After using the recently released Vista v2 software on their existing stock of Vista T2 consoles, Dallas, Texas based Alford Media have just committed to increasing their inventory after the next generation of software delivered the leap forward it promised.

Alford Media is an AV and lighting company, with full production facilities, known for its high end video capabilities as well as imaginative integrated visual designs and solutions. They work on a wide variety of live events for a diverse range of premium clients with exacting standards.

One of two full time lighting designer/directors, Kurt Wunsch has been with the company for 10 years. He was an early adopter of the Jands Vista control platform, and has been an enthusiastic user since. Their first T2 console was bought soon after Vista was launched, and along with the others they have bought since, is still going strong even after constant use. Last year one of his highlights was lighting the Boy Scouts of America’s 100th Anniversary National Scout Jamboree show - 16 universes of DMX controlled from a single Vista T2.

Kurt and his colleagues took the decision that now was the right time to update their consoles to the next generation Vista v2 software, and get access to all the additional functionality that it offers. Vista v2 was designed from the ground up to allow all levels of user to get the most from whatever mix of technology they have available, whether dimmers, moving lights, LED, or media. Available in a wide range of hardware Vista v2 offers both the simplicity to work fast, with the power to control the finest details, so everyone can focus on creating a great looking show rather than on programming a desk.

Kurt is very impressed with Vista v2, particularly the way it interfaces seamlessly with media servers. As Alford Media is a video orientated company, this is proving extremely useful to get the most from their recent investment in several Green Hippo Hippotizer products.

Kurt likes many features of the Vista v2 operating system, specifically the user-friendly programming environment, and they way it allows you to “work in a logical, straightforward and creative manner” to build your show. He says “you can really focus on the design, and think in terms of colours and effects rather than number-crunching and percentages. It’s fast, interactive and simple to use” he comments, adding that it also suits the theatrical / rock ‘n’ roll style of his programming which was shaped during his early career.

Kurt believes Vista v2 is now “faster than any other console - the interface makes it so easy to grab fixtures and apply parameters”. This allows him and his team to deliver the high standards that his clients demand within the tight timeframes they set.

On a recent Quake Con event in Dallas, Kurt was using Chroma-QTM Color BlockTM LED fixtures to highlight the trusses, which he was easily able to map using the matrix facility in Vista v2. He says that it worked “Brilliantly”, saving literally hours of programming time, and quickly giving the client exactly what they were looking for.

Upcoming shows on which Kurt himself is using one of the company’s T2’s include an event for a large pharmaceutical company in Maryland, for which he has designed a large rock ‘n roll style rig for the live stage that will feature sets by Motown greats The Four Tops and The Temptations, as well as major expo’s for a natural drink company in Salt Lake City, and an energy company.

With Vista v2 now installed and proved completely reliable on all their desks, he’s starting to train some of Alford Media’s other operators. Apart from really appreciating it, they “are all picking it up incredibly fast”. He recalls a recent trade show in Dallas. He unexpectedly had to go and deal with something elsewhere in the building, so to ensure no valuable programming time was lost, gave freelance LX Teresa Porterfield - who had never seen a Vista T2 before - an express basic training course! “It was amazing! She ‘got it’ so quickly, so well and enjoyed the process so much that she ended up programming and running the whole show!”

VP of marketing and sales at exclusive NA distributor, AC Lighting Inc, Fred Mikeska said “As more people around the world try Vista v2 they see the power and simplicity that it offers to all disciplinces – including concert, corporate, worship, and education. Kurt and Alford Media have embraced Vista v2, and discovered how much extra it gives them to deliver even more to their clients. Vista v2 is a true next generation software that lets all users get the most value from whatever mix of technologies they have available.”

The first Jands Vista T2 lighting desk and Jands Vista M1 control console with the Vista v2 ‘Byron’ operating system to be sold in the Middle East by the new IBS Group division, IBS Solutions, are already proving to be a great purchase for Lighthouse Productions, according to its MD.

Terry Miranda, managing director and chief lighting designer at Lighthouse Productions visited the IBS Solutions stand at CABSAT in February, and said he found exactly what he was looking for in the Jands Vista with the new Vista v2 software.

