Skip to main content

    NZ trip: Day 13, Christchurch

    Written by on . Posted in Uncategorized.

    Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET Professional

    It’s my last day in NZ.  I still have shopping to do as I have not gotten any gifts for anyone back home. We still had to go see one of Annie’s friends and we wanted to do some local tourist stuff as well. We started out by going Punting on the Avon. The Avon is a shallow river that winds its way through Christchurch. It is a very pure and clean river except for all of the ducks. This is also the source of the drinking water for the city. Don’t worry, it is filtered.

    Perfect day to be on the water.

    The punter of the boat told us that when the British decided to build a settlement here, it was only because they could not get their boats any further up the river. Sometimes the simple reason is the best reason. Nonetheless, the ride was really neat and in all her time living there, Annie had never done this. Connor just liked putting his hand in the water and taking pictures of all of the ducks.

    Jeff, our Punter was really funny and full of information.

    After the punting, we did some shopping, saw Annie’s friend, and then came back into town. We took a ride on the tram. The tram is a historical trip through the city with the driver as the narrator. Very enjoyable and informative. Annie wanted to get off in one of the parks and have a very special vanilla ice cream. She was right, it was good. Connor was chasing the birds around the park until we got back on the tram and took it all the way back to the town square. We got off and I had my last walk around the square. We went back out to Trish and Neil’s for dinner. Also, my last chance to get a fish and chip meal for awhile.

    NZ trip: Day 12, Christchurch

    Written by on . Posted in Uncategorized.

    Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET Professional

    Trish and Neil’s older son Iain’s birthday is today. We picked up Connor, Iain, and his girlfriend and took them back into town. We went to lunch at the same place we had the Waitangi Day breakfast. The food at the coffee house is excellent and was worth the return trip. After that, we took a walk to the Christchurch Botanic Gardens.

    The gardens, which are huge by the way, were in full bloom and it looked and smelled fantastic. Iain and his girlfriend were happy to walk around the gardens with us and play with Connor in the huge trees with low branches. Connor was having a great time climbing on the trees and posing for pictures. For Annie and I, it is starting to kick in that I would be leaving in just two days and they would be here for another week. It’s hard knowing that I would also be home about four days before them. I think that I am missing them already.

    Later in the evening, we went back to the Below Zero Ice Bar to have a drink to celebrate Iain’s birthday. We got to choose from a list of drinks and had about 30 minutes in the room. I’m originally from Rochester, NY., and I left the cold for a reason and here I am back in a freezer surrounded by ice while it’s about 24c. Yep, I have lost my mind. The bar was really a lot of fun and everyone had a great time. I highly recommend checking it out.

    Annie and Connor get cozy at Below Zero Ice Bar.

    Even the glasses were made of ice. Cheers! Happy birthday, Iain.

    NZ trip: Day 11, Christchurch

    Written by on . Posted in Uncategorized.

    WWritten by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET Professional

    Back to Christchurch and the real start of my vacation. Annie keeps asking me what I want to do. To be honest, I was just so happy to be able to devote my full attention to not having to “do” anything. We went out to Trish’s house. She and her husband, Neil, offered to take Connor for the night and let him have a sleep over. Annie and I went back to town. We picked up a bottle of Champagne, went out for a quick snack and back to the hotel. Happy Valentine’s day, Annie.

    NZ trip: Day 10, Wellington

    Written by on . Posted in Uncategorized.

    Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET Professional

    For the weekend, we are tourists. John and Julie are my wife’s brother and sister-in-law.  John is Annie’s oldest brother and they were good enough to show us around Wellington for two days. We went to the New Zealand Parliament and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

    Te Papa in Maori means “our place”. The museum is free and just asks for donations at the end. There were exhibits about everything from the Maori culture, the wildlife of NZ, a video history of the ups and downs of NZ since about 1935 and even a giant squid. My son could not stop talking about the giant squid. I have to say I thought it was really cool as well.

