Chauvet at Center of Science and Industry, Columbus, Ohio

Gadgets Live, a performance stage at the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, Ohio, has recently installed a variety of Chauvet lighting units. The large stage houses eight different themed shows throughout the year. Doug Northeim, owner of Red Fish Illuminations, specified the fixtures and created the lighting design. He used a SlimPAR 38 and 11 SlimPAR PRO RGBA wash lights, 11 COLORrail effect lights, three DMX-4 Dimmer/Relay packs, and one Data Stream 4 splitter.

"It created a new spark and excitement," Northeim said about the new design. "After seeing several of the existing shows, I realized we needed just as much lighting bang and visual pop from the lighting system as we get from the many loud and bright experiments that end with explosions or flame effects."

SlimPAR PRO RGBA units act as the side and backlighting for an even stage wash. The units' range of colors helps to differentiate the themed shows. Hidden behind the large center stage are COLORrai fixtures that bring the background to life. The fixtures provide a color-changing backdrop that gave an animated look to the gear-shaped props used throughout the set.

"SlimPAR PRO RGBA and COLORrail fixtures provided the best bang for the buck," Northeim said. "Everybody was very happy with the capabilities of the fixtures."

Northeim said the Gadgets Live installation led to a new test project at the museum using variable white LEDs. The museum also decided to use more Chauvet gear for their rental facility used for different events, such as weddings and parties.