West London-based Wise Productions – live events, party and conference production specialists - are using Avolites Pearl and Tiger consoles to control effects lighting in the Hospitality area of the massive Tutankhamen exhibition, currently in residence at The O2.

Sam Akester completed the lighting design which is based loosely on an Egyptian sunset within the ‘Pharaoh’s Palace’, designed by Melville as a special Egyptianesque space for corporate functions and other events staged alongside the exhibition.

The area includes several pillars, which are up-lit with static P30 fixtures (100W ProCan) and a set of roof sails, which are washed from above with HUI cyc 500 floods, starting off in blues at one corner and fanning out across the sails in reds and ambers. Above the sails a Golden Scan is rigged and used to produce a slow moving sun gobo effect traversing the sails. Around the walls of the space are large Egyptian style cut outs (pls see below) and concealed behind these are a series of RGB LED strips which change colour as the sun passes over them, further emphasising the effect.
 

 
A Pearl 2000 is being used to control all of this standard lighting rig, and Wise Productions’ new Tiger is used for additional moving lights that are brought in for specific functions and events.

Says David Wise, “Both our in-house and freelance LDs love the Pearl because it’s an industry standard console that’s incredibly easy to use and specially good for those situations - where installation and programming time is tight”.

 
They bought the Tiger after extensive research because of its small footprint – which is ideal for venues like the Tutankhamen hospitality area. Other features that impressed them include the USB upload facility which they find very useful and the Rolacue, which makes it incredibly easy to recall shapes and patterns when in live mode.
 
 
“Avolites also offers excellent support” adds Wise “Which is really important for a busy rental/production house”.

The Tutankhamen exhibition stays at the O2 until August 2008 before moving back to its home in Cairo.
 

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