By Dave Whitehouse from DWR Distribution
A great time was had by all visitors to the The Witness Hilton Arts Festival this year including a new visitor, the MA Lighting Dot 2!
With shows ranging from Watershed Live to the Baxter Theatre’s production of Blue/Orange it was always going to be a challenge for the Festival Technical Director, Michael Broderick, to supply the right equipment for such a diverse programme of events.
He made a wise decision to appoint Durban based Black Coffee, headed by the irrepressible Brandon Bunyan, to take care of all the technical requirements. Add to this some top-notch freelancers, many of whom have been working at the festival for many years, and you have the smoothest running arts festival around!
Despite the very wet weather, usually a power nightmare for technicians, the festival ran without a mishap.
This all provided the background for MA Lightings latest product to make its festival bow. Four MA Dot 2 Core consoles were used, one in each of the main venues. Handling anything from stand up comedy to dance, the consoles proved a hit with all the lighting operators. Questions were few, mainly coming from current MA users who wanted additional features added from their big brothers, the MA 2 series!
Michael Broderick
The Dot 2 was launched to cover a requirement for a budget-constrained console that still had both the power and reliability of the MA stable. This heady combination of MA power combined with the legendary reliability of a LINEX based console has proved to be a total winner for both MA and its South African representatives, DWR Distribution. It is really easy to operate. In fact it’s so simple that even I ran a performance at the festival
Not only did DWR supply the consoles to the main venues, they also helped stage the “One Man One Light” show, recently seen at Mediatech. Nick Britz reprogrammed some of the scenes, under the watchful eye of lighting designer Michael Broderick, to make sure it was suitable for the festival venue. Long hours helped produce the masterpiece again. Watch out for more exciting news regarding the show in the near future. The star of the show, Robes Flagship product, the BMFL, certainly created interest amongst the festivalgoers, the attendance at the performances exceeding all expectations.
Having an arts festival as a proving ground is a tough assignment. The Dot 2 came through with flying colours. Said Michael, “What a pleasure it was to have the MA Dot 2 at the Hilton Arts Festival, not just one but four! It’s intuitive software is a thing of beauty enabling first time users to just ‘get on with it’ without having to ask for assistance at every turn. Having Dot 2’a in the four major venues made my life so much easier as I never lost time making the mental shift to accommodate alternative software when moving between venues.”
Michael Broderick with Nick Barnes, DWR.
Here’s to the continued success story of the Hilton Arts Festival and the ever growing reputation of the Dot2!
