Chameleon Touring Systems Invests in Robe iFORTE LTXs

	One of Chameleon's crew prepping a rig. Photo: Louise Stickland

Chameleon Touring Systems, based in Sydney, Australia, has invested in 15 new Robe iFORTE LTXs and iFORTE LTX FSs (followspots with integrated camera), which have been delivered over the past six months.

The company is a lighting and rigging rental operation headed by Tony Davies. Chameleon Touring Systems works across all entertainment and event production sectors, including concert and theatrical touring, festivals, musicals, corporates, broadcast, and television. It was among the first to invest in RoboSpot after its launch and now has the largest stock of RoboSpot remote follow systems in the country, currently with 20 BaseStations.

These are used primarily with the company's stock of Robe iFORTE LTXs and iFORTE LTX FSs and also still with Chameleon's BMFL Blades and BMFL FollowSpot LTs, sometimes using their LightMaster handle sets, which are still popular for certain shows and events.

The latest RoboSpot software update makes it possible to adjust fade times between presets and includes a color picker with numerical value, color, and position buttons to increase preset storage; a dedicated LT button; and a dynamic cross setup for iris.

The first RoboSpot systems joined Chameleon at the end of 2019, just before the pandemic. The remote followspotting concept was becoming popular, and Davies wanted to stay ahead of the curve.

The LTXs can be used without the cameras as standard lighting fixtures, as was recently the case with Oasis' Sydney shows, where they were part of the floor package for Paul Normandale's design.

The iFORTE LTX Follow Spots have also been used recently on a RoboSpot system for Ricky Martin's Australian tour. "iFORTE LTXs seem to be the follow spot of choice right now," Davies says. "They are nice and bright, have a great CRI, and all the LDs are happy to use them."

With Robospot, he says, "There's no climbing involved, and they are extremely quick and easy to set up, especially when the luminaires are stored and transported in pre-rigged truss sections."

He notes that on television shows, the floor electrician can also tech and operate a RoboSpot system, so having one person there on standby who can also run a followspot makes it expedient in terms of people power, a real benefit in the TV world.

Other creative advantages include the ability to light an artist from all angles with fixtures in different positions for greater three-dimensionality, more effective lighting, and less shadowing; plus, reducing unsightly light spill onstage by hitting the target from much more acute, convenient angles up on the rig.

The RoboSpot fixtures can also be utilized as part of a standard rig for certain parts of the show, if required. Parameter control from the console can handle as much functionality as necessary, leaving operators free to focus on basics like iris and actually following the artist.

"You can basically deliver a much slicker show using RoboSpot, and it's been an important catalyst in moving the whole art of follow spotting into a new era," Davies adds.

Davies observes a new energy in Avolites since the Robe acquisition and believes that the portability of Avo products like D7 and the just-launched D3 series will expand its scope, with other advantages like being able to easily fly consoles gig-to-gig with the backline or even as personal luggage.