MAC Encores make mark on Matilda tour
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Associate lighting designer Chris Hirst has been working alongside original LD Hugh Vanstone, and with the latter’s consent, has developed a more LED-centric inventory, scaling down the number of fixtures and making it easier for him, and production technician Fraser Hall to tour with. Much of the inventory, supplied by Hawthorn, is based on Martin by Harman moving heads including quantities of Martin MAC Encore Performance CLD, Martin MAC Encore Wash CLD and Martin MAC Aura XB, exclusively distributed in the UK by Sound Technology.
Hawthorn business development manager, Mark Burnett, said he had long been a fan of Martin fixtures. “We would always tend to see [new product] prototypes and get on board quite early. For this tour we have supplied the MAC Encore CLD versions. They are great units and the quality of the colour mixing is excellent.”
Chris Hirst has been revelling in the more simplified FOH set-up, with the Martin LED-based MAC Encores replacing MAC Vipers on the UK tour. “Fewer fixtures allows for speed and ease of focusing on tour,” he remarks.
The MAC Encore Performance had first been added to Matilda on the UK leg of the tour. “After they proved a successful LED replacement to the Viper we were sufficiently confident to replace our arc lamps with Encores,” confirmed Hirst, “and this included adding the MAC Encore Wash to the show for the first time.
“Both units were a huge success,” he continued. “We have since retrofitted Encores into the original London production, replacing all MAC 700s and VL1000’s with MAC Encore Performance CLD to reduce lamp replacement costs and fan noise.”
As for the MAC Aura XB wash lights, Fraser Hall says they are “certainly brighter and just as reliable as earlier generations” and Chris Hirst agrees. “I loved them on the Shrek UK tour and they work well on this show. I am impressed with the brightness and the good saturated and pastel colours.” In this production, the Aura XB’s form the side light on the ladders, four ladders per side, and one up stage of the back wall.
Summing up, Chris Hirst says, “Overall the Martin LED fixtures have provided us with a bright, virtually maintenance free rig, which dramatically reduces lamp costs on the tour.
“The strong colours help to create the world of Matilda and support the set design. We were able to achieve good skin tones and strong saturated looks, with enough brightness to pull the cast out of the scenery.”
Finally, Chris Hirst praised Hawthorn, and Mark Burnett in particular. “They provide us with great service and have continued to do so on the road. They were willing to invest in new lighting to allow us to take a (nearly) totally LED rig on this international tour.”
(Jim Evans)
