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Chroma-Q Acquires Vista

Vista 3 by Chroma-Q
JANDS is pleased to announce that Chroma-Q® has acquired the Vista lighting control product range.

Jands has made a business decision to cease manufacturing the Vista lighting control product range.

Recognizing the potential for Vista lighting control systems in today’s market, Jands felt it was a logical move to have Chroma-Q® take over the manufacturing of Vista lighting control product range.
Moving forward, new hardware design, development and manufacturing will be done in Chroma-Q®’s manufacturing facilities.

To coincide with the acquisition, Vista will now be branded as Vista by Chroma-Q® .

Visit the Vista by Chroma-Q page

Vista training at LDI 2017

Session Number L18 – Intro level Jands Vista Training

Wednesday, November 15, 2017, 9:30am – 5:30pm

Imagine if you could design your lightshow the way you see it visually. Spend the day learning how to program on one of the most innovative lighting consoles on the market. Begin thinking and working visually. This class will cover basic programming and expose you to the incredible power of the Vista’s visual interface and timeline.

Target Audience: Console operators and programmers

Seminar Highlights:

  1. Patching and setting up the Vista’s visual interface for your work flow
  2. Creating and updating Group, Position, Color and Beam palettes
  3. Programming conventional and moving lights with the Vista’s unique timeline.
  4. Creating and editing dynamic chase effects

Session Number: L19 – Advanced Level Jands Vista Training

Thursday, November 16, 9:30am – 5:30pm

Spend the day learning advanced programming techniques and console features on one of the most innovative lighting consoles on the market. Begin thinking and working visually. This class will cover advanced programming and expose you to the incredible power of the Vista’s visual interface and timeline.

Target Audience: Experienced console operators and programmers

Seminar Highlights:

  1. Refresher and introduction to the latest software build
  2. Creating and manipulating pixel mapped images
  3. Working with media servers and the timeline
  4. Networking multiple consoles and back-up configuration

Both sessions taught by:Eddie Welsh, console expert, Jands.


System of a Down design by Rob Sinclair & Matt Arthur

SOAD 3

©Rob Sinclair

Europe – “How do we set up the control system to accommodate everything we need for a huge show including capacity for different festival rigs?” Matt Arthur, lighting director for System of a Down’s current European tour, and festival appearances asked Jack Moorhouse, Jands product manager from A.C. Entertainment Technologies.

Rob Sinclair’s ambitious creative design for the Headline European tour by the American alternative, Grammy-winning rock band contained over 800 individually controlled elements, including a touring floor package, festival house rig and a large hybrid video wall. The wall incorporated embedded RGB pixel “lights” alongside a traditional video screen. The lighting pixels themselves required 2,128 DMX channels. Matt originally planned to run the video and pixels from two separate media servers, with overall control from Jands Vista.

The solution was to network two Jands Vista L5 consoles together, alongside a Vista D1 distributed processor.

Jack commented “Doing this provided more than enough DMX universes for the entire show and festival pickups, whilst simultaneously providing tracking backup and networked processing redundancy. Additionally, running all hybrid pixels directly from Vista’s inbuilt FX engine meant that a second media server was no longer necessary.
The resulting control system allowed Rob and Matt to easily create and manage a fully integrated visual display for the show using a combination of video, lighting and pixel mapped effects.

SOAD 2

©Rob Sinclair

Get your demonstration of the Jands Vista range at PLASA London 2017 on the stand (E30) of UK dealer, A.C. Entertainment Technologies.
Alternatively, to arrange a demo or for details of the nearest Jands open house events, contact your nearest dealer.

Gallery – click to enlarge

John Lewis’s Content Production Studio

John Lewis Studio 1

A.C. Special Projects Ltd. (AC-SP) have recently specified, supplied and installed premium performance lighting fixtures, complete with a truss ground-mounted structure, for John Lewis’s new content production studio in London.

This modern, purpose-built facility is used for photoshoots and filming, to generate content for the websites, mobile apps and magazines of what is one of the UK’s leading retailers.

John Lewis Studio 3Underwood Carpenter Ltd., who project managed the setup of the new facility, approached AC-SP, requesting an installed lighting rig to suit the wide variety of applications the space would need to cater for.

