Vari-Lite Beams Over M&M's Choice

When M&M's announced that voters worldwide had selected purple as the next official color for the hard-shell chocolate candy, lighting designer Esteban Lima dialed in the CMY color-mixing on 10 Vari*Lite® VL1000™ ERS fixtures and bathed the New York Metropolitan Pavilion in a purple haze. The event was produced by DSA Productions. High Output Inc. provided the Vari*Lite automated lighting equipment.

The event was broadcast live on the Internet and featured musical performances by Wyclef Jean and Ashanti. Prior to revealing the results of the vote, the set was colored in purple, pink, and aqua, the three choices from which voters had to select. Once the winner was revealed, the set was washed with purple.

Lima used the shutter features and zoom capabilities of the automated ellipsoidal reflector spotlights to light around the room's many columns and other architectural nuances. The large white set featured numerous flat panels with uncolored M&M's candy designs. The VL1000 ERS units were used primarily for lighting the hardwood floor.

"The fixtures worked beautifully; they had a great zoom that was even all the way," Lima said. "I loved the color temperature. It looked great with an all-white set and the hardwood floors." Everything worked really well with the zoom and the shutters. I had been eager to use the VL1000 ERS. I wish I would have had more time to use them."