ETC ColorSource shines at Edinburgh Fringe

Every August, the world's largest arts festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, takes over Scotland's capital. Thousands of performers take to hundreds of stages to present shows for every taste. C venues is back for its 25th year, creating and curating more than 20 theatre, performance and exhibition spaces at pop-up venues in and around the city centre. This year, C venues' visiting designers and technicians are using some of the latest products from ETC for a vibrant and packed programme of theatre, circus, cabaret, musicals, dance, comedy and children's shows.

"ETC has been supporting C venues for a number of years, allowing us to improve the capability of our venues and exposing ETC products to young, up-and-coming theatre companies and technicians," says Richard Williamson, head of production, C venues. "ETC has a long reputation for producing well-built, reliable equipment and providing an exceptional level of technical support; and we are thrilled to be using the new ETC ColorSource consoles and lanterns.

"The consoles are a great addition to the market and are perfect for our smaller spaces. We have long been looking for a lighting desk which people new to the industry can quickly and easily pick up and use. We're excited about the possibilities that the ColorSource consoles give us. They fill an underserved niche in the market for a truly intelligent console for smaller venues."

To equip the festival's larger spaces, C has added to its existing stock of ETC Eos^®family consoles, supplementing its Ion^® desks with Ti and Element consoles. Notably, a Ti is situated in the largest theatre, C scala, controlling a number of high-profile shows including Tipping Point by Ockham's Razor; Fringe favourites The Rat Pack Live; and the all-male a cappella group All The Kings Men . "The Eos range is the de facto industry standard console so we couldn't imagine using anything else for our bigger venues," says Williamson.

Additionally, the issue of heat generated by conventional tungsten fixtures has long been a challenge for C venues. For several years, the company has been looking to move its lighting rigs towards LED to help combat this. This year, several venues are benefitting from the installation of ETC ColorSource fixtures that - as well as their low heat output - are recognised for producing a richer, more natural light output than other LED fixtures at such an accessible price point.

"While LED units have been on the market, we have struggled to find any that properly give the level of control and colour rendering that tungsten offers. The new ColorSource LED fixtures are perfect for our needs and, used alongside ColorSource consoles, we are now able to look to significantly expand our use of LED," says Williamson.

Hartley T A Kemp, C venues' artistic director, concludes: "ETC's support to C venues is invaluable as it enables young designers and technicians the chance to work with the latest kit, developing their skills and experience." 

Photos courtesy of Richard Williamson