Selecon's Nick Gale, Mark Miller and Louise McCoy gave participants a brief overview and demonstration of the various Selecon luminaires before inviting them to get 'hands on' and try them out for themselves. Theatre technicians Oscar Kane and Dave Sinton travelled all the way from Belfast's Waterfront Hall to attend the workshop in Leeds. "The lights are great. We were very impressed by their performance and versatility," said Kane. "The ability to produce gobos on a standard inkjet printer is a real plus," said his colleague, Dave Sinton. "We use a lot for corporate dos and conference work and this would be a real cost-saver."
The Waterfront's technical manager, John Kerr, confirmed this in a phone call after the event. "We have a commitment to advancing our technical staff, and we're always on the outlook for new ideas," he commented. "I was especially impressed by what they told me about the Gobo technology," he concluded.
After lunch, delegates were given the opportunity to compare the performance of Selecon lights against some other rival manufacturers in a 'shoot out' and it was clear from comments that Selecon outshone the opposition, despite in many cases having a lower rated power source. Lee Walker, from the Doncaster Theatre, thought the day in Leeds was well spent. "The Selecon staff were friendly and approachable and demonstrated the products in a surprisingly un-biased way," he said. "The product range is very good, with some really useful features useable in the real world." Features such as Selecon's unique heat management system, interchangeability of parts and the delivery of cool, white light were doubtless in his mind.
Russ Bryant, technical director for Centre Stage Productions, attended the workshop at the Bristol Old Vic: "I came away with positive thoughts on how to use the products from a designer's point of view. I particularly like the idea of the Pacific 600 and producing our own full-colour gobos," he said.
The last word must go to Nick Gale, Selecon's UK sales manager. "These informal workshops are an ideal way for us to demonstrate our unique range of luminaires. Importantly, it allows for us to get feedback from the people who use them, which is vital for our continuing product development," he said.
(Lee Baldock)
