Products in use varied from the Level 6 DMX through to the ORB and ORB XF professional theatre consoles. The largest presence of Zero 88 products this year was once again at the Pleasance venues which utilised 23 Zero 88 control desks, plus 56 Betapack dimmers (including generation 1, 2 and 3 varieties). The smallest venues at the Pleasance feature just six ways of dimming and a Juggler console, whilst the largest, the Pleasance Grand, included an ORB and 34 Martin Mac 700 moving lights.
Chief electrician Dom Knight comments, "It was a logical choice to stick with Zero 88 for this year's festival. The support that Zero 88 give to the Pleasance has been invaluable to the success of this years fringe."
The presence of Zero 88 at the Pleasance extends back nearly a decade and is a relationship managed by Blacklight's business development manager Phil Haldene. Over the years the support has grown to such a level that Zero 88 now provides on-site support throughout the festival period, to backup not only the Pleasances' venues but also the multitude of other venues across the city choosing their control solutions.
Blacklight has also been busy at the Pleasance during the year. A new Chilli dimmer installation was added to Pleasance One before the festival, featuring 96 channels of Chilli 2410i dimming together with house light controls from a Chilli 410HF. This was a much needed upgrade to the venue which is run throughout the year by Edinburgh University Students Association (EUSA) and the install was specified by the Blacklight team together with EUSA LX Chief Dave Moffatt.
For the festiva,l this installation was supplemented with a pre-release ORB XF console from Zero 88, proving the stability and reliability of the ZerOS platform even in a prototype environment. The venue experienced no problems with the console throughout the entire run of the fringe.
"I specified Chilli's for the Pleasance Theatre as I know they're reliable, solid dimmers," says Moffatt. "The rest of the year this venue is operated by students who need kit that just works."
Stage Electrics' hire department were also busy specifying a large number of Zero 88 consoles into venues this year - 25 desks at last count - including Jesters for the Gilded Balloon and a number of Leap Frog 48s, Jester MLs and Jester TLXtras to Underbelly and Assembly venues. The Zero 88 team also provided support and training for these venues, working alongside the Stage Electrics support team led by head of technical and hire Adrian Searle.
(Jim Evans)