    They had an earthquake simulator that could simulate about a 4.1 earthquake. Connor was none too impressed and managed to run out of there at top speed. I don’t think he was a fan of it. I am still driving the car most of the time. I am no fan of driving on the other side of the road. Now it’s not that it’s harder or anything, it’s more the fact that I was just sick of having to concentrate so much harder to stay in the correct lane, not make any turns on red, and most importantly, to remember that the person turning in front of you has the right of way. To anyone I cut off, sorry about that mate.

    NZ trip: Day 9, Wellington

    Written by on . Posted in Uncategorized.

    Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET Professional

    After a long day of presentations and setting up, we are back the next day at Audio Progress tearing down. I finally have a chance to speak with Malcolm and learn what he likes about CHAUVET. He has invested heavily in the COLORado 2 and COLORado 6p. He says he is really happy with how they hold up, are consistent with the colors and run efficiently. He has gotten rid of all but about nine of his original PAR 64 units in favor of the COLORado fixtures. He is also big into using ShowXpress. They are using a Obey 70 combined with the ShowXpress so that they have fader control and makes it much more like a standard lighting desk. They were using another more expensive desk and were much happier to be using the ShowXpress with the Obey.  Allan Reiss (product manager for club/DJ line), that is a major win for you my friend.

    Now it’s back to the road. No way am I going back over that mountain though. I ignore the GPS girl and stay on the road by the ocean. The view is awesome and the weather is perfect. Sorry, no pics of that as I was driving. I get back to Wellington just in time for dinner. Perfect timing and the distance was almost the exact same as if I had done the mountain thing. GPS girl apparently has a wicked sense of humor.

    NZ trip: Day 8, Wellington – MDR dealer night

    Written by David on . Posted in Uncategorized.

    Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET Professional

    Get up early and drive to work. It’s almost like being at home, except I am driving on the other side of the road through some of the most dangerous roads on the North Island.  There is a safer way, but apparently the GPS I am using hates Americans enough to send me over the mountain instead of around it. All in all, the drive up the mountain was easy. Just a matter of staying in my lane and taking it easy. No problem until I started going down the mountain and all I could see was huge cliffs and water that seemed like a mile below. Needless to say, I was sweating bullets and could not wait to get down from there, but wanted to make sure it was by road, not by air.

    Brodie’s license plate. Yes, he can spell, but there is only space for 6 letters.

    Once I finally got to MDR, it was time to get to work and help finish up the dealer night preparations.

    The sign is self explanatory.

    The lighting rig consisted of the following: (2) LEGEND 300E Spot, (2) Q-Spot 160-LED, (2) COLORband TRI, (7) COLORado 2 IP, (4) COLORado 1-Tri TOUR, (4) COLORado 1 Tour, (1) COLORado 1 VW, (8) LED PARr 64 TRI, (1) Cirrus and (1) Eclipse. (The last three are members of our club/DJ line of fixtures.) There were also one each of the COLORdash Accent family members, an assortment of ILUMINARC products, as well as the popular club/DJ wash lights 4PLAY and 4BAR. It was all controlled by ShowXpress and an Obey 70.

    Controlled by ShowXpress and Obey 70

    The night was hosted by MDR and Audio Progress Ltd. We had a guest from Massey University, Professor of Sustainable Energy, Ralph Sims, who discussed the effects of CO2 emissions as they relate to global warming concerns. He described what can be done to help prevent further release of CO2 and how we can lower our carbon footprint by using more efficient methods of transportation, energy production in our everyday lifestyle. He touched on the lighting industry and offered comparisons between traditional incandescent lighting and compact fluorescent lighting (CFL).

    Prof. Simms speaks about green and sustainable energy.

    After his presentation, I was able to expand on his discussion by going into the energy savings of LED and also include the fact that LEDs are much more flexible and actually usable in the entertainment industry where CFL is not. I then touched on the fact that comparisons between LED and discharge lamps is difficult to do on paper and is something that has to be shown in person. The crowd was very receptive to this and I think Brodie is going to get swamped with demo requests.

    The presentation from offstage. We waited until it got dark to start going over the fixtures themselves.

