NORTHRIDGE, CA – It may be rolling into its 52nd year, but the Skateland roller rink is staying young and relevant to teens and tweens with LED fixtures from American DJ and moving lights from Elation Professional. Skateland's proximity to film and TV personalities helps set itself apart from other roller rinks. Tom Cruise, Magic Johnson and Jay-Z have all hosted parties there, and it has served as a location for a segment of Jimmy Kimmel Live and other TV shows and movies. The 12,000-square-foot hardwood skating floor also pays tribute to the moving image with seven video screens.
"They were into special effects lighting very early, and they're constantly evolving," said Richard Rutherford of Rutherford Design, who has been designing and installing lighting at Skateland for 25 years. "I've seen them go through maybe a half dozen major evolutions."
A recent renovation added nine American DJ Revo III and Revo 4 LED moonflower effects, four ADJ Starball LED DMX white mirrorball-like effects, two Elation 250-watt moving heads – the Design Spot 250 and Power Spot 250 – and Elation's Vision Scan 250 moving mirror and Opti RGB color-changing LED par cans.
The Vision Scan 250 and Opti RGB LED fixtures were installed on the sides of the center of the rink, where they provide "great position for coverage of the entire floor and much of the wall/ceiling areas," said Rutherford. "We put in the Elation units to replace some other moving lights they had in there that didn't stand up to the wear and tear very well," Rutherford added.
Skateland general manager Steve Earley also commended the newly installed fixtures, which are used constantly, for their reliability. "They give a lot of bang for the buck," he said, noting that, after initially installing four of the units, he went back and bought five additional units.
The American DJ Revos are virtually maintenance-free, with no moving parts and a 100,000-hour LED lamp life. Their cool operating temperatures and low power draw are a bonus. They project patterns on the floor, walls and ceiling, and can be used with or without fog.
Earley said he also plans to add more Starball LED DMX fixtures in the future. Powered by a 3-watt LED source, the Starball LED DMX produces 34 white rotating beams that appear similar to a mirrorball effect, yet provide users with the advantages of LED technology. "Being a roller rink, our staple has always been the disco ball, so we really like those Starball LEDs," said Earley.
Along with the other advantages of American DJ's LED technology is affordability, according to Earley. "You can light an entire facility like ours today for maybe one-fifth the price that it would have cost you 20 years ago," he said.
Skateland is programming and controlling its light show with a Show Designer 1 DMX console and DR-512 DMX recorder. "Richard (Rutherford) and I will program the shows on the Show Designer – we'll maybe do four shows and then re-program them every quarter or so," said Earley. "After they're programmed, we'll record them on the DR-512 recorder, and then all it takes is pressing one button to start the show. This makes it very easy for our teen employees to run the lights."
For a video showing Skateland's lighting, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu6MgnPJx4c.
For more information, please visit www.americandj.com, www.elationlighting.com and www.rutherforddesign.com.
