HOLLYWOOD, CA – The Logo Channel’s NewNowNext (NNN) Awards celebrate the most fantastic aspects of pop culture in music, television, film, web, fashion and just about everything in between. Produced in Hollywood, CA, inside the Henry Fonda Theater, the annual awards ceremony is lively, fun and energetic. When LD Tom Kenny was asked to oversee the lighting design he leapt at the opportunity to create a lighting rig full of Vari-Lite luminaires, including the new VL3015LT Spot from Philips Vari-Lite.
More details from Philips Vari-Lite (www.vari-lite.com):
“I was fortunate to have the opportunity to use the new VL3015LT Spot on the NNN Awards,” Kenny said. “For the show we needed a bright, fun and classy look so amongst my usual Vari-Lite fixtures, I also designed 12 of the VL3015LT Spots into the plot. While we were initially excited about their high intensity and beautiful color palette, the zoom capabilities and the crisp gobo projections really gave the design a unique sharpness with big beam action.”
While creating his ideal rig for the televised event, Kenny knew that he would use a few staples in his lighting design so he turned to authorized Vari-Lite dealer VER. In addition to the 12 VL3015LT Spots, he placed 20 VL3500 Wash and 12 VLX Wash luminaires into the lighting plot.
He continued, “The thing that separates Vari-Lite from other fixtures is their color. No one can match the color of a Vari-Lite luminaire and I love the beautiful color of the VL3500 Wash. I primarily do all TV work now and I use the VLX Wash so often that I have my own setting specifically for them. I was actually one of the first designers to use the VLX for TV and I haven’t stopped using them since. The VLX Wash gives you a perfect tungsten for camera plus all the wonderful colors of LED. They are both fantastic lights.”
As he now had his staple workhorse lights, it was then that Kenny got the surprise addition to his rig when Philips Vari-Lite Regional Sales Manager Ray Whitton contacted him about using the new VL3015LT Spot luminaire.
“We used them in a lot of different scenarios. While they were mainly used for lighting the band, we also used them as a back key light and for lighting the draperies surrounding the set. Since the Henry Fonda Theater is a smaller venue, we were operating them at about half of their normal power because they are so bright and powerful. We trimmed them at 22 feet and they worked very well. You can tell that a lot of time went into the R&D of the VL3015LT Spot because even in an intimate setting such as this, the color and optics were phenomenal. I really believe this light could be used in any Broadway theatre because you can have the beams as normal, but then one light could easily wash the entire stage. It has beautiful dichroics and the color palette is the best I have seen. The VL3015LT Spot is a wonderful light.”
Kenny said he looks forward to using the fixtures in an arena setting where he can fly them at 100 feet. “The true beauty of the VL3015LT is that I was able to dial it back and make it work wonderfully for the intimate setting of the NNN Awards. Even when using the lamp at half power, it was still able to produce beautiful colors, crisp gobo focuses and all the intricacies that the smaller lamps typically do.”
He added that lighting directors Craig Housenick and Bryan Klunder “were impressed with its speed and ability to shoot a really long distance while maintaining all its qualities at the end result. The VL3015LT Spot really helped me achieve all my ambitions in the design while also adding a freshness and sharpness with mega lumens attached.”
