Download a PDF - PLSN.com

P R O J E C T I O N L I G H T S & S TA G I N G N E W S
NEWS
Scott Chmielewski Tests Out New Console, Software at Virgin Mobile’s FreeFest
COLUMBIA, MD — When Scott
Chmielewski, president of Digital Media Designs,
put a pair of grandMA2 consoles to
work for Virgin Mobile’s FreeFest, a day-long
music and dance extravaganza, he and several
of the bands’ LDs used grandMA’s new
2.0 software.
FreeFest drew 40,000 to the Merriweather
Post Pavilion on Sept. 25 to hear headliners
Joan Jett, Ludacris and M.I.A., among others.
Chmielewski, whose Digital Media Designs
offers innovative concepts in lighting design,
marketing and media presentation, served as
the designer, programmer and production
provider for the event and was responsible
for the dance stage and one of the two primary
stages.
“Everything went exceptionally well,” he
said. “I was able to previz the show about a
week before the event and, with the use of
grandMA 3D (MA Lighting’s free visualization
software), I was able to have most of the show
done before we ever loaded in. Running the
software on my MacBook Pro I never saw a
hiccup in the previz, which was surprising
given the amount of fixtures we were using.
I was even able to run grandMA2 on PC and
grandMA 3D at the same time.”
Chmielewski used “every aspect” of the
console family and its new 2.0 software, including
grandMA 3D, NPUs, VPU, Art-Net and
multi-user sessions. “The new layout views
were an amazing tool, especially when using
large amounts of fixtures and data,” he said.
“The whole process was very logical. You’re
no longer limited to a ‘grid’ for placing fixtures;
they can be placed and dragged freely
and more logically, and the amount of information
that’s provided is invaluable. Combining
this with the new effects engine made for
a whole new array of tricks and abilities.”
He spoke favorably of features including
open-ended macros, preset-based effects
and cue-list commands and noted that the
consoles and the software helped several of
the bands’ LDs as well.
“For most of them I provided console
views that were executors and faders with
the effects and cues that they requested,”
he noted. “The Direct Action ability on those
screens was a great feature and made operating
for the touring guys very straightforward.
The ability to set up worlds also meant I never
had to worry about anyone going beyond
their skill level or affecting other vital parts
of the show, including key lighting or effects.”
For FreeFest the grandMAs controlled
12 High End Showpix fixtures, 24 Mac 700
Profiles, 28 Stagebars, eight Mac 2K Performances
which were used as key lights, a wall
of 96 Mac 101s and eight Atomic Strobes with
scrollers. The grandMAs also controlled media
servers and 20 Martin LC+ 2140 LED panels.
“The network sync-ability of the grand-
MAs was flawless,” Chmielewski said, adding
that “Freefest required us to use every aspect
of the grandMA, and the system really delivered
for us.”
Virgin Mobile’s FreeFest gave the LD a chance to put the
grandMA2 and new 2.0 software through its paces.
GET YOUR
FREE
SUBSCRIPTION
TO PLSN!
GO TO:
PL SN.COM/
SUBSCRIBE
2010 NOVEMBER PLSN
7