AC-SP proposed a full turnkey solution to meet the requirements for a flexible system, which would allow the operator to create high quality lighting scenes for numerous subject types, quickly and easily.

AC-SP Senior Project Manager, Andy Holmes commented, “During initial discussions with the John Lewis content production team, it became clear that they required a very flexible lighting system that would work for both still photography and moving images. The Chroma-Q Space Force softlight was ideal for this application, as its flat field of light helps illuminate the wide range of subjects with an ‘all-encompassing’ high quality light.

He continued, “The high CRI of the Space Force ensures that colours are accurately reproduced on camera. The added flexibility of variable colour temperature control means that cooler colour temperatures can be used to capture imagery of products like white goods, whereas warmer tones can be used when photographing clothes and models. The Chroma-Q Space Force and Studio Force Phosphor fixtures also have the ability to change the refresh frequency of their LED sources, which means that the lights can be tuned to work with video cameras running at varying frame rates, including high speed ‘slow-mo’ videos.

John Lewis Studio 2AC-SP installed the award-winning Chroma-Q LED softlight products – the majority of which were mounted on over 140m of Litec truss also provided as part of the installation. One of the innovative features of the Chroma-Q Space Force is its ability to be mounted on a floor stand, something that has previously not been possible with traditional space lights.

The lighting system is controlled by a Jands Vista M1 console, allowing users to change the lighting scenes from the ground – thereby reducing the requirement for staff to work at height. The intensity, colour temperature and other functions can be controlled from the M1 console.

LumenRadio transmitters and receivers were added to increase the flexibility of the M1 console, meaning the control system can be positioned anywhere within the space to suit requirements.

AC-SP provided on-site systems training for John Lewis’s Content Production team.

Lewis Rhodes, Studio Assistant, commented “AC-SP have been extremely helpful and thorough in their training, which was simple and easy to understand for a team possessing a wide range of different ability and skill levels. The team are excited to start using the lighting rig!

Contact AC-SP now to see how they can help you to achieve your aspirations, on
+44 (0)1494 838392
info@acspecialprojects.com

Reach Academy Feltham UK

Reach Academy

A.C. Special Projects Ltd. (ACSP) has supplied and installed a bespoke entertainment technology system to Reach Academy Feltham – a pioneering, all-through free school for pupils aged four to 18 in Hounslow, west London.

The school approached ACSP with a brief for a fully flexible lighting, video and sound system for its main hall – which is used for a wide array of events, including plays, dance shows, presentations, social functions and workshops. The system had to be user-friendly and intuitive, so that teaching staff and pupils could work it with ease.

The school approached ACSP to tender for the project, due to the company’s extensive track record providing entertainment technology systems to the education, drama and performing arts sectors. Through the supply of detailed drawings of tailor-made specifications and practical demonstrations of key products, ACSP clearly outlined how its highly skilled team would meet all the brief’s particular requirements and challenges – thereby winning the contract.

In practice, ACSP managed the entire project. As well as devising a bespoke technical solution, the company supplied and installed it – subsequently providing training for school staff and ongoing technical support.

ACSP Director, Lance Bromhead felt that the high-performance ProLights lighting range would offer the best results within the school’s budget. For the main stage area, he installed four Diamond 7 LED washers, the smallest luminaire in the Diamond range. They feature the latest WBFX technology – offering unparalleled flexibility and creative possibilities thanks to three operating modes: high performance wash light, with advanced colour calibration; punchy beam light; and amazing FX graphic generation. These washers are complemented by two bigger, more powerful Diamond 19 LED washers.

The rig also includes six ProLights Crystal spot moving-heads and a highly efficient EVO190ETU LED profiler which is capable of replacing traditional profilers equipped with 750W HPL lamps.

This state-of-the-art lighting system is controlled by an ultra-portable Jands Vista S1 console. Vista’s award-winning intuitive, graphical user interface allows students and teachers to concentrate on the creativity and design of their show lighting, rather than deal with complicated lighting programming. The highly intuitive Vista software handles the technical details. Connection from the console to the ProLights lighting fixtures is made wirelessly via a LumenRadio CRMX Nova range DMX transmitter and receiver.

Other equipment supplied included a Christie DHD600 6,400 lumens projector with a choice of HDMI, VGA and video inputs – so media content can be projected during performances, presentations and other events. Sennheiser Evolution 100 Series handheld, lapel and head-band wireless radio mics mean speakers, singers or performers can benefit from flawless audio enhancement at all times.

