NOVOSIBIRSK, Russia - In November 2014, Alexey Zhivanov, Lighting Designer
for Russian stage rental and install firm Grand Show, was tasked with
supporting two distinct events: a rock concert at a nightclub and a ballet
staged in a traditional opera house. To accommodate the needs of each
production, he brought along the versatile HARMAN Martin Professional M2GO
lighting controller.
Maximilians, the Siberian restaurant and venue where Russian rock band Chizh
& Co performed, is equipped with a small array of fixtures including
projectors, LED Wash Zoom fixtures, LED spots, strobes and smoke machines.
Zhivanov didn't need any additional touchscreen monitors or gear to control
the lighting fixtures. He simply connected the M2GO to his laptop.
"The rock concert focused mainly on slow compositions, so I programmed
scenes filled with warm colors and smooth effects", said Zhivanov. "The M2GO
is efficient and easy to program presets and a PATCH. I only spent an hour
preparing for the entire show."
After Maximilians, Zhivanov made his way to the Novosibirsk State Academic
Opera and Ballet Theatre to light the 60-year anniversary performance of
Harvest Days: Reclaiming Virgin and Fallow Lands. High-ranking government
officials would be in attendance at the ceremonial event so Zhivanov, who
felt he had no room for error, planned accordingly.
"I ran the show with the M2GO, using a Martin M-PC for data backup and
additional features", said Zhivanov. "Everything went great. The console
worked perfectly and the M-PC sped up programming even further."
Since the console was located far offstage in the control room, Zhivanov
used Touch OSC software to make adjustments remotely from where he stood at
the side of the stage.
"From front of house, I could not see some lighting fixtures installed on
the top trusses," he said. "Since the Opera House is quite large, it would
have been inconvenient for me to constantly run back and forth from the
control room to the stage. All M-Series products integrate OSC protocol,
which really rescued me when it came to programming effects."
Even though the performances couldn't have been more different, Zhivanov
believes the M2GO was instrumental in producing both shows for its
efficiency and versatility. "With such limited time for rehearsals, the
M-Series Effect Generator and presets were very useful," said Zhivanov. "I
really appreciate M-Series controllers for their expeditious programming. I
can always work quickly, control operations remotely and easily add new
fixtures to the library. In other words, I can complete every element of the
task at hand."
He is also grateful to the Martin Russia team for its support. "They are
real professionals and are always ready to help," he said.
Read more about Grand Show: http://grandshow.org/
For more information, please visit: www.martin.com