    We took a short break between the technology portion and the fixture overview and then reviewed the entire professional catalogue fixture by fixture. After the presentation, both Brodie and I were mentally exhausted.

    Brodie then wanted to give me a ride around Palmerston North to show me the two outdoor installations he has worked on. There are more in the works, but for now there is the Clock Tower and Regent on Broadway Theater. The Clock Tower is lit with a combination of COLORado Batten 72 Tours and COLORado 6p units. The Regent Theater is uplit with COLORado 6p units only.

    The clock tower is lit with a combination of COLORado Batten 72 Tours and COLORado 6 IP units.

    The Regent on Broadway Theater is lit with COLORado 6 IP units only.

    NZ trip: Day 7, Wellington

    Written by on . Posted in Uncategorized.

    Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET Professional

    Off to Wellington. A quick 45-minute flight on Air New Zealand, but still enough time for them to roll the drink cart up and down the aisle a few times. No problems with any of the arrangements and off to Annie’s other brother John’s house for dinner and some rest as I have a long drive ahead of me the next morning.

    Sleeping again?

    NZ trip: Day 6, Christchurch

    Written by on . Posted in Uncategorized.

    Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET Professional

    I was back in Christchurch. Annie and Connor were in Sydney for another day and I have meetings to get to. My first was with New Zealand Rockshop. The Rockshop is one of three music store chains in NZ. This one is exclusively serviced by MDR in the lighting department and that means one thing for me, CHAUVET Club and DJ gear sales.

    I met with Dave and showed him the COLORdash Accent family. He had not seen any of them and was blown away by them. So much so that he called Brodie for pricing and availability while I was still in the store.

    Next was a meeting with one of the top lighting and sound installers on the South Island. Leon Burt runs a company called One Man Wiring Ltd. While I was waiting for him, I noticed that at the hotel we were staying at, they had a place called Below Zero Ice Bar. I stopped by to see what kind of lights they had inside. I had no idea at the time that it was a CHAUVET installation and that Leon had done it. After Leon and I had lunch, he took me over to look at the bar.

    Photos of the Below Zero Ice Bar’s interior. The back bar area is lit with a COLORpalette.

    It was a very “cool” installation to say the least. We showed the people there the Accents as well because it looked like they need to add a few more lights to the job. For this installation, LEDs are the key as the low heat keeps the ice frozen a whole lot easier and more economically. They keep the room at a pretty steady -7 Celsius and with the fact that the temperature outside was about 24 C, air conditioning is a factor.

    The Below Zero Ice Bar’s walls are lit with COLORstrip wash lights .

    For the rest of the afternoon, I took a walk around the town square looking for job opportunities. I thought at the time that the cathedral would be an excellent lighting opportunity.

    I thought at the time that the cathedral would be an excellent lighting opportunity. Too bad it has since been destroyed in the 2/22/11 earthquake.

    Later on that evening, the plan was for Annie and Connor to get back at about 11:30. They got back at about 3:30 am. Did I mention that 3:30 is early? The fun part is that we are off to Wellington in the North Island later that day.

    NZ trip: Day 5, Auckland

    Written by on . Posted in Uncategorized.

    Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET Professional

    Three thirty in the morning is early.  I don’t care what time zone you think your head is in, it’s early. We got to the airport and I dropped Annie and Connor off at the international terminal. I then went to the domestic terminal to catch my flight to Auckland. Did I mention that 3:30 am is early? Well so is every minute past that until you get back to sleep on the plane.

    Once I landed in Auckland, I hooked up with Brodie Noon. Brodie is the director of MDR, our distributor for CHAUVET in New Zealand and overall cool guy. We got a lift to our first meeting with Matt, one of Brodie’s sales guys. Our first meeting was with a company called Lamp Specialists, Ltd. The person we were to meet was Clifford Henshaw. Lamp Specialists is one of Brodie’s best customers and is also the Philips lamp distributor for NZ.  (Could you ask for a better combination?) Cliff gave me the lowdown on his vision of the future for CHAUVET in NZ. I must say that I was really happy with what he had to say as he was very receptive to the idea of working more closely with CHAUVET and the local production companies, as well as with the architectural market. Both of which he seems to be very aware of.  Cliff was also to be our driver and guide for the rest of the day.  I think he was driving the only Cadillac I have ever seen in NZ.

