MILWAUKEE— Clearwing Productions augmented its rental lighting inventory with 76 new Martin MAC Axiom Hybrids and deployed them, along with other fixtures, in the rigs for many of the stages of the biggest annual music festival in the world, Summerfest. They were used on six of the festival’s 11 permanent stages, playing a prominent role in the lighting for the BMO Harris Pavilion, the Miller Lite Oasis and the Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard stage, among others.
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The festival, which draws close to one million fans each year, provides the backdrop for the music industry’s hottest stars, emerging talent and local favorites to create unforgettable live music experiences in a world-class festival setting.
Renowned as one of the leading rental companies for touring, festivals and concerts in North America, Clearwing has purchased 76 of the new compact, all-in-one hybrids specifically for Summerfest, installing them on six out of 11 of the festival’s permanent stages. Twelve MAC Axiom Hybrids are now in use on each of the stages of the BMO Harris Pavilion, the Miller Lite Oasis, the Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard as well as others.
“One of the main features of the Axioms that we like is being able to access multiple effects in a compact, low-power fixture,” said Ania Dankow, Operations/Logistics – Lighting for Clearwing. “You don’t have to switch modes on the fixture to go from a tight beam to a wide zoom; it’s a nice fluid motion.”
Dankow also appreciates that all features of the fixture are available in one mode. “You basically get everything all in one mode on the Axioms,” says Dankow. “That’s a unique feature; with some of the competitors, you have to pick the feature you want. You can either have that tight beam or the wider zoom, but not both at the same time.”
“The color mixing is great on it,” Dankow added. “We also like the fact that it has an independent CTO wheel, which is nice because you can roll that in and not have to affect other color wheels. It’s lightweight, bright and it’s fast.”
The fixture’s seamless zoom and focus capability eliminates the need for dedicated beam or spot modes and allows for both instant as well as discrete transitions from a high-intensity collimated beam to a flat field spot. The MAC Axiom Hybrid’s precise optical system offers high contrast, both in mid-air and projection, as well as a surprisingly flat field not often seen with this short-arc lamp technology.
Photography Credit: Sara Bill Photography
