SYDNEY – Sir Cliff Richard returned to Australia earlier this year with his “Still Reelin’ and A-Rockin’ ” tour. Longtime LD Derek Jones brought a rig of close to 90 moving lights. To control the rig, he brought his own Vista S3 and Vista M1, part of a larger family of Vista consoles that he owns.
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SYDNEY – Sir Cliff Richard returned to Australia earlier this year with his hit-packed Still Reelin’ and A-Rockin’ tour and with him was his long-time lighting designer Derek Jones, who was touring a rig that held close to 90 moving lights.
Jones has been a champion of Jands Vista consoles for many years and so it was no surprise to see him travel here with his own Vista S3 and Vista M1, part of a larger family of Vista consoles that he owns.
“The Vista consoles are easy to operate and easy to program,” he said. “I also like the support that you get from Jands as they will actually listen to your ideas and feedback, coming up with real solutions to help achieve what you need.” He also favors the ‘mix and match’ ability offered by owning a few Vista consoles as well as their portability.
“The surface is flexible, small and highly portable,” he said. “Depending on the size of the job, I can package a kit to suit. For example, I have just finished a job for a TV station with just an S1 which I could pop in my bag along with a laptop. The S3 is larger but I’ve packaged it into a roadcase so it weighs less than 32 kilograms and I can check it in at an airport. [You can] stick your laptop in your rucksack and off you go.”
Vista features that impress him include snapshots, which makes it simple to play back a show. He also likes the effects engine. “I like the way that everything is assignable,” he added. “The Vista consoles are very reliable and haven’t let me down yet despite being taken all around the world.”
Jones is running the current release of Vista v2 software, which he describes as “brilliant.”
