After poring over production technical riders and analysing the market, ei Productions purchased 36 Martin MAC Viper XIPs and 24 Martin MAC Aura XIPs.
“In this business, it seems more is never enough, and you can never have enough of more Martin lighting products, especially now that the Martin Viper XIP and Aura XIP are out in the market,” commented Neale Mace, Managing Director of ei Productions.
ei Productions also conducted a shootout in their warehouse using the MAC Viper XIP, comparing it to products they own and those they were considering purchasing.
“The MAC Viper XIP was bright, easy to handle, not too physically big, had a great beam and in-the-air look, as well as a wide/bright wash,” concluded Neale. “We also felt that the in-the-air gobo definition was great. They also possess a high-speed pan and tilt for their size.”
Additionally, as the MAC Viper XIP is IP-rated, Neale can be confident putting them on festival stages.
“But it’s not all about what we like – they’re all over local and overseas tech riders, so that’s also a significant factor in our purchasing decisions,” he added. “The superb backup, service and knowledge base at Show Technology also can’t be understated as one of the decision-making factors for us as well.”
ei Productions has been a long-term MAC Aura user – right from the very first Martin MAC Aura product, they’ve been buying and using these fixtures across their hires and productions.
Neale remarked that nowadays there are ever more brands of LED wash lights to choose from, and yet the Martin MAC Aura range remains a top choice among local and international tech riders.
“We already have Martin Aura PXLs, and with the addition of Martin Aura XIPs we have all the bases covered,” he added. “They’re a cute, little fixture that punches way above its weight in colour rendering, speed and brightness.
“Not only are they amazingly bright, but being IP-rated means that we can be confident also putting them on outdoor events and festival stages.”
ei Productions’ MAC Viper XIP and MAC Aura XIP are currently on tour with Australian indie rock band Spacey Jane, for whom the talented Sam Jarousek lights. Sam’s lighting brief at the start of the design phase was quite simple: focus more on textures, block colours, and shadows.
“Designing and putting together the subsequent gear for the tour, I knew I wanted to use some brand-spanking new fixtures,” he revealed. “It would have been easy to fall back into old habits and spec what I’m familiar with, but where’s the fun in that? I was already quite familiar with the MAC Aura XIPs, having toured with them many times in the last couple of years. I had heard that a new MAC Viper was being released, but since it was so new, I hadn’t had a chance to demo it.”
Sam admits that he specified the MAC Viper XIPs based on the word-of-mouth recommendations of colleagues in the industry (all positive, thankfully), as well as the attractive promotional videos. He says that the feature set of the MAC Viper XIP was what sold it to him.
“I immediately knew it was going to be flexible enough to be the rig workhorse that I needed it to be!” he added. “I’m also a sucker for a Martin animation wheel, which features heavily in the set.”
The full overhead A-rig had two trusses entirely composed of MAC Viper XIPs for the moving heads. There were eight MAC Vipers XIPs doing downstage and upstage rear specials; these were locked off and used purely to light the band in various positions. Another sixteen Vipers XIPs (eight per truss) were dedicated to aerial effects, textures, abstract beam looks, and all the standard spot usage. In addition to this, as part of the full touring floor package, there were eight MAC Viper XIPs upstage of the band riser, which were also utilised for the aforementioned aerial effects, textures, and abstract beam looks, as well as providing gorgeous, wide silhouettes.
“We only had eight MAC Aura XIPs, which were on the FOH truss, just as some extra fill on stage,” said Sam. “They honestly didn’t get utilised that much, as the intention was to fully workhorse the MAC Viper XIPs. The output, colour mixing, zoom range, speed, and most of the gobos of the MAC Viper XIP are just incredible. I hope we start to see them in lighting rigs around the world, with the same frequency and saturation of the classic MAC Viper.”
Sam reports that the MAC Viper XIP have been fantastic to work with, with absolutely no issues. He added that ei Productions was great, as always!
Control was an MA Lighting MA3 full-size running Mode 3 and Timecode, and programmed and partially directed by Dan Bourke.
Photos: Charlie Hardy
