South Africa - Within a stone’s throw of the Formula One Grand Prix circuit after which it was named, Ayrton’s laser-sourced IP65-rated Kyalami fixture was celebrated with a big South African launch party on 3 July at the Johannesburg premises of Planetworld, Ayrton’s South African distribution partner.
Over 80 guests attended from across the country, having flown in from as far afield as Cape Town and Durban, all of whom were gifted with Ayrton beanies and scarves to keep out the chill of a South African winter’s night. Representatives from rental and staging companies, houses of worship and lighting designers all gathered to discover more about Ayrton’s new fixture in a convivial and informal evening, which was themed to honour F1 racing driver, Ayrton Senna, the constant source of inspiration for Ayrton’s founder Yvan Péard.
Ayrton’s Nikolay Berenok and Markus Kowalewsky flew in from France and Germany to support the event and make the official presentation of Kyalami. This was followed by a time-coded show featuring 24 Kyalami fixtures, supported by Ayrton Rivale, Cobra and Argo 6 luminaires. The show was designed and programmed by Planetworld lighting designer, Keegan Adams.
“The event was really well received and well attended,” states Planetworld’s live pro business development manager, Mike Summerfield. “Kyalami exceeded all expectations - it really is a phenomenal fixture. It’s compact, light, fast and the feedback we received from our clients was fantastic. We couldn’t be happier with the way the evening went.”
Planetworld marketing manager Jessica Afeltra reports on some reactions from the guests: “Our clients were generally amazed by the reach and capabilities of Kyalami. Kyalami’s colour range and the gobo selection works well for concert touring but also in theatre environments, and Kyalami’s infinite pan and tilt feature impressed alongside that massive, crisp beam.”
Kyalami is an ultra-compact luminaire based on extreme miniaturisation, and a minimalist cylindrical footprint that allows multiple luminaires to be installed only a few centimetres apart. Housed in a sphere of just 265mm which incorporates Kyalami’s cooling system, optics and speckle-free 100W laser module, Kyalami delivers a record luminous flux of 400,000 lux at 10m with a beam aperture of just 1° and perfect colour reproduction. A highly innovative colour section includes a high-definition progressive CMY colour mixing system and a multi-position instant access colour wheel equipped with five corrective filters, and 17 complementary colour filters.
A wide choice of 29 fixed metal gobos is designed to sculpt light in "beam" mode and can be blended with two individually combinable rotating prisms, allowing the production of a multitude of volumetric lighting effects. A light and heavy frost filter complete Kyalami’s graphic tool palette.
“The South African launch event for Kyalami was very nicely prepared,” states Berenok. “With dates at the Kyalami race track unavailable, we chose to host the event at the Planetworld facility which worked brilliantly. Keegan understood all the features of the new product and made a really great time-coded show. There was plenty of space for all the guests to socialise and discuss Kyalami, and an open outdoor stage to show its endless beams in the sky to perfection. The catering was great, the guests happy, and we achieved our main goal which was to impress the audience!”
