Now the Opera House is expanding its automated rig further - and once again White Light and The Moving Light Company have been their suppliers of choice, thanks to their close working relationship with the Opera House's staff and the regular discussions that take place about new products appearing on the market. The new lights selected by the Opera House this time are two fully automated 4k Arri HMI fresnels, and a further three automated 5k tungsten Arri Junior fresnels to add to the nine such units supplied by White Light last year.
Both units involved custom work by The Moving Light Company. The 4k units consist of Arri theatre compact HMI fresnels fitted in Licht Technik MB Studio moving yokes, with Licht Technik Dark Vader dimmer shutters and Mag Max colour scrollers. The units each feature custom designed truss hanging platforms which contain a 4kW DMX controlled electronic ballast and a power supply and data splitter; thus making the units self contained and able to be hung anywhere within the Opera House's standard rep lighting rig. Lighting designers then have remote control over pan, tilt, beam size, colour and dimmer shutter all via DMX.
The tungsten units use 5K Arri Junior fresnels, adapted by White Light to use custom dichroic glass reflectors to maximise the amount of heat dispersed through the rear of the unit. The fresnels are fitted to Licht Technik ROHR yokes, and have Rainbow 12" scrollers fitted to the front. The fresnels have also been fitted with custom metalwork to minimise the amount of light leakage and spill. Both units have now settled into the Opera House's hectic schedule, which features constant changeovers between shows.
(Lee Baldock)
