The Strand 300 Lighting Computer
Our lighting control computer is a Strand 300 Series, 125 channel memory desk, with 24 sub masters, tracker, Communique & Reporter software, DMX control protocols, and 2nd monitor. Although there are bigger boards, you can achieve the same effects with the 300 series as you can with many of the most sophisticated boards. It can control lights, colour changers, special effects and the most sophisticated moving luminaire. The Strand Board controls three ADB Eurorack Dimming Units each of which have 24 output channels. We have an additional Dimming unit for the House Lights, and we currently have 80 controllable channels.In the background you can see our Canford Audio TecPro Intercom System. The Lighting Operator is in direct communication with the Show Caller, as are all other technical operators and stage crew, using TecPro Headsets (or ‘Cans’) with inbuilt microphones.

The Pacific Followspot
A compact sized, cool beam followspot which accepts a wide choice of light sources makes it the ideal choice for schools, smaller theatres & entertainment venues as well as production companies. Notice the colour magazine at the front of the unit, and the iris control lever under the handle at the left of the picture.
The Followspot was bought by the PTA Treasure Chest Fund.

The Selecon Compact Fresnel, the Strand 743, and the Selecon Acclaim Zoomspot
The Selecon Compact luminaire is an industry standard 1.0 / 1.2 kW fresnel with a 150mm (6”) lens. The adjustable cone of light has a soft edge, easily blended with adjacent beams to provide even illumination. Constructed of pressure die-castings and aluminium extrusion, the Compact Fresnel offers efficiency, strength and performance.

Notice the old Strand pattern 743 to the right of the new Selecon Compact Fresnel. The 743’s were reconditioned units bought when the Sackville was first opened over 20 years ago, and are now reaching the end of their useful life span. The new Selecons were bought this year, and are easier to deploy and produce a much better light.

Next to the 743 you can just see a Selecon Acclaim Zoomspot Profile. The Acclaim Zoomspot 500/650W variable beam profiles provide precise beam control and pattern projection capability. The ellipsoidal optical system provides a high output beam with a centre peak. This can be made more even (2:1) by adjusting the position of the lamp in the reflector. A fully featured luminaire constructed of pressure die-castings and aluminium extrusion the Acclaim Zoomspot offers efficiency, strength and performance with a choice of two beam angle ranges of which we have a few of each.

Mac with Logic Pro, Atmosphere Dream Synth, Studio Box and BBC special effects

Our Mac computer enables us to create industry standard sound and music effects with Logic Pro software. Logic Pro 7 is the first choice of many prominent musicians and producers, and provides the most comprehensive collection of music creation tools available. We can even layer sound tracks underneath video footage. You can also see one of two Samson active speakers, a midi keyboard and an external hard drive with a memory big enough to store huge amounts of both sound and video.

The Atmosphere Dream Synth Module™, is a software plug-in instrument that integrates a massive, three gigabyte core library of more than one thousand unique sounds and layer elements, with a powerful and intuitive interface for shaping new textures. Atmosphere works as a native plug-in instrument in Logic Pro. The range of sounds this instrument is capable of is astonishing, from lush ethereal pads, to powerful leads, crystalline glass swells to dark brooding atonal clouds, unusual synth basses, evocative ambiences, deep drones, complex textures, vintage analog sounds, disturbing noise FX, europhasers, gorgeous ambient string ensembles, thick trance/techno sounds, wavetable sweeps, vocoded choirs, dense vocal washes, transparent evolutions, and shimmering prisms of harmonic convergence. Sounds this rich put even the best hardware synths to shame!

As well as 40 BBC sound effect CD’s, we have over 4,500 effects on DVD in a collection called Studio Box. Studio Box Sound Effects offers high quality sound FX for use in everything from plays, sketches, jingles, multimedia web design, video games, TV & film scores and more, all in WAV format.

Studio Box has four DVD volumes:
• Vol. 1 Nature: Animals, Weather, and Atmospheres.
• Vol. 2 Human: Places, Surroundings, Voices, and Sports.
• Vol. 3 Technical: Vehicles, Machines, and Construction Sites.
• Vol. 4 Special Effects: Alarms, Bells, Blasts, Cameras, Cartoons, Fire, Fireworks, Glass, Guns, and much more!
Sound amplification is provided by an amplifier that sends to four Bose model 800 speakers. These were installed when the theatre opened, but are still producing a superb sound.

Spirit Live 4 Sound Mixing Desk and Alesis Effects Unit
Our SPIRIT LIVE 4 is a 12 channel mixer. These input channels are able to accept a wide range of Microphone and Line level signals from separate input sockets. The stereo channel signal may be routed to either the Mix output or to Groups 1 & 2 (upper) or Groups 3 & 4 (lower). The four Output Groups provide submixing to the Mix L/ R outputs or may feed external equipment directly. The Master section provides master level control for the Left, Right, Mono and Auxiliary Send busses, with separate AFL monitoring on each Auxiliary Send and the Mono output. The Mix L/ R and Group outputs all have insert points for the connection of external signal processing. We have recently installed a Alesis Effects Unit which modifies sound to produce useful effects. For instance, an echo effect can be added to a sound in order to make it seem like stage action is in a vast cave or hall. We can also use this unit to help modify prerecorded sound effects.

Comprehensive Talkback facilities are provided, which allow an external talkback microphone to be routed to Mix L/ R, Groups and Auxes 1 & 2 as required. This Spirit Live desk is nearing the end of its useful life and we are currently planning a replacement.

We have several professional Minidisk and CD players with which we can record and run a show’s sound track.