Props AV Uses LED Lighting and Video for Latin-Themed Nightclub
Rumba Room Live, an upscale Latin-themed nightclub and concert venue in Anaheim, CA, has passed the one-year mark in its new Anaheim GardenWalk location. (An affiliated club, Rumba Room, first brought a Latin beat to Universal CityWalk in 2000.)
Built new from the ground up and open since Dec. 2016, Rumba Room Live has been drawing crowd with Elation entertainment lighting and video systems, energizing the nightclub scene in Anaheim. The 10,000-square foot venue has the flexibility to host 1,000 people and hold a variety of events, yet it maintains a chic, intimate feel.
Michael Betancourt, general manager at Southern California-based Props AV, worked with the club’s architect and ownership to develop the design and look of the venue. (Rumba Room, at Universal CityWalk, opened in 2000). Props AV designed, supplied and installed the Elation lighting and video package.
“When the Rumba Room Live project first came to the table, the feel that they wanted to go for was a Latin-themed nightclub and live venue with a sexy Las Vegas feel,” Betancourt says. “It was a completely new idea for Anaheim. With that being said, the sexiness and the party needed to start on the exterior. Elation lighting features throughout the inside of the venue — lobby, dance floor and stage — but it is outside where the lighting makes its first impression.”
Downlighting the Rumba Room Live facade in a wash of customizable shades are 12 Elation SixPar 200IP color changers — weatherproof fixtures with six-color LED multi-chips. They allow for a nearly infinite range of color choices, meaning the venue can tailor the outdoor look to match any event or express any mood or emotion.
“We wanted to really create a sensual, inviting look, and the SixPars do the job perfectly,” stated Ramon Chavez, VP of business operations at the club, who helped oversee construction and operations. Betancourt adds that the SixPars were chosen for the vibrant colors they offer and the punch they bring, alluding to the output from the fixture’s twelve 12W LEDs.
Inside the Club
Stepping inside, the lighting scheme begins in the lobby, where the interior glass is down lit using seven Elation one-meter long ELED QA Strips while Elation Flex LED Tape WP downlights the box office counter. The exterior and lobby areas are controlled by an Elation ART500 touch-panel DMX wall controller, an easy to navigate control system with preset scenes for simple color changes.
Moving into the club, guests are greeted by a four-by-three panel LED screen made from 12 Elation EZ4 video panels, the first of four Elation LED screens in the venue. The EZ4 4mm panels produce sharp, stunning imagery suited for viewing from only a few feet away. With an array of vivid colors and 1,200 Nits of brightness, they are ideal for running video and graphics. The entry screen at Rumba Room Live is controlled by via ArKaos Media Master and is used to display the club’s logo and images of upcoming events.
From the lobby, guests then move into the all-important bar area, where two bars are decorated with Elation Flex RGB LED tape, a tasteful design detail of color-changing light and a high-output yet energy-efficient decorative lighting solution. The versatile Flex RGB LED tape is also used to downlight platforms and floating walls in the club’s VIP areas, where Elation Elar Q1 color-changing PAR lights, pixel mapped using ArKaos Media Master software, are used for an impressive downlight effect. “The VIP areas are features that really stand out in the club,” Betancourt comments. “With over 50 Elation Elar Q1’s downlighting each VIP area, they pop the second you walk in.”
From the bar area, Elation Platinum Spot LED Pro II moving heads lead guests to the dance floor and stage, where the full impact of the visual scheme is felt. Most noticeably are three LED screens made up of 32 Elation EZ4 video panels — a large seven-by-four panel center screen and two smaller one-by-two panel screens placed stage right and left. Control is again by an ArKaos Media Master.
Dance Floor and Stage
Above the dance floor is a rig of 10 Platinum Spot LED Pro II moving heads, eight Rayzor Q7 LED moving heads and eight Rayzor Beam 2Rs –small and fast color- and gobo-changing moving heads with more than enough power to cut through the other lighting. Also in the rig are four Sniper 2R multi-effect lights, Elation’s unique beam, scanner and laser simulator in one, plus a pair of SixPar 200 LED Par color changers. Accenting the DJ booth is decorative Flex RGB Led Tape.
For stage lighting, 12 compact Rayzor Q12 Zoom LED wash moving head lights work from a downstage position with 15 upstage SixPar 100 LED Par lights and 6 Platinum Spot LED Pro II’s upstage and stage left and right. Used for upstage washes of even color are 12 CuePix Tri Strips with 8 Sniper 2Rs providing upstage effects. Flex RGB LED Tape is used to highlight the stage border and atmospheric effects come from a pair of Antari F-5D Fazers.
Rumba Room Live has enlivened the entertainment scene in Anaheim with a quality dose of Latin culture. The club’s formula of playing the best in Latin music while hosting live performances across a variety of genres has proved popular since opening in late 2016.
