LITTLE ROCK, AR – (For Immediate Release) - Lighting not only illuminates; in the right hands it can also transform a room into a wonderland that immerses the senses and stirs the imagination. This was beautifully demonstrated recently by Chris Pritchard, Jonathan Chandler and the CWP Productions team at the Arkansas Governor’s Ball. Retained by the Republican Party, they worked with event designer Shayla Copa’s concept to turn the 18,362 sq. ft. Wally Allen Ballroom at the Statehouse Convention Center into a stunning panorama of crystalline whites and deep serene blues with the help of 120 CHAUVET Professional Rogue lighting fixtures, supplied by 4Wall Entertainment Nashville.
Using 120 Rogue R1 Wash lighting fixtures, CWP Productions washed the room’s walls and tables in deeply rich shades of blue. “The R1s were placed on both the mid-audience truss grid and the far downstage grid,” said Chandler. “We positioned each Rogue R1 fixture individually to ensure the tables received a full, smooth wash, and the trim height was about 22’, which was perfect. One of the things I like most about R1 fixtures is the clean, even color mixing we can achieve with them which, when coupled with their outstanding zoom feature, made them the best choice for this design.”
Complementing the enchanting blue color scheme were frosty white tinged “light trees” located between the tables. The glow from these scenic elements, coupled with the row of white candles on each table, set off elegantly against the blue light from the Rogue lighting fixtures, creating a harmoniously blended panorama.
A ChamSys MagicQ MQ80 console controlled the lighting. “This was our first true console,” Chandler says. “We were no stranger to the ChamSys platform, having owned multiple dongles and wings in the past, but for this event we needed something more robust. The control surface with the enlarged screen, combined with the universe count, was a huge selling feature for us, and the console performed beautifully.”
Although the atmosphere created for the Governor’s Ball was relaxed and flowing, setting up the lighting system was a time-pressured process. With a short window between other events for setup, CWP Productions had to run a tight ship.
“I led our core team and brought in contractors to fill in and support the event,” said Chandler. “We also worked closely with the venue and the diverse vendors who provided their services to make this ball a success.”
Despite an almost 48-hour straight, round-the-clock load-in, the CWP Productions team kept a good attitude, never quit, solved every problem thrown at them. “We could not have pulled off a transformation of this magnitude without the support of Chris Pritchard, the owner of CWP Productions; our LDs, Jim Cozad, Jeremiah Wolfe and Katharine Harmon; our L2s Bill McGarvin, Bill Moore and John Dale,” said Chandler. “We all worked together to turn this vision into reality.”
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