Since 1988, the Robin Hood Foundation has targeted poverty in New York City by applying investment principles to philanthropy. This year's Robin Hood Foundation fundraiser was held at the Jacob Javits center in New York City and featured James Brown and Elton John with Billy Crystal hosting. The evening included a cocktail reception, dinner for 2,500, a half-hour of comedy from Billy Crystal, a lively auction hosted by Crystal and the head auctioneer from Sotheby's, and special guest performances.
Lighting the event was Abigail Rosen Holmes of NYX Design with Wendy Ludke as assistant lighting designer. Patrick Dierson programmed the main room with Hillary Knox programming the cocktail reception and David Arch programming the special guest concert stage. For the main room, whose rig included High End Systems Studio Spot® 575s and Studio Colors®, Vari*Lite® VL1000TSs™, Martin MAC 2000 Profiles, Coemar Super Cycs, High End Dataflash AF1000 strobe units, and Kino Flos, Patrick chose the MA Lighting grandMA for control. The four grandMA consoles (two grandMA lights and two full-size grandMAs) were networked together in a combined full tracking and playback tracking enviroment. In addition to the grandMA consoles Patrick made particular use of the grandMA Pocket PC remote.
"I love my remote," says Dierson. "The most notable moment on this show was when problems with the LED scoreboard video system cut the focusing of key lights on the auction stage down to 45 minutes. Doing a perfect shutter cut key light focus of 30 VL1000Ts in the round, as well as setting their levels for IMAG, tends to take a bit longer than 45 minutes when you've got to maneuver the lighting desk around the 360º area of the stage and take meter readings while you do it! Using the wireless remote I was able to complete the task in 35 minutes, buying myself some time to make a latte as well as getting video back up and running."