Philips Selecon PL Series LED Luminaires Complete Lighting Renovation at Marshall Fundamental Secondary School

	PL Profile1 LED from Philips Selecon

Committed to the pursuit of excellence, the Marshall Fundamental Secondary School in Pasadena, California, has been recognized for its outstanding music programs and has been also been named one of the "Best High Schools" in the United States. With its rich architecture, the complex houses a 1,200-seat auditorium used for a wide range of performing arts activities, but with a lighting system that was in need of a full renovation. Working with Forman and Associates, George Kwiter was asked to oversee the renovation and to give the school the best system possible, he chose 18 PLprofile1, 12 PLfresnel1, and eight PLcyc1 LED luminaires from Philips Selecon.

"This was a retrofit application for a school that was originally built in the 1920's," began Kwiter, project manager, Pasadena Unified School District. "The stage lighting was an older system that was beginning to fail in an auditorium that is used for the orchestra, choir, theatre, and general assemblies. We needed to create a system that would be ideal for all of the applications and since the school district is moving towards the use of LED lighting, we decided to go with a system that featured 38 PL Series LED luminaires."

When Kwiter first began looking at the fixtures he would use in the lighting renovation, it was a product demonstration from Philips Entertainment representatives Forman and Associates that provided the ideal solution.

Kwiter explained, "I first learned about the PL Series when Forman and Associates did a demo for the staff at the theatre, and from the outset everyone was very impressed with the capabilities and adaptability of the luminaires. So when it came to selecting the system for the auditorium, we knew we wanted to go with the PLprofile1, PLfresnel1, and PLcyc1 LED luminaires."

The PLprofile1 LED luminaire is a variable beam profile that produces precise beam control and pattern projection from a high output beam. Available in 18- to 34-degree or 24- to 44-degree beam angles, the PLprofile1 delivers the performance of a 500W profile fixture with a maximum power consumption of only 150W. With almost Infinite color choices from the RGBW engine and supporting color temperatures from 2,700K to 5,600K in white, the PLProfile1 LED delivers exceptional color and projection quality in a compact, robust luminaire.

"Another of the main reasons we needed to renovate the system was because the Marshall Fundamental School will be creating the Academy for Creative Industries in the fall of 2014," continued Kwiter. "The theatrical arts instruction will be at a very high level and they needed the most up-to-date lighting equipment for the students to learn on."

A cyclorama, the PLcyc1 LED luminaire delivers smooth and even color in a compact, light-weight design using only 120W to illuminate drops up to 16' high. Each luminaire can replace the equivalent of a traditional four-color, 500W Cyc lights and multiple units can be powered from a single circuit using the company's convenient PowerCON cabling system along with standard DMX cables.

Kwiter admitted, "An added bonus to the installation was that we knew we would be saving a lot of energy because we were going from a very old non-efficient system to a completely new LED system. We have done several productions so far with new system and everyone is very happy with the PL Series LED luminaires."

The company says the PLfresnel1 LED luminaire is renowned for its color rendering across the color spectrum, and also for its warm and cool whites. Delivering an adjustable beam with a soft edge that is easily blended with adjacent beams to provide an even wash across a stage, the PLfresnel1 creates no irritating color shadows, ensuring the fixtures are ideal for theatre, small studio, and display lighting applications.

"My favorite aspect of the new lighting system is the simplicity of its use, plus it's extremely energy efficient," concluded Kwiter. "The theatre manager and students using the system can now achieve almost any color they wish with the simple push of a button."

Forman and Associates can be reached at http://www.formanandassociates.com/.