Lighting such a special event fell into the safe hands of designer Marc Brickman and it was PRG who were contracted to supply the rig. Part of the spec included units for a strobe effect light; PRG opted to supply the brand new Clay Paky Stormys to fulfil the request as PRG's Rich Rowley explains, "We purchased the units from Ambersphere Solutions and the Hans Zimmer show was their first outing. PRG is always sensitive to the latest developments in technology and the LED market is one that is evolving rapidly.
"We supplied 48 units in all to this show; they offer a huge saving in power consumption which is bonus for production costs but also the excellent colour selection and the super bright output makes them a great choice from a designer's perspective."
Gordon Torrington was PRG's event coordinator and crew chief at Hammersmith: "We set the Stormys up between the layers of the orchestra risers. The colour change facility allowed us to strobe light each riser in different colours. Being able to adjust the frequency and intensity allowed the effects to be as subtle or dynamic as the designer required.
"It was a pleasure to be able to use these units," continues Torrington. "I found them to be extremely reliable and the colours really are fantastic especially the blue and orange. The crossfade is perfect. I love the fact they don't "time out" so they can be used as a Cyc light or wash as well as a high power colour strobe making them a really versatile and cost effective investment."
(Jim Evans)
