A beloved Michigan tradition for over 40 years, the 2023 Detroit Jazz Festival featured over 60 performers, spontaneous late night jam sessions, and 350,000 attendees; online viewership of the festival topped 2.5 million live views. Now a division of Display Group, Fantasee Lighting has been providing lights and design to the festival for over twenty years. Celebrating his tenth year as Jazz Fest Lighting Director, Jon Weaver specified High End Systems SolaPix and Lonestar fixtures for this year’s event.
Before COVID shuttered the physical festival in 2020, the festival would stream the headliners on the mainstages, and broadcast three sets on local TV every year. When Jazz Fest returned to a live event, Weaver insisted that the event be lit as a broadcast show outdoors. The lighting rigs were designed to be able to overtake the sun, and still be impactful on television from noon until the headliners came on after dark.
Jon says as more events have become film studios with a live audience, Fantasee Lighting was quick to invest in the SolaPix 7 and SolaPix 19 XT fixtures. “The SolaPix are very versatile fixtures that give a beautiful smooth wash for the stage in a small package. From the front, they provide a beautiful balanced wash for cameras at any temperature. In colors, they have the output to saturate the entire set without having to turn down the front wash required for the cameras.”
36 SolaPix 19 XTs were the primary lighting on both main stages for both camera and color. 20 SolaPix 7s were used on the smaller stage for the same looks and effects in a smaller package, to bring consistency across the sites.
“The fully mappable face adds dynamic effects and looks, without having to add a bunch of effects fixtures. They can be driven by both the lighting console and the media servers independently, which simplifies complex system designs and allows these features to be utilized in much smaller shows for large impact.”
Over the past year, Fantasee also invested in a fleet of Lonestar fixtures. Jon says, “The Lonestar has become the workhorse of our corporate lighting systems. For years, we’ve needed a framed luminaire for use in smaller venues, and most manufacturers were only putting framing shutters in their largest fixtures. Frankly, these were overkill for many of the events, and usually meant that we would only put in a few fixtures to accomplish the specific needs for shutters. The Lonestar is the perfect physical size with tons of output to fulfill this need. The price point of these means that we can use more fixtures for less cost. Fantasee will use these to fill out the entire rig, which allows the designer onsite ultimate flexibility to make consistent looks across the system. At the Detroit Jazz Festival, Fantasee used Lonestar on the small stage to give the impact of the large format fixtures, scaled down to the appropriate size for this small stage.”
Weaver adds that the two main stage consoles were dictated by the respective lighting designers, while the other two spaces were controlled by Hog 4 because of its versatility and stability for the broadcast. The Absopure Waterfront Stage was run with a Full Boar, while the Anchor Desk Studio setup was run on a Roadhog.
Fantasee utilized ETC’s Studio HD Fresnel and D40 Daylights to fill out the Anchor Desk Studio set hidden in the festival complex. Artists gave interviews from the set for uninterrupted content for the stream during set changes. The festival had three uninterrupted streams running daily.
Account rep was Nicole Morris; Weaver served as Lighting Director and handled the Amphitheatre Stage, with LD Zach Schneider covering the main stage, Travis Krajewski serving as LD for the Waterfront Stage, and Kasey Lynne handling the site lighting. Joining them on the crew were master electrician Holly Lloyd-Dunk and E2 Jordyn Meyers.
For the past six years, Weaver has been at the helm of the company’s Installation and Integration division, designing lighting, rigging, and show control systems. When Fantasee Lighting was purchased by Display Group in May 2022, audio and video was added to their offerings for install.
In closing, Jon says, “I have always especially enjoyed lighting for Jazz. There are many styles of jazz, and it exudes the cultures from with it originates. The most important element is designing a versatile rig that looks just as good at noon as at 10 pm. And with over 300,000 people attending in person, it is sometimes easy to forget that the larger audience sees this show through the lens of the camera!”
Everything You Love About SolaPix 19, but IP65-Rated
With its modest footprint and next-generation brightness, the SolaPix family pushes the traditional concept of a pixel wash to its maximum potential. Whether used to spread the color throughout a ballroom, tradeshow floor, or concert stage, the bright and punchy output will envelop your production with beautifully saturated color.
Additionally, SolaPix’s narrow zoom, FleX Effects macros, and pixel-controlled face produce a wide variety of looks and styles to help set the mood and steal the show.
