Visitors to the Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Okla. can see a series of color-changing pylons that flank the boulevard on the way to the resort, and a circle of nine obelisks around an entry fountain attract attention with water effects, lighting and fire as they get closer. ETC Unison Mosaic show controllers are used to orchestrate both the synchronized scenic effects and exterior LED wash lighting. The Mosaic units control the architectural-lighting fixtures, fountain pumps, rain curtains, and underwater uplights. They are interconnected with an ETC SmartSwitch relay panel, an ETC Unison Smartlink DRd Rack and are networked using the ETC Net3 ACN-based control-protocol system.
Lighting-design and theater-consulting company Visual Terrain, under contract to FlintCo Inc. and WorthGroup Architects, specified the ETC products as part of their role in providing system design, lighting layout and programming for the suite of effects.
"We programmed some 19 different looks that change out every five minutes, and had some 14 effect shows for predetermined holidays," said Michael Mahlum, senior project designer at Visual Terrain. Mahlum and colleague Jen Goldstein programmed the six Mosaic controllers – three primary and three backup, paired for redundancy.
The Mosaic units interface with the building, a digital music-playback unit and other elements via RS-232 serial commands. They interface with the water pumps using a DMX-to-analog converter and employ an RIO 4/4 from the Mosaic line to control the start and stop times of the fire rings in the entry fountain.
The operator interface is simplified to a single point of control, and Visual Terrain configured a custom Web interface that allows the user to alter the regular programming or suspend it for special events.
"It was really pretty amazing how we were able to control the whole system via Mosaic," said Mahlum. "You can turn the entire building on and off with the 48 relays, and they allow you to cycle the power on the LEDs and reset the system if necessary. They also give the client the ability to turn on individual elements if they want to, which provided the flexibility to program singular shows or looks that could be controlled independently using just components, or as a whole with all elements being active.
"Tying it all together with the ETC's Net3 nodes allowed us to profile what DMX values went to which area, using Ethernet to distribute DMX to the entire building," Mahlum added. "Without the Mosaic as the controller for the system, we would have needed double the time to program many of the dynamic effects. And as always, ETC tech support was very helpful if we encountered any issues in the field."
The fountains and other scenic elements were part of the venue's recent expansion. The Choctaw Nation invested $300 million to enlarge and upgrade the resort, which opened as a bingo parlor in 1987.
Reopened in February, it now features 111,000 square feet of gaming space and 204,000 square feet of hospitality space. Visitors come from the primary market of the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area and beyond.
