MARTIN M-SERIES TRAINING - LIGHTING CONTROL THE MARTIN WAY
By Jesse Dullabh (Entertainment Lighting - Technical and Controller Support)
A series of training sessions on the Martin M-Series platform began at Electrosonic SA’s offices in Durban on 2 June 2014, before moving to Cape Town and then Johannesburg.
This year’s training incorporated the recently launched MSD 6 Pro, as well as the Version 3 software on the M-series platform. The training was hands-on, and students had plenty of opportunity to grasp the techniques which would help them become master lighting designers and controllers.
Trainees were excited by the power of the Martin software and hardware, and were inspired about the possibility of realising their own goals in lighting development and programming. The software is very user-friendly, and it’s possible to achieve remarkable designs and programming in a very short space of time. The dynamic software allows students to find their own way to solutions in controlling set rigs and design. Ultimately, if students apply themselves, they can end up mastering fixtures in a 3D virtual world.
The training sessions in Durban included trainees from various environments (rental companies, theatres, churches etc.) and took the form of a two-day workshop. As a trainer I found it rewarding that individuals with no experience in lighting programming could, after two days, program complete show files using techniques one would normally associate with an experienced programmer.
In Cape Town I had a similar experience, as empowered individuals walked out of the training feeling confident about using Martin Controllers. A master-class, hosted at Cape Town based company CCPP, was equally successful. Industry leaders in the lighting design field were introduced to the platform, giving us the opportunity to put the software and hardware to the test, and compare it to other controllers. The comments were very positive, with more than one person nodding respectfully saying, “Martin Controllers have come a long way since the Maxxyz.”
National Training ended in Johannesburg. Such was the trainee demand in the City of Gold that we had to schedule additional sessions. It was also wonderful to have Glenn Duncan present at the Johannesburg training. Glenn is an internationally acclaimed lighting programmer, and his insights were invaluable. Glenn contributed innovations that he would like to see added to future versions of the M-Series software.
Overall the National M-Series Training was a major success, with over 50 people experiencing the power of the Martin Controller. To keep up with demand more dates will be added in the near future. Please join us for these trainings and experience the power of the M-series.
More on the Martin M-Series
Martin’s impressive innovations to the M-series hardware and software have made it a leader in the market, with more and more individual designers, rental companies, and programmers seeking the benefits of the Martin Controller.
Martin ShowDesigner is a unique and user-friendly lighting and set-design software package useful in developing realistic 3D lighting simulations in both entertainment and architectural fields. Useful as a high quality production or sales presentation tool, ShowDesigner allows you to create realistic set and lighting design renderings using lighting, reflection, transparency, shadow and smoke.
M-PC is an attractive add-on for M-Series users and can be installed on a compatible PC running Windows 7. It is the software for the M2PC control surface and can also be used in conjunction with the MaxModules or as a backup to the M-Series consoles.