South Africa - Cape Town based Rainbow Lighting has invested in new lighting fixtures from Astera. The company was started by freelance gaffer Desmond Gqitekaya in 2020. At the time, he was working mostly on major movies and feature films being shot in South Africa and was lucky enough to also start picking up commercials and music video work through his contacts, for which there was always a demand for thinking quickly and ‘out-of-the-box’ when it came to lighting. This soon led him to Astera.
His first purchase was Astera Helios Tubes in 2022, and this has quickly expanded to also include Astera’s workhorse Titan Tubes, HydraPanels and NYX Bulbs.
He was first inspired to look at the wireless LED brand after seeing other film lighting professionals using them on set and in the studio, and observing how some lighting set ups struggled to make lighting changes quickly and easily which is always a demand, especially on fast turnaround projects where time pressure is a constant challenge.
“The wireless functionality and Astera’s App-based control can make things incredibly fast and adaptable,” he noted, “and they have been a game-changer for my business.”
He’s looking forward to using his latest purchase – a new PlutoFresnel – as soon as it’s delivered by SA distributor, DWR Distribution.