Citylight Supplies HARMAN Martin MAC Lighting For “The Voice” Spain

AARHUS, Denmark — Drawing an immense following since its debut in September 2012, reality television singing competition “The Voice,” or “La Voz,” in Spain, has become a social phenomenon. To help accentuate the live performances, live drama and the jury of popular Spanish singers: Rosario Flores, David Bisbal, Malú and Melendi, Madrid-based full-service rental, sales and installation company Citylight installed a complete HARMAN Martin MAC lighting rig.

Citylight Lighting Designer Julián Perez’s lighting design includes an abundance of Martin products including MAC III Profile, MAC 2000 Profile and Wash, MAC TW1, MAC 600 NT, MAC 550, MAC 250 Krypton, MAC 250 Wash and MAC 250 Beam luminaires, as well as Martin Stagebar 54 L battens and Atomic 3000 strobes. The upcoming 2013 season will also incorporate more than 30 of Martin’s new Rush Strobe 1 5x5 effect lights.

Perez has been especially impressed with the Martin MAC III Profile. “Thanks to the MAC III’s power, incredible gobos and zoom system we could get a great range of well-defined beam effects or cover big areas, even when using high rates of conventional lighting. It also comes with a great electronic shutter that creates instant effects without the need for complex programming.”

Perez continued, “The MAC 250 Wash/Beam surprised us with its two types of projection - the wash, which we used in different productions with great results, and a beam that proved to be amazing throughout the production that very much impressed our colleagues.”

For Photography Director Ángel Blanco, the tungsten-based MAC TW1 wash light was a great addition to the set. “Thanks to the versatility of the MAC TW1 we were able to illuminate and color different scenarios in shades not all luminaires can reproduce, and in a reduced period of time with no need to redirect conventional lighting equipment,” Blanco stated. “We could even use the projectors, especially in live shows, to replace traditional Fresnel lighting equipment in case a lamp failed. They adjusted perfectly to the color temperature and flow of the projector if they needed to be replaced.”

“We chose Martin projectors because they are reliable and versatile,” said “La Voz” Lighting Director Juan Carlos. “They have easily adapted to changes in the seven months of production and three different program formats. We’ve also received excellent technical service from Martin representatives in Spain.”

As a world leader in the creation of dynamic lighting solutions for the entertainment, architectural, and commercial sectors, Martin lighting and video systems are renowned the world over. Martin also offers a range of advanced lighting controllers and media servers, as well as a complete line of smoke machines as a complement to intelligent lighting. Martin operates the industry’s most complete and capable distributor network with local partners in nearly 100 countries. Founded in 1987 and based in Aarhus, Denmark, Martin is the lighting division of global infotainment and audio company HARMAN International Industries. For more information please visit: http://www.martin.com.

HARMAN (www.HARMAN.com) designs, manufactures, and markets a wide range of audio, lighting and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer, and professional markets. It is a recognized world leader across its customer segments with premium brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, and Mark Levinson®, and leading-edge connectivity, safety and audio technologies. The company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with Harman audio and infotainment systems. Harman has a workforce of about 14,300 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia and reported sales of $4.4 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012.

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Church On the Move Doesn’t Stand Still With HARMAN’s New Martin Lighting and HARMAN Professional Sound

TULSA, Oklahoma — The term “mega church” might have been coined to describe Tulsa, Oklahoma’s 12,000-member Church on the Move. At services, the church’s message is delivered on a scale that rivals major rock concerts, with full-scale lighting, sound and video in a sanctuary that’s bigger than many top music venues. The rock concert analogy is appropriate in more ways than one – the church’s audio and video staff rent rather than purchase most of their lighting, giving them access to the latest HARMAN Martin lighting gear to complement the church’s HARMAN Professional sound system.

“We rent 90 percent of our lighting and it gives us the freedom to change frequently and try new ideas and technologies. We don’t want to be left behind when the industry makes a major shift, ” said Andrew Stone, Church on the Move’s production manager and audio director. Renting also cuts down on the need to retain additional maintenance staff – the church can handle all its lighting needs with two technicians. “The rental model also lets us use high-quality gear without spending a ton of money. We can rent more equipment as needed for bigger events.”

Church On the Move utilizes a host of Martin intelligent lighting products including MAC III Profile lighting, MAC Viper Profile high-output 26,000-lumens fixtures, MAC 700 Wash 26,000-lumens lighting and TW1 tungsten wash lights. Stone and crew will buy equipment when it makes economic sense, and recently purchased a number of Martin VC-Dot 1 fixtures, individually controllable LED dots that are used to create customized video displays. The VC-Dot 1 provides new ways to integrate video technology into stage designs, ceilings and other structures. Church On the Move lighting designer Daniel Connell states, “We can use the VC-Dot 1 as a design element, as a backdrop or split it up for use in several auditoriums.. It’s amazingly versatile and enables us to easily add dramatic visual impact to a space.”

Lighting designer Daniel Connell notes that music is a key element of Church On the Move’s services and that along with the HARMAN JBL, Crown and BSS-based audio system, a major part of the Martin lighting is to create a modern concert looking feel. He doesn’t want “a lot of flash” but the ability for the lighting to set a mood or tone on stage and throughout the sanctuary. “We don’t have a backdrop or a physical stage set so the lighting is our set,” Connell said. “Other house of worship lighting designers don’t do it this way but we feel it’s an interesting and powerful way to do it.”

Connell finds Martin fixtures provide superior color range and saturation; while some fixtures fall off toward the saturated end of their range and some moving lights aren’t the best at delivering a certain color, Martin handles the full light spectrum equally well. Stone agrees, noting that the church has tried every brand of high-end moving light in the six years Connell’s been on staff and that he and Connell prefer Martin’s richer colors and better look and “feel.”

Reliability is paramount, especially with rented gear. “I don’t want rental fixtures dying in the middle of a service,” Connell states. “After a year of use you can start to have problems but I’ve never experienced that with Martin.” Like many organizations, Church On the Move is bringing in more LED lighting for its reduced maintenance and energy costs.

Since 2010 Church On the Move has enjoyed the sonic benefits of a large-scale JBL, Crown and BSS Audio sound system, comprising 38 JBL VerTec line array element hung in four clusters and complemented by 16 JBL ASB6128V subwoofers, 10 flown and six under the stage. Seven JBL AC28/95 speakers behind the perimeter of the stage provide front fill and the speakers are powered by 49 Crown MA5000i and 10 CTs 3000 and CTs 2000 amplifiers. The speakers and amps in the sanctuary and other JBL speakers and Crown amps throughout the church are linked by BSS Soundweb London BLU-160 digital audio processors, and all A/V is networked using HARMAN HiQnet System Architect software.

“We recently had a conference with 2,500 worship and creative directors from around the country, and have held many major events and big services,” Stone said. “Many people came just to hear the JBL VerTecs because of everything they’d heard about them, and that says a lot. Like the Martin lighting, the audio system has performed admirably.”

HARMAN (www.HARMAN.com) designs, manufactures, and markets a wide range of audio, lighting and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer, and professional markets. It is a recognized world leader across its customer segments with premium brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, and Mark Levinson®, and leading-edge connectivity, safety and audio technologies. The company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with Harman audio and infotainment systems. Harman has a workforce of about 14,300 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia and reported sales of $4.4 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012.

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