Elation Sniper Adds a "Kick" to US Women Soccer's 2015 World Cup Celebration

	Photo courtesy of Creative Production Design & Decor: Angel City Designs. Photo: Sean Twomey/2me Studios

Santa Monica Airport's Hanger 8 was the site for the US women soccer team's Kickoff Celebration for the 2015 Women's World Cup. Kinetic Lighting provided lighting and rigging for the event, held in early December for FOX Sports 1 and Time Warner Cable, and turned to Elation Professional's award-winning Sniper effect light to add a special kick to the celebration including a performance by rapper Flo Rida.

After demoing the Sniper and seeing them at the LDI trade show in November, Kinetic Lighting was eager to put them to use in a real world scenario. "My stage design had a number of LED panel wash fixtures creating a back wall so I needed a hard edge fixture to cut through," comments lighting designer for the event James Schipper of Kinetic Lighting. "I was really blown away by how intense they were. I honestly didn't expect them to hold their weight against the larger profile fixtures in the rig but I was proven wrong!"

The Sniper's super-fast beam movement and quick color snaps allowed Schipper to create a number of unique, high impact effects. "Their faux laser effects worked well too," he says. "Overall I was very pleased with how they performed and would certainly use and recommend them again." Ten Snipers spaced on the upstage truss were aimed downstage and were joined in the rig by ten Elation Platinum Beam Extremes that were spaced throughout overhead trusses.

The Sniper is Elation's new award-winning hybrid beam, scanner, and laser simulator. Powered by the new 132W Philips MSD Platinum lamp, the Sniper delivers an intense 45,010 lux at 16.4' (5m) and gives designers 14 dichroic colors and 17 static gobos to choose from. Programmer for the kickoff celebration Eric Barth commented, "The Snipers had great punch amongst the rig full of Platinum Extremes and other higher wattage profile fixtures. Their color wheel and gobo wheels are fast but nothing compared to their mirror speed. It's so fast you get this great faux laser effect, a perfect effect for when you are looking for something different. The crowd on the dance floor loved when we would hit that, creating this great ceiling of light above their heads."

FOX's VP of special events, Josh Mark, commented, "The Snipers were certainly a great high-energy addition to the stage lighting for Flo Rida."

The FIFA Women's World Cup kicks off in Canada in June and FOX Sports will broadcast all 52 matches including the final on July 5.

See Elation Professional at PLASA Focus: Orlando, February 17 - 18.