“In the past two years I have had my eye on the latest developments in lighting consoles in order to purchase something that fit my idea of what a lighting desk should be. Having seen the first demo of the Vista v2 Byron operating system at PALME 2010, it had piqued my interest till it hit the sweet spot in 2011. The system allows a designer/ programmer to dictate terms to the programming aspect and to decide how simple or powerful it should be,” said Miranda.

“I would say the new Jands Vista is one of the finest, most intelligent lighting desks the industry has seen.”
Gavin Coxon from IBS Solutions, the official UAE distributor for Jands, added: “”With the new Vista v2 Byron, Jands has an even stronger product range to compete with the other top lighting consoles available on the market, we expect big things from the range in the UAE.”

Lighthouse Productions created the design for the BURDA event held on February 15 at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, where the new console took centre stage. Using the mosque as backdrop to the main stage Lighthouse used a Watchout system and bitmapping to project the images onto the entrance of the mosque, using the Jands for all the lighting cues preprogrammed via wysywig.

Also included in the sale were custom-built flight-cases for each console, manufactured and supplied by IBS Flightcase, another IBS GROUP company.

Lighthouse Productions used the new equipment again at the Zayed International Prize for the Environment on March 14 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The JANDS Vista was utilised to the maximum with all the lighting cues as well as a Wi-Fi link with an iPad for focusing and fine tuning while walking around Rashid Hall.

Mcgriff Mascarenhas, assistant lighting designer at Lighthouse Productions is also very happy with the new equipment: “JANDS Vista is one of the simplest operating desks that I have ever used that allows me to think visually and work visually.”

Once again, a Jands Vista T2 console has provided lighting control for an event winner at the InfoComm / LSA Staged Events Awards. Freeman received the 2010 ‘Best Overall Staging for a Corporate Industrial Entertainment Event’ award for their work on the American Library Association’s Annual Conference.

The annual awards are held at the InfoComm tradeshow and represent achievements in AV excellence in some of the most unique and challenging environments. One judge commented on the winning Freeman event:
“It is difficult for a lighting submission to grab attention when it’s up against so many great total staging projects with video. But lighting is one area that can own a show if it is done properly and this event exemplifies the power of light over the audience.”

Freeman, a world-leading provider of integrated services for face to face marketing events, provided full lighting, audio, video and scenic elements for the winning conference. The multi-day event featured 20 guest speakers discussing their works as well as an awards ceremony.

The event lighting design was by Freeman AV Chicago’s in house LD, Anne Sedlock with programming by Dabney Forest. Anne let Dabney choose her console of choice, the Jands Vista T2, a popular choice in Freeman AV Chicago’s rental inventory. Anne commented:
“We use the Vista T2 on almost all this style of show. It provides us with the flexibility and the ease of use we need to get our shows up and looking great in very little time.”

The challenge was how to give the single stage a unique look for each day of the conference presentations, as well as for the awards ceremony. Anne’s lighting concept was to make the stage scenic elements really stand out by using numerous unique looks to keep the lighting fresh.

For the main scenic element, a massive curved frame covered in white spandex material, Anne used Chroma-Q™ Color Split™ LED fixtures to provide subtle looks of gradiant color uplighting from the base of the structure. Chroma-Q™ Color Block™ compact LED units were used to get into the many curves of the scenic piece and add highlights where needed, as well as adding a hint of colour to the drape line upstage. In addition, Vari-Lite VL3500 Spots provided a layer of downlighting and texture. All fixtures were chosen from Freeman AV Chicago’s in-house inventory.

Summarising her experience of the Vista, Dabney commented:
“It’s not often we get such a great canvas to paint our lights on. As with many shows, for the ALA we got very little time to program. The Vista allows me to create looks efficiently and quickly. I know I can rely on the speed that the Vista’s interface offers to do the things I need to both fast and easily, whether ‘drawing’ precise shutter cuts on my VL3500s, quickly moving icons around my layouts as the rig changes, or copying whole looks across different fixture types. Then of course, there’s ‘extracts’. In the current economic environment, it’s rare for a show to allow for the kind of programming time that was standard in years past. Frankly, without the Vista I could not have made the intricate looks the show needed in the time I had available.”

All Photos: © Dabney Forest.