MGG Productions supplies technical services and equipment in the sound, lighting and video fields for events and productions. MGG specialises in integrated and comprehensive technical solutions. They deliver efficient, low cost and high quality combinations of various technology sectors, such as lighting, sound, and video and multimedia technology. Although they provide comprehensive technical solutions, meeting the needs of individual jobs is also a significant part of their daily business.
Owner Mark Gaylard and Renier Smit (Technical Sales and Support) from Electrosonic SA's Lighting team had been discussing the usefulness of Followspots for some time, and this year Mark decided to employ them at the presentation of the South African Music Awards (SAMAS) held annually at Sun City.
MGG purchased the following Units:
2 x Robert Juliat Aramis 2.5k Followspots plus Stands
2 x Robert Juliat Super Korrigan Followspots plus Stands
Since designing the first HMI followspot, Pixie, in 1975, Robert Juliat has become the preferred manufacturer for lighting designers and operators alike. To produce a powerful followspot is not a difficult task, but to make a followspot with exceptional quality of beam, dimming ability, gobo projection, AND an outstanding light output, all wrapped in an ergonomically pleasing package, is the real challenge. Fortunately it is a challenge to which Robert Juliat has risen, and has emerged as market leader in the followspot industry.
Opera houses love them for their superb dimming capabilities, while rental houses benefit from a fast return on their investment. Equipment-sensitive studio environments appreciate the beam's flat-field with no hotspot.
Robert Juliat followspots are available in short or long throw versions and with different wattages and lamp types to suit every application. Condenser optics give a flat, even beam with optimum light output, and variable zoom optics maintain sharp focus at every beam angle.
Each Robert Juliat followspot comes with a full range of accessories and a wealth of ergonomic features for comfortable and efficient operation.
"When the followspots arrived they where shipped straight to the SAMAS in the original Packaging and have been working ever since," commented Mark.
"I am very pleased to have been able to assist MGG and Mark, at Electrosonic SA we always try our best for all our clients," said Renier. "Because large format followspot sales are rare, it's very exciting when they do occur. Having Robert Juliat spots in MGG inventory has always a goal of ours".
by Jesse Dullabh Technical and Controller support – Electrosonic SA
On the 23rd of May I travelled to R&D International in Belgium for an advance training course on the New Martin M6 console. The course was hosted by Paul Pelletier and Matthias Hinrichs who are the Product developer and Brand manager respectively of the M-series of the Martin Range of consoles. I joined the international team of distributors and immediately got down to networking. It was interesting getting to know our different regions of access and how previous versions of the M-series have been used across our respective regions. The three day course covered the following aspects: hardware, software, programming technics, business models and network connections. The course was very fruitful as it introduced the improvements made to the new V3 Software, which increase workflow and allow lighting designers to program and operate in a much faster and smooth manner.
The first two days were spent opening up the M6 and getting an understanding of the impressive developments that have gone into the new console.
My third day was spent examining different connection pathways and the introduction of Artnet. I also investigated a product call Luminex which specialises in network hubs and systems. We looked at the plug and play system, as well as how easy it is to connect to the M6.
Martin's slogan: M6 – The ability to grow with your console as your company grow, is a selling point that sets the M6 apart from competitors in terms of prices range. The modular design of the console allows for customization, and decreases shipping costs dramatically. However, Martin has not sacrificed hardware quality as it feel that the ability to trust the lighting console in volatile live event situations is of key importance to event producers and production teams. This is the result of more than 12 years of research and development that have been invested in this range.
We also had a look at the new MPC Software that has become such an integral part of the M-series family. This new software has been developed as an independent part of control and is no longer merely an introduction to a controlling platform. The integration of the touch and sweep technology makes the MPC software an extremely powerful lighting control application. The M-series is a ground-breaking development, and I look forward to further developments and innovation, as Martin products continue to set the benchmark in the lighting industry.
Some of the following hardware developments include:
15.6' optical bonded industrial screens, customized for the Martin range of M6 consoles
One thing that cannot be taken away from the audiovisual industry is our flashy side. When we show off, we really show off. And at Mediatech 2013 we remained true to our reputation.
