Maxedia Compact Electrifies ”Guitars Unplugged” at BYU-Idaho

Brigham Young University-Idaho in Rexburg is a growing university with construction of a new 15,000 seat auditorium well underway. The University recently purchased a Martin Maxedia Compact digital media server and used the new system on a student run activities program called “Guitars Unplugged.” Presented three times a year in the 4,300 seat Hart Auditorium, “Guitars Unplugged” is the program’s largest production of the year.

“We looked at quite a few servers,” states Brent Pritchett, head of media services and lighting designer at BYU-Idaho. “We were looking for something that we could move easily from venue to venue. Ultimately it came down to the quick flexibility of the Maxedia Compact. After playing with it for a week I was pretty happy with how easy it is to load content and play it back. And it was right in our price range.”

Maxedia ease
BYU-Idaho bought the Maxedia Compact just two weeks before the June 23rd show. Brent, who had no training on the server, spent about a week programming. “I got a copy of auditions, watched performances and built effects using the existing Maxedia content,” he said. “We didn’t have time to create custom content but did quite a bit of manipulation of the content that was already in the server. Finding content was easy and the way to drag and drop it in makes a lot of sense. I did download content from the Maxedia web page that others had posted. That was a great resource along with the online forum where I could read up on any questions I had.

“For not having programmed a lot of servers in the past, it was a great jump start for me. We played around with it quite a bit and had a great time. It worked really well and was really straight forward to get started with.” BYU-Idaho purchased their Maxedia Compact from Barbizon Light of the Rockies of Denver who demoed the product for them in the spring. Barbizon also supplied them with ten new MAC 700 Wash fixtures.

Expectations
The Maxedia effects were delivered via Epson 7900 projectors - pulled from classroom stock - onto a full 25 x 50 foot RP screen. Two plasma screens on each side of the stage brought the effects forward and helped with camera angles. “Guitars Unplugged” is a seven camera production. Brent white-balanced to a higher color temperature for the video aspect and in some cases matched the digital color to that of the moving heads. Video engineer Robert Schultz handled the projection setup.
“People expect something bigger and better for every production,” Brent says. “But our budget is somewhat small so we try to make it look as big as possible. We were intrigued that we could project some type of backdrop for each performer. We used the Maxedia effects as a scenic element mostly and as something to play along with whatever mood or tone was being played in the show. We liked the idea of having it as a simple background and then also have some stark images come up behind them to support the performers.”

The stage rig included the 10 MAC 700 Washes along with 8 MAC 550 profile spots. A separate rig positioned over the audience had 14 RoboScan 918 scanners and 4 Atomic strobes and was also used for a post show dance.

As an intro to the concert the audience was entertained with a bit of ‘flash and trash’ complete with video effects in the background. “The students do a really good job,” Brent concludes. “It looked great and people loved it.”