ILUMINARC Colors Art Project at New Zealand Airport
Six ILUMINARC Ilumipod Inground Tri-12 IP fixtures light an artsy installation at Christchurch International Airport in New Zealand. Check out some cool shots:
Bold Nexus 4×4 Spotted on “The Voice”
Arrays of Nexus 4×4 fixtures from CHAUVET Professional took center stage on “The Voice,” accompanying contestant Cody Belew. Capable of delivering at once the sizzle of a pixel mapping display and a robust light output,  Nexus 4×4 has 16 20-watt RGB COB LEDs and is controllable via Art-Net, Kling-Net and DMX protocols. Watch it in action:
Chauvet Brings Hot Lighting at WaterFire Event
Chauvet fixtures lit the WaterFire public art installation in Kansas City, an event that combined water, light and music. In its sixth year, WaterFire featured a fire sculpture of 55 floating braziers on Brush Creek, which set the stage for live performances of jazz and blues, opera and chamber music, ballet and acrobatic dancers. Chauvet dealer S.E.C.T. provided the sound and lighting systems for the six performing arts stages that included: the main stage, three smaller stages and a gondola venue that ran along Brush Creek. Ten CHAUVET Professional COLORado Batten 72 Tour linear wash lights and five CHAUVET DJ SlimPAR Pro Tri fixtures lit the stages, while two CHAUVET DJ SlimPAR Pro RGBA wash lights and one CHAUVET DJ Freedom Par wireless wash fixture lit the gondola. More than 35,000 spectators attended the event. Here are some cool shots:
One-on-One with Stéphane Gressier
Stéphane Gressier is the international sales director at Chauvet and has been a member of the team for almost two years. Read on and get to know a little bit about him.
1. Where are you from?
This is a question I always struggle to respond quickly to. Here is a synopsis: I was born in France, but my first home was Vietnam for 7 years, France for 2 years, Jordan for 2 years, France for 3 years, Venezuela for 7 years, Brazil for 2 years and now the United States where I have established roots between Los Angeles and Miami with my wife and children for the past 21 years.
2. Why Chauvet?
I got to know Chauvet because I purchased a Scorpion Storm FX laser from Guitar Center a few years back. Having been an amateur DJ in my college days, I always kept an interest in sound and lighting trends by doing some gigs here and there. All this changed when I was given the opportunity to interview with Albert Chauvet in late 2010 and got a glimpse of what Chauvet was about. From then on, I felt I was hit by lighting and the story is still unfolding. I have to say this about Chauvet — the incredible talent our people bring together, along with the drive to succeed, fosters a working environment that feels like a family. We all watch out for one another with the ultimate goal of delivering the best product and support that money can buy to our beloved customers and end users.
3. Where did you work prior to joining the Chauvet team?
I am the former general manager of the U.S. business unit of a Spanish flooring and roofing manufacturer with factories in Spain, the United States and Central and South America.
4. Favorite food?
Vietnamese cuisine — hands down. However, I enjoy the foods of all the countries I have had the opportunity to visit.
5. Favorite type of music?
Any music that generates all types of emotions, whether it’s salsa or merengue when I have a hitch in the hips, movie soundtracks or any modern dancing music.
6. Favorite thing to do outside of work?
Spend time with my family, photography and motorcycling.
7. What is one thing about you that people would be surprised to learn?
People are always surprised to learn that I am Eurasian because it physically does not show. However, if they were to meet any of my late grandmothers, they would say, “WOW!”
8. A show without lights is like…
A show without lights is like hearing without seeing.
Royal Shakespeare Company Lit by CHAUVET Professional
Royal Shakespeare Company, located in Stratford-Upon-Avon, U.K., refurbished its auditorium of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Upon doing so, it incorporated 18 CHAUVET Professional COLORdash Accent wash lights, supplied by Stage Electrics.
“Lighting Designer Rick Fisher incorporated [the fixtures] into his design for “Merchant of Venice”, [and] RSC Lighting purchased and fitted them during the production period,” said Simon Bayliss, assistant head of lighting, Royal Shakespeare Company.
LD Profile: Alex Ares
Six questions with Alex Ares, lighting designer for the TV show “Duets” on ABC channel, for the Country Music Awards, and programmer of our own CHAUVET Professional booth at InfoComm 2012 in Las Vegas.
1. How did you get into this field?
I got into the lighting industry about 14 years ago. I used to work in the Air Force as a graphic designer but I still needed a job so they hired me to do things around the stage at Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. One day they fired the lighting designer and they gave me 24 hours to figure it out — which I did.
2. What do you think is the next big thing in the lighting industry?
I think next big thing will have to do with LEDs. Soon they will be as bright as VL3500 Spot or Shogun. Also, we will probably see networking systems with Ethernet cables, using RDM.
3. Do you have a favorite fixture (and why)?
My favorite right now is Shogun. Legend 412 from CHAUVET is my second favorite one.
4. What has been your favorite design/project?
It was a band project for Stone Temple Pilots in South America. The music and the people were great, and the best part was I didn’t know what I was going myself into, but it all worked out in the end.
5. What was the biggest unforeseen obstacle that you’ve faced in one of your designs, and how did you overcome it?
The biggest challenge always is the time. You want to do more and usually there isn’t enough time. This teaches you how to accomplish a project and make the most out of your ideas, while trying not to overthink everything.
