ColorCommand fixtures went to college and got a good report card for outstanding performance. Texas Christian University's Theatre Department, in Fort Worth, TX, recently used eight of the dichroic color-changing par/washlights, along with a Hog® 500 lighting console, to light a stage production of On the Town.
Michael Skinner, assistant professor of lighting design at TCU, directed the students in their use of lighting, particularly the ColorCommands. "All of the musical numbers used the brilliant color washes of the ColorCommands to convey the mood and atmosphere of the piece," Skinner says.
One of Skinner's favorite features is the beam-shaping ability, allowing the fixture to move from a tight to a wide wash. "This replaces having to have a supply of various lamps to fit your PAR 64. You move into the theatre, hang your lights and find that the trim has to change because the drop was a little shorter or taller than they thought, or the fly space is a little different," Skinner says. "Instead of raising your trim and then having to change out the lamps to get a narrower throw to retain the brightness you wanted, with ColorCommand it is simply an adjustment of the beam angle via your console. You retain the brightness and get the amount of coverage you need without having to settle for too much or too little."
He adds, "The ColorCommand can change the colors in a moment with little to no discernible noise, or you can do a slow color fade over with smooth changing light. Gone are the days when you had to take the lights out, write in a follow cue to change the scroller colors and have another follow cue to bring the lights back up. With the ColorCommand, you simply tell it what color you want and how fast to change. You don’t have to worry about the sound of scrollers zipping through to the color at the end of a string or squeaking their way slowly to the next one. Changes are always fast (or slow), quiet and accurate. Precision is a wonderful thing and with these lights you have it."