The students, led by LD Anne Militello, did their homework — and even took a field trip to LDI in Las Vegas last fall to make sure they made the right decision. They were then able to parlay the gift further when Solaris, an online used audio and lighting supplier based in Atlanta, GA, gave them a sweet deal.
Solaris was able to provide the program with a whole truckload of gear, including 18 fully-functioning Clay Paky Alpha HPE 575 Spots and Washes plus parts, for the $50,000 amount.
Like her students, Militello remains in the dark about exactly who donated the $50,000. Also like her students, Militello is grateful. “The students were so thrilled many of them have stayed over during vacations to carry on working with the lights,” she said.
Although California Institute of the Arts, established in 1961 by Walt and Roy Disney, was already fully equipped with ETC Source Four fixtures, they needed moving lights to make the most use of their new moving light control console.
“My class did a study of all the available lighting and created a wish list of everything they wanted from it,” Militello said. “At the top of the list of criteria were versatility, size and beam range,” she added.
Militello and the class then took to the road to visit LDI, the entertainment lighting convention in Las Vegas, where manufacturers from around the world were putting the latest moving light technologies on display.
“They were about unanimous in deciding they wanted Clay Paky fixtures, after researching all the specs on all the moving lights out there, and also from what they saw at LDI,” Militello said. “They were very impressed by the patterns and effects that you can achieve, the colors that can be mixed, the beam spread, the size and weight and the brightness of the Clay Paky fittings for their wattage,” she added.
“The next challenge was buying them,” said Militello. “We knew that even with $50,000, buying anything brand new wasn’t going to get us very far, and we could only afford a few lights.”
That’s when Solaris stepped up by offering the students its entire existing inventory of Clay Paky lights and components for what they could spend. “They gave us a truckload of parts and working lights, including 18 working Alpha 575 HPE Spots and washes, and parts for another six lights,” Militello said.
The Alpha Spot HPE 575 is a 575W spotlight with 20 gobos on three wheels, a CMY color system and high-speed mechanical iris, which can be used to create a range of effects under DMX control. “The students love the lights, and they are doing amazing things with them that they just could not have done before,” Militello said.
For more information, please visit www.claypaky.it.
