MAC 500 - Off to a good start in the U.S.

It is often important in the lighting industry that a new product get off to a good start, and this was certainly a key for the MAC 500. Perhaps its most high profile application was one of its first ever. "I was one of the first to use the MAC 500 in the US," states Lighting Designer Greg Brunton, "and I depended on them greatly when I designed the lighting for the Academy Awards. It´s a very good, bright light with more tricks than we are used to getting from other profile spots."

Following its success on the Academy Awards, the MAC 500 followed up in several other TV and studio applications in the States.

MTV in the United States, as well as MTV Europe, have also incorporated the MAC 500 into their studios, especially in "Dance Party" performances. You will also find them on the largest U.S. networks, ABC and NBC studios.

Willie Twork, Lighting Designer for Bandit Lites, has used the Martin MAC series in the US for WWF Wrestling, a travelling show broadcast throughout the world every week. "The demands on the MACs far exceed the traditional studio usage," he states. "There are two or three shoots every week in different locations. The fixtures ability to be reliable, to keep good color temperature and to respond immediately to live television demands has been key."

For television, the MAC 500 has been used in both studios and in ‘on-location’ TV productions such as Carnival International in Miami. U.S. Lighting Designer Eddie Reyes uses the MAC 500’s optics and gobo wheels to create special effects for the TV camera. "I have found that other prisms tend to lose a lot of their intensity but this was not the case with the MAC output. I like to use the gobo out of focus and like the way I can use overlapping gobos to create texture on the wall. It looks really good, especially for television."

Lighting Designer Eddie Orta specified 12 MAC 500s and 24 MAC 600s for the popular network HTV (Hero Television), a 24-hour Latin music television network featuring ballad and tropical beats. An active studio requiring flexibility in lighting, HTV uses the MACs to produce its own original videos in its own studios, as well as other original productions such as "Top 5" - a show highlighting