Page 1
June 2007
entertainment, presentation, communication
www.lsionline.co.uk
Tarzan The Musical
L&SI visits Disney’s latest stage spectacular
Sound for the O2 Arena
The PA/VA system at London’s newest arena
On Tour: Lionel Richie
Live at Sheffield Arena
Three Theatres
Dutch theatre installs raising the bar in efficiency
National Student Drama Festival
L&SI returns to Scarborough’s vibrant training ground
Technical Focus: Colour
TF looks at colour mediums and perception
Eurovision
Steve Moles reports from Helsinki
Page 2
Lighting&Sound
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June 2007
28
www.lsionline.co.uk
industrynews
••••••
There’s a big difference between available
and affordable. By mid-1988, computerised
memory lighting consoles were available,
and in professional theatres and mid-tolarge shows were the industry standard.
But that left an enormous range of smaller
shows and venues who’d have loved
computer control but couldn’t afford it,
particularly if they wanted to retain the
familiar ‘hands-on-faders’ style of desk they
were used to; the cheapest models from
the recognised lighting companies used
keyboards rather than expensive faders.
It was into this niche that Zero88 launched their
Sirius 24 - and rarely can there have been a more perfect match of
product and market need. Compact, clearly laid out, yet rugged and
able to stand a bit of abuse, the Sirius at first glance looked like a big
brother to the two-preset manual consoles it set out to replace. There
were two sets of 24 faders that could be used manually if required (the
console included A/B masters with dipless crossfade), and flash buttons
below the faders.
But it also offered six memory master faders for quickly storing looks and
nine easily-programmable effects with sound-to-light control, if required both ideal for busking shows. And for those who wanted to program the
entire show, the Sirius could store up to 99 states with programmed fade
times, though these could also be over-ridden using the rate dial located
above the ‘go’ playback key. The Sirius didn’t offer any support for
a monitor, but green and orange LEDs below each fader showed when
a light was active and when the fader had been matched to the
programmed level - modifying levels in
programmed cues on a Sirius was
something of an acquired art! A key-switch
allowed access to the desk’s functions to
be limited to program, preset or run only.
Designed by a team led by Richard
Thornton Brown (electronics design), Chris
Fenwick (mechanical construction) and
John Brown (software), the console was
based on Motorola’s 68B03P processor
coupled with 32K or RAM and 32K of
EPROMS for the console’s firmware; output
was +10V analogue, with -10V available as
an option.
Easily understood and affordable, the Sirius was an immediate hit. But
Zero 88 didn’t rest on its laurels; a year later, the Mk2 version offered an
optional DMX output (fitted as standard from 1995), a memory card slot
for show storage, and 90 ‘point cue’ memories for adding cues between
existing memories; it was also joined by a big brother, the Sirius 48.
The Sirius was finally retired in late 2000, but can still be found in active
service in many smaller venues and schools. The name passed to the
Sirius 250, an ambitious project that was the first to use timelines to
manage cues, and was arguably ahead of its time. The Sirius spirit now
continues in the popular Frog range, adding moving light functionality to
the familiar, friendly, practical operating approach and reasonable pricing
that the Sirius established so well.
Sirius User Manuals and other documents are still available at
>>>
http://support.zero88.com
Rob Halliday takes a nostalgic but instructive look back at the tools that have shaped the industry . . .
Classic Gear: The Zero 88 Sirius 24
The Sirius 24 from Zero 88.
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