“They’re every bit what I hoped that they would be, I absolutely love them,” comments KCETLink Lighting Director Roger Dalton on Prism Projection’s RevEAL LED instruments.
KCETLink, a national independent, nonprofit, digital and broadcast network built its new facilities at The Pointe, located in the Burbank media/entertainment district adjacent to NBC Studios. As a part of moving into a LEED Gold-certified building, the station wanted to incorporate new technologies and new equipment and resources for production efficiency. All of its studios are 100% lit with LED lighting technology that helps KCETLink realize annual savings by significantly cutting down the studio temperatures and eliminating the use of tungsten lamps. A major portion of the LED lighting package features Prism Projection RevEAL luminaires including Prism Profiles, Studio.2, and Studio.3 Fresnels.
The main studio, Studio A, is a 2,500 sq. ft. traditional television studio with a 16-foot high grid and a full 360°black cyc and white scrim. The studio is home to a variety of programs including news, talk, and game shows, as well as being a rental space for television and film clients. The building had already installed power and HVAC systems that lacked capacity for a traditional tungsten lighting package and dimming system. Installing an all LED lighting package that would fit into the existing power and cooling systems would be more cost effective.
As the organization began planning its new facility, Roger Dalton, the Lighting Director for KCETLink specified that the lighting system had to be flexible with the ability for the lighting rig to respond to last minute needs and changes. “As a designer, I look for lamps to be versatile,” explains Dalton. “I’ve run into problems, especially with studio rental clients, of not getting all of the information from outside production designers. When you don’t have all of the information ahead of time, you need lamps that are versatile; that can do different things—which is what I find valuable about the Prism line-up.” Dalton currently has 12 RevEAL Profiles, 12 Studio.2 Fresnels, and 10 Studio.3 Fresnels in his inventory.
Dalton uses the Studio.2 Fresnels for multiple purposes ranging from set lights to keylights. “I also use them for audience lighting,” he says. “I primarily use the Studio.3s for keylights, backlights, and back cross light. I don’t use the Studio.3s for set lights; they’re mainly for use on the talent. I use the Profiles for every single application except for a fill light. I’ve lit curtains, used them on some set pieces, projected logos with them; multiple different purposes. They are very, very versatile.”
According to Dalton, the Studio Fresnels offer a number of key features that support his lighting. “With the Studio.2s, I like the ability to enhance the white range,” he says. “If I’m dealing with people with a red complexion or amber complexion, I can make some adjustments and get them to where I want them to be. I also like the fact that the unit works well with different types of diffusion and I like the ability to change colors. The Studio.3 has such a good, flat field that I quite often use it as a backlight and a back cross light, but I’ve also used it as a front keylight and have had really good results with it. It has such a nice field and works well with different qualities and grades of diffusion, which makes it more valuable to me than some other lamps on the market.”
In addition to being able to add his favorite diffusions to the LED Fresnels, the barndoors are also one of his favorite features. “The barndoors are very, very good. I’m really happy with them,” Dalton says. “I believe the Prism barndoors are superior to anything else on the market.” The Studio.3 Fresnel is designed to behave just like a traditional Fresnel, with a wide variable beam angle (10°-90°) and the ability to shape the beam using standard barndoors.
Dalton also uses the RevEAL Profile for a lot of different roles in his lighting designs. “I like the ability to change lenses with the different lens options and that I don’t actually have to pull a physical lens tube out of the fixture like you have to with other ellipsoidals,” he says. “I also like the fact that I have the flexibility to use a lot of patterns; even acetate patterns. We’ve had some pretty good luck with them.” The RevEAL Profile is a full color changing, high-CRI, LED luminaire with an output of 16,000 lumens and a variable CCT range of 2,800–6,500K.
Designers are specifying the Prism RevEAL Profile for a number of applications where they have previously used tungsten-based ellipsoidal spotlights especially for longer-throw applications. “I’m impressed with the performance of the Profile, which is very, very good,” Dalton says. “I like its power. I’ve used it for 75-foot to 80-foot throws and it was more than adequate. I’ve used it as a keylight at those distances and it worked really, really well for me. People have said to me, ‘That isn’t going to work at those throws,’ but they do. They’re close to being perfect.”
“All three of the lamps are every bit what I hoped that they would be,” says Dalton. “I absolutely love them. I like the fact that it’s so easy to change them to standalone control. They’re easy to operate as far as changing the color temperature and getting many different colors. Probably more than anything, is that the company is really happy with them. The Prism units have exceeded our expectations and I’m very happy with the lights.”
With the RevEAL line of luminaires, Prism Projection has brought to market the true state-of-the-art LED lighting instruments that responds to the needs of designers for higher output and light quality while also advancing the applications of LED technology. Seeing is Believing™
For more information about Prism Projection, Inc. and its RevEAL series products, please visit www.prismprojection.com.
About Prism Projection
Prism Projection is a privately held Iowa-based manufacturer of solid-state LED lighting products. Prism's core principle is the design and manufacture of LED lighting products that exceed the expectations of lighting and design professionals; advancing LED technology without sacrificing light quality. RevEAL products are used to illuminate television studios, film productions, theatre, events, theme parks, worship facilities, architecture, and more without compromise. All Prism Projection products are made in the USA.
About KCETLink
KCETLink, formed by the merger between KCET and Link Media, is a national independent, nonprofit, digital and broadcast network that provides high-quality, culturally diverse programming designed to engage the public in innovative, entertaining and transformative ways. With a commitment to independent perspectives, smart global entertainment, local communities, and opportunities for engagement and social action, KCETLink depicts people and the world through a lens unavailable elsewhere in U.S. media. A viewer-supported 501(c)(3) organization, KCETLink content is distributed via satellite on DirecTV 375 and DISH Network 9410, in Southern and Central California via broadcast, as well as through various digital delivery systems. KCET and Link TV are services of KCETLink. For additional information about KCET and Link TV productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and community events, please visit kcet.org or linktv.org.