Avolites, Light Craft Make Inroads in Indian Film Industry

	(l-r) Rohan Tambe and Rasesh Parekh. Photo: Louise Stickland

Light Craft, a Mumbai, India-based rental company and production lighting supplier to the film and broadcast industry, has invested heavily in Avolites control, especially for its moving light systems.

Avolites has been a long-term control choice for Light Craft. The current inventory includes three D9 consoles and one new D7-330s, which has just recently joined the inventory, plus around 30 smaller Avolites consoles -- Pearls, Tiger Touches, Quartz, and Arenas -- all of which have been supplied over the last ten years by Avo's Indian distributor, Interated Entertainment Solutions (IES), headed by founder Rasesh Parekh.

Light Craft was founded in 2011 by CEO Arjun Singh, who pioneered the idea of getting moving and intelligent lights specified in the movie and commercials industry in India. The extensive warehouse is in the Mumbai suburb of Goregaon, near Film City, where much of the moviemaking action happens.

Light Craft project manager Rohan Tambe -- also a lighting designer -- says the straightforward logic and usability of Titan software and programming architecture make it suitable for high-pressure situations in the world of commercials, films, and television. A historically cumbersome, time-consuming operation involving many people and heavy gear is now, thanks to moving lights and DMX control, a streamlined process that can be executed in minutes if the circumstances change or the director wants to explore different ideas.

"Light Craft's working style is and always has been about finding swift and smart solutions for DoPs, gaffers, and directors, and Avolites products help us achieve that goal," Tambe says.

Avolites Titan features that Light Craft finds popular include the Key Frame Shape Generator, an engine inside the software that assists with rapid programming across multiple fixtures. Tambe feels that Avolites' new console development represents a new era, adding that the hardware is appropriate "for any camera environment."

Referring directly to the increased portability of the D7 and recent smaller briefcase-sized D3 products, he comments, "These consoles look cool and enable us to work fast and react quickly, which is at the essence of lighting on any set or project."

Tambe underlines the importance of the local distributor in any brand relationship: "It's about more than just doing business; our industry is people, service, and relationship orientated, and we know that IES is there for us, whatever the time/day."

IES offers training programs and initiatives for Avolites users, on which Light Craft has capitalized and now has its own trainers to guide new programmers joining the team.

"The Avo system is straightforward to learn and easy to use, the show files are rock solid, and it enables us to react fast and efficiently when lighting changes are needed," Tambe says.