Ed Vainker, Headmaster for Reach Academy, says that ACSP provided: “amazing service and communication from start to finish. Lance Bromhead was attentive and committed throughout, offering honest practical advice – which, on comparison, was extremely competitive. The installation process was thorough and professional with a very high-end finish. The equipment is high spec. and the after sales training, first class. I have recommended A.C. Special Projects to other schools and will definitely be using them again!

Contact the company now to see how they can help you to achieve your aspirations:
+44 (0)1494 838392
info@acspecialprojects.com

Glass Animals Make Headlines at London’s Roundhouse

Glass_Animals Roundhouse

UK – Lighting designer, Louisa Smurthwaite utilised the award-winning Jands Vista system to provide an elegant lighting design for hotly tipped Oxford indie rock band, Glass Animals’ recent biggest UK headline show at London’s iconic Roundhouse venue.

Since releasing their debut album in 2014, the band have quickly gained a legion of fans all over the world, along with appearances at premier music festivals such as Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds, Coachella, and Lollapalooza. Their latest album, How To Be A Human Being, was released in August to much critical acclaim, and their debut amassed over 200 million Spotify streams.

For the band’s Roundhouse show and current international tour, Louisa’s lighting design, along with the set design by Rob Sinclair, together reflect the lyrical and visual themes of the band’s latest album – which is about lead singer, Dave Bayley’s interactions with people when touring their previous album across North America.

Louisa commented, “As far as design concepts go, Dave and the band wanted to feel like they were playing within the album cover.

As such, the band are framed on stage within large ‘Tetris’ shaped cubes, representing the ‘coloured blocks’ which frame them on the album cover. The Tetris cubes spring to life during the show with some creative uses of Martin Viper Performances.

Louisa is a long-time Vista user, having programmed and operated the flagship Vista L5 console on international tours for high-profile artists including Florence + The Machine and Kylie Minogue, amongst others.

For the Glass Animals tour, Louisa purchased her own compact Vista S1 control surface, which is complemented by an additional two Vista M1 fader wings – all powered from her MacBook Pro.

Louisa commented, “When touring, space is money. I needed a lighting control solution which was lightweight and portable. At first I was a little apprehensive about leaving the Vista L5 console behind, but I have now realised that the S1 / M1 combination offers absolutely no compromise in terms of creative possibilities or power.” Louisa was also impressed by Vista utilising the same simple, powerful and visual software across the whole hardware family – allowing her the flexibility to seamlessly transition from the range’s largest L5 console to the smallest S1 / M1 hardware package.

The Roundhouse concert was a special event in many ways. As well as marking Glass Animals’ largest UK headline show to date, it was a chance for them to perform in one of the most iconic performance spaces in the world, and during celebrations commemorating the venue’s 50th anniversary as an arts centre.

The show lighting rig featured Martin Viper Performance / Air FX, Martin Aura XBs, Clay Paky Mythos, various generics, and a huge golden mirror ball.

Summarising her experience with Vista, Louisa commented, “I am always impressed with Vista’s fixture swapping and cloning capabilities. Adapting existing programming to incorporate fixture substitutions or the house rig is a daily occurrence on tours. Having Vista automatically handle every single attribute for me, and for it to simply work every single time, is a massive advantage. Vista’s extensive factory library makes encountering the world’s most obscure fixtures a stress-free scenario.

Louisa and Glass Animals are touring Europe, North America and Asia from November through to January. They will return to the UK in March for another series of shows.

Photo credits:
Roundhouse photo ©Nick Pope. Instagram: @nickpopemedia. Facebook: Nick Pope.

Alton Towers Resort Provides Out of This World Fireworks Spectacular

Alton Towers Fireworks

The award-winning Jands Vista lighting & media control system again proved its flexibility and power when it provided control for this year’s out of this world ‘Ultimate Fireworks Spectacular’ – an annual end-of-season event at the UK’s most popular Theme Park, Alton Towers Resort.

To celebrate the launch of the Resort’s new rollercoaster fully dedicated to virtual reality, Galactica, the intergalactic show featured an interstellar fireworks display, striking visual effects and incredible lasers that lit up the universe’s sky – set to space themed music and the backdrop of the towers.

