Designer Craig Trotter specified all the lighting for the venue - including the two main dance floors, the bar lighting, the VIP room, the ambient lighting, the lights on the outside of the building and even the lights in the toilets. An enormous amount of LED lighting was used to provide the ambient lights in each of the areas with LED fixtures utilised on every pillar.
Control of the lighting in the club is realised entirely using ChamSys MagicQ software and ChamSys MagicQ control wings. ChamSys MagicQ is a complete network system enabling multiple lighting and media systems to be interconnected via standard networks, Ethernet cables and routers. This makes a very low cost solution (network equipment is readily available from computer stores) with the significant benefit that it does not rely on running custom cables, says the company. ChamSys control PCs, Ethernet to DMX boxes and remote wall control panels are simply connected on an Ethernet network.
A total of nine Universes (approximately 4,500 channels) of DMX was used in total. This comprised of two universes for the main dance floor, two for the upstairs dance floor and the remaining five for all the ambient lights.
Control is split between four rack mount PC systems running MagicQ PC software - one for each of the two dance floors, one for the ambient lighting and one as a "hot standby" system. All four systems are networked together and any PC can be set to control any area within the club. The "hot standby" system is set up so that if any of the other PCs fails then it will automatically take over control of the lighting for that area.
Utilising a separate MagicQ PC system for each dance floor enables the LJ/DJ in the area to control the lighting individually using faders and buttons. If required the entire lighting in the club can be controlled from one MagicQ PC system (MagicQ supports up to 12 universes) - in fact, this is how the system was initially programmed, before it was split into the separate control zones. MagicQ software supports import and export of partial show data, enabling shows from different control zones to be merged together or split apart at the touch of a button.
The two dance floor systems use touch screens to enable on screen control of the dance floor together with MagicQ wings to give real faders and buttons. The main dance floor system utilises a MagicQ PC Wing whilst the upstairs dance floor utilises a MagicQ Mini Wing. Both have ten playback faders with go, stop, select and flash buttons for each playback.
As well as large numbers of LED fixtures lighting up individual areas, a custom LED matrix was built behind each of the two main bars. In the feeder bar a nine by six grid of large RGB light boxes was installed. In the main bar a more abstract array of circular RGB light boxes together with surround RGB lights was installed.
Individual scene setters behind each bar enable the staff to make lighting level changes in their local area. The wall mounted scene setter panels communicate with the central ambient MagicQ PC system using a standard TCP/IP protocol over CAT 5 network cabling. The scene setters have buttons and faders which enable fine control of the lighting states in that area.
MagicQ's in-built scheduling enables ambient scenes, such as the outside window lighting to be pre-programmed to turn on and off at specific times of the day and on particular days of the week/month/year.
The whole MagicQ system is also connected into the fire alarm system so that in the event of a fire all the lighting in the club will automatically go on at full level, to enable easy exit. In addition a PIR sensor enables the lights to be turned on automatically when the duty manager enters the club at the start of the day.
(Chris Henry)
