Who is this... scanner guy?
Well, let me introduce my self! My name is Elias and I've been born in Athens, Greece, a hot day of June back on '83! I owe my nickname to my best friends!
Why I do what I do?
Because of love and excessive passion! I love entertainment lighting since I was a little one. Living in Greece has many advantages on that subject. My homeland is a small, but a magical island in the Aegean sea, the island of Antiparos. My aunts, teenagers in the late 80s, beginning of 90s, were taking me to the local discotheques, in which the lights and music left me stunned... permanently!
What exaclty I like to do?
Since I couldn't afford to buy a new, big scanner in the 90s, I was building them with paper and LEGO! This is a scanner I have made when I was 14 years old!
I call my self a collector of stage lighting fixtures, mostly scanners. I like buying new equipment too, but nothing can be compared with the "oldies, but goodies"! I find very intriguing and satisfying the process of giving life to something old. It's like a source of joy and a way to preserve my spirit into a calm state, these mad times we live in. Since 2011, I collect and restore old fixtures, mostly scanners, models which were a dream since I was a teenager. Maybe you know how I feel in case you wanted something so much, but you couldn't get it, because your pocket money was way too low for that! But you finally got it after many years! In my case, I've got some models after 20 - 25 years, since I saw them. Lately, I've managed to get long-time desired models from Clay Paky and High-End Systems.
Favoring the Scanners
I enjoy working in general, with spot moving lights, which offer a range of light shaping abilities, so I wouldn't ban the moving heads of course. I accept the newer technologies and fixtures. But I do favour scanners and if I worked on the show business, I would use them on the back on a stage (and not only there). As a collector and retro 80s/90s style admirer and nostalgic, I love them because they looked so majestic on the stage, quite pieces of heavy machinery, with very artistic abilities and breathtaking fast movements.
As a guy who adopts -ok, at least I try- to needs of today and tomorrow, I believe that nowadays scanners can be compact and light enough, with massive light outputs and impressive light shaping abilities, so they can join the entertainment stages and studios again. I am glad that at least Robe, is trying to bring the scanners back to life, with a new model, the Silver Scan.
How it started
I spent hours in building things with LEGOs as a kid. I even made a small disco back then, which was attached on a trailer of a big truck and I was calling it a mobile disco! Since then I knew that I was not going to be a scientist or a lawyer since I enjoyed creating things with hands and not reading in my free time. Plus, I was bad on Maths... I am not the only one, right?
I was lucky because I have decided what my choice of profession would be, but back in the 90s there was no Internet in my country, nowhere to find more info about these kinds of professions, so I chose something relatively near to what I wanted to do. So I followed studies about the industrial and domestic electrical network installations, plus IT networks and personal computers technical studies. I never regret that of course. But I remember that I wanted so much to study electronics, but on both of the times I had to choose the filed on the technical schools, Electronics courses were not an available choice back then.
But both of the specialities helped me so much on everything about stage lighting, as well as a computer technician and a salesman of lighting equipment.
My restoration projects since 2011, have helped me a lot in understanding more electronic circuits. Each and every one of the fixtures I restored, gave me experience and knowledge. And the fact that most of them are old fixtures, it was like a lesson for beginners, an easy, entry-level in electronics! Luckily, my treasured books from the time I studied electrical networks, had information about basic electronics.
Work and fun!
My professional life path gave me experiences and knowledge in both fields I followed on my studies, but for now, I wasn't able to work as a designer or operator on a major event or setup. However, because I want to do such work in my own terms and inspirations, I do not feel the need for working in the entertainment industry here in Athens. Nightlife and the way it works here is not for me.
But I've managed to work on sales and customer support on the stage lighting industry, which is quite an amazing world to get involved and get new experiences. I hope that in the future I will have the chance to program and operate lights on a big event! For now, I am getting the maximum satisfaction of my restoration projects, as well as using and programing my lights with Onyx.
But my life isn't only about collecting stage lights! I love travelling and I do not lose the opportunity to arrange a trip abroad or to drive my car for a single day excursions. I like cycling, swimming, scuba diving...
If you wish to stay in touch and to share your experiences from restoring old lights, contact me! I will be glad to read your email!