6. Complete this thought: A show without light is like…
… blah …
LD Interview: Take 5 with Zach Matusow
Lighting Designer for Foster the People Zach Matusow talks one-on-one with our own John Dunn, business development manager for the west coast of the U.S. We previously shared some behind-the-scenes photos of the in-progress interview and facility tour. While Matusow was at Chauvet HQ, our CHAUVET Professional product development team demonstrated select fixtures like Nexus 4×4, Legend 230SR Beam and more. The Foster tour featured 40 CHAUVET Professional fixtures, most notably CHAUVET Professional COLORado Batten 144 Tour. Read the full story here.
CHAUVET Professional: Imposing Presence at LDI 2012
Sharp beams, suspended truss and mesmerizing video displays acted like a magnet for hundreds of attendees who visited all three booths of CHAUVET Professional at LDI 2012. Featuring a dominant middle section flanked by two smaller stands, the show carried the creative touch of an amazing team: Lighting Designer Seth Jackson, Co-lighting Designer Nathan W. Scheuer, Programmer Nate Alves, Project Manager Jack Rushen and of the entire CHAUVET Professional team.
Three helixes added to the dramatic height, one placed at the center of the main booth and two suspended above the secondary CHAUVET Professional stands. Designed by Jackson and Scheuer, these truss structures acted as unifying elements for all three areas. “The idea was to have a unique shape tying all three booths together,” Jackson said. Each helix was made of curved trussing, carrying three CHAUVET Professional EPIX Strip fixtures placed end-to-end, next to CHAUVET Professional Legend 412 and CHAUVET Professional Legend 412 VW pixel-mapping moving yokes, CHAUVET Professional Ovation F-165WW Fresnel-style luminaires, CHAUVET Professional Ovation E-190WW ellipsoidal-style spot lights, and CHAUVET Professional COLORado 1-Quad Tour wash lights as truss warmers.
“We were asked to unify all of Chauvet’s booths in an elegant manner while fully displaying the versatility and ability of each product,” Scheuer said. “In a show like LDI, where everything has seemingly been tried once, Seth and I wanted something that was simple, as to not distract from the products themselves, but was also intriguing and enticing at any distance.”
At 30-feet in height, the center booth was loaded with CHAUVET Professional Nexus 4×4 eye-candy LED wash lights that stole the show.
“I find the Nexus 4×4 to be amazing: the flexibility, the unique look,” Jackson said. “I haven’t seen a product on this floor show that resembles these fixtures. And they’re so easy to address!”
Additionally, CHAUVET Professional PVP S5 and CHAUVET Professional PVP S7 high-resolution video panels, CHAUVET Professional MVP Ta8 Curve modular video panels, CHAUVET Professional Xeno 2500 high-impact strobe lights and CHAUVET Professional Q-Wash 436Z-LED wash lights. CHAUVET Professional Legend 230SR Beam moving head fixtures cut through the air with punchy bright beams from an ACS, Autonomous Cart System, incorporated into the booth. Parasol Systems of Canada and CHAUVET Professional partnered to display ACS, built of independent, motorized and programmable carts that move fixtures on specially designed tracks. ACS held eight Legend 230SR Beam lights, which were an integral part of the show.
“Once we found out that Parasol Systems was involved, we added the system into the integration,” Jackson said. “It brings great energy because of the motion and there is nothing else in any other booth like it.”
The team programmed 145 cues over 12 minutes for an amazing show, also using wireless DMX. “I definitely think we’re playing with some geometries that no done else is using,” said Programmer Nate Alves. “We had to work with more open, exposed space, and because of that I think we showed the products more than everyone else.”
Some of the challenges the team faced while building the booths were the limitations of the space and trying to fit power, storage, the products all in the allotted footprint of the venue. “However, the most challenging thing from a design aspect was making sure that we were truly showing off Chauvet’s diverse product line while being original,” Scheuer said. “LDI is a visually striking and overwhelming stage to be on, and the desire to bring something new and innovative was the driving force behind our decisions.”
CHAUVET Professional fixtures displayed:
COLORado 1-Quad Tour
COLORado 4 IP
COLORdash Batten Quad-6
COLORdash Par-Quad 7
COLORdash Par-Quad 18
EPIX Strip
Legend 230SR Beam
Legend 412
Legend 412 VW
MVP Ta8 Curve
Nexus 4×4
PVP S5
PVP S7
Q-Spot 360-LED
Q-Spot 460-LED
Q-Wash 436Z-LED
Ovation F-165WW
Ovation E-190WW
Ovation C-1280FC
Xeno 2500
ILUMINARC fixtures displayed:
Ilumipanel 40 IP
Ilumiline 21g2 IP
Ilumipod 18g2 IP
Additionally shown, in all three booths, were TRUSST products.
CHAUVET Professional on AVNation
Our own Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET Professional and ILUMINARC, participates in this lively conversation about lighting and video in the AV world on AVNation.
Join hosts George Tucker and Mike Postupak and additional guests Christian Samuelson of Xross Point AV and Aaron Medow of NBC Sports.
Listen to the podcast now: The LIVE Life Episode 6: It’s Not Radio.
LDI 2012: Booth building
Hot behind-the-scenes action. Photos of our awesome team working on four striking Chauvet booths at LDI 2012: 2263, 2056, 2357 and 2351. All four brands will be shown: CHAUVET DJ, CHAUVET Professional, TRUSST and ILUMINARC. We look forward to seeing you at the show!
