easy for non-professionals."
DMX control is also simple, he reports. "It's likely to be the first time behind a followspot for the students so I wanted DMX control of fade outs so everything can be done simultaneously and match the dimmer curve of the rest of fixtures."
Pritchett is a heavy user of the Cyranos' built-in progressive frost feature as well as its colour correction and dark blue dichroic filter, which he says are important assets for the PCC's shows. He loaded the fixtures with the automatic self-cancelling six-way boomerang color changer unit, as well.
"It's a great set of features for Ha: Breath of Life and the future shows the Centre will stage," he notes. The Cyranos are also outfitted with long leader cables to keep power supplies out of the way.
"Robert Juliat shipped the lights to Hawaii almost the day they were ordered," Pritchett adds, "and Robert Juliat's customer support has been awesome. The PCC is really happy with their decision to purchase the Cyranos."
(Jim Evans)
