GLP marked the PLASA Show’s 39th edition with the first presentation that the German manufacturer has fronted under its new UK operation
UK - After a highly successful year with their new product portfolio - notably on the London West End stage - GLP's inventive solutions continue to evolve, as was evidenced at this year's PLASA Show at Olympia.

Visitors to their booth saw the new GT-1 hybrid, which has been causing such a stir on the international circuit in 2016.

GLP marked the PLASA Show's 39th edition with the first presentation that the German manufacturer has fronted under its new UK operation.

Led by head of operations (UK & Ireland), Noel 'Roly Smith, with full support from senior international representatives, GLP could not have been more effusive about the response to their new LED fixtures, expertly integrated into a centrepiece lightshow by KOI award-winning LD Tom Campbell.

Campbell, who was accoladed last year by the Knights of Illumination for his touring work with Anna Calvi, again drew many plaudits as he choreographed GLP's new super-strength X4 atom, being shown for the first time, the GT-1 (also receiving its London debut) and the award-winning X4 Bar 20 and 10 battens - which are in huge demand in both West End theatre and concert touring - into a co-ordinated dynamic.

"When I was invited to design GLP's PLASA booth I couldn't say yes quick enough, considering the X4 Bar 20 is my favourite fixture currently on the market," he commented. "I took the opportunity to see how far I could push the mixture of Bar 10's and Bar 20's, by mapping them through an Avolites Media AI server; they passed the test with flying colours."

For the five-minute show, he chose a track by post-rock band Explosions In The Sky. "It seemed appropriate seeing as their touring rig contains a number of Bar 20's - and the band's designer Tobias [Rylander] noticed how the track and Bar 20 had been reunited when he popped over to the GLP booth," Campbell continued. "This was time-coded perfectly from an Avolites Quartz."

"As a result of Tom's inspired show," said Roly Smith, "over the three days at Olympia we managed to see all the rental companies and production designers that we had hoped to meet - and then some. The lightshow literally stopped people in their tracks, and the new X4 atom, which is double the brightness of the previous version, along with the GT-1 received unconditional response from across the board."

He also noted that as a result of this real world demonstration, a number of projects and shows that were in discussion prior to PLASA, were confirmed during the show.

Momentum looks set to continue, as the first GT-1 discharge/LED hybrids, described by Tom Campbell as the fixture he was most impressed by, are now shipping into the country as are the tiny 30W X4 atom LEDs.

And with the LDI Show in Las Vegas just around the corner, GLP Inc Mark Ravenhill was also licking his lips at the prospect of their own take on the integrated lightshow, as their booth show will again be designed by the highly creative Matt Shimamoto of Volt Lites. "We will be looking to achieve exactly the same reaction as the UK," he said.

(Jim Evans)


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