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CPM Reviews – ETC’s Congo Lighting Controller
By: David Martin Jacques
For: Church Production Magazine
May 25, 2006

It has been several years since Electronic Theatre Controls introduced its last big development in its lighting control consoles. The ETC Emphasis system allowed the owners of the Expression and Express series of consoles an easy and inexpensive upgrade to a moving light controller utilizing WYSIWYG technology. Although this move was welcomed in the education, theatrical, and worship communities, it did not fully address the eventual necessity of developing a dedicated moving light console.

ETC has changed all this with its recent introduction of a whole new series of lighting controllers. The first out of the block is the Congo. This state-of-the-art light board has very interesting roots. In its effort to expand its global marketing influence, ETC purchased the parent company of AVAB lighting (a leading European lighting manufacturer). It is important to note that AVAB lighting consoles are used in some of the leading opera houses and theatres throughout the world. In its research into what made these consoles so popular, ETC learned that along with the consoles’ technical dependability, the programming language was easy to understand for European technicians. Learning from the success of these consoles, ETC developed the Congo with this new user interface.

Many of us are resistant to leaning a new programming language. I remember during the “console wars” of the 1980’s when a lighting technician had to learn “Light Palette”, “ETC”, and “Kliegl” programming languages. ETC successfully evolved all of these languages into its popular Expression line. Being a “mature” lighting designer, I am aware of the difficulties of change. So with all this in mind, I asked ETC to supply a new Congo console for California State University Long Beach’s production of “The Last Five Years”. This would give us the opportunity to learn the Congo and give it a thorough test drive.

We were hoping that we would receive the Congo in time for programming this elaborate musical. ETC made this possible by expediting shipping and sending Controls Product Manager Sarah Clausen to Long Beach for a quick training session. Upon the console’s arrival we quickly unloaded it from the road box and set it on the production table.

After installing the two LCD monitors onto their integrated support arms, we turned on the board and witnessed the familiar Windows XP logo on the screen. Yes, this light board uses the XP embedded operating system for its software. One of the nice things about using this operating system is that the Congo comes with four USB ports, enabling you to backup your data to any USB device. It also comes with ETC Ethernet, Audio In and Out, MIDI, Remote Focus Unit, and AVAB Peripheral Network ports. This console can also be linked with the WYSIWYG visualization software.

The Congo software also features a convenient browser with a Windows “tree” structure. This allows you to quickly access the many functions of the console. We found this layout very user-friendly. The imbedded searchable manual in this browser came in very handy when we had programming questions. We found the manual clearly written and easy to understand (my students are from several countries and had no problems learning advanced programming procedures from it).

The ergonomic design of the Congo is very impressive. Its’ gray faceplate is quite different from anything we have seen from ETC. The color of the board was not entirely a cosmetic decision. The muted color (along with the excellent tactile feel of the buttons and clear screen displays) enables the designer/programmer to minimize their time looking down at the console and keep their eyes where they should be--on the stage.

The programming buttons are on the bottom right side, with integrated keys and dials for moving light functions above the programming section. In addition, several rows of submaster-style faders and keys are arranged to the left of the operator. These “direct select keys” can be assigned many functions, including screen layouts, moving light functions, gobo selections, focus points, colors, etc. They also have tiny LCD screens above each key to indicate its present function.

When my students began to program the console, they immediately discovered that the “Enter” key was missing. In its place is a new “Modify” key. This is all part of the new programming interface. For those familiar with ETC or Strand programming languages, the Congo language takes some getting used to. Instead of keying in the following: “Channel 15 @ 30”, the Congo requires you to talk backwards (like Yoda): “15 Channel, 30 @”. I initially thought that this would be asking too much from lighting technicians, but my students proved me wrong. Several of them immediately took to this new language, and in fact prefer it to the previous Expression command language.

Another difference in the Congo is the way it handles cues. Cues are now called “Presets” and are organized in “Sequences”. As there can be 999 sequences in a file, and 9999 presets, so you should never run out. This new organization allows the programmer to group lighting presets into specific sequences for optimal playback flexibility. For instance, if you know that a specific song will be performed, but do not know exactly when, you can store those lighting presets in a specific sequence and call it up at any time.

You can assign both presets and sequences to any fader via the Master Playbacks section. These faders are quite versatile and can be used as a limited control console in a worship environment. In fact, the entire programming section of the console can be locked with only the faders active to control playback. For instance, one fader could be labeled “Baptism”--activating the lights for this part of the service. Another could be labeled “Sermon”, with a whole new set of lights activated at the touch of a button. A fader could also hold an entire sequence of presets for a musical or dance piece.

It is obvious that the Congo was designed with moving lights in mind as there are several screens and direct-select keys that are dedicated to moving light functions. You can program any moving light, or group of lights according to their separate control parameters (Focus, Beam, and/or Color). For instance, if you wish to have a light pan in 10 seconds and change color in 30 seconds, but delay that color change 3 seconds, it is easily accomplished on the Congo. You can also recall any parameter of any moving light at any time. For instance, if you really liked the color you achieved in preset 10 but the lights are in a different position and gobo in preset 30, all you have to do is recall the color information only from preset 10 and import it into preset 30. In addition, you can have almost an unlimited number of Focus Points, and there is a “Move While Dark” function that automatically presets the lights in their next position. Very nice…

Congo also has a very sophisticated dynamic effects engine that enables the creation of some very elaborate lighting effects. Leroy Meadows (the student lighting designer for “The Last Five Years”) used this function extensively for both moving light and conventional lighting effects. Many of the effects that he achieved would not have been possible without the Congo.

Finally, the Congo comes with a very clear preset editor. This is laid out similar to an Excel spreadsheet so it is very easy to edit the parameters of a specific preset. Want to change the in and out times of a cue? Easy, just tab over to the appropriate cells and type it the new times. Piece of cake!

The ETC Congo lighting console has many more features that are too lengthy to list in this article. I suggest that you check out the details at ETC’s website. You will find that the Congo comes with ETC’s renowned customer support network. Have a problem? Just call ETC’s tech support and you will be hearing back from a knowledgeable technician within minutes. Some may call it instant gratification; I call it excellent customer service.

So is the Congo the right choice for your house of worship? If you need a versatile controller for a medium to large moving light package, then the clear answer is yes. You can program just about any preset or effect you desire on this board, assign the presets and effects to faders for easy identification and playback, and have almost anyone running the lights during the service. It is also very easy to program, even with the new programming language. The true test was watching how fast my graduate and undergraduate students learned the board. It was very fast, indeed.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention the really cool trackball in the middle of the console that controls the curser for the software. It is backlit and can change colors. I prefer Congo Blue…

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David Martin Jacques is a professional lighting designer and consultant for theatre, opera, television, and houses of worship. He also serves as Head of Stage Design and runs the graduate and undergraduate lighting design programs for California State University Long Beach. He can be reached at djacques@csulb.edu .