SolaPix 19 XT is an IP65-rated version of SolaPix 19 designed specifically for indoor and outdoor events. It utilizes custom weatherproof housing and sealed front lens glass to deter the ingress of water and other liquids.
All SolaPix models share integral features, including RGBW color mixing, tuned color temperature between 2800-8000K, 4.5° to 60° zoom, and FleX Effects Engine and Pixel Control. The models differ in their lumen output, footprint, and a number of individual pixels, meaning there’s a SolaPix for every unique application. The flagship SolaPix 37 outputs 29K lumens, with the SolaPix 19 and SolaPix 7 output 14.5K lumens and 5.5K lumens, respectively. The IP65-rated SolaPix 19 XT features a 13.8K lumen output.
SolaPix 19 XT
IP65 rated for outdoor use
HaloGraphic Pixel Definition
Ultra-fast pan and tilt
RGBW with digital CT
FleX Effects Engine || Create effects faster
4.5° – 60° zoom
Individual addressing for Base, FleX, and Pixel control
Introducing High End Systems Halcyon, the next generation of automated framing luminaires from ETC. Created to meet the needs of rental operations, theatres, and opera houses, Halcyon is a family of framing fixtures designed for the exacting demands of lighting production. Offering reduced cost, reduced weight, and increased output, Halcyon fixtures are each best in class and engineered to fit into every spec for every design.
High End Systems Halcyon
Offering matching feature sets and performance across all fixtures, the Halcyon range consists of Gold, Titanium, and Platinum. Halcyon Gold outputs 31,000 lumens and is ideal for short to medium-throw applications. Designed for medium to long throws, Titanium outputs 40,000 lumens. And for the most extreme light at the farthest distances, Platinum offers unprecedented light output at 55,000 lumens, with an incredible 75,000 lumens in boost mode. With a new industrial design, each Halcyon fixture is smooth and sleek enough to blend into your rig.
Halcyon has two LED engine options for maximum versatility. The e Halcyon’s color mixing system uses tighter, next-gen gradient dichroics and a linear mixing curve supported by ETC’s renowned color science for smooth and even colors, both in and out of focus.
With full curtain framing on four focus planes and extended framing rotation, Halcyon provides all the tools to perfectly shape every show. A new, custom-selected package of patterns brings a full library of aerials, rotational effects, breakups, diffusion, and prisms. ETC’s Trifusion system brings a wide range of diffusion with a single control channel, maintaining maximum output and even frost distribution across the field, and a smooth transition from a sharp edge all the way to a heavy wash. A continuously variable rotating animation wheel with linear insertion allows programmers to now control the animation’s angular position. Patented Whisper Home technology employs a dual sensor system, allowing Halcyon fixtures to home with little movement, while also being quiet, fast, and precise. Halcyon is backed by ETC’s industry-leading customer service and is competitively priced without sacrificing on features or performance.
Automated Lighting Product Manager Matt Stoner comments, “The High End Systems SolaFrame changed how people do things in our industry, and we are excited to continue the revolutionary product line in our new Halcyon products. Over years of customer feedback and fixture usage we have learned so much and the Halcyon family is the culmination of that feedback, and a leap forward in smaller, less expensive, lighter, and better performance.”
Market Manager Tania Lesage adds, “There are thousands of venues around the world looking for lights with sharp projection, a versatile gobo package, and lush color mixing; that is exactly what we bring with this new framing family. High End Systems Halcyon was created by our award winning automated design team with three decades of experience. If Halcyon piques your interest, come see us live at LDI, JTSE or MEET, or get in touch with your local dealer or rep for a demo.”
ETC introduces the High End Systems Talen, an automated luminaire that adds visual excitement and big looks to any show with its punchy, rig-defining aerials.
The fixture’s high-intensity beams are created with full additive color RGBW emitters and a large front aperture, resulting in an extremely narrow 3° beam with high center beam candlepower. With infinite pan and tilt movement, Talen moves beyond the positioning limitations of other luminaires.
Talen’s footprint is small enough to fit anywhere in a lighting rig, and it can also be rigged in creative hanging positions. Fixtures can be easily configured and addressed through ETC’s Set Light App.
“It is exciting to add a simple, affordable beam light to our collection of fixtures. Talen is excellent for adding movement to conventional rigs and supplementing big ones by adding excitement and expanding the designer toolbox. With exciting features like an eye-catching TIR lens producing a tight beam of light, Fixture configuration wirelessly via iPhone and Android devices, and the versatile Talen hinge, Talen is the perfect exclamation point for any show.”
