DENVER – Using 12 of GLP’s impression X4 LED fixtures, Washington DC-based Pulse Lighting recently provided lighting for Slightly Stoopid’s special one-off ‘Hot Box’ show at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre in Denver, Colorado. The show, which also featured Cypress Hill, was scheduled for broadcast live on AXS TV the same evening.
More details from GLP (www.glp.de):
Set up by brothers Paul and Preston Hoffman in 2005, Pulse Lighting were asked to light the Californian-based ‘fusion’ band in their own right for the first time. “The management knew we had experience of the venue, and in running concert lights for broadcast,” said Preston.
The day of the event — April 20 — was also significant as it is the day when counter-culturists celebrate the love of cannabis, as Preston explained. “With cannabis legalized in the state in 2013, the 4/20 show was historic for everyone involved in that culture. It is no secret that Slightly Stoopid is a pro marijuana band so this event was monumental and they wanted to make it special for their fans.”
The Hoffmans’ experience with GLP’s LED platform dates back to the launch of the original impression 90 in 2007. However, the Red Rocks show was the first time he had used the new generation impression X4s. “I was very impressed with everything about them,” he said. “For small tours lacking in large budgets but requiring high visual impact, they are perfect; the great part about this type of product is its flexibility.”
To exemplify the point Hoffman was able “to pull triple duty” from just 12 fixtures. “In all three categories the X4 did great!” he reports. In particular, he wanted to see how they would perform as a wash/beam/effect light, suspended directly behind the band where the cameras would pick them up.
But first he tested the zoom. “This fixture zooms down to a 7-degree tight beam and then zooms out to a really impressive wide 50-degree completely flat field of color,” he noted.
Next he played with the color mixing. “I have never seen such rich even color come out of an LED fixture.”
How about the matrix effects? “This functionality is innovative and cool and a great trick to pull out at the right time. I used them to wash the rocks behind the band as well as add beams in my big looks and also for a little eye candy.”
He also points out the quality of light, which impressed him with its “perfectly uniform beam with unbelievable colors. LED fixtures often have problems with yellows and ambers; however, this fixture made those colors beautifully and without the pixelation.”
He also likes the fixture’s lens “because it softens the source so it is less harsh and distracting than most other LED fixtures.”
He found the fixtures easy to program and highly responsive. “One thing that I often find with moving LEDs is there are about four or five good colors but the X4 allowed me to have more subtle color variations and I could use the full spectrum. As a result they looked just like a dichroic mixing light, which was useful when working with cameras because subtle shifts of color are necessary to eliminate clipping.”
Pulse Lighting was working through local technical production and event management specialists, Brown Note Productions (who provided all the lighting, including the X4s), and Preston Hoffman was full of praise for their professionalism. “In my opinion they have some of the most cutting edge equipment in Denver.”
The lighting director says, “I have been on a personal quest to find the best moving head LED on the market that can be a multifunctional, lightweight and power efficient fixture.
“Doing a one-off at Red Rocks is very challenging and most of the time I am trying to get big looks out of small rigs without impacting too heavily on the budget. Having a fixture like the X4, which could play several roles on the rig, really brought Red Rocks to life.”
