Alexey Zhivanov, lighting designer for Russian stage rental and install firm Grand Show, was tasked in November 2014 to light two distinct events: a rock concert at a nightclub and a ballet staged in a traditional opera house. To accommodate the needs of each production, he brought along the versatile Harman Martin Professional M2GO lighting controller.

When the Russian rock band Chizh & Co performed at Maximilians, the Siberian restaurant and venue, Zhivanov didn’t need any additional touchscreen monitors or gear to control the lighting fixtures as the venue is equipped with a small array of fixtures including projectors, LED Wash Zoom fixtures, LED spots, strobes and smoke machines. He simply connected the M2GO to his laptop.

“The rock concert focused mainly on slow compositions, so I programmed scenes filled with warm colours and smooth effects, the M2GO is efficient and easy to program presets and a Patch, I only spent an hour preparing for the entire show,’ says Zhivanov.

He later worked at Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre to light the 60-year anniversary performance of Harvest Days: Reclaiming Virgin and Fallow Lands. High-ranking government officials attended the event so Zhivanov felt he had no room for error and planned accordingly. “I ran the show with the M2GO, using a Martin M-PC for data backup and additional features,’ says Zhivanov. “Everything went great. The console worked perfectly and the M-PC sped up programming even further.’ Since the console was located far offstage in the control room, Zhivanov used Touch OSC software to make adjustments remotely from where he stood at the side of the stage.

“From FOH, I could not see some lighting fixtures installed on the top trusses, since the Opera House is quite large, it would have been inconvenient for me to constantly run back and forth from the control room to the stage. All M-Series products integrate OSC protocol, which really rescued me when it came to programming effects,’ he comments.

Even though the performances couldn’t have been more different, Zhivanov believes the M2GO was instrumental in producing both shows for its efficiency and versatility. “With such limited time for rehearsals, the M-Series Effect Generator and presets were very useful; I really appreciate M-Series controllers for their expeditious programming. I can always work quickly, control operations remotely and easily add new fixtures to the library. In other words, I can complete every element of the task at hand,’ says Zhivanov. He is also grateful to the Martin Russia team for its support. “They are real professionals and are always ready to help,’ concludes Zhivanov.