Next, designers turned their attention to the room itself. Exhibit facilities manager Ed Gorczyk wanted to give it a "high tech" feel. The 15sq.ft room was set up like a Saturday Night Live stage of the Seventies, with a huge, slowly whirling fan set into the wall behind metal grates, and 30 PAR cans hanging from four black pipes that illuminated a stage where children played a variety of musical instruments.
The PAR cans were controlled by a "bulky . . . 48-channel console, whose sole purpose was to run a slow boring chase," says DJS A/V systems integrator Dennis Danneels, and they created excessive heat. DJS Commercial replaced them with 30 LEDsplash Jr. washlights and four LED Techno Strobes RGB. The move to LED fixtures lowered the room temperature by 10 degrees and decreased the power demands of the area from 15,000 watts to 438 watts, to the delight of museum officials.
"By going LED, we draw only 20% of the previous load, which reduces damage to our environment while lowering operational costs as well," Gorczyk said. The fixtures and instruments are linked by MIDI control via Chauvet ShowXpress, turning a simple drum roll into a strobing and colourful spectacle. Additionally, a number of lights are set to sound-active mode, which allows vocalists to have a visual impact as well.
(Jim Evans)
