The final act of the event takes place during the PLASA Show, and gathers together a large number of lighting designers, trade associations, production companies, rental companies, dealers and the press, in other words the leading players in the entertainment sector. It is a special occasion for a precious mutual exchange of professional expertise, as well as a time for celebration for lighting designers.
Once again the evening was held in the Enterprise Suite, Hotel Ibis, Earls Court, London, on 12 September 2010. The organisers set up a scenic rig for the event, mainly using the new Alpha 700 and Alpha 1500 lights.
This year too, theKnight of Illumination Awards were highly successful in terms of participation. They were sponsored by Osram (main sponsor) and 14 other sector firms that wished to link their names with the event (AED, Avolites, Colour Sound Experiment, ELP, Entec Sound & Light, EQ Lighting, Etnow, GLP, Hawthorn, HSL, MA Lighting, Pulsar, Richard Martin Lighting, and White Light). Supported by ABTT, Lighting & Sound International, PLASA, The Theatres Trust and WISE, the award ceremony played host to nearly 400 industry personnel.
The chairmen of the lighting designers associations Rick Fisher (ALD) and Stuart Gain (STLD) emphasized this fact - "This year, like never before, we realised just how much the Knight of Illumination Awards are looked forward to and loved by people in the business. Our task actually started several months ago, with the selection of the shows, followed by the assessment of the nominations and, lastly, the choice of winners. This evening is simply the final act of a meticulous and dutiful study of many shows, carried out by panels consisting exclusively of sector professionals in order to guarantee full assessment credibility."
Clay Paky sales and marketing director Pio Nahum added, "The event has now entered people's hearts. We realised this from the ovations the winners received. It was like being at a football stadium. Quite unlike the sober composed atmosphere one might expect."
Master of ceremonies Paul Ross presented the climax of the evening and proclaimed the 10 new Knights of Illumination: four for TV, three for the theatre, two for rock and a special lifetime recognition award, chosen from among the 27 nominations by a panel of highly specialized judges coordinated by the two British associations ALD and STLD. Each winner received a prestigious trophy: a replica of a real sword made in Toledo, Spain.
After the awards were presented, there was a short ceremony during which a donation was made to Light Relief, an important non-profit association well known in the show lighting business. Pasquale Quadri, the president of Clay Paky, gave the cheque to Matthew Griffiths, John Simpson, Rick Fisher and Lesley Harmer, the trustees of Light Relief, who publicly expressed their appreciation for Clay Paky's gesture of awareness towards the needy in our sector.
The Winners:
Television
Light Entertainment - Mark Smithers for Mission 2110
Drama - John Carberry for Eastenders Live
Small Studio - Iain Davidson for Theatre Live! - Turning Point
Events - Bernie Davis for Festival of Remembrance
Rock
Arena Events - Baz Halpin for Pink
Stage Events - Cate Carter for The Editors
Theatre
Dance - James F. Ingalls for L'allegro for Mark Morris at ENO
Opera - Mimi Jordan Sherin for The Gambler at the Royal Opera House
Play - Peter Mumford for Sucker Punch at the Royal Court
Lifetime Recognition - Coral C
