DUBAI, UAE — Robe’s “The Future is Digital” Roadshow had stops in the Middle East, South Africa and Chicago before taking a break for the holidays. The program, organized to give attendees a first-hand look and an in-depth discussion about the company’s new digital gear, resumes in January with a stop in Poland. For the stop in the Middle East, pictured here, distributor GSL setting up truss and a four-by-five-meter screen used by Robe representatives Petr Vanêk and Elie Battah, who jointly conducted the session at the Al Morooj Rotana Hotel in Dubai.
Vanêk, Robe customer service representative, and Battah, regional sales manager for the Middle East, made a presentation and answered questions during the day-long event, divided into two sessions before and after lunch.
Attendees arrived from the UAE, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia and included representatives from rental and TV production companies, lighting and visual designers, installers, consultants and in-house hotel technical staff.
Both sessions followed the same format, kicking off with a welcome and a brief slide show documenting Robe’s history and development, highlighting the company’s factory and current range of products.
Vanêk presented the DigitalSpot 3000 and 7000DT digital products, outlining the difference between analog and digital products and introducing the RED Series – REDWash 3•192, the REDMix and Robe’s Remote Device Management (RDM) protocol capabilities.
The second half of each session included individual discussions with all the attendees and answers to their questions. Robe’s Roadshow is an ongoing series of events staged to give attendees an in-depth introduction to the company’s new products.
In South Africa, Robe staged three events in two locations — Johannesburg and Cape Town. Robe representatives Harry von den Stemmen and Gerald Heise worked with DWR’s Duncan Riley, Bruce Riley, Nick Britz, Cherine Viney and Sherryn Riley to stage the three events which took place in the course of a week.
The week kicked off in Johannesburg, with two sessions at DWR’s headquarters in Northcliffe. More than 40 industry professionals from around South Africa and one attendee traveled from Namibia.
Robe’s digital products, including the DigitalSpot 3000 and 7000DT, took center stage, along with the REDWash 3•192 and others in the RED Series. The attendees also showed interest in the 700 Series and the Robe Dream Box, with Duncan fielding calls for quotes from attendees on their way back to the Johannesburg airport after the first of the three sessions.
The Johannesburg events were staged shortly before the Miss World 2008 pageant took place, and DWR had just received the 12 DS7000s and 36 REDWash fixtures that lighting and visuals designer Tim Dunn would be using for that spectacle. His design incorporated the largest number of these fixtures used on one event to date.
Both Johannesburg sessions included the technical product presentations plus general Robe information and Q&As, followed by informal discussions among the lighting and video designers, rental company staff, and programmers and operators active in clubs, theatre, TV and live concerts and events.
“The response was absolutely amazing,” Duncan Riley said. “It’s the busiest time of year, and people really made a major effort to shoehorn the Roadshow into their hectic schedules.”
“What a mind-blowing experience,” said LD Michael Broderick, who made the trip from Durban. “I am still reeling from the sheer power of the Robe products we saw, and feeling a massive weight of expectancy and responsibility as an LD, and simultaneously hugely excited, challenged and inspired by this technology and what it offers.”
The event moved to Cape Town the next day, setting up all the Roadshow equipment in one of the conference rooms at the Cape Town International Convention Centre for one event attended by 36 lighting professionals, again including some, like LD Dennis Hutchinson, who flew in for the event.
“Duncan and DWR made a fantastic effort to ensure that the events were all highly organized,” said Robe’s Harry von den Stemmen. “All three seminars were very focused, generating lots of interesting questions and genuine interest in the Digital route.”
“These were definitely among the best Roadshows we have experienced yet,” said Robe’s Gerald Heise. “The level of interest was impressive and reinforced the very personal relationship that Duncan and DWR has with its clients.”
“I think the technology is amazing,” said LD John T. Baker. “It has huge potential in theatre, and it’s great that Robe and DWR have given us this opportunity to see it first hand.”
For more information, please visit www.robe.cz.