It was as if all the exhibitors secretly decided to go extra 'Wow' this year. A friend of mine paid a visit to see 'what it is we really do'. As she stared in awe at the smoke-filled Coca Cola Dome, ablaze with light beams, laser lights and LED displays, she gasped: "Wow, this is not the type of expo I am used to". That's exactly how it was - it was WOW! The general sense of this year's expo was a markedly bigger presence by the staging & events industry, as well as by the display industry. It was not overpowered by broadcasting folk who seemed to monopolize the attention in previous years. It felt more balanced and all round, every participant played an important role in the overall extravaganza.
The team at Electrosonic SA didn't stand back either and put on its boxing gloves for this bout. The Entertainment Lighting and AV Systems divisions teamed up and the planning started as early as February. Everything was done properly with 3D stand designs and many custom ideas for the big 3 show days in July. The joint effort won Electrosonic SA a Silver Mediatech Stand Award.
Across our stand we accentuated a collection of technologies pertaining to various sectors of the audio-visual industry. Our Lighting division, headed by Bruce Schwartz, filled their section of the stand – as well as every single empty spot other than their own – with the latest lighting innovations, and showed why they are so respected in the industry.
"At Mediatech 2013 we decided to showcase Electrosonic SA as a whole: not as separate lighting and systems divisions. Our stand combined all these aspects as there is a cross-pollination of our products with our clients. So from that point alone we regard Mediatech 2013 as a particularly successful event. We decided to set up a separate area to showcase Martin Professional's Viper range of fixtures in a dedicated space designed to bring out the best in the fixtures optics. We were also privileged to have both Tom Etra from Green Hippo (UK) and Andre Bragard-De Naeyer from ADB (Belgium) on the stand. Because we represent them, Green Hippo also allowed us to set up a captivating 3D Mapping demonstration in the Green Hippo breakaway room. This was definitely a stand-out feature of Mediatech 2013. The quality of Mediatech 2013 was world class and completely on par with European shows like PLASA and Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt. I am sure visitors to the Expo left with lots of valuable information", said Bruce.
Opposite the Lighting desks, our AV Systems division, made their mark with Kramer Electronics and Sierra Video products filling an entire 6 metre demonstration area. Jason Johnstone, the Kramer Product Manager had this to say about the show: "Mediatech is always a great way to network with dealers and showcase some of the latest Kramer products. I think one of the biggest benefits is making cross-border contact into Southern Africa. This year we were able to showcase Kramer Electronics' wireless HDMI products which have been in demand lately. We also had our popular SID family on show; a product which won and award for Kramer at InfoComm. In addition to that, Kramer Electronics increased their HDBaseT range of products, as many screen / projector manufacturers are now adding HDBaseT as a standard on their equipment. Sierra Video, a sister company of Kramer Electronics also had space on our shelves; their products included Multiviewers and routers which are aimed at the broadcast market".
On the display side of things, we demonstrated both our Galaxy Video Wall processors and numerous NEC displays. The baby Galaxy - the X4 - created a very attractive image, spread over a 'smarty box' of displays. The X4 allows users to scale, move and rotate separate quadrants of an image across four individual displays to create a sexy video wall. We utilized 2 x NEC X461S', a 29" dual desktop monitor and a 23" NEC display, in concert to form a very eye-catching display feature, aimed at retail environments. The Galaxy Pro lived up to its name and delivered leading functionality with input and signal management as well as scaling to present a multi-window configuration across four narrow bezel NEC X463UN 46" video wall displays, which in turn had many mouths watering with the crisp Full HD images and high contrast delivered by a full array backlit LED light source. Both products offer 24/7 warranties and built-in redundancy to create an ideal solution for mission critical control rooms and public display requirements. An added Crestron touch panel and processor created a graphic dashboard for the user to orchestrate the required demands.
As far as projectors are concerned, we demonstrated NEC's Full HD PA500U with 5000 ANSI lumens, the PX750U, with its beastlike 7500 ANSI lumens and a smaller UM280Wi ultra-short throw projector with the eBeam add-on to turn any surface into an interactive display, which sparked much interest from representatives from schools and universities.
