Hideaki Tsutsui, a professor of lighting design at the University of Texas/El Paso, decided to find out what would it be like to stage a theatrical production using nothing but LED fixtures. Along with the challenges of obtaining the gear – courtesy of cooperation from Chauvet, Elation and ETC and Creative Stage Lighting, “there was a huge learning curve,” Tsutsui says. “I have been working with tungsten and arc sources my entire career. I had an idea of what I wanted the production to look like, but it was based on those traditional lamp sources.” Along with a “softer and diffused” light quality, Tsutsui says, “I found it a challenge for me to use 11 different types of LED fixtures. Each one had its own unique beam spread and characteristics as well as focus and lens options.” In addition, “since I was not as familiar with their properties as I am with traditional fixtures, I found I was changing and adjusting my design during hang and focus. While the hang and focus time seemed to take the equivalent amount time as the prior year with a tungsten fixture rig, the programming and cueing time seemed to double.”
Prof. Hideaki Tsutsui, as quoted by Justin Lang in “Inside Theatre,” PLSN, June 2011.
