In re-designing the show for the Cambridge Theatre, lighting designer Rick Fisher was looking for a moving spotlight that packed a considerable degree of punch and could be used to create a wide range of effects. With its 1200W HMI lamp, 10-60° zoom range, colour mixing and three wheels of rotating and indexing gobos, the VL3000 Spot luminaire proved ideal. Vari-Lite were able to get the 17 units to The Moving Light Company in time for the production; Fisher's design also called for 14 VL2000 Wash fixtures, three VL1000TS luminaires and three VL5 units which The Moving Light Company were able to supply from its extensive stock.
Vari-Lite and The Moving Light Company are continuing to work together to support the show, and The Moving Light Company will have the VL3000 fixtures retrofitted with the new 'Q' low-noise kits, designed and engineered for use in situations where quiet operation is critical. "That shows how responsive Vari-Lite are to customer's comments," says The Moving Light Company's Bryan Raven. "We asked for quieter fixtures to use on Jerry Springer, and within weeks of a request from us the 'Q' kit was launched which solves that problem completely!"
The relationship between Vari-Lite Inc and The Moving Light Company now stretches back to 2001 when the Vari-Lite range was first made available for purchase. The Moving Light Company supplied 16 VL2000 Spot and 24 VL2000 Wash units to lighting designer David Hersey for the UK tour of Miss Saigon, replacing the VL2C and VL4 units that the show had traditionally used. The Moving Light Company also supplied VL1000TS spotlights to the Royal Shakespeare Company for their season at the Roundhouse - the London debut of the VL1000 range.
The Vari-Lite units are now some of the most popular in The Moving Light Company's rental stock, currently in use on Anything Goes (lighting by David Hersey using VL2000 Spots, VL1000AS), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (lighting by Mark Henderson using VL2000 Spots), Thoroughly Modern Millie (lighting by Don Holder using VL2000 Washes), Tonight's The Night (lighting by Mark Henderson using VL1000TS), Mamma Mia! in Holland (lighting by Howard Harrison using VL2000s, VL1000s and VL5s) and others.
(Lee Baldock)
