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Strictly FX’s grandMA dot2 Consoles Head Out on the Road with Luke Bryan, Score with the Billboard Music Awards and Go Dancing With The Stars

Three MA Lighting dot2 XL-F consoles recently purchased by Strictly FX, the live special effects (SFX) company based in Wood Dale, Illinois, have been flying out the door since they arrived. The dot2s have been deployed on Luke Bryan's concert tour, the 2015 Billboard Music Awards, "Dancing With The Stars" and more. A.C.T Lighting, Inc. is the exclusive distributor of MA Lighting products in North America.

Three MA Lighting dot2 XL-F consoles recently purchased by Strictly FX, the live special effects (SFX) company based in Wood Dale, Illinois, have been flying out the door since they arrived.  The dot2s have been deployed on Luke Bryan’s concert tour, the 2015 Billboard Music Awards, “Dancing With The Stars” and more.  A.C.T Lighting, Inc. is the exclusive distributor of MA Lighting products in North America.

MA’s new dot2 product line is designed for small and medium-sized projects and venues.  The dot2 XL-F offers a small footprint and includes a full programming section, master playback section, 14 fader playbacks and 28 individual playback buttons.

“Everybody loves dot2; it’s a very intuitive console,” says SFX designer Adam Biscow.  “Console use can be foreign for people who don’t come from a lighting background.  The grandMA2 full size is great for lighting and video, but we don’t deal with a lot of those parameters when we do pyro.  But dot2 is very simple, very stable and much smaller.  The prompting on dot2 makes for easy navigation: With minimal keystrokes you can get exactly what you need.  And the built-in effects engine is perfect for us.”

Biscow is using one of the dot2 XL-F consoles for the sell-out stadium dates on Luke Bryan’s current “Kick Up The Dust” tour.  “We use dot2 to operate the flames,” says Biscow, who designed all the pyro and SFX for Bryan’s stadium shows.  “We have 24 DMX-controlled [Le Maitre] Salamander flame units that create sequenced walls of flame between Luke and the band at the foot of the band risers.”

Biscow notes that Strictly FX has a reputation for being “very much in the forefront creatively” and that includes acquiring the latest gear such as new moving-head effects fixtures.  “We’re looking forward to using dot2 with them,” he says.  “We’ll have the flexibility to control those fixtures with a minimum of keystrokes, which is essential to the whole process.”

David Kennedy, Art Director and Lead Laserist at Strictly FX, took one of the dot2 XL-Fs to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for the 2015 Billboard Music Awards ceremony broadcast live on ABC.  He ran laser effects and haze through the console for Van Halen performing “Panama;” Jussie Smollett and Estelle singing “Conqueror,” the hit song from the FOX series “Empire;” and Nicki Minaj performing “The Night is Still Young.”

“The dot2s have all been working since we got them – that’s great, but I haven’t had time to play with them,” laments Kennedy.  He likes their small size and light weight, which proved convenient for programming SFX at his Vegas hotel and at the venue.  “dot2 is perfect for what we do,” he says.  Plus, the feature-rich dot2 XL-F appears “nearly comparable to the full-size grandMA2” in its capabilities. 

Strictly FX opened a Los Angeles office earlier this year where Grant Sellers also keeps the dot2s busy.  One of the dot2 XL-F consoles was on the popular show “Dancing With The Stars,” where it controlled laser edges and stingers during the dance numbers.

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, visit www.actlighting.com .

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