"In my role as entertainment consultant to P&O Cruises I was instrumental in selecting Martin as the lead supplier to provide the moving light elements of the entertainment systems for Ventura," reports Chris Blackburn of Snap2Black.
Ventura incorporates flexible Martin lighting systems into several areas of the ship. "Most major entertainment areas are multi-use, although they do have a main use focus," says Blackburn. "They all have an identity."
The two-deck Arena Theatre is the ship's primary show space. "The brief was to augment the generic rig with moving light and mirror fixtures. There were three or four companies all with equipment that we could have used, but the decision went to Martin to supply, which we are all very pleased with," says Blackburn.
"It's a very harsh environment with vibration issues which you don't have in land based productions. There is the constant change in temperature and the gear is really hammered. The ship is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year with something going on virtually all of the time so the equipment is used for more than just evening performances. We're looking for reliability in the mechanics of the fixture because once we put it up in a rig it's pretty much set there."
Positioned in the theatre rig are 11 MAC 700 Profiles, 35 MAC 700 Washes, 14 MAC 550 Profiles and 16 Atomic 3000 strobes. The rig supports the main shows plus a variety of on board activities from cabaret performances and theme nights to marketing activities.
Lighting designer for the on-board productions is Jim Ryan of Infocus FX and Lighting. Permanent lighting technician onboard Ventura is production manager Greg Edrich.
Installation of the Martin lighting gear for Ventura was handled by John Fearon of Eclipse Lighting & Sound of the UK.
(Jim Evans)
