Success For The First Ever Ellipsoidal Leko Shootout

BOSTON, 27 MARCH 2017 – In mid-March, 50 lighting industry professionals pulled on their boots and rode their horses over mounds of plowed snow to Boston to see the first ever Ellipsoidal Leko Shootout produced by USITT and hosted by High Output. Seven companies brought a total of 21 fixtures each hoping to best their competitors. High Output was happy to show off their new satellite shop and sound stage in Boston.

The event was brain-child of Steven Rosen FIALD, President & Creative Director at Available Light, Dan Jentzen, Director of Education at High Output, and Anthony Phelps, Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts at UMass Boston and USITT representative. Spanning a wide spectrum of lighting professionals, the event was attended by Architectural lighting designers, Theatre LDs, Film/TV lighting directors, university educators & students, sales reps and manufacturers. Event assistance was provided by Brighter Boston, an organization dedicated to providing urban teenagers with professional internships in technical theater.  “Dan, Anthony and I are dedicated to serving lighting design education,” said Mr. Rosen, “because of this, we wanted the event to be a unifying experience, not a competitive one. There was no ‘winner’. We all walked away knowing more about each fixture than we would in the vacuum of a sales pitch.”

“We know that LED lighting is significantly more efficacious than legacy halogen sources, but from color quality to dimming to mechanics, we wanted to demystify the performance and attributes of LED-driven ellipsoidal spotlights,” Rosen continued. Fixtures were separated into three groups: Tungsten, which were designed to look the most like halogen lamps; Daylight with tune-able white; and Color-changing. Shown one-by-one, the basics from each fixtures’ cut sheet was announced before demonstrating each feature. “We started each lamp at what the manufacturer considered ‘white,’ reminding us all how dramatically different white light can really be. From there, we went through shutter/gobo quality, beam quality, center beam intensity, color temperature, CCI, dUV, and CRI,” said Mr. Jentzen.

“This shootout gave us the opportunity not only to compare fixtures to one another but also to understand real time performance vs. published data,” added Mr. Phelps. Manufacturers and sales reps were more than happy to participate. “It not only gave them the opportunity to show their fixtures to 50 diverse lighting designers in one shot, it also gave them the chance to see where their fixtures stacked up against the competition,” said Jessica Krometis, IALD New England Chapter Coordinator and Available Light designer, “We hope to see more events like this that attract a wide-ranging group of lighting professionals. The conversations were, well, illuminating!”

About USITT

The United States Institute for Theatre Technology, Inc. (USITT) connects performing arts design and technology communities to ensure a vibrant dialog among practitioners, educators, and students. www.usitt.org

About High Output

High Output, Inc. is a premier supplier of production services and equipment for film, television, theatre, and events, with offices in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, Georgia, and South Carolina. Founded in 1986 with an emphasis on state-of-the-art technology and superior customer service, High Output supports feature film, television, theatre, live music, political events, corporate meetings, fundraisers, parties, and much more. The firm also designs and installs technologically advanced permanent lighting, AV, and rigging systems in venues of all kinds, and operates five sound stages for film and television production. For more information, please visit www.highoutput.com.

About Available Light

Available Light is an innovative, award-winning Lighting Design firm specializing in the fields of Museum Exhibition, Architecture and Corporate Theater. Our comprehensive services address the full design process from master-planning to specification to final lighting tune-up. Delivering sustainable solutions for compelling, high performance environments is central to our mission. www.availablelight.com