Dillon Production Services, Inc, an Atlanta, based rental house run by Matt Dillon and Westermann supplied lighting equipment. Dillon Production Services has been designing light shows for The Home Depot and Coca Cola for over ten years.
The fixtures utilized for this event were eight Robe 1200E AT Spots flown downstage and mid-stage; and four Robe 1200AT E Washes, two flown mid-stage, with two mounted upstage on the ground upstage. These 12 fixtures were used to produce the main effects and colour washing lighting.
Other fixtures on the rig included twelve Source Four Ellipsoidals flown downstage, ten-Source Four fresnels flown up and downstage, and eight Leko's complete with Wybron Forerunner scrollers down stage. Four DK 2000 strobes arranged around the set on the ground.
The Robes were purchased by Dillon Production Services as soon as they came on the market, and are used heavily on all the company's shows. "I've been using the Robes since they were first available" says Westermann, "They are the most reliable units in every aspect of what's currently available in the moving light world. There is nothing I don't like about these fixtures"
He continued: "The Robe 1200 AT Es are extremely quiet and bright. Some of our clients do not want to hear the lights - whether it's the motors or the fans, so this is really important. The optics and zoom in the Robe 1200 Spots are exceptional compared to anything else on the market"
Westermann also finds the Robe 1200 Spots' 16-bit gobo and prism indexing, "Very useful", and the Art-Net, IR, 3 and 5 pin XLR connectors make it simple to connect the unit to any console or tester. "The 80 degree zoom on the 1200 washes lets me use fewer lights and achieve better results" he concludes.
He thinks the variable frosts on the ColorSpot 1200E AT are useful for transforming a hard edge tool into a complete wash light. "You can have a gobo in the optical path through the variable frost, and not have to see the gobos change with out dimming the units. This is very effective especially in a corporate application where even slight movement can disrupt a speaker on the stage."
A Hog PC with two playback wings, one program wing and two DMX Widgets was used to control the Robes on the Home Depot event. The event format featured several speakers, each giving their own PowerPoint presentations for learning the Home Depot model. The Robe fixtures were key for these presentations as they create the atmosphere and set the mood for Home Depot.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
