LAS VEGAS – Chauvet Professional’s design team felt that they broke new ground earlier this fall when they introduced the multi-functional Maverick MK Pyxis, a new eye candy effect that can do double and triple duty as a wash or beam. Now they have a shiny new accolade to support this belief, as they earned the first-ever PLSN Gold Star Product Award for Best New Effects Light at this year’s LDI Show.
“As a lighting designer, I’ve seen a lot of fixtures attempt to do all of the different things that the Pyxis does, but none have done it quite as well,” said PLSN editor Nook Schoenfeld, who presented the award to Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet. “With its center pixel and outer ring, the fixture can create some unique looks. At the same time though, it’s not just a gimmick. The beam, wash and pixels all look really good.”
At the center of the Maverick MK Pyxis is a single homogenous 60W RGBW LED with a fixed 3° beam angle. Surrounding this pixel is an outer ring made up of nine 15W RGBW LEDs with a 7°-45° zoom angle. Working together, the center pixel and outer ring are capable of creating a dizzying variety of captivating beam, wash, atmospheric and set piece effects.
“We introduced the Pyxis with the idea of opening new creative possibilities for designers, whether they’re doing smaller live music events or arena concerts,” said Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet. “Having this fixture recognized with a Gold Star award from PLSN means a great deal to those of us who have worked hard to bring this fixture to life. We’re honored and humbled.”
The Maverick MK Pyxis has already been used by The Lighting Design Group (New York) on MTV’s TRL program, and by Creative Production & Design (Austin, TX) on the Louis The Child “Last To Leave” tour. “Based on what we’ve seen of this fixture, it should be appearing in a lot of places,” said Schoenfeld. “Congratulations to the Chauvet team for nailing this one.”
The PLSN Gold Star product awards program is new this year. The products are selected by the editors and writers of PLSN magazine, along with a roundtable of LDs and stage technicians, and presented to new products that promise to make a big impact in the world of live event productions.
A built-in virtual gobo wheel with background colors can be used to make the outer ring appear as if it’s spinning. This effect combined with the retractable motion of the center pixel and the 360° continuous pan and tilt movement can fill a stage of any size with dynamic high energy looks. Readily accessible built-in color effects add to this pixel-mappable fixture’s versatility.
In addition to creating new moving looks, the Maverick MK Pyxis can also do double and triple duty as wash and beam light. With a combined center pixel and outer ring illuminance of 27,560 lux at 5 meters, the fixture has the output needed for a wide variety of applications.
“The Pyxis blazes a new path in design possibilities by incorporating a variety of different design features in ways that have never been done before,” said Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet. “Designers who we’ve shown Pyxis to have been shocked that one fixture can produce so many different looks.”
