Iowa City, IA – The Director of Operations for University of Iowa football elected to project the school’s Hawkeye logo during a recent Big Ten Conference game. To accomplish this task, a Super Trouper Xenon followspot from Omaha, NE-based Ballantyne Strong was placed into service.
More details about Sound Concepts (http://www.soundconceptsinc.com):
Strong Super Trouper Projects University’s Hawkeye Logo for Big Ten Conference Football Game
Iowa City, IA – At the University of Iowa, there’s a passion that runs deep and that pride is reflected in every aspect of the University’s football program. This is why the Director of Operations for University of Iowa football elected to project the school’s Hawkeye logo during a recent Big Ten Conference game. To accomplish this task, a Super Trouper Xenon followspot from Omaha, NE-based Ballantyne Strong was placed into service.
Cedar Rapids, IA-based Sound Concepts, Inc., a design / build firm with a live events division that handles sound, lighting, staging, rigging and video, was contracted to project the University’s Hawkeye logo onto a water tower immediately adjacent to Kinnick Stadium, the home of University of Iowa football.
The idea was to have the image visible for the spectators during the pregame countdown, each time the Iowa team scored, whenever the Iowa defense got a turnover, whenever the Iowa defense held any fourth down, and at the end of halftime.
Marvin Smejkal, owner of Sound Concepts, said, “The image had to be absolutely pristine in its appearance; not elongated, shortened or in any other way visually distorted. For anyone working with lighting equipment, this type of project is challenging since ambient lighting, throw angles and other variables can wreak havoc with an effort of this nature. I elected to use Strong’s long throw version of the Super Trouper because we’ve had excellent results with the company’s lighting fixtures on many other projects, so I felt quite certain if this were to happen, it would take the capabilities of the Super Trouper to pull it off.”
Prior to the Oct. 15 game day, the production team tested it out. After equipping the Super Trouper with Strong’s optional gobo holder, they projected the logo over a distance of roughly 225 feet.
Said Smejkal, “The result was exactly as I had planned: a clear, highly defined image up high on the water tower for everyone in the vicinity of the stadium to see. This type of result is precisely why our firm has a large inventory of Strong followspots; they consistently get the job done right.”
Its compact form factor makes transporting and setting up the followspot a more manageable task. The Super Trouper has other useful features: a single handle zoom control, dimming control, and an hour meter and DC ampmeter for monitoring system usage.
“We inventory Strong lighting fixtures because they are the standard of the industry,” says Smejkal. “By specifying and using Strong, we go out on a project with the confidence that we’ll be able to meet or exceed the customer’s expectations. Equally important, Strong’s customer support services are first rate, so we know that if we require technical assistance, the company will be responsive.”
Not only did Iowa win the game, but the Super Trouper won over their client, Smejkal said. “Thanks to the Strong Super Trouper, this was yet another successful project for our firm.”