As we all know, no projector can fully deliver a quality image without a projection screen at the other end, and Elite Screens, one of the quality products in our arsenal, does just that. Elite Screens accommodate various screen requirements, with a pricing structure to cater for all. The Elite Product Manager, Joel Davies and Linda Swart (Sales & Support) handled the division's area on the stand. "The Elite Screens portion of the Electrosonic SA stand was well attended from far and wide by all sectors of the Mediatech visitor spectrum: Broadcasters, Entertainment & Events companies, and Educational facilities. With our new clients on board, Elite Screens will soon be conquering the wider African markets though visibility and availability. Of the items on display were the line of staging screens, which enjoyed the most attention as well as the various material options across the range of fixed frame and motorised screens," said Linda.
The rest of the expo floor was covered with demos from many old friends, as well as the odd foe, as competitive industries must have. Mediatech 2013 had much to offer the thousands of industry focused visitors, many of who had travelled across the globe to participate. One of the highlights was 'The Museum', where one could view audiovisual equipment from many moons ago, without which we would not have been where we are today.
Mediatech 2013 was an overall success and the Electrosonic SA team is very happy with its efforts, and the orders which started rolling in very soon afterwards. Eugene Coetzee, one of the captains of our ship, gave his opinion, "Electrosonic SA's booth at Mediatech 2013 was more than double the size of our booth in 2011. This gave us the opportunity to show off more products and solutions than before. One of the very important design goals of our booth was that it should be easy for visitors to flow through our booth, and we achieved this. Our booth was divided into 3 parts, with an aisle in the middle so we had visitor access from three aisles! I think this really worked well. Our booth was well attended by both existing and prospective clients. It was also a great opportunity to see so many of our clients and integrators in the space of three days. Something that stood out for me in particular when looking at the show as a whole was that exhibitors put in a great effort with the design of their booths. It was on international standard!"
Electrosonic SA would like to use this opportunity to thank each and every one of our stakeholders who contributed and visited our stand. We thank you for your input that resulted in our success, as well as to congratulate the organisers for an event that was well put together. We cannot wait for 2015.
From a Crestron point of view:
Crestron in South Africa, a subsidiary of Electrosonic SA, also attended Mediatech and Derek Marsden shared his experience: "After a long hiatus, Crestron's participation at Mediatech was a huge success. Amongst the show's highlights was the showcasing of the latest 3 Series processing engine along with the new Core 3 UI™ touch panel technology. Also Creston's DigitalMedia™, video routing and reticulation solution, was a highlight that amazed visitors with its broad range of applications; from simple boardrooms to command centres and even creative video wall applications.
Room scheduling also piqued the interest of the punter, with Crestron's lighting control and energy monitoring products getting the nod from facility managers and consultants. All in all we are very pleased with the positive response and look forward to participating in future Mediatech events."
Peter Dahlin of Martin and Bruce Schwartz of Electrosonic SA recently undertook a whirlwind tour of South Africa to show off the Rush by Martin Professional Range of fixtures. Launched at Pro-Light and Sound in Frankfurt in March 2013 the Rush Range of fixtures is designed to fulfill the need at the entry level of the Entertainment Lighting Market.
Peter and Bruce were amazed by the reception. "Never before has a range of products generated so much buzz in South Africa," said Peter.
In a display of logistic planning that a rock band would envy Peter and Bruce visited numerous clients, old and new in three cities over five days. The Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town clients were treated to one-on-one visits at the clients' premises. This method has proved very successful with many more people getting to see the products than would on and open day. "This way it's more personal. Clients feel comfortable in their own shops so they ask more questions and spend more time playing with the fixtures. Often they pull out older lights to compare," said Bruce.
The most popular fixtures were the Rush Strobe 1 5x5 and the Rush MH3 Beam with each product appealing to different applications. The strobe is a totally new fixture, with very few alternatives out there. The MH3 satisfies the need for powerful, dynamic beams which are the rage at the moment in many shows. Another advantage is that suits the slightly smaller pocket.
The full range will be available for the South African summer. For more information or a demonstration of the new Rush Range of fixtures call the Electrosonic SA's Lighting Team.
