MADISON, WI — ETC hosted their first-ever CUE (Create, Understand, Experience) conference July 25-27 and used the opportunity to train, entertain, and preview new products. On July 25, ETC introduced their new Gio console, which is set to debut in September. On July 26, during his keynote address, Fred Foster, founder and CEO of ETC, previewed the ETC LED Source Four, set to launch in early 2012.
CalArts lighting student and Oregon Shakespeare Festival intern Daphne Mir has been attending the conference and blogging on the experience for www.TheatreFace.com, the social media site of PLSN’s sister publication, Stage Directions. The details and pictures of the new console and luminaire are taken from her posts. You can find her posts at www.theatreface.com/profiles/blogs/etccue.
During Foster’s keynote address July 26, he was illuminated by LED Source Four prototype fixtures, but the fixtures themselves, still under development, were shrouded from view. Foster noted that its features will include shutters, color mixing, smooth output and a “kick-ass daylight white,” and the company noted the new fixtures will be compatible with current Source Four lens tubes.
ETC’s Gio console will use ETC’s EOS OS, but is intended to be a mid-level console. It features two thin built-in multi-touch screens, and the angle of the screens can be adjusted for multiple viewing angles. The softkeys have moved down from being a part of the LCD touch screens to hard buttons on the console. The screens are expected to hold a lot more data, with the new features in the upcoming 2.0 version of the EOS software.
Gio’s four encoder wheels use a section of the screens to display their programming. In addition to the two built-in displays, the console supports three external displays. Gio also features dual DMX ports and ETC Net3.
For more information, please visit www.etcconnect.com.
