I don't know, it was just one of those experiences that it was like, holy-
this is perfect, this exactly what we wanted, the excitement was there. The-
it was perfect.
The venue is the biggest performing arts space in Winnipeg.
When I started here, the house light system was primarily 500-watt PAR bulbs.
And a lot of them.
And dimmers. Like, large dimmers-6K dimmers. And it was...it was splotchy.
I never liked the feel of the light.
Nothing had changed for decades, and this change was quite significant.
The project was very interesting in that it was taking existing lighting
that had specific requirements for performance, and looking for new technology
that would supply them with the same, if not better, operating parameters.
Let's knock down how much energy we're consuming.
That'll automatically knock down the amount of heat, the amount of wasted energy.
It was really a specific product that I was looking for that would fit my needs.
The quality of the light; I noticed it immediately.
When I walked into the auditorium, I just felt better.
The color temperature and just the feeling of the auditorium.
It brought out the red in the seats, and it just felt better.
The thing that impressed me most right off the hop, was the dimmer curve.
They don't bump out, they don't bump in. It was a very smooth dimmer curve.
When you're fading the house lights down like for a symphony, you want everything to be calm,
and I find that that slow dimming out gets the audience in the mood.
And that was one of the key features on choosing the ArcSystem was the technology was there,
and the dimming curve was spectacular.
No other product even till this date, have I seen a smoother dimming curve better than the ArcSystem.
The advantage of this new system is that I can individually address every light in the rig.
Some shows, they don't want to open the balconies. They just want to use the main floor.
Well, I can just have the main floor house lighting on them.
So it doesn't look like a big, empty barn.
Being able to isolate the house lights is a big bonus.
We wanted an even coverage in the orchestra shell, so that every musician had the same amount of light,
and after it was in I walked around with my light meter.
There was very little fluctuation in the amount of light
throughout the entire orchestra shell, and that's what the musicians need.
We found that our total consumption was about 76,000 watts with the old system.
When we calculated the new system, we dropped down to 10,200 watts.
A mere fraction of the old, and at least four times brighter than the the old existing system.
It was an eight-hour day once a week to maintain the old system; replacing lamps, replacing sockets.
With the new system, maintenance has really gone wayside.
Go up there and dust them off every once in a while—once a year—and that's about it.
We've never had one go down, never had to replace one.
Having worked with ETC in the past and knowing their product, I knew they were a right fit.
A strong company to be able to deliver their promises and the goals.
We couldn't find any faults in it and that's why we chose the ArcSystem.
I've worked with the Centennial Concert Hall for many years as their representative for Manitoba Hydro.
We've done several different projects over the years,
and the lighting for the Centennial Concert Hall is one of the most ambitious that we've done to this date.
The level of light is so much more consistent.
With our old lighting system, people couldn't read their programs.
Potentially couldn't see to move around comfortably.
We actually did receive complaints about that and now with the new system, haven't received one complaint.
People can find their seats, they can read the program, move around very easily.
It's really made a huge, huge difference in the customer experience, really.
It dimmed perfectly, the curves were great, and the quality of light was great.
I believe in it now. It's worked for me.
It's the right product for my needs, and wanting to do more with it
and expand in other areas of our complex and buildings.
[♫]