SOCHI, Russia — The 18-part opening ceremony for the 2014 Winter Olympics here was lit by more than 1,100 lighting instruments, all controlled by High End Systems’ Hog 4 lighting platform. LD Al Gurdon and programmer Ross Williams contributed to the visual design of the massive show.
More details from High End Systems (www.highend.com):
The elaborate three-hour opening ceremony that unveiled the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia was a breathtaking marriage of art, history, patriotism and technology.
The ceremony’s 18 chapters necessitated the use of over 1,100 lighting instruments, all controlled by Austin, TX-based manufacturer High End Systems’ state-of-the-art Hog 4 lighting console. This marks an industry milestone as one of the largest lighting productions, utilizing in excess of 1,000 instruments.
Lighting designer Al Gurdon created the stunning lighting visuals for the event, and Programmer Ross Williams specified the use of High End Systems’ latest lighting desk. High End’s Director of Product Management Chris Ferrante comments, “We are very proud to announce that our Hog 4 console successfully controlled the opening ceremony in Sochi for the Winter Olympics. Sochi shows that the Hog 4 system is time and again being chosen to control the largest shows. We have seen the platform move from strength to strength since it’s launch just over a year ago, and are very excited to continue to roll out the platform, with more features and product just around the corner.”
Robbie Bruce, HES Director of Control Systems Development adds, “We have worked closely with Ross Williams over the past year in anticipation of this event. We knew the rig would be very large and the amount of programming would push the current product limits. Ross was very specific on what he needed to be successful. We understood the challenge and with his help the Hog development team was able to expand the performance and enhance functionality of the Hog 4.”
High End’s Hog 4 can also be seen on tour with Kanye West, Daft Punk and Rod Stewart.
