Scott Wolfeil of the Lighting Design Group in New York City was tasked with "popping him out of his surroundings" as he dangled high overhead. He comments: "The client in our first meeting actually said, 'We envision Mr. Blaine being hit with four really big lights.' My concern was that he stand out - not only at night but in broad daylight - in the middle of one of the busiest areas in the world."
Wolfeil took his client literally and used four high-powered BigLite 4.5 units to highlight the performer. The 4500 W BigLite 4.5 offers real-time colour mixing and diffusion with electronic strobe effects and energy saving standby modes. "The ability to dim these lights was essential, especially at night, when they became overpowering," says Wolfeil. "Mr. Blaine was also moving in and out with the crane and we needed to follow him. He loved seeing his shadow cast on the 50th floor of buildings on the other side of Manhattan. The throw of these units truly was unbelievable. Luckily, we didn't receive any complaints from apartment dwellers. The strobe feature really came in handy for the big finale."
The BigLite units were located on each corner of the parking lot that was rented for the event. Scharff Weisberg of New York supplied the fixtures.
Martin Professional Inc is the exclusive distributor in North America for the BigLite product series.
(Lee Baldock)
