Jands Vista v2 software was used to operate the lighting system for a new theatre production, Never Did Me Any Harm by award-winning director and choreographer Kate Champion.
Set and lighting designer Geoff Cobham collaborated with Chris Petridis, video designer and assistant lighting designer on the project, which was a co-production between Sydney Theatre Company and Force Majeure. A PC running Jands Vista v2 lighting control software with a Vista M1 wingboard was used to operate the show.
Chris explained that he built the video system comprising of a Catalyst media server running ArtNet in addition to using the Vista for control, which was very compatible with ArtNet and networking.
The production utilised five standard projectors plus a Robe Spot 3000DT digital moving head projector so Chris was running two complete media server systems as well as a normal lighting rig.
The Vista console allows the user to build their lighting designs visually. The lighting designer can simply select the fixtures and apply settings using Vista’s graphical user interface.
Both Chris and Geoff favour the Vista because of its intuitive characteristics in creating the desired stage looks, enabling the designer to go about lighting design in an artistic way.
Like modern video and audio software, the Vista displays lighting designs as a series of ‘events’ laid out across the screen over time. This ‘timeline’ approach means that one can see everything that’s happening in relation to time: when lights come on, when they go off, when they change colour or when they move. Chris is partial to Vista’s timeline particularly as it uses the same shortcut keyboard commands as a PC or a Mac.
The Vista’s interface makes patching a breeze. All the user has to do is pick the light from a list, type the quantity required and drag it over to the DMX universe screen. The Vista also includes an extensive fixture library including profiles for the world’s most popular and less well-known lights.
