Lighting director Chris Chisnall used Compulite Vector Green and Blue lighting consoles on the Granada TV production of the Coronation Street Pantomime. In the hour-long Boxing Day special, the stars of the popular British soap play characters from a number of different pantomimes, with songs, special effects, and even some tap dancing.

The Vector Blue, operated by console operator Taras Kochan, was located in the vision gallery for main control while the Vector Green was situated on the studio floor. There were six individual sets in the studio: the Palace Ballroom and the Panto Street were in for two days, followed by a quick turnaround to provide sets for Baron Hardup's Hall, the Chinese laundry, a Ruined Hovel and the Enchanted Forest, which were all in studio for a further two days. The moving light rig was initially rigged for the Ballroom and Panto Street sets, and then adapted for the other four sets.

The Vector consoles were linked via Ethernet in a master/slave arrangement. This enabled very fast and efficient plotting as studio time and production constraints were at a minimum. “The Vector was a dream to use, even under such tight time constraints,” says Kochan. “The master/slave arrangement was a godsend as it enabled me and the LD to go down on the studio floor to plot cues with a clear view of each of the sets and then return to the gallery to see the results on camera.

Operation was further enhanced by the inclusion of a Vector iControl radio riggers control system. The Vector systems controlled the entire rig of 28 Robe 1200eAT wash luminaires, 24 Martin MAC 500, 28 James Thomas Pixelline 1044 and two Look Unique hazers plus the 82 conventionals via Ethernet.

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Coronation Street