Zero's Fat Frog Presentation

UK - Washington D.C.-based Presentation Services is an outside lighting vendor for the largest hotel in the city - the Marriott Wardman Park hotel, and the Zero 88 Fat Frog is their console of choice. Presentation Services won the contract for lighting events at the hotel in January 2004. In their first year competing against outside vendors, Presentation Services won almost $3 million in lighting and video equipment contracts alone. "We go after every group that comes into the hotel," says technical director and lead technician Aaron Kramer. "A lot of the groups that come in here, however, have national contracts, but we've still handled events for the Big Brother Big Sister program - where Laura Bush spoke in support, corporate Marriot events and others."

In 2004, Presentation Services invested $176,000 in new lighting equipment and purchased a Zero 88 Fat Frog as their main lighting console for the hotel. "We chose the Fat Frog because it had the ability to control a small number of moving lights simply," remarks Kramer. "We also liked the hands-on way it controlled conventional lights."

In the hotel, Presentation Services run six High End x.Spot Xtreme fixtures along with conventional fixtures with the Fat Frog - often using freelance operators. "The thing I like the most about the Fat Frog is it is easy to teach the freelance lighting guys the basics of the consoles," comments Kramer. "After a few minutes, even the greenest tech can program looks onto a submaster and do the majority of the lighting work required for a corporate show."

The Marriott Wardman Park hotel is located in a prestigious and historic Washington neighbourhood and caters to a wide variety of events. "We use the Fat Frog board for everything," notes Kramer. "It's simple to use, and it does everything that we need."

(Lee Baldock)

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