Four of Robe's new DigitalSpot 7000DTs are being used on Dutch superstar Jan Smit's current tour by Utrecht-based lighting and set designer Marchel Daalhuizen.
The DigitalSpots are being supplied by Dutch rental house Triple Showtechniek who bought them via Robe's Benelux distributor, Controllux.
The four DT7000s are rigged on a downstage truss and soft edged together to make one large image covering an upstage projection screen measuring 18 metres wide by 4 high. During the show the cyc is masked by sets of drapes that fly in and out creating different pillar effects, for which Daalhuizen applies masks programmed onto different layers of the DT7000s, fitting the content exactly to the different shaped surfaces.
Daalhuizen has not used Robe products before, and when the tour started earlier in the year, the new DT Series was not yet available. He saw it initially at Pro Light+Sound, Frankfurt 2008, and once it was in production, Robe's sales team contacted him and arranged a demo which convinced him that the 6500 ANSI lumen output would be just fine for the effects he wanted to create in the Smit show.
The content has all been custom made by Addict Studios in Amsterdam and is stored in the DT7000 heads. It follows a storyboard that was originated by Daalhuizen and developed with input from the artist. Approximately 100 MPG 2 video clips are utilised throughout the 90 minute show.
All the cues are triggered through the Hog iPC console running in Hog 3 mode used by Daalhuizen to run the show.
“I'm really happy with the DT7000s” he states, “They are doing all we wanted and more, plus proving to be a very smooth and stable platform with no glitches”.
From the technician's angle, Triple Showtechniek's lighting crew chief Martijn Steman is also pleased with the fixtures. “They have been touring since we took delivery back in October and have been totally reliable. They are really fast, and the picture merging facility works superbly”.
He adds that he can see a big future for these and the various other digital lighting ranges being developed by Robe.
Daalhuizen is a keen advocate of integrating video and digital effects with lighting in his visual creations, and has been doing this with greater ease and flexibility in the last 2 or 3 years as more dynamic ‘crossover' products come to the market. He observes, “Robe is definitely making the right decision in going the digital route, and they have some great ideas for the future.”