The SeaChanger Nemo Profile is a color-changing ellipsoidal that combines a LIFI® solid-state plasma source from Luxim with an ETC Source Four® front-end barrel, so it works with an assortment of Source Four lens tubes. We caught up with some users to hear what they have to say.
David K. Warfel, co-director of LEVEL21 at Krannert Center, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has four Nemos for the Armory Theatre, a student black-box theatre and the university’s first non-incandescent venue. "I needed a profile/ellipsoidal equivalent for a non-incandescent theatre retrofit," says Warfel. "The Nemo promised to dramatically reduce the wattage requirements while offering a good white source and full color mixing. I was also interested in the Source Four optics and ability to add patterns, filters, etc. In my plot, which is primarily LEDs, the Nemos were invaluable for lighting faces. I also like that there appeared to be virtually no warm up time. And you can’t beat the 180W draw [for the lamp; full system is closer to 285W]. It is also very quiet."
Warfel is frank about some of the issues that he has had with the units. "It needs to ship with a product manual and profile," he says. "It may now, but I got some of the early ones. It could use a shutter—it won’t do fast blackouts, as they’ve limited the motor speed on the mechanical dimming flag—and it needs to dim to 0% without adding a CMY blackout. The blackout flag leaks light."
Cindy Limauro, professor of design at Carnegie Mellon University, had some students working with the Nemo, using it to light a railroad bridge in downtown Pittsburgh. "I was very impressed, in general, with the intensity, throw distance, quality, and color of light," she says.
One of Limauro’s MFA students, Russell Gilbert, worked with the Nemo in a couple of different capacities, including on the bridge. "It was used in conjunction with ETC’s Enhanced Definition Lens," he says. "The light and color output over a long distance onto a black bridge was very impressive. I was also involved when we demoed the Nautilus unit [an outdoor version of the Nemo] and have actually purchased one to install on a campus building. Besides great light and color output, we are pleased with the little-to-no heat that is present at the gate of the unit. We plan to use the Nautilus to project the center’s logo and having the ability to use transparencies will be great."
For the full story, check out the April issue of Live Design.