The luxury styling and precision engineering expected from Mercedes-Benz were showcased in the carmaker’s booth at Detroit’s 2009 North American International Auto Show where grandMAs once again played a key role in the environmental lighting. The Auto Show was held January 11-25 at the Cobo Exhibition Center. A.C.T Lighting is the exclusive distributor of the grandMA in North America.

Demfis Fyssicopulos and Dietmar Rauh provided programming and direction with two full-size grandMAs, two PC-based grandMAs and six MA Lighting NSPs in support of lighting designers Richi Profe and Alexander Orkisch of TLD.

“This is a wonderful project to be part of every year,” says Fyssicopulos. “Environmental lighting design is a very different beast from my usual rock and roll projects, and it can be very rewarding. The versatility of the grandMA proved once again to be an indispensable tool.”

He and Rauh programmed the show using two full-size consoles which controlled 65 Martin Mac 2K Performances, 114 Mac 2K Washes, 21 HES Studio Beam PCs, and more than 100 conventional fixtures. “The look of the lighting was built to complement the video content displayed on a center LED screen and two Barco stealth screens,” Fyssicopulos explains. “All cues were slaved to time code produced by the video loop. The consoles were on moving stations; for hard-to-reach areas we used laptops running grandMA on PC.

“After programming was finalized, both consoles moved upstairs next to the dimmer and NSP racks. A line from Video World provided the time code feed for the consoles to chase.”

The project reunited Fyssicopulos with TLD. “It was a pleasure to work with the team again,” he reports. “Richi and Alex are simply extraordinary people, and their designs were as impeccably engineered as the Mercedes’ on display.”

“We love working with Demfis and he really demands the full tool box that the grandMA offers. Of course, we would love to draw parallels between the technical innovations shown by the grandMA and by Mercedes Benz,” commented A.C.T Lighting President and CEO, Bob Gordon.

Salvatore Restuccia was crew chief for the project. PRG was the equipment supplier.

About A.C.T Lighting

A leading importer and distributor of lighting products, A.C.T Lighting, Inc. strives to identify future trends and cutting-edge products, and stock, sell and support their inventory. The company provides superior customer service and value for money to all of its clients. For more information call 818-707-0884 or visit www.actlighting.com.