- LOS ANGELES, CA-Onboard six Carnival Cruise Lines' ships, grandMA, exclusively distributed by A.C.T. Lighting in North America, plays a key role in the line's entertainment show control.
Two shows have been programmed on a grandMA system for the Carnival Cruise Line ship Sensation-an '80s-style show, "Far From Over," and the fleet's latest show, "Curves," which has a Vegas flair.
"The grandMA system is an important component for technical operations in the main showroom on our ships," said Preston Bircher, entertainment technical projects manager for Carnival. "Most ships have between two and seven production shows, and although they're completely different, they utilize the same basic rig and light plot." The difference is in the programming with all the moving lights and color changers.
"The flexibility of the grandMA system is fantastic," he continued. "The desk typically controls Vari-Lite 2500 spots and washes, Cyberlight Cls, standard dimmers, and Wybron color changers plus haze, smoke and fog effects, and confetti canons."
"The theater has all the accustomed lighting positions: ladders, pipes, front of house truss, balcony, etc.," said Demfis Fyssicopulos of dfdesign, who served as grandMA lighting programmer. "The larger ships also have a full fly space. A variety of LED fixtures were used to light the key set elements. All of the data distribution was done via PathPort coming out directly from the console. The entire show runs slaved to SMTE Time Code. Lights, lasers, video, and even pyro are slaved to Time Code. The grandMA was simply the best tool for the job."
