The Zero 88 team fully embraced the vibe, buzz and excitement of the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival where they were – again – on the ground with training and technical support for a range of their lighting consoles and control solutions!
They also embraced the sociosphere with the creation of #behindthefringe – a fun and informative forum for anyone into fringe performance and involved with a show using Zero 88 products!
Building on this success, #behindthefringe will be launched as a website later in the year as a hub and platform for comments, experiences and opinions, sharing information and connecting people through various Fringe projects linked via Zero 88.
Over 100 different Zero 88 consoles were in action site-wide at this year’s Edinburgh event, which is the largest arts festival in the world, producing nearly 60,000 new performances in over 300 venues across 25 hectic and vibrant days!
These included an ever-growing number of latest generation Zero 88 FLX lighting desks, and generally, around the Fringe, Zero 88 is one of the most popular control solutions for a diversity of productions.
Zero 88’s product manager for entertainment Jon Hole believes that the fringe is a fantastic place to meet and train potential new technicians and users and get them into the Zero groove. In recent years, he and his team have maintained a strong presence through the event, ensuring that anyone using a Zero 88 product – has full access to hands-on support.
This year an impressive 89 new Zero 88 lighting desk operators were trained!
It’s paid off as Jon observes that this year, once the training sessions were completed and the shows were programmed, open and running, there was a marked fall in call-outs compared to past years!
Most of the training sessions were for between two and six people, conducted in numerous different locations around the city. “Getting out there and being face-to-face is THE best way to achieve this,” stated Jon Hole.
Having built up relationships with so many people – techs, LDs, suppliers, etc. throughout several festivals, the concept of #behindthefringe evolved. The team asked people to answer three short questions – their favourite things: in Edinburgh, on the Fringe and about Zero 88.
“We wanted to energise people and get them talking,” explains Jon.
This complete with some facts, photographs and other data has started a collage of interaction related to being “behind the scenes”, a lively vox-pop style communication connecting some of the people, personalities, ideas and technical kit making the Fringe happen!
#behindthefringe reflects the international flavour, spirit of adventure, diversity, creativity and innovation that embodies “fringe” performance globally.
Whist piloted at this year’s Edinburgh event – an ideal testing ground – the huge success and high engagement rates have prompted Zero 88 to take it further which will come with the launch of the web portal.
