SEATTLE – Blizzard Lighting, LLC announced that their Blockhead moving head LED matrix light fixtures helped light the FOX Sports NFC Championship pregame and halftime set during the Jan. 18, 2015 matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks. Blizzard collaborated with another Wisconsin-based company, ModTruss, on the project. ModTruss constructs on location sets for many sports telecasts including FOX.
More details from Blizzard Lighting (www.blizzardlighting.com):
FOX used four Blockhead fixtures on their pregame and halftime set. They feature a 5×5 matrix of high-power color changing LEDs on their face. The fixtures are capable of displaying low-resolution animated content, patterns, static colors and beam effects. This coupled with another of Blockhead’s innovative features—unlimited rotation on two axes—makes Blockhead extremely versatile and provides the audience with a dazzling special effect.
“Seeing our Blockhead fixtures in action for the NFC Championship is the culmination of a lot of hard work from many people both on our team and from ModTruss. Having the fixtures and the Packers both there, it doesn’t get much better,” said Will Komassa, President of Blizzard Lighting.
According to Komassa, size and weight, along with the desire to add visual appeal to the telecast, were key elements in the decision to go with Blockhead.
“FOX Sports wanted to, in their words, ‘bling things up a little bit’ for the game, but we were also aware that we didn’t have a large amount of space to work with on the set. Blockhead’s compact size, flexibility and built- in bag of visual tricks make it the perfect product to give their coverage the flash they are looking for.”
Another challenge for Blizzard’s team is the fact that the game is scheduled during the day. “It’s tough finding lighting that is going to have an impact on a brightly lit TV set, during daylight hours,” Komassa said. “Fortunately, Blockhead gives us a ton of visual appeal whether you are looking at the fixture itself, or if it is being used as a lighting projector, even in bright light conditions.”
Komassa also noted that ModTruss routinely also uses Blizzard’s Hotbox series of compact LED color changers for color toning and accents on sets seen in telecasts from FOX Sports, CBS Sports, MLB Network, NFL Network and The UFC. “Blizzard’s fixtures are always top-notch and among the best. They fit into or on top of any of our ModTruss stages with ease,” said Colleen Mayberry, Director of Sales and Marketing at ModTruss.
