Robe Cyclone Premieres With Scott Warner

Robe takes their policy of listening to what lighting and visual designers are requesting to new levels of commitment with the new Robe ROBIN Cyclone product, which made its US debut at the PLASA Focus exhibition in Orlando, Florida last week, following a worldwide launch at Prolight+Sound 2013 in Frankfurt Robe collaborated with Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania based lighting designer Scott Warner on this highly innovative product -- featuring an integrated fan in the center of a moving head, surrounded by a ring of 24 high powered individually controllable RGBW multichip LEDs.

Warner was in Orlando on the Robe booth to see the production model Cyclones for the first time and was delighted. "It's very special to have something you draw and dream about brought to life in this way," he enthuses. Warner originally hit on the idea when touring with a client in the UK. He had to move his lights on a daily basis to accommodate the wind machines onstage that were used to cool the artist. Instead of getting grumpy, he had the idea of making a light with a fan in it.

A short while later, he met with Robe's sales director Harry von den Stemmen and mentioned it. Harry was suitably impressed, andhe then discussed it with Robe's CEO Josef Valchar, who is deeply involved in all Robe's product development.

Robe decided to run with the idea, and less than nine months later, the Robe designers had worked their magic and Warner was looking at the fixture!

Cyclone was chosen as an apt description to represent the power and dynamics of wind as a formidable natural element. The Cyclone takes "strategic hazing" in a performance environment to new levels of control and sophistication.

Cyclones are also ideal for wafting drapes and softs around the stage and set producing for distinctive and subtle effects, as well as for cooling artists whilst performing in any hot environment -- indoors and outdoors -- complete with dramatic "hair-blowing" and "smoke-through-the-fan" looks.

The Cyclone's LEDs have a zoom of 8 - 63 degrees, and a strong central airflow can be combined with fog and haze for awesome high quality atmospheric effects.

In addition to that, "It looks really, really cool," says Warner with pride.

He is absolutely delighted with Robe's response, "I don't think any other company would have taken a chance in investing in this product," he says.

Warner will soon be taking delivery of several Cyclones and using them on the Smokey Robinson tour amongst others. Already, his many LD contacts have expressed an interest. "At this point, it's not about competition, it's about assisting my peers with a new and different creative tool," he says.

The Cyclone's vari-speed fan can be independently DMX controlled, starting from a very low RPM. It is a perfect complement to fog and hazers in any "live" environment -- from clubs to concerts -- needing fine-tuned fog / haze flows, from a mere wisp of smoke to full-on immersive low cloud coverage! The unit also benefits from all the features from Robe's massively popular LEDWash series.

Von den Stemmen comments, "It was an absolute pleasure for us to have a well-known LD on the booth at PLASA Focus Orlando, and someone who is out there working day-to-day on tours, shows, and events". Warner is hugely passionate about the product. At PLASA Focus, he talked to many other LDs, brought them to the Robe booth, and showed off the Cyclones.

Says von den Stemmen, "As often happens with great innovations, Scott just had a rough idea when we visited him in his office in Pittsburgh a few months ago. He said, 'Wouldn't this be a cool idea? Can Robe make something like this?'...And we said, "Yes we can!"

Warner has been using Robe fixtures regularly in his work since the 2006 Pussycat Dolls tour. "Robe makes products that LDs want to use as opposed to what they think that people should be using, and you always feel like your opinion is valued," he concludes.

See Robe at PLASA Focus: Austin, September 10-11.