NOTTINGHAM, U.K. – Ice rinks are often the site of competitions, so it’s only fitting that when events supplier OneBigStar was awarded the contract to revitalize the lighting rig at Nottingham’s National Ice Centre, the company arranged a shootout of different lighting fixtures. Following a demonstration of a variety of fixtures at the venue, the company specified 10 CHAUVET Professional Rogue R2 Spot LED fixtures and 20 COLORdash Par-Hex 12 LED wash fixtures to replace the incandescent system at the popular ice skating venue.
More details from Chauvet Professional (www.chauvetprofessional.com):
“We’ve built a long-term relationship with Chauvet because we share the same values regarding build quality and providing value-for-money. The durability of Chauvet products makes them an obvious choice for installations such as this one,” said OneBigStar director Simon Taylor.
Guaranteeing full color-changing capabilities and efficient energy usage, the Chauvet Rogue and COLORdash LEDs also require less maintenance than filament fixtures. OneBigStar specified the Rogue R2 Spot because there’s a very powerful LED engine in the fixture that cuts through ambient light levels extremely well. The COLORdash Par-Hex 12‘s hex chip is also powerful, and with the addition of the UV on the ice has made it possible to create some very effective colours and chases. Aside from its performance features, the fixture provides the ice arena with greater efficiency thanks to its incredibly low power consumption.
The truss grid above the ice – installed by OneBigStar in 2005 to accommodate the previous generation of lighting fixtures – was designed to mimic the shape of the ice rink. The install team evenly spaced the COLORdash units around the perimeter in pairs, thus ensuring even coverage around the border of the rink.
Naturally, where maintenance and utility is concerned, the remote positioning of the rig created an additional challenge for the installers. To overcome this, Chauvet’s PC-run and iPad controlled ShowXpress control software was also added to control the repertoire of moving heads, enabling the lights to be fully-remote controllable at any position in the arena.
“We wanted a software-based control system that could make best use of the features in the fitting and allow control from an iPad,” said the National Ice Centre’s Adam Timson. “Our team has found the software intuitive and enjoyable with plenty of programmable scenes and random chase features to use. Thanks to OneBigStar and Chauvet, we’ve been able to bring our lighting system right up to date for a reasonable cost with minimal disruption.”
