Zero 88's Fringe Benefits

Over 150 venues selected Zero 88 control desks and dimming for their fringe appearance this year, with products being supplied from a large variety of Zero 88 dealers including Northern Light, Black Light, Hawthorn, HSL, Stage Electrics and Stage Lighting Services. On-site backup was provided by members of the Zero 88 team throughout the month long festival, including a number of training and support consoles supplied directly to give venue staff members an opportunity to try out equipment even whilst theirs was in use.

Zero 88’s philosophy of providing great value and performance once again made its products the most popular lighting control solution for venues across the city.  Continuing its partnership with the festival, which began in 2003, the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe proved to be one of the busiest years for Zero 88 with up to 200 products in use throughout the month. 

As a testament to their quality and reliability in this demanding environment the usual eclectic mix of old and new products were in operation at the festival, from a bank of vintage ID1216 dimmers controlled by a Sirius 24 console right through a large number of current products such as 9 of the new ORB series consoles (ORB and ORB XF).  The ORB consoles  featuring the powerful new ZerOS 7 software proved popular, with particular favour paid to the enhancements since 2010.  Returning operator (and now deputy electrician at the Pleasance) Owen Evans commented: "Zero 88 listens to its customers - an important factor in choosing a lighting control provider. The new software has improved on previous versions allowing for greater flexibility, faster programming and has helped our operators to get to grips with the consoles faster than last year."

Key to the success Zero 88 see at the fringe is the emphasis they place on listening to fringe operators’ feedback when developing their products.

Despite the hectic technical rehearsal schedule, time is taken to listen to feedback from inexperienced operators to ensure that many of the usually unheard voices get an opportunity to speak about their console experiences.  A number of key features included in Zero 88 products have come from suggestions made by operators at the fringe, and each year it proves a great test-bed to sound out new ideas amongst operators of varied skill levels. Zero 88’s Product Manager, Peter Kirkup, stated that "there’s no other opportunity like this, where up to 1000 shows a day can be using our equipment. No matter what, you can guarantee someone will come up with something we’ve not heard before!".

Throughout Edinburgh, venues sing the praises of Zero 88 and their on-site support which is available, no matter how small the venue. New venue for 2011, Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel, were able to tap into this resource with on-site training on their Jester 12/24 console; a service which left the key staff to continue with their other duties during the critical technical rehearsal periods and venue operators confident with their control equipment.

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