Aside from its impact on visitor attendance, adverse weather conditions impose huge additional costs on lighting equipment deployment - or rather it did. SGM's LED G-Spot moving head, is not only IP65 rated, making it weather resistant, but also includes an active dehumidification device. This reduces the risk of internal condensation while allowing lighting designers to unleash their creativity to the full - in whatever weather is thrown at them during an outdoor event
In recent months, three major amusement parks in the USA have all installed the G-Spot for their main attractions: Cedar Point in Ohio, Kings Island in Ohio and Carowinds in North Carolina.
Behind these installations is Andrew Strain from Blue Haze Entertainment, whose passion is the entertainment business. Initially a lighting designer at Knotts Berry Farm in California he then worked for Cedar Fair before establishing his own company Blue Haze Entertainment together with business partner Foxton. Now his company is an outside contractor to Cedar Fair, engaged in lighting design, technical consultation and management.
"The first thing that caught my eye about the G-Spot was its name and catchy slogan," says Andrew Strain. "After seeing what it was capable of, I realised that it was more than just a gimmick. The G-Spot provides the full capabilities of a moving light while still being able to withstand harsh weather conditions. It can survive a storm - literally not figuratively. It has proven to be an extremely reliable fixture and we could not be happier. When working in installation and architectural lighting, having the advanced features of a moving light is huge, but the IP rating is always a must."
At Cedar Point, the G-Spots are used principally for luminosity - with a live family entertainment show performed outdoor nightly on a massive stage by aerialist acrobatics and singers, transforming into a dance party at the end of the night.
At Kings Island, the G-Spots illuminate the cue line of the new roller coaster Banshee, which follows the story of a Banshee ghost. The cue line is composed of LED-lit grave stones leading up to the old Celtic style train station, and for this purpose Blue Haze produced custom gobos for the G-Spots to carry through the Banshee theme.
Finally, at Carowinds, nine G-Spots are used for the Snoopy Starlight Spectacular, which is an evening experience light show composed of popular trending music. The G-Spot moving heads are spread out along the trail in the park for dynamics in the classic Peanut character theme.
Andrew comments, "For Blue Haze, and the theme park installations, IP65 is a very powerful asset. These installs, whether they are up for three months or three years, are considered permanent installs and having such a feature in a light definitely affects our design perspective and quoting. We love to push the boundaries of design, but we also want to push the best and most reliable products for our clients."
As a specialist in event planning and design work, Blue Haze keeps growing and adding young and enthusiastic members to its team, enabling the company to provide the best support in their field of expertise. To assisting in this mission, the company needs the most reliable lighting equipment. "Outdoor events are a popular and high grossing business. We believe that IP65 will be, if not already, a necessity for the installation and architectural lighting designers," Andrew concludes.
(Jim Evans)
