Studio Berar's marketing manager Lazar Josanov, says, "The theatre's managers were looking for a complete new lighting system which would last them well into 21st century, and which would come with the backup and support that they would need.
"Studio Berar has a long relationship with ETC, and we were quick to recommend them - ETC has always provided an efficient and helpful service, with 24 hour customer support where necessary."
Studio Berar project manager Aleksandar Kruscic, who designed the system, explains, "We supplied ETC's latest update to the Source Four range, the Fresnel, as well as Source Four Zoom, Source Four jr Zoom and Source Four PAR. The theatre was impressed with both the quality of the fixtures' optics, and the ease with which the luminaires can be handled, with quick replacement of the HPL lamps."
Normally, to change the beam angle on a PAR luminaire, a replacement lamp would need to be fitted; however, Source Four PARs come with four interchangeable lenses, enabling the beam to be easily switched. And where a PAR fixture would normally contain a 1kW lamp, says Josanov, "And where a PAR fixture would normally contain a 1kW lamp," says Josanov, "the 750W in the Source Four PAR easily replaces one with 1000W from any other manufacturer, enabling up to 40% energy savings.
"The client was also impressed with the price of the HPL bulb, which is significantly lower than conventional halogen sealed beam lamps."
The Palilula Cultural Centre has organised a range of educational and cultural programmes since it opened 50 years ago. "With this new, totally renovated theatre," says Josanov, "organising events will be much easier, and the theatre will be able to achieve greater versatility for its guests.
"The technicians specified wall-mounted ETC SmartPack 12 channel dimmers, which provide a choice of dimming curves. To provide easiest control of the lighting, a wall-mounted button station offers up to 10 presets."
Lighting system control and management is provided by an ETC Element desk, which is part of the Eos family, and features the same theatrical style syntax. Says Kruscic, "The technicians wanted quick and easy control of the range of different fixtures installed - predominantly conventionals, but with a few intelligent fixtures and the option to work with other multimedia at a later time. The Element desk is very user friendly and provides quick and easy control of the entire lighting system, with graphics displayed on two touch screen monitors.
"After completing the installation and commissioning, the Studio Berar team provided a full training programme for all the technical staff. They were all extremely impressed with how quickly they were able to get up to speed with the desk."
(Jim Evans)
