thenewsolutionweno longer have thisproblem. It is taught
beforeeveryshowandonce that’sdonewecanbesure that itwill
operatewithonehundredper cent reliability. Automationgives
ussecurity, it relieves thepressureonusandgivesus the free-
dom to focusonour performanceon thestage.
Festocomponentsarenowapermanentpartof theautomation
for your show.Howdid the cooperationwith Festo comeabout?
AndreasEhrlich:
Thefirst contactwehadwith Festowas in the
salesoffice inBielefeld. In2005wedevisedasystem for ashow
inwhichwewanted to implement aspecial compressedair ap-
plication, andwewere looking for apartnerwho couldprovide
uswithboth thepneumatichardwareand thenecessary techni-
cal expertise.Wegot toknowa Festosalesengineer. Afterwe
hadgivenabrief performance, he camebackstageandgave
somesuggestionsas tohowwe could improve certain technical
processes. And that’swhenwebeganworking together. In the
years that followed, theexpert from Festowas instrumental in
our successanddevelopment, providinguswith Festoproducts
andsharinghisknowledgeof pneumatics.Whenever therewas
aproblem, hewould timeandagainexamine the technical details
andpresent uswithpossiblesolutions.He is theonewho intro-
ducedus topneumatics.
ChrisEhrlich:
We relyonperfect technology that candeliver
maximum reliabilityduringeveryperformance. To illustrate just
howmuchwe trust Festo, youonlyhave to lookat thesaw that
I lieunder everynight. It’s controlledbyavalve terminal from
Festo–aCPX/MPA, tobeprecise.
The timefliesby for theaudience. Peopleare fascinatedby
thesmaller tricksand the interactionyouhavewith them, but it
is thebig illusions that reallyget themgoing.When isan illusion
perfect for theEhrlichBrothers?
ChrisEhrlich:
When it isonehundredper cent reliableandone
hundredper cent emotional. Theemotionsof theaudienceare
hugely important.Wearen’t just ashow that presents technical
special effects.Technologyprovides the foundationsonwhichwe
canbuildashow that deliversmaximumemotion for theaudi-
ence. You couldsay thatwe transform technology intoemotion.
