WINSTON SALEM, NC — Christian artist Chris Tomlin’s “Hello Love” tour is playing arenas across the U.S. into 2010, lit by MAC III Profiles and other fixtures spec’d by Jon Weir of production company and lighting supplier Majestic Productions Inc., Summitville, Ind. Weir designed the lighting and handled programming for the tour. The all-Martin rig includes 16 MAC III Profiles™, 12 MAC 2000 Washes™, 12 MAC 600™ washlights and 2 MAC 2000 Profiles™.
“When I started designing this tour, details on the MAC III were few and far between,” said Weir. “But after talking to our Martin rep we arranged a demo and as soon as I fired it up and saw the huge beam coming out of it, I knew it would be perfect for this tour.
“So far they have performed beautifully — real rock solid,” Weir added. “And as far as output, no other fixture in this class even comes close. The optics are crystal clear and the colors are amazing.”
The MAC III Profile, part of Martin’s third generation of MAC moving heads, features a CMY color mixing system.
“For years designers have put up with mediocre colors coming out of moving lights, but this fixture gives me the colors I want like a true red. No more orange-red or pink-red but a red-red. It’s making a huge difference in the show.”
Other features include output, gobo and animation effects, zoom range and advances in control, handling and service.
“Because of the nature of the design on this tour, I needed a fixture that has substantial zoom and iris capabilities,” Weir said. “The MAC III fits that requirement perfectly. Being able to go from a pin spot to covering the ceiling of an arena is great.
“I was very impressed with the beam coming out the front of the fixture,” Weir added. “It’s a great fixture to use at high trim heights. I love the menu functionality on this fixture as well. With a large screen and the jog wheel, getting to parameters is incredibly easy.
“Internally, the fixture is very easy to maintain,” Weir continued. “It comes apart in no time for service. From a rental company standpoint, this is critical. Rental companies want to keep the gear out of the shop and on shows. With a fixture this easy to disassemble and maintain, time in the shop can be cut down. In the current economy, this is very important.”
During a recent one-week break from the tour, the MAC III Profiles were returned to the shop for routine maintenance. The job proved simple.
“They were remarkably clean on the inside. We opened up a fixture that sits about 8 inches from a hazer and the optics were completely oil-free. Keep in mind that these fixtures are powered on and running about 11 hours a day on the road. Support from Martin has been outstanding as well. I think this fixture will have a long and successful future ahead of it.”
For more information, please visit www.martin.com.
