ETC takes control at The Star PAC
Published: WORSHIP
SINGAPORE: Located above The Star Vista, The Star Performing Arts Centre (more commonly referred to as The Star PAC) has recently been equipped with an ETC Sensor3 Power Control system, providing the performing arts centre’s hybrid lighting rig with over 1,500 dimmer channels, of which one third are ThruPower.
The centre itself comprises levels three to 11, and boasts Singapore’s only 5,000-seat theatre, a multi-purpose hall, an outdoor amphitheatre, rooftop reception areas, and supporting spaces of varying sizes.
‘We’ll have concerts on Saturday nights followed by church services on Sunday morning – an especially tight turnaround for our anchor hirer, New Creation Church,’ explained technical director, Daniel Loh.
‘Using the same cabling infrastructure for LED or moving-light fixtures and conventional fixtures saves us time over having to use different cables,’ he added. ‘By a keystroke we can change the same circuit from a dimming to a relay non-dim circuit. The key is that the ThruPower modules allow us to have fewer issues with patching or infrastructure – such as power for movers being patched incorrectly to a dimming circuit, or vice versa, and having to retrace the cabling.’
Besides live worship and concert productions, The Star PAC places a strong emphasis on broadcast capabilities. ‘The lights and the dimmers must be very reliable to ensure that whatever is captured on video is good,’ confirmed Mr Loh.
The Star Theatre counts hundreds of Source Four spotlights in its lighting rig, with over 40 in the FOH ‘box-boom’ positions, 90 on the FOH catwalk, with almost 70 Source Four jrs and approximately 50 Source Four PAR EAs mixed in. ‘Source Four fixtures are commonly used in the industry,’ said Mr Loh. ‘Most of the crew members are familiar with them, and new technicians are able to pick it up quickly.’
Complementing the colour output of the incandescent stage lights are 24 ETC Selador Vivid Classic LED striplights boasting x7 Colour System technology and a combination of other-brand fixtures, including moving lights.
‘For our current concerts, the ETC fixtures are primarily used as face lights from our catwalks or specials to light up fixture positions, such as drummers,’ furthered Mr Loh.
Meanwhile, an ETC Unison Paradigm system controls the house lights, work lights and running lights in The Star Theatre. ‘After eight years of experience in the performing arts industry, ETC is still the first on the list when it comes to dependability,’ enthused Mr Loh. ‘The dimmers and lights can be in constant use day in and day out. As our venue hosts leading artists, we need to ensure that the equipment we provide is not just superior in light quality, but is also reliable.
‘The support has been great from ETC Asia,’ Mr Loh concluded. ‘From the tender process through the installation and now operations, they have been with us and they are a quick email or phone call away.’