The Brolga Theatre in Queensland’s Maryborough in Australia is a typical regional
venue – its 900 seat proscenium arch theatre hosts an international ballet troupe one
night, Jimmy Barnes the next, and a local dance school the day after. Though the
venue is just 17 years old, changes in technology mean replacement lamps are no
longer available for their wash lights, leading the staff to assess how to upgrade for
the future. The future, as they see it, is Elation’s Platinum Seven RGBWAC-UV LED
wash light.

“We knew we have to move to LED and intelligent fixtures,’ said Robert Haigh,
operations technician at the Brolga. “We could afford to replace our wash, but not our
profiles, so it was an easy decision to go to a moving fixture that could provide a
wash, and in the case of Elation’s Platinum Seven, work as a profile in many senses.’

Twelve Elation Platinum Sevens have now replaced an amazing 48 Fresnels in the
Brolga’s rig, leading to big changes in the crew’s workflow. “Since we’ve installed the
Platinum Sevens, we haven’t had to focus a profile,’ reported Haigh. “We can focus
the Platinum Sevens down to an 800mm circle on the floor from our wash position, so
we can quite happily use them as a drum or lead singer profile. For a rock band, for
example, we get all of the benefits of movers from the bling point of view, but when
we turn off the wash, we can refocus as a profile.’

The Elation Platinum Seven uses 19 25W LEDs in red, green, blue, white, amber,
cyan, and UV to provide lighting techs with incredible flexibility. It’s 5 to 50-degree
zoom angle and “silent mode’ make it a workhorse built for theatres. “Having the
amber LED is critical for a good white,’ observed Haigh. “The market talks about RGB
or CYM, but the Platinum Seven is a mix of both; whichever you prefer, you’ve got.
The UV is also one of the big selling points. We finally have a good UV wash on stage,
and we’ve also been using it to make our colours “pop’ a bit more.’

Producing 38,500 Lux at one meter on five degrees minimum zoom, the Brolga’s
Platinum Sevens have more than enough power to handle any production thrown at
them. “They are, literally, brilliant,’ commented Haigh. “We now have more brightness
on stage than we used to get from our 2K white wash, but we’re getting it across all
colours. There’s good coverage with no holes as you walk across stage, and, while it’s
not a shuttered fixture, there’s still no spill.’

The Brolga Theatre was introduced to the Elation Platinum Seven by Graeme Hicks of
Entertainment Production Supplies, whose regular visits to The Brolga to demonstrate
new equipment were often accompanied by staff from Australian Elation distributor
Lexair. “Lexair and EPS have been great at keeping us up-to-date on what’s on the
market,’ said Haigh. “We have had great technical support from both of them, though
we haven’t needed much because the products have been so intuitive and reliable.’