From ETC and High End Systems comes the Lonestar, the most affordable, versatile moving head fixture form the legendary lighting manufacturer yet! Let’s take a look at what you get…
Lonestar is a great lighting tool built for designers and programmers who want maximum performance from a mid-sized automated framing fixture. The budget friendly luminaire brings punchy output, a professional feature set, and ETC’s legendary quality at a new, more affordable price point.
THE RIGHT SIZE
Engineered to easily fit into any lighting design, Lonestar is the most compact High End Systems framing fixture yet, but doesn’t sacrifice any features or output.
THE RIGHT FEATURE SET
Output
Offering punchy 15,400 lumen output from its Bright White LED engine, Lonestar delivers high brightness and visual impact to any stage.
Color
With seamless CMY mixing, linear CTO plus fixed color wheel for the purest saturated colors available, all your needs are covered.
Shaping
Lonestar’s full curtain framing shutters allow precise, repeatable beam shaping; put the light where you want it, and never where you don’t.
Patterns
Shape your stage with Lonestar’s nine rotating patterns. Animation wheel, plus dual frosts and prisms produce limitless morphing and texture layering options.
Beams
Build structure in the air with Lonestar’s beams. The 3.5 – 55 degree zoom range creates powerful narrow beams to wide washes and everything in between.
WANT TO EXPERIENCE LONESTAR?
Contact anyone of our Re-sellers for more information and to organize a demo. Click the link below to see ETC dealers for Southern Africa.
Welcome to part 1 of our in depth look at High End Systems’ SolaSeries Moving Head Fixtures. Today we’re taking a deep dive into the SolaFrame family of fixtures,
High End Systems have been in the game for a long time, and they’ve used that experience to come up with some of the most complete and feature-rich fixtures on the market. When you add ETC’s world-renowned optics and colour technology the result is a series of fixtures that go above and beyond your normal moving head.
THE SOLAFRAME FAMILY
With the most advanced and complete line of LED framing fixtures on the market, SolaFrame features full-frame, four plane shutters engineered for accuracy and speed. The SolaFrame family also includes the optical effects package from the SolaSpot series, including CMY color mixing, linear CTO, fixed color wheel, fixed and indexing gobo wheels, sophisticated animation effects, prism, iris and frost. All fixtures are available with either Ultra-Bright engines for maximum lumens or High Fidelity engine for high CRI and superior color rendering.
The SolaFrame Family offers feature rich options on any budget.
Designed to be feature rich and precise, SolaFrame has the right product for every size and type of application. From the compact SolaFrame 750 to the arena ready SolaFrame 3000 to our award-winning silent fixtures, this family set and raised the bar for sheer output and quality of light, color control and mind-blowing visuals.
SOLAFRAME 750: DYNAMITE COMES IN SMALL PACKAGES
The SolaFrame 750 is compact yet feature rich.
SolaFrame 750 is the most compact framing fixture in the Sola Series family. Featuring a small footprint but a huge feature set, the fixture is a perfect fit for small to medium-sized venues, and its 11,300 lumens can easily cut through the competition. SolaFrame 750 is available in Ultra-Bright and High CRI versions and offers the widest array of effects currently available in a fixture of its size, including full-curtain framing shutters, 6°–50° zoom, rotating gobo wheel plus fully continuous animation, iris, prism, and frost.
With the right blend of features, performance, and size, SolaFrame 750 has been specified extensively for use in nightclubs and retail installations, studio and film, Houses of worship, performance venues, cruise ships and themed entertainment venues. Modular construction makes SolaFrame 750 easy to service, and it’s backed by the best LED engine warranty and 24/7 customer service in the industry.
SOLAFRAME 1000: EVERYTHING YOU’LL EVER NEED
The SolaFrame 1000 gives you so many options
SolaFrame 1000 is the go-to workhorse automated framing fixture for lighting designers. With 20,000 lumen output, full framing shutters, rotating and fixed gobo wheels, multiple color systems, 12°-40° zoom, animation effects plus all the bells and whistles required by the modern LD, the SolaFrame 1000 is a star performer in all professional production environments.
