|
Los Angeles, February
10,
2009
It
was a historic occasion. More than a million people turned out on the
Mall in Washington, D.C. to witness the inauguration of Barack Obama.
It was perhaps not as well known that 11 Fat Frogs were there too,
controlling fixtures from Christie Lites, which, last November,
supported Obama’s victory speech in Chicago’s Grant
Park.
A.C.T Lighting is the exclusive distributor of Zero88 in North America.
“We were very fortunate to have two career-milestone
gigs,”
says Robert A. Roth, of Christie Lites, about the victory speech and
Mall events. “They were very rewarding personally and
professionally.”
Once again Christie Lites teamed with event producer C3 Presents of
Austin, Texas for the Mall lighting. “There was a series of
tower
positions along the Mall; some of the ones on the east end of the
Capitol were set up in a reasonably symmetrical array,” Roth
recalls. “Initially, we were led to believe we could
establish
wired DMX among these 12 towers. We had only four weeks to plan with
the holidays coming right in the middle.
“We added a rigging position on the towers and put up
automated
moving lights for remote focus,” he continues. “But
we
couldn’t establish wired DMX for security and safety reasons.
We
needed a console to hold focus and adjust it once we observed the
crowds. So we decided to fly in 11 Fat Frogs to our hotel.”
One Fat Frog was installed at each of 11 towers which acted as their
“own stand-alone islands in a sea of people,” notes
Roth.
“From those positions, the Fat Frogs controlled multiple Mac
2K
XBs; we just programmed each console, disked it for back up and moved
on. We could set them and forget them.”
The Fat Frogs’ ruggedness and reliability were key to an
event
which faced “multiple challenges from multiple
sources,”
Roth reminds us. “My crew was stellar, working 12- to 14-hour
shifts. And the Fat Frogs were stable down to unbelievably cold
temperatures. We never had a single failure. The gear performed great,
offered the functions we wanted and remained stable under very
difficult circumstances.”
Zero88’s new products continue the Fat Frog tradition of
sophisticated and economical lighting control. The Jester ML48 provides
features from the original Fat Frog with improvements that include
built-in effects, multi-function keys, USB support and greater fixture
control.
“Kudos to Christie Lites for creating a working solution to
solve
the unusual issues associated with this historic event and the demands
of the venue. The Fat Frog packs a rich feature set into a surprisingly
inexpensive package. Christie Lites were the first to recognize this
and they have put hundreds of them into their inventory,”
comments A.C.T Lighting President and CEO Bob Gordon.
Roth gives kudos to C3 for the producers’ problem-solving
capabilities. Clair Brothers, StageCo, and Screenworks also provided
support for the history-making event.
About ACT Lighting
A leading importer and distributor of lighting products, A.C.T
Lighting, Inc. strives to identify future trends and cutting-edge
products, and stock, sell and support their inventory. The company
provides superior customer service and value for money to all of its
clients.
For more information call 818-707-0884.
Copyright © ACT Lighting 2009. All rights reserved.
|
