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Greece has been the target of invaders since around 3000 BCE. In a modern and more welcome invasion, ETC fixtures and control have recently taken that country’s television and live events industry by storm.
For a nation the size of Alabama with a population only slightly more than New York City, recent sales of over 500 Source Four LED Series 3 fixtures and 200 High End moving heads, along with countless incandescent Source Fours, is an award-worthy achievement. Most remarkable, Alkis Kotsifas, General Manager of Audio & Vision Greece, generated these impressive numbers the old-fashioned way, putting demo fixtures in the hands of leading Directors of Photography and influential lighting designers.
Fittingly, the “Future of Broadcast” award was presented to Kotsifas at the recent ETC International Workshop in Madison. The award was in part for the company’s work on the hugely popular television show Fame Story.
Recent History
Audio & Vision was founded by Alkis Kotsifas in 1998 as the first equipment service center in Greece. In 2004, after moving to larger premises, the company started selling lighting and audio accessories. By 2010 the company distributed a full line of professional audio and lighting gear. “Our philosophy from yesterday and today and forever is to sell only top-of-the-line products – we do not sell cheap knockoffs or boxed goods that anyone else can sell,” says Alkis. “In fact, even our competitors are clients since they know we will not take their production jobs.”
The company came to ETC in 2016 through High End Systems moving head purchases. “Pretty soon we were doing great High End numbers and then had access to ETC, which was the perfect match for our quality-driven business,” adds Alkis. With ETC and High End fixtures in stock, Alkis approached the major rental companies in Greece with a business model proposal and it was Papadimas AVL Rental who decided to get on board with it. As part of this business model, a major effort was made to introduce the ETC products and their benefits to LD’s and Directors of Photography. “With enough stock already present in Greece and the proven quality it was a straightforward decision to adopt of ETC products in the Greek broadcast market,” Alkis says.
Fame Story
The hit television show Fame Story (similar in format to The Voice or American Idol) propelled Audio Vision and Papadimas AVL into the next level of ETC purchasing. They worked with Lighting Designer Tasos Glykos and Director of Photography Themis Mertiris to light up the show lighting package was nearly exclusively ETC and High End Systems fixtures and control.
With 64 High End Lonestars, 54 High End SolaFrame 2000’s, 80 ETC Source 4 LED Series 3’s with the HDR array, plus 22 High End Halcyons, the show created a huge visual spectacle and set the course for establishing ETC as the new standard for broadcast lighting. For control, Fame Story used a Full Boar 4, a Hog HPU, two Eos Element 2’s and twelve programming wings. In the process, Papadimas AVL became possibly the largest ETC stocking rental company in Europe.
Looking Ahead
“A new American product or idea takes some time to reach Europe, and consequently Greece. This gives me plenty of time to see into the future,” jokes Kotsifas. He is also quick to acknowledge the help of fellow Greek and Southwest European Regional Sales Manager, Konstantinos Vonofakidis.
The film business is growing in Greece with help from a government anxious to drive domestic products. Greece has the weather, the scenery, and now the equipment to service high-quality production.
Ever fond of witty analogies, Kotsifas says, “I have to be in front of the goalpost as the ball will come.”