Alton Towers Resort specified the Jands Vista system to provide lighting and media control for the event, for the 5th consecutive year running.

The Resort’s technical team are experienced Jands Vista users, with a fleet of consoles employed throughout the park for various attractions and venues.

As in previous years, the team utilised Jands’ flagship Vista L5 console to control an impressive rig for the show featuring over 150 fixtures and 14 universes of DMX – with the lighting & audio elements synchronised using time code.

The impressive fixture count consisted of Robe BMFLs, Clay Paky Sharpies, SGM G-Spots, 7Kw Falcons, Philips Color Kinetics iColor Flex LMX Strings, and a Green Hippo Media Server.

Alexander Tweedie from the Alton Towers Resort’s technical team commented: “After using the Vista for a number of our previous fireworks shows and launch events, it was the obvious choice again – and as we expected, it worked absolutely flawlessly. We are really delighted with the outcome using Vista, which helped to make the event another huge success.

He continued: “Our team loves how easy Vista is to set up for big time-coded shows like this event. In addition, the fact that the L5 console uses the same visual interface as other Vista console models we have around the resort means that our team of Vista-trained technical staff were able to collaborate on creating the show quickly and easily. Finally, the Jands technical support is world-class, which is very reassuring when running extra special events such as this one.

Jands and Chroma-Q Solutions for BridgePoint Church

Bridgeport Church 1

North America – BridgePoint Church in St. Petersburg, Florida has set the goal of reaching the entire St. Petersburg peninsula by planting ten campuses over ten years. To achieve this, BridgePoint needs to be relevant to the community and fully enable their volunteers. Jands Vista lighting control systems and Chroma-Q Inspire house lighting, recommended and installed by Pendley Productions (based in Cumming, Georgia) – and supplied by A.C. Lighting Inc. – are playing a role in achieving this goal.

Jands Vista

Bridgeport Church 2Ensuring that volunteers are well equipped to work in any of their production spaces is a priority to BridgePoint. “We wanted to equip our spaces with the same control system, to have consistency with lighting,” states Michael McBride, lighting associate at BridgePoint. “We wanted to be able to start small, but build upon the lighting system as we grow. But we also wanted a system that is easy for volunteers to learn and operate – we want to focus on the volunteers, not on the gear.” Vista was the ideal system to meet these goals.

A Vista S3 system is installed in their main auditorium controlling five universes of DMX over streaming ACN. A Vista S1 controls the lighting in their student ministries space, and a Vista M1 powers the ministry space for the older children’s ministry. Their younger children’s ministry space, having very modest lighting control needs, features a Jands Stage CL console for its simplicity and ease of use. And their recently opened downtown campus uses a Vista S1 as well. “Jands just makes it so easy,” comments Michael. “The Vista software is the same across all their models, so once a volunteer learns Vista in one venue, they know how to use it in all of our venues.

 

Jands Vista at Reading and Leeds for Fall Out Boy

Fall Out Boy 2016 1

© Marcus Maschwitz

A Jands Vista console was at the heart of Fall Out Boy’s headline performances at the recent Reading and Leeds Festival main stages. The Chicago band have spent the past decade working their way up the festivals’ bill, and their strikingly visual performances on the consecutive nights, created by production designer Robb Jibson, garnered rave reviews in the media.

Robb, who also helms Chicago-based So Midwest Inc which provided the Vista control package, has been touring extensively with the band, and the Leeds and Reading shows were the culmination of the 18-month American Beauty/American Psycho album cycle. The custom setup, which has accompanied him throughout, consists of a Vista S3 control surface run on OSX via two Mac Minis with stacking dongles, providing an active/backup system with the footprint of just one desk and a total of 16 cores of i7 processing. Robb also used a pair of Jands D1 processors on the network, which helped distribute the load – a parameter count of just over 17,000.

Fall Out Boy 2016 2

© Marcus Maschwitz

The Vista was in total control of every single visual for the shows, handling all lighting and media output. “Controlling output masters from PRG’s Mbox media server, each output surface can be cued individually and overridden for output control,” explains Robb. “This then meshes SACN with the PRG Director app to supply timecode to the video clips.