    Due to not having any spare time to do any sight seeing, here are two pics of Auckland from the back seat of a speeding car. The first is a photo of the harbor bridge. There is a massive New Zealand flag on the top of it.

    The second photo is of the downtown skyline of Auckland.

    We started out with a company called Spotlight. Ben and Alex were all set to see us and wanted to know from the start more about what we were doing with LEDs in the future.  As they already have COLORado 3p units in their inventory, I suggested looking at expanding their existing LED inventory and taking advantage of the power savings along with having the CHAUVET support. Since they do a lot of dry hire into schools and public events, I think that they thought that would be a good idea.

    Our second meeting was with an architectural company called LDP, Lighting Design Partnership-Visual Planners. They design projects all over the world and are working on some very cool ones in NZ. It makes it so easy when you walk into a presentation, especially with an architectural firm, and are totally prepared. We showed them what is new with ILUMINARC, sister company of CHAUVET which focuses on architectural interior and exterior lighting solutions, and I think they were quite impressed. Adriana, Domenico and John were a great audience and very friendly. Their big thing is reliability, which with the environmental stresses in NZ (the combination of having a high content of salt and sulfur in the air, cold winters, hot summers, and in many areas, high winds), rugged housings on our outdoor items is really important. I told them about our success with projects in Quebec City and Paris along with cruise ships. I think that they we impressed with our existing projects considering the fact that ILUMINARC is not even two years old yet.

    Our last meeting of the day was with a hire company called Oceania. These guys are one of the largest hire companies in NZ. They have a shop that reminded me of my last tour with Upstaging without all of the red trucks. They do everything from fabrication to rentals. Simon of Oceania was good enough to sit down with us and give us a look at some of the projects they are working on over the next few months. Looks like they will be very busy with the upcoming Rugby World Cup 2011. It seems that the entire country is all about rugby even more than normal. Because of the nature of the business in NZ, shipping is a major concern with hire companies. They need durable fixtures that can survive constant shipping from the North Island to the South and back again. I assured them that the CHAUVET COLORado series can cover that need.

    All in all, the meetings went better than expected. CHAUVET has a good name in NZ and the three of us–Brodie, Cliff, and I–felt we covered all of our bases and it was time for Brodie and I to get back to the airport. Matt came back to Cliff’s office to pick us up and take us to the airport, but not before a quick stop at a pub for a fish and chips meal along with a beer.

    NZ trip: Day 4, Christchurch

    Written by on . Posted in Uncategorized.

    Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET Professional

    After getting settled in the hotel and getting a good night’s rest we are off to breakfast. It is also Waitangi Day. Waitangi Day is the anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi between the Maori and the settlers. Depending on which side you are on, you can see this as a holiday or not. Since I got hit with a 15% Waitangi Day surcharge for breakfast, you can probably guess what side I am on. We took a walk around the downtown area of Christchurch.

    Mike and Annie

    Me and Annie, photo by Connor Graham

    Annie and Connor

    Photo of Annie and Connor sitting in a chair carved from a tree trunk.

    Christchurch is the third largest city in New Zealand and is the largest city on the South Island. It was recently rocked with a 7.1 earthquake and has had over 4,000 aftershocks since then. As you can imagine, there was quite a bit of property damage.

    Building in Christchurch

    Many of the stone buildings around Christchurch have seen massive damage to them from the earthquakes. This is one of the buildings at the Arts Center that is being repaired.

    So anyway, back to the story.  After our walk around town, we took a ride out to see the family. The 18-hour time difference was crushing Connor. He fell asleep early which was a good thing as he and Annie were on their way to Sydney, Australia for the next two days to visit her brother Anthony. I was also going away the next morning to Auckland to visit two rental houses and one architectural lighting design firm.