Equipment/Facilities Improvement

GOAL: SUPPORTING ARTISTS AND ARTS ORGANIZATIONS IN CREATING, PRODUCING AND PRESENTING HIGH-QUALITY ARTS ACTIVITIES. CRITERIA A. IMPROVED RELIABILITY OF EQUIPMENT FROM UPGRADES AND NEW BOARD – PARTIAL 85% In 2017, there were seven instruments needing lights replaced and two times that lights could not be shut off do to overheating in spite of fans. The light board was sent in once for repair due to erasing the cues. In 2018 there were four instruments needing lights replaced. The new ETC Console malfunctioned and was sent in for repair before the show started. No cues were lost, and a replacement arrived in one day. One of the 20-year-old Teatronics 6 by 6KW dimmers was still problematic with 2 of the 6 channels not functioning EVEN after repair. This may be due to damage in shipping but also there were errors in repair that were not a result of shipping damage. We have received parts and are ready to repair them when we are able to install the parts onsite for testing in the Spring. The ETC Source Four instruments and retrofit LED upgrades and Element 60 Console were great. Teatronics 6 by 6KW “makeover” by company was less than satisfactory. Considering the NASTY weather, this was a good season. CRITERIA B. IMPROVED EASE OF USE FOR VOLUNTEERS DOING LIGHTING. - YES 95% Definitely! The new and retrofitted instruments were easier to adjust and produced a good quality of even light output. Learning the new lightboard was a good challenge but using the online tutorials and trial and error produced good results. Cues were easy to adjust and sequence. USD storage provided a good backup in case of malfunctions that did occur the week before the show. Service from ETC was exemplary with an overnight shipment of a loaner board. We are aware of at least one ETC board at a nearby school that could have been borrowed, if needed. We also did have the Leprecon LP 1500 as an immediate backup with a set of cues that would be close to those in the Element 60 but not as flexible. Most of the effort at learning the system and inputting, adjusting and learning the cues was done by Steve Hanson who used the online tutorials and trial and error to set up the show. The Element 60 console is an extremely powerful and complete system. He feels he has just scratched the surface and there is much more to learn regarding setup and control. SCALE 1. [Old 4.3 to New 6 of 7] Ease of inputting and changing cues in the Light board. Board Operator Steve Hanson said that this was ten times easier than using the old Leprecon board, especially when adjusting or updating and adding cues. SCALE 2. [Old 4.67 to New 5.67 of 7] Simplicity of moving between scenes and changing lights during show. Again, the sequencer when set up automatically preps for the next light cue so that following the show and script is much simpler. SCALE 3. [Old 3.67 to New 6.33 of 7] Ability to correct or adjust cues on the fly. There is a manual override that allows adjustment by individual light or set of lights. CRITERIA C. IMPROVED VISIBILITY AND ARTISTIC CONTROL BETWEEN AND WITHIN SCENES ON STAGE. – YES 90% SCALE 1. [Old 3.33 to New 6.33 of 7] Light intensity compared to current instruments. The retrofitted Source Four instruments were brighter with whiter light using less power. They were adjusted in the console to balance with the tungsten fixtures. SCALE 2.[Old 5 to New 6 of 7] Reliability of instruments in varied weather conditions. YES. No fails using our “Weather Shield”. SCALE 3. [Old 3.17 to New 6 of 7] Evenness of light coverage of the area. There was good blending though we had to switch the use of some of the LED fixtures to compensate for the lack of two channels in the old Teatronics dimmers. CRITERIA D. Increased support for added lighting upgrades. YES The quality and reliability of the LED lights was impressive and opened the door to further purchases. Also, the repair and subsequent malfunction of the 20 plus year old Teatronics 6 by 6 KW dimmers points us towards the n