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.”
When executing a successful lighting design, the question of color is often considered near the end of the process, and in some ways, it seems to make sense. We first ask ourselves, what’s my budget? Which fixtures do I have? What are my hang positions? And then, finally, what color should those fixtures be? In this class replay from CUE 2022, Declan Randall, ETC Training Program Coordinator, challenges that idea. He’ll show you why if you care about light, you should care about color from the very first moment.
Color does not exist without light
We only see color because of light and how an object reflects that light to our eyes. So, it stands to reason that controlling that light is incredibly important. As a designer, you want to decide why you change light, how you change light, when you change light, and its native source. Your design success is ultimately tied to your level of light and color control. Choosing a fixture that gives you the options you need to control the light in a way that fits your needs is more important than ever. And having a console that works with your fixtures is equally important.
Since LED fixtures came on the market, we’ve started thinking about color differently. With LEDs, you start with nothing and build up, adding color and intensity as you go. The more of the spectrum you have available, the more you’re able to add, and the better your light will render on the objects you have – costumes, scenery, backdrops, etc. With LED fixtures, you are now able to manipulate color to a degree of precision that was never possible with gel. And that’s really exciting.
Fixtures and console control
If you were to connect the same lighting fixture to different manufacturers’ consoles and then select a standard color – Lee 201 or Rosco 58, for example, you’ll start to see how drastically control options vary. This is because some consoles are only capable of calculating color based on RGB values. They ignore any extra emitters because they’re not capable of processing the extra color information beyond an RGB array. With other consoles, spectral data and intensity are ignored. These variances in control make a big difference in how you’re able to reproduce color on your stage. Without even realizing it, you may be missing out on features that limit the performance of your fixtures and your design.
“If you care about light, then you must care about color too. And thanks to the selection of ETC consoles, these tools are available for everyone -not just Broadway and The West End.”
Start with white light
In this class, Declan will take you back to the beginning and talk about how white light is created. Using that same formula, he then dives into other colors and how each is created within different fixtures. You’ll quickly see that not only does the array matter, but how you control the array, matters too. The “color recipes” that make up light are called metamers. And while metamers are not new, the way we are able to control them is.
Watch the full session below to learn more about the benefits of changing metamers to improve your design.
ETC fos/4 series fixtures are the new luminaires from the legendary lighting manufacturer dedicated to the studio and broadcasting market. Malo Ma, a young and budding gaffer in Hong Kong, has used fos/4 series in various video productions to great effect.
fos/4 Panel was used in a recent music video production sung by a rising female Hong Kong singer. Malo led the lighting of this video production where he had the opportunity to put the fixtures through their paces.
The music video portrays how the singer pulls herself together from failures and challenges. fos/4 Panel Daylight HDR (8” x 24”) was put to use in a few shots in this music video where Malo capitalized on the excellent colour rendering. “The colour is very natural. I like how the colour-mixing with deep red LEDs makes the skin colour tone and other scenes look real and delicate,” commented Malo Ma.
“The lightning strikes effect is surprisingly real. It flashes naturally and makes the mood of the scenes better especially highlighting the complicated feeling in this song,” added Malo.
Because of the good experience using the fos/4 Panel, Malo added fos/4 Fresnel to his gear list when he was preparing for a fashion video production. In this picture, Malo and his team were adjusting the color, angle, and brightness. “The brightness is good. And I like the intuitive and simple UI with the four backlit encoders, making it easy to change colour and other settings quickly and accurately,” commented Malo.
Malo and his partner, Hero Pun, set up their own business, Come Roll Media Limited, in 2013 focusing on movie production and equipment rental. The young entrepreneurs are professionals from the filming industry and now expanding their reach to TV commercials, music videos, events, post-production, and more.
Introducing the Element 2 console and a new Eos family brochure
The new Element 2 console brings a significant hardware upgrade to the hands-on, entry-level desk, including an updated keyboard layout that matches the rest of the Eos® family.
The Element 2 console will require the upcoming Eos v2.7 software, which is anticipated to release within the next month. Once the new console begins shipping, the classic Element console will be retired and supported as a Legacy product.
A new Eos family brochure is also available in multiple languages. It can be obtained via download or literature request.
The Irideon® line of architectural fixtures from ETC features exceptional light output and a sleek, unassuming industrial design that blends in with any space. The newest addition to this family, the WLZ or, Wash Light Zoom fixture, is no exception. This feature-rich design is ideal for museums and retail environments.
Similar to the other fixtures in the Irideon family, the WLZ is available in a variety of colour temperatures ranging from 3000 K to 5000 K, and three mounting variations; Track mount, portable. and ceiling canopy.
The most innovative feature of the WLZ is the built-in rotating zoom adjustment at the rear of the fixture housing. This enables beam angle adjustment within an impressive range of 9-78 degrees. The zoom position markers on the fixture make fixture-to-fixture referencing quick and easy.
Shipping of the Irideon WLZ will begin in May.
Click here to watch the short video on the many benefits and features of the Irideon WLZ.
ColorSource Pearl: the many colours of white
ColorSource Pearl is the newest array for our ColorSource® line of fixtures. Available for the Linear, PAR, and Spot, Pearl is a variable, white-light option that can be tuned to output white light anywhere between 2700K and 6500K.
And because it is part of the ColorSource Family, the Pearl array includes the same great feature set and high quality construction as its full colour siblings including an impressively bright output, a simple user interface, and a price point that is tough to beat.
