This is the first installation for the DigitalSpot 7000DT series in Belarus. The fixtures were specified by Robe's Belarus distributor Art Ramos - also a technical design & build specialist - to the installers as part of a government contract. Main contractor Belcultproject was responsible for supplying the products to the venue.
Art Ramos's Anton Streltsov reports that the 12 DigitalSpot 7000DTs were specified as the most cost efficient product of their type available, and that the 16 ColorSpot 700E ATs also supplied were chosen for the brightness to size ratio of the unit and the general reliability of the Robe brand.
The DigitalSpots are rigged in the roof onto two horizontal spans of overhead trussing running down both long sides of the arena, and together with the ColorSpot 700E ATs, they form part of a set of mobile 'house' concert lights.
Many top bands and live artists have played Minsk Arena already, including Linkin' Park, Rammstein, Elton John, Sting (using their touring productions) and others, while the venue hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2010 at the end of last year, which utilised the house lighting rig to great effect.
The DigitalSpots are also used for all the pre-game shows hosted by local ice hockey team, Dinamo Minsk, in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). During the games, they are positioned about 16m above the ice.
The house rig also features other moving lights and many generics, all of which are controlled via a grandMA full size console, plus MA VPUs for storage and playback of video materials.
(Jim Evans)
