Says Jean Louis Pernette, sales director at ETC's French distributor, Avab, "The brief was to supply all the equipment they need, with an emphasis on high spec and ease of use. We were also told that they needed the equipment fast - in fact, we only had a couple of weeks from the time we received the quote request to the delivery date."
Because ETC keeps all its major products in stock in Europe, Pernette was confident the delivery schedule wouldn't be difficult - the entire 42 pallets making up the delivery could come straight out of the warehouse.
"We supplied two Congo and two Congo jr control desks across the three festival venues, to make sure they had enough backup. Each hall also took delivery of Source Four PAR and profile luminaires and Selador Lustr LED fixtures, as well as SmartPack rack mount dimmers."
Following the festival, some of the equipment stayed at the venues (Théâtre National Daniel Sorano, Centre Culturel Blaise Senghor and La Biscuiterie de Médina, a multipurpose venue), while the rest went into flight cases supplied by Avab, ready to be transported across the country wherever it might be needed.
"Part of the appeal of ETC Selador," says Pernette, "is that it does not require dimmers, and so can be plugged straight into the lighting control desk. This is a real plus point, because it makes it so much easier and quicker to set up than many other types of lights. And with electricity being limited across much of the region, Selador's low power usage makes it much more practical."
Pernette continues, "ETC is able to offer a new generation of lighting which is well adapted to the needs of a much wider audience. The project was managed by Syndiely Wade, the President's daughter, and we were in direct contact with Abdou Diouf, the technical manager of the festival. They both were very appreciative of the efforts we put in to get everything on site in time, and making sure all the staff were fully trained in its use.
"The Senegalese technicians particularly appreciated the ease of implementation of the various fixtures and their easy set-up, especially the advantages of the Source Four PAR optics. They also noticed the simplicity of Lustr's wiring and DMX allocation, and all the colours that could be provided directly from the Congo control desks.
(Jim Evans)
