The LDI 2014 Awards for Best Booth Design and Best Debuting Products Of The Year were presented in an awards ceremony at 5:00pm on Saturday, November 22 on the LDI show floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
And the winners are:
The Paky Award
Pasquale Quadri was a formidable presence in research and development in our industry, dating back decades in his work with Clay Paky. It was he who conceived most of the Clay Paky products that you know, from way back to the Astrodisco in the 70s to today’s Sharpy and B-EYE.
That we lost him in September will leave a terrible void in our community, for many personally, and for many more technologically, but I think designer Peter Morse put it beautifully when he said: “He has left behind a driving force in the field of lighting technology that will not dim in the least for the foreseeable future.”
It is our to announce a new award, The Paky, presented annually at LDI in honor of Mr. Quadri to recognize exceptional contributions to the field of technology.
The first annual Paky Award is awarded to Mr. Pasquale Quadri in memoriam for his many, many contributions to advancements in technology in our industry. Accepting in honor of Mr. Quadri were Pio Nahum and Francesco Romangnoli for Clay Paky and Bob Gordon for ACT Lighting.
Best Booth Awards
Best Small Booth Award
First time exhibitors, ModTruss and Showman Fabricators were awarded for an inventive display reminiscent of an erector set, yet entirely modern with a patented new truss product. Patrick Santini and Robert Usdin accepted the award.
Best Large Booth Award
Elation won for its rich display, including more than 40 of the company's new Sniper fixtures, an entertaining light show, and easy-to-navigate, inviting space. Eric Loader, Esteban DeLaTorre, and Jonathan Hoglin accepted the award.
Most Creative Use of Light in a Booth
ACT Lighting and Clay Paky were awarded for a clear demo of new products followed by a fantastic light show designed by Mark Butts. Brian Dowd and Massimo Piccinini accepted the award.
Best Product Presentation
The award went to first-time exhibitor, Epsilon, debuting several dozen new audio and lighting products at their booth in an attractive and informative display. Shannon Hartz accepted the award.
Debuting Product of the Year Awards
Clear Com's FreeSpeak II
Sound
The winner in the sound category is ClearCom’s FreeSpeak II‑ a revolutionary next step in the field of wireless full-duplex communication and an exciting improvement in the areas of reliability, expandability, and wireless range. Bob Boster accepted the award.
Grid Show Systems Tour Node 8
Honorable mention goes to RC4’s Magic Series 3 DMX4Dim, a universal tool kit for wireless DMX integration. And this year’s winning widget is Grid Show Systems Tour Node 8 and its exciting fault-finding feature, which identifies a break in signal with a graphic representation of the channel and location of the fault within a few feet. Charles Gervais accepted the award.
DSSP's eSquib effects
Honorable mention goes to Rosco’s Vapor, a new line of fog machines, the next step in ease of use, serviceability, and creative control of atmospherics. The second honorable mention for effects goes to Antari’s Smaze F-7, an all in one touring atmosphere effect machine and a full functional haze and fog machine with integrated focusable fan.
The winner is DSSP, for the eSquib effects system that provides a solution to a problem nobody knew they could fix. Using pyro-electric Electric Solid Propellants, this product allows for multiple firings from an individual squib up to 200 cycles. Wayne Sawka accepted the award.
ModTruss
Staging & Rigging
Honorable mention goes to the Doughty Engineering Modular Rigging System, a clean solution for tail downs, lighting ladders, and drop arms.
And the staging and rigging winner is first-time exhibitor, ModTruss, a radical shift in staging, with a new vision for how trussing connects and works as an integrated system. Patrick Santini and Robert Usdin accepted the award.
Projection
d3 4x4 Pro
Honorable mentions goes to SHAPE, a free software tool from Green Hippo, an exciting evolution in projection mapping.
And the winning Projection product is d3’s 4x4 Pro, a revolutionary step in hardware performance and software architecture. Winning software features include real-time tracking via the BlackTrax driver, and the never before seen availability of procedural-based Dynamic Soft Edge. Ash Nehru accepted the award.
Interactive Technologies CueServer 2
Lighting
In the lighting category there are two awards—one for control and one for fixtures— as well as a few honorable mentions.
In the lighting control category, the winner is Interactive Technologies CueServer 2 for a massive upgrade from prior art to a fully functional and integrated lighting and show controller. Rob Johnston accepted the award.
ETC's Source 4 Lustr Series 2
In the lighting fixture category, the first honorable mention goes to the Elation Sniper for reintroducing & revitalizing the Scanner in our industry. The second honorable mention goes to the Clay Paky Mythos, for providing a high-quality, feature-rich fixture with great optics.
And the winner in the lighting fixture category is ETC’s Source 4 Lustr series 2— a true game changer, and the first affordable LED source perfect for a complete LED theater renovation or new installation. The emitter and brightness improvements make it a whole new light. The judges would also like to recognize ETC for developing a significant increase in the way lighting designers think about and manipulate color with its EOS Family of consoles. The judges would like to acknowledge ETC for its dedicated commitment this solution. Fred Foster and Matt Kerr accepted the award.