Designed for installations that depend heavily on white light such as studios, houses of worship, and architectural installations, this array features flicker-free operation and an impressively smooth dimming curve.
Click here to watch the product video and find additional information.
ColorSource Pearl fixtures will begin shipping in May.
Built in the 14th century, the unusually shaped Hobuveski building in Tallinn, Estonia originally served as a mill and was later used for storage. In 2003, the circular structure was converted into a theatre and events venue, and has since become recognised as one of the most extraordinary theatres in Europe. A recent refurbishment saw the installation of state-of-the-art technology, including a Gio @5 console, ColorSource luminaires and Sensor3 power control from ETC.
Until recently, the 140-seat venue relied on makeshift solutions for performances. With no real infrastructure, changing from one production to another involved building a new, temporary lighting and sound system, almost every time. In 2017, the Hobuveski received the investment and permission it needed to proceed with a major refurbishment. The revamp included a much-longed-for permanent installation of lighting and audio equipment.
The renovations were undertaken as part of a Green Theatre Programme and were designed to meet the latest energy efficiency guidelines. Unsurprisingly, emphasis was placed on LED lighting. The package selected comprised around 95 per cent LED luminaires, including 12 ColorSource Spot fixtures from ETC. Although dimmers were not required for the LED solution, the venue personnel were keen to retain the option of using tungsten fixtures for some productions. This led to the addition of an ETC Sensor3 power control system, with ThruPower modules, capable of accommodating all loads – tungsten, LEDs, arc-source movers, and the unknown.
“The decision to use ETC’s ThruPower modules with dimmer and relays offers the option to switch freely between dimmer and hard power,” says Kalle Karindi, from OÜ Focuspoint, the ETC dealer involved in the installation. In addition to saving time and simplifying the day-to-day operations for the theatre technicians, the solution offered further advantages. “If you consider the expense involved in having separate dimmer and relay racks, including the extra cabling and labour, versus the Sensor3 solution, the cost is comparable,” adds Karindi. “Furthermore, the electrical company said it saved at least a week of installation time for everyone involved in the project.”
The Los Angeles Bureau of the Fox News Channel has seen its share of rising and falling news personalities but a constant star is ETC.
The small studio in Culver City serves as the Left Coast broadcast centre for several prominent US TV presenters, including Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and Geraldo Rivera. In the late 80s and early 90s it was the home of the late-night talk show, The Pat Sajak Show. In 2017, the stage underwent a complete overhaul – out with the wood-panelled look in favour of a Plexiglas and stainless steel design with a curtain track backdrop that can switch from night to day faster than you can say “breaking news.” With its unusually high ceiling and excellent acoustics, the stage is now home to The NextRevolution with Steve Hilton Sunday night broadcast.
The revamped set design came with a much-needed new lighting package provided by 4Wall Lighting’s Los Angeles office. Lighting Director Eric Reinig and his counterparts in New York specified a mostly ETC LED system. “It only made sense to go LED, for the flexibility and the reduction of heat onstage and the running costs,” says Reinig. “The old rig of standard 1K and 2K fixtures and old Strand gear was well past its prime.”
The new rig features 32 ETC Source Four LED Series 2 fixtures with Lustr arrays and a range of lenses (19, 26 and 36 degrees), serving as the new key lights for the talent and colour washes on the scenic panels. A few classic Source Fours are used as specials, powered by an ETC 24-channel Sensor3 dimmer pack. “Even though we have to colour correct them to 4300 degrees, the conventional fixtures give me a softer look. But you can’t beat the Lustrs for flat field and coolness to the touch.”
Describing the change in lighting control, Reinig jokes: “We went from a ‘baby starter’ two-scene, preset to an ETC Ion 1500 with a 2×20 Universal Fader Wing.” The learning curve more than paid off in the ability to set up pre-programmed looks for Fox shows and any incoming rentals. The nearby Fox Sports One/Fox Deportes studio, where Reinig is also an LD, uses an Ion console.
Reinig’s career path was equally transformative. While he worked in construction, he maintained an interest in photography and operated a DJ company with several DJs and mobile systems for private parties and nightclubs. When he was injured on a construction job, he went back to school – first to Moorpark College, followed by a degree in cinematography at California State University, Northridge. “I was lucky to have a friend at Fox who let me play with equipment and learn the gear – I also was also an apprentice with cinematographer Bill Bennett (a member of ASC) and fell in love with lighting.”
Today Reinig uses studio down time to experiment with new lighting looks and get deeper into the workings of the Ion. Pointing out the extremely long top hats on the Lustr fixtures around the news desk, he explains, “Our host Steve Hilton is bald and we use this technique to reduce hot spots on his head. I am guessing other shows have faced the same challenges in controlling multiple points of light off of the top of their host – it’s a great trick.”
Looking ahead, Reinig already sees a need for 12 more Lustr fixtures and 12 spares, as the studio may expand into more of an entertainment stage. “Every time I go to LDI, my mind starts racing with the possibility of new gear. It’s an exciting time in lighting.”
Please contact us or your nearest ETC dealer for more information on ETC products.
Introducing the Element 2 console and a new Eos family brochure
New architectural wash light from ETC
The Los Angeles Bureau of the Fox News Channel has seen its share of rising and falling news personalities but a constant star is ETC.