Eight ADJ Entour Snow machines were used to fill downtown Paramount, CA with a flurry of synthetic snowflakes for the city’s annual Christmas tree lighting celebration. The event, which also featured a five-hour program of entertainment and live musical performances, was also illuminated by a variety of ADJ lighting fixtures. Luminaires, including Focus Spot 7Z automated fixtures, were used to light the performers on stage as well as to create atmospheric color washes and aerial beam effects.
A holiday traditional which started over a quarter of a century ago, the City of Paramount’s annual tree lighting celebration has become one of the biggest events on the local community calendar. This year’s festivities attracted over 10,000 people who enjoyed musical performances from local high school bands, church groups and professional entertainers. For the third consecutive year, providing the audio, visual and effects equipment for the event was the responsibility of Ambient Pro, LLC, with the company’s principal, Victor Nava, serving as Production Manager.
One of the key requirements of the project was to magically create a festive flurry of snow on cue. To achieve this, Victor and his team constructed three 10’ truss towers which were spaced out throughout the crowd area. Each tower was used to rig a pair of Entour Snow units, one pointing to the left and the other to the right. A final pair of machines were then rigged to the front of the stage structure, making for a grand total of eight units (two more than the previous year). The Entour Snow is a professional-grade 1250-Watt snow machine with a fluid tank capacity of 5.6 Liters. It features a variable angle bracket and, when mounted horizontally, is capable of shooting synthetic snow over a distance of up to 12 meters (40 feet). In addition, it can be used to shoot snow up to 10 meters (32 feet) directly upwards. Used in this way, a very natural falling snow effect can be created.
“Making it snow at the moment the tree lights up is at the very heart of this production,” explains Victor. “Last year the effect looked great, but this year was even better! Not only did we add two extra Entour Snow machines, we also adjusted the settings on all the units to achieve the perfect output. Last year we ran the machines at full capacity, this year we dialed them down, which meant they were able to run for longer and also that the consistency of the snow was finer. This made for a more festive effect – we didn’t need a blizzard! – that also travelled further. The client was very happy, but wants to do something even bigger next year. They were talking about doubling to 16 machines!”
