UK - A squad of Clay Paky Sharpys proved the must-have gadgets for lighting designer Nick Gray at the latest Bond film premiere party at London's iconic Tate Modern.
Gray, of London-based lighting creator Renegade, specified 24 pure-beam Sharpys to create a high impact welcome for 1600 A-list guests at the Turbine Hall party to celebrate the release of Sam Mendes's James Bond film Skyfall.
The Sharpys were positioned pointing directly toward to entrance, shooting piercing shafts of light down The Bridge at arriving guests, taking advantage of Sharpys brightness usually achievable only with far greater wattages than its 189W rating, and the fixture's ability to produce a perfectly parallel, laser-like beam with an incredible output of 59,760 lx at 20m.
"I've been a long term user of Clay Paky luminaires for these sort of shows as well as for all my Kasabian concerts," says Gray. "The Sharpys have taken lighting to another level with their vivid, dynamic beam which stays so continuous at long distances and gives such a great effect."
Gray specified a further 14 Sharpys to liven up the far end of the Turbine Hall, which worked alongside 14 Clay Paky Alpha Wash 1500s. To dazzle the exterior of the main building, Gray rigged six Alpha Beam 1500s - the most powerful luminaire belonging to the special category of fully automated ACL fixtures, generating a solid, super-concentrated parallel beam for very long-throw projections. Alpha Beam 1500 can also become as a spotlight for long distance focused projections and perform as a good narrow-angle washlight.
"The Turbine Hall was an amazing environment to work in and already highly atmospheric, so the real challenge was to add requisite 007 qualities like mystery, action and intrigue to the setting, and to further wow those who had already been blown away by experiencing the movie premiere," continues Gray.
Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Penelope Cruz, and Dame Judi Dench were just a handful of the stars living it up at the party on London's South Bank.
