ETC Source Four LED spotlight wins respect

23 October 2012

USA - Lee Rose, of Design Partners, Burbank, California, has specified Source Four LEDs for a popular American cable TV chat show's move to Universal Studios in Hollywood. As the lighting designer, he was charged with updating the lighting for the show to include green technology. After a long process of testing on various fixtures, Rose's design for the new studio includes more than 80 ETC Source Four LED Tungsten fixtures and two dozen Source Four LED Lustr+ fixtures.

"The show is a mix of hard and soft lighting," says Rose, "and I knew from experience with the original Source Four products that I would get the look that I needed from the Source Four optics. The various lens options have always made them a flexible product to fill various needs. Testing proved that I could get the best combination of intensity and colour temperature from the Source Four LED Tungsten, so I incorporated those into the talent key lights, the back lights and the audience down light.

"The Source Four LED Lustr+ gave me a nice variable colour system that I could team with the Source Four lens selections to accommodate various scenery lighting requirements. So far the fixtures have performed flawlessly, and I have spec'd additional fixtures for a second show being put on the same stage at Universal."

Other recent Source Four LED TV/broadcast applications have included the mobile studio of France TV Sport in London; the rig at the Republican National Convention in August in Tampa, Florida; and WWL-TV in New Orleans.

"People often assume that LED technology ensures better efficacy," says ETC's Matthew Armendariz-Kerr, "but that hasn't been the case with all LED fixtures. ETC's self-imposed mandate with the Source Four LED spotlight was to produce exceptional light output and quality for the amount of power consumed."

Depending on the model, ETC's Source Four LED fixtures achieve from 30 to over 40 lumens per watt. In acknowledgement of that 'green' technical achievement, PLASA 2012 tradeshow judges recently recognised the Source Four LED with their Award for Sustainability.

The Source Four LED is being employed in numerous other stage lighting applications, including the upgraded rig at the Lee Theater at Eastern Arizona College; the touring rig of the National Theatre of Scotland; and the large permanent rig at Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

Source Four LED end users are diverse. Nightclubs like Broadway's 54 Below are also benefiting from the fixtures' technology in their specialised lighting rigs.

At the ABTT tradeshow in London, the Source Four LED won the Product of the Year Award. The fixture line was also on display at ETC's Layer of Light theatre-style stand at LDI in Las Vegas.

(Jim Evans)