Available in Ultra-Bright and High CRI versions, SolaFrame 1000 ships with a TM-30 Filter that boosts the Ultra-Bright engine to 85+ CRI. Other features include Iris and Light Frost, Rotating Prism, and our patented Lens Defogger System.
The SolaFrame 1000 is guaranteed to add a set of powerful tools to any venue’s inventory while giving rental houses the perfect go anywhere, do anything fixture.
The award winning SolaFrame 3000 combines unprecedented light output from its 1000 watt Ultra-Bright White LED engine with a limitless palette of effects and color possibilities. Engineered for the largest lighting applications, the fixture’s 37,000 lumens exceed the output of powerful arc lamp fixtures, while simultaneously offering the many advantages of LED technology such as long engine life. The fixture is also available in a High Fidelity version with incredibly accurate color rendering.
SolaFrame 3000 is designed for use in arenas and stadiums, concert halls, broadcast studios, churches, and other large-scale events. The fixture’s color control, precise framing, projection and animation effects, versatile zoom range, and other features have made SolaFrame 3000 a popular choice for designers, production companies, and permanent installations alike.
Product Features
Ultra-Bright White LED Engine
1000W Ultra-Bright engine produces 37,000 field lumens or High Fidelity Engine with incredibly accurate color rendering
CMY/CTO – Linear color mixing system
7 position replaceable Color Wheel
Framing system for total control of beam shaping
Iris, Light Frost, Prism and 7°-55° Zoom
7-position plus open interchangeable Gobo Wheel
7-position plus open Rotating Gobo Wheel
Continuously Variable Animation Wheel
TM-30 Filter Boosts Ultra-Bright Engine to 85+ CRI
SOLAFRAME THEATRE & STUDIO: WHISPER QUIET
The lighting industry’s first automated LED fixture to offer completely silent operation, SolaFrame Theatre is engineered with no fans and features a high CRI Bright White LED engine. A natural fit for use in theatres and other venues where noise is not acceptable, SolaFrame Theatre has seen phenomenal success in venues worldwide.
SolaFrame Theatre features 15,000 lumen output, smooth full-frame shuttering and a wide zoom range. With fixed and indexing gobo wheels, Animation effects, prism, iris, and frost, it is also extremely feature packed. The convection cooled luminaire features modular construction, extremely low power usage and other innovations such as our patented Lens Defog system.
SolaFrame Studio & Theatre can be seen, but not heard
Like its bigger sibling the SolaFrame Theatre, the convection cooled SolaFrame Studio prioritizes high quality features, beautiful spectral output and silent operation. The fixture’s 10,000 lumens and full curtain framing are a perfect fit for theatres, concert halls, opera houses, film/TV broadcast studios and houses of worship. With a feature set designed for exquisite projection control and gorgeous color rendering, SolaFrame Studio can quietly steal the scene.
With a wide zoom range, rotating gobo wheel, Animation effects, prism, iris and frost, SolaFrame Studio is also feature packed. The convection cooled fixture features modular construction, extremely low power usage and other innovations such as our patented Lens Defog system.
SolaFrame Theatre Product Features
Bright White LED engine
440 W High CRI engine produces 15,000 field lumens
Fanless, silent operation
540° x 265° movement
CMY / CTO- linear color-mixing system
7-position replaceable Color Wheel
Framing system for total control of beam shape
Iris
Light Frost
Linear Four-facet Prism
7°-42° Zoom
8-position plus open interchangeable Gobo Wheel
7-position plus open Rotating Gobo Wheel
Continuously Variable Animation Wheel
SolaFrame Studio Product Features
Bright white LED engine
300 W High CRI engine producing 10,000 field lumens
Color-matched convection-cooled engine for completely fanless operation
High quality 13-lens optic system with patented Lens Defogger
Extremely powerful 5.5 – 57° zoom
CMY / CTO-Linear color mixing system
Seven position plus open replaceable Color Wheel
Full-curtain framing system for total control of beam shaping
16-blade iris for extremely tight beam effects
Light diffusion with additional, optional heavy diffusion
Seven position plus open Rotating Gobo Wheel
Linear Prism for controlled pattern replication across a stage
CHECK OUT INDEPENDENT TEST RESULTS FOR THE SOLAFRAME STUDIO & THEATRE
World-renowned acoustics specialists Müller-BBM in Munich have tested SolaFrame Theatre and SolaFrame Studio.
Their independent reports demonstrate just how quiet this fixtures is. Download the reports and see for yourself.