I use Vista’s Matrix features extensively, having given a little forethought to the programming for the tour at the outset. I use these features for the majority of my movement, colour and intensity FX. Working this way, I can then simply rearrange the layout to suit the touring system to any festival show, even adding and subtracting fixtures that were never in the cues before, and keeping the elements of the cueing intact with regards to timing and size. This really speeds things along because you can add fresh fixtures and get them into the show. Combined with events and rates that actually respect real-world units, you can set events to songs once and lock them in.

As well as delivering a range of hits on the consecutive nights, the Chicago band created a new show for the festivals, based around their ‘Bloom’ art project, which included a short film. 

Working in conjunction with LA-based streetwear designer Bobby Kim of The Hundreds, we developed an all-encompassing design directive, unifying stage wardrobe, scenic elements and show merchandise,” explains Robb. “This was a unique expression for Reading and Leeds, as well as for shows in Belfast, Glasgow and Del Mar (CA), and required a reimagining of a few songs and a short intro to tie it all together.

Fall Out Boy 2016 3

© Marcus Maschwitz

The Jands Vista morphed the FOB tour’s existing programming across a massive lighting system supplied by London’s Neg Earth for the festival dates, mutually agreed upon to suit both the headliners and the festivals. This comprised more than 250 fixtures of Clay Paky Sharpy, Martin MAC Aura XBs and Vipers, Vari*Lite 3500 WFX, SGM Q-7 and Moles. The lighting was tied in with the show’s media content, which included live camera feeds and striking visuals designed by Robb and his creative team of animators.

Also touring with the band was a custom-built scenic wall with one 12m x 2.6m side consisting of ROE Vanish 25mm LED panels, and the other of flower walls to match the Bloom project’s design. This extended the video raster down low behind the band, starting in a downstage position and flipping on cue to reveal the floral side, before moving upstage behind the band to mix with the show’s video canvas.

Fall Out Boy 2016 4

© Marcus Maschwitz

The time line interface and unique cloning and morphing abilities of the Jands software allowed me to handle the detailed festival programming quicker than any other console type I have used,” concludes Robb. “This meant that during the limited programming slot, I could focus on getting things adjusted while others would still have been setting their broadcast outputs…

Get your personal demonstration of the Jands Vista range at LDI 2016 on the booth of exclusive North American distributor, A.C. Lighting Inc. (#2252).

Alternatively, to arrange a demo or for details of the nearest Jands open house events, contact:
(North American Sales)
A.C. Lighting Inc.
Tel: +1 416 255 9494
northamerica@aclighting.com

(Europe, the Middle East and Africa)
A.C. Entertainment Technologies Ltd.
Tel: +44 (0)1494 446000
sales@ac-et.com

Gallery – click images to enlarge

All Photo © Marcus Maschwitz

Vista training at LDI 2016

LDI 2016 Training

Session Number L16 – Intro level Jands Vista Training

Wednesday, October 19, 2016, 9:30am – 5:30pm

Imagine if you could design your lightshow the way you see it – visually. Spend the day learning how to program on one of the most innovative lighting consoles on the market. Begin thinking and working visually. This class will cover basic programming and expose you to the incredible power of the Vista’s visual interface and timeline.

Target Audience: Console operators and programmers

Seminar Highlights:

  • Patching and setting up the Vista’s visual interface for your work flow
  • Creating and updating Group, Position, Color and Beam palettes
  • Programming conventional and moving lights with the Vista’s unique timeline
  • Creating and editing dynamic chase effects

Taught by: console expert Eddie Welsh of Jands
Class limit 10: two per console
More info & Registration >

Session Number: L17 – Advanced Level Jands Vista Training

Thursday, October 20, 2016, 9:30am – 5:30pm
Eddie Welsh
Spend the day learning advanced programming techniques and console features on one of the most innovative lighting consoles on the market. Begin thinking and working visually. This class will cover advanced programming and expose you to the incredible power of the Vista’s visual interface and timeline.

Target Audience: Experienced console operators and programmers

Seminar Highlights:

  • Refresher and introduction to the latest software build
  • Creating and manipulating pixel mapped images
  • Working with media servers and the timeline
  • Networking multiple consoles and back-up configuration

Taught by: console expert Eddie Welsh of Jands
Class limit 10: two per console
More info & Registration >


Introductory Level Vista Training
Advanced Level Vista Training