NEW YORK -- (For Immediate Release) – Paul Litchfield is no Thomas Edison, but the Massachusetts resident will go down in history as a great inventor, at least as far as the athletic shoe industry is concerned. In 1989, Litchfield created the Reebok PUMP!, an inflatable running shoe that redefined footwear aesthetics, was embraced by athletes from virtually every sport, and became one of the most prominent urban fashion icons of the ’90s.
Now, some quarter of a century later, Reebok is relaunching the legendary running shoe with glitzy events, such as the one that took place in October at an Insta Fury Pop Up Shop space in Midtown Manhattan. The event featured an appearance by rap powerhouse and Reebok endorsee Future, portraits by world renowned sneaker artist Steph Morris from the UK, and a massive collection of new PUMP! shoes. Accenting the proceedings with vivid colors, sharp beams and crisp gobos was high-output lighting from a collection of CHAUVET Professional fixtures.
Ben Danielowski of Boum Creative of New York used eight Rogue R2 Wash and six Rogue R1 Spot fixtures, as well as four Next NXT-1 panels and eight Nexus 4X1 linear fixtures to light the Reebok event – fixtures, he says, he chose because they combined low power draw and compact size with intense brightness and vivid colors.
“We got a call from the crew at Chem Creative asking our company Boum Creative to come in and support this event with lighting,” said Danielowski. “Since this is a pop up shop venue, we wanted a quick, clean setup. Yet at the same time, we didn’t want to sacrifice anything in the way of impact and excitement. We selected the Chauvet fixtures for this project because they have a small footprint but still pack a large punch.”
The eight Rogue R2 Washes in Danielowski’s rig were flown four apiece on the horizontal truss structures that were positioned to either side of the PUMP! shoe display. Using the RGBW fixture’s wide zoom range, he was able ensure even wash coverage over the entire display, highlighting the shoes as one would cars at an auto show. Dressing up the structures that held the wash fixtures were the Nexus 4X1 units, positioned diagonally in V-shaped configurations.
Danielowski flew the Rogue R1 Spots on center truss structures positioned to either side of the display area. Drawing on this fixture’s dual gobo wheels and seven interchangeable gobos, he swept the area with break out patterns at different points throughout the event. Coordinated with the moving gobos were chases and flashing patterns from the Next NXT-1 panels that were flown on ladder truss.
“We used the gobo patterns and NXTs to create a little extra visual excitement,” said Danielowski. “The idea was to convey a special event atmosphere. It isn’t every day that you have a relaunch of such an iconic product, so we wanted to underscore that with our lighting.”
About CHAUVET Professional
CHAUVET Professional offers innovative professional lighting fixtures for the production and touring market as well as permanent installation in theaters, hospitality venues, cruise ships, clubs, television and architainment applications. For more information, please visit www.chauvetprofessional.com
About Chauvet
Chauvet, headquartered in the USA, is a leading global manufacturer of professional luminaires, truss and related equipment, fulfilling the needs of various industry sectors. Chauvet has four main brands: CHAUVET DJ, CHAUVET Professional, ILUMINARC and TRUSST. They share Chauvet’s unified strategy to pursue every market segment where it has a competitive advantage in terms of value, innovation and performance, with an emphasis on LED technology. For more information, please visit www.chauvetlighting.com