The Emperors new lights

14 June 2013

The Emperors Palace Hotel Casino Convention and Entertainment Resort in Kempton Park, Johannesburg, have purchased 12 Robin DLX Spots for their main venue, Theatre of Marcellus. The purchase arrived in time to be used on Factory, the 11th stage production by Nataniël which was hosted at Theatre of Marcellus earlier this year.

While Kevin Stannett works on a freelance basis, he is The Head of Lighting at Emperor’s Palace and has been involved with Lighting Design for the artist Nataniël for the past decade.

Stannett chatted to Robert Izzett from DWR Distribution, initially wanting to acquire Robin 600E Spots for the venue. Izzett suggested he look at the DLXs. “They were what I wanted and more,” said Stannett. He liked the zoom, the rich colours and smooth movement of the fixtures. For Stannett everything works in 12s (or 24s when he has budget), and that is how he came up with the number to purchase.

  Behind the scenes at Emperor’s, Kevin Stannett, JP de Vernon and Jonathan Fenske   “We like the DLXs primarily because we don’t have to buy lamps constantly,” said Stannett. “We also needed a fixture with a higher output for what we were doing.”    

The Robin DLX Spot uses a unique new RGBW LED light source and is everything you would expect from a normal discharge lamp, just in LED. While there are many other LED brands on the market, until the DLX, they did not have the same output as conventional fixtures. This is also the first time that LED can compete in colour. “And I’m big on colour,” said Stannett. “The colour from the DLX is untouchable.”

Although power consumption is not a problem at Emperors Palace, the casino is moving forward with a green philosophy. As the fixtures at the venue work hard, LED made the most sense.

Stannett still gets excited about his work especially when he gets his hands on the high end stuff. “I try to push for that,” he says. With that in mind, there are always budget restrictions. “When I buy gear it has to be the right equipment to last for the next ten years,” he said.

An example of this are his Robe ColorWash 250 units, purchased in 2007 from DWR Distribution. “And I’ve not had a day’s problem with those,” smiles Stannett. He also purchased an MVS Hazer and says the unit is absolutely astounding. “The fluid consumption in our large venue probably lasts for two months and in the show bar, four!” he said.

DLXs on Nataniel’s Factory

  Stannett was once again the Lighting Designer for Nataniël latest production, Factory. South Africans have come to love and respect Nataniel as a singer, song writer, comedian and performer, and his specific style and involvement on stage, extends all the way to specifying the look he wants to create for each show.  

Factory is a theatrical show with a generic appearance. In the early years, Nataniël refused to have moving lights on the set. “And when I use them now, I have to be absolutely precise,” said Stannett. “Nataniël is fully involved with the lighting design and tells me what look and feel he requires for each song. He doesn’t’ always know the actual fixtures, so I usually specify those.” The pair work well together and while Nataniël appreciates Kevin’s input, Kevin in turn has learnt to know the artists likes and dislikes.

“What the DLX mostly did on the production was gobo work, and they were phenomenal at that,” said Stannett. “What startled me was the speed of selecting a gobo from one wheel to the next, as well as the intensity of the units.”

Factory – Lighting Equipment List

12        x          Robin DLX RGBW LED Spots

8          x          Robe ColrWash250

6          x          Martin MX-10

4          x          Philips Vari-Lite VL3500 Spot

24        x          Wybron Scrollers

64        x          ETC Source Fours

40        x          Par 64s

6          x          Longman strips (for up lighting the band)

2          x          MVS Hazers

1          x          DF 50 Hazer

2          x          LDS Canto Follow Spots

1          x          ETC Congo for control