Jands Vista Controls the Hot Ice Action at Pleasure Beach Blackpool

The Hot Ice Show at top UK amusement park Pleasure Beach Blackpool employs a Jands Vista lighting and media control system.

Hot Ice has been running for over 70 years, with the 2011 show, Aura", performed twice daily, six days a week, to entertain and enthral nearly 20,000 visitors a week. This makes it one of the UK's most popular attractions.

Hot Ice is created, produced and directed by Amanda Thompson and presented by Stageworks Worldwide Productions at the Pleasure Beach's ice skating theatre, The Arena. Stageworks head of production, management, and events, Scott Hope, specified the Jands Vista T2 in consultation with his team, when the time came to upgrade and replace the show's lighting control desk.

They researched extensively before making any commitment to a new console or brand, and after considering all the available options Hope decided that he and his team should take a look at the Vista for themselves. When it came down to it, he reveals, "It was actually a very easy choice to make."

Key to his decision, says Hope, was that Vista "is as easy or as sophisticated as you want to make it, which is really helpful to get the most out of short programming windows." He especially likes the way it is quick and easy to manipulate any fixture and any cue, "This is hugely powerful and saves masses of programming time," he qualifies, adding that the whole Vista concept is excellent.

The Vista T2 controls a wide mix of lighting fixtures in the rig designed by Paul Lee. These 40 Martin Professional MAC 2K profiles and twelve GLP Impression moving lights, along with 60 Chroma-Q color changers and over 200 generics, plus 20 banks of ACL's, 23 Showtec Sunstrips, two star drops, MDG Atmosphere and Compack smoke machines, as well as numerous strobe and in-house effects.

. It also controls a special custom Prometheus flame jet fire effect, which was developed in-house, comprising of four effects heads.

Stageworks were so impressed with their T2 that they decided to invest in a further two Vista I3s and three Vista PC "dongles" for various other shows and events onsite. They find the "dongles" to be a handy 'quick fix' solution for corporate events, presentations and press launches.

Hope finds that the Vista substantially accelerates the time taken to complete the process, "being head of production, for me this equates to saving money," he explains. The next-generation Vista v2 software was designed from the ground up to allow all levels of user get the most from whatever mix of technology they have available, whether dimmers, moving lights, LED, or media. Available in a wide range of hardware Vista v2 offers both the simplicity to work fast, with the power to control the finest details, so everyone can focus on creating a great looking show rather than on programming a desk, the company says.

Jands Europe's Neil Vann said, "Scott and his team have to be able to create precise structured shows like Hot Ice, but also have to be able to deliver a variety of events to a high specification in very short time frames. The Vista family offers the right balance between powerful functionality, and ease of use, that allows them to get the most from all of their shows. If you haven't taken a look at Vista v2 yet, you really should before you choose to use anything else."