Mexican AV specialists S3 has invested in a LightShark LS 1 DMX-Based hardware lighting console in order to speed up workflow across a range of events including corporate launches, fashion catwalk shows and live concerts.

Based in Mexico City, S3 has been offering specialist AV services to clients for more than 15 years. Its main customers include the Sendero Shopping Center, F1 Management Malls, Phillip Morris and Universal Music. The company also supports touring musicians such as Izan LLunas, Yahir, Matisse Coque Muñiz, Playa Limbo and many more.

Company director Jorge Uriel Nuñez Vega says "Our core business is live show production and we offer our customers a complete solution that incorporates audio, video and lighting. Before buying a LighShark console we were using PC interfaces to control lighting at these events, but we found this to be a very inconvenient solution because it wasn't quick enough to allow us to be really creative with our lighting. We considered investing in a wing but realized that this would only allow us to control software and not the actual lighting, so we began looking for a console solution". 

Launched by Spanish manufacturer Equipson in 2017, LightShark products are the first lighting consoles on the market to offer completely integrated hardware and software control via smartphones and tablets. Retailing for less than 1200 euros, these innovate consoles are capable of handling up to 4192 DMX channels and are available in two versions: the LS-1, which includes assignable faders, rotary controls and a full suite of connection and interfacing options, and the more affordable LS-Core, a stripped-back version with the same lighting control software and processing hardware but without the console and fewer hardware controls. 

Equipson's Mexican distributor Gonher Pro ran a training demo at S3's warehouse to showcase what LightShark could do. This convinced Jorge Uriel Núñez Vega that the LightShark LS-1 was the ideal product for this business because it offered the right combination of features and price. 

"It is so easy to use because everything is web based, so there is no need to install any software onto a computer" he explains. "Because it is DMX-based it gives us an incredibly wide range of possibilities in terms of the number of devices we can control, while the ability to have multiple screens significantly speeds up our workflow".

Jorge Uriel Núñez Vega adds that convenience is another big plus point with LightShark. As the company runs events in various locations, being able to get equipment from one place to another quickly and easily is very useful.

"LightShark is so compact and small that you can carry it from venue to venue in just one flight case" he says. "This mean we can it take it anywhere and use it for any of our shows". 

Since their launch, Equipson's LightShark consoles have been positively received by professionals from across the international lighting industry. The consoles LightShark with industry-standard DMX and Artnet lighting protocols and offer straightforward integration into existing production environments and lighting rigs.