was a stylised action comedy that would see the Luminator used to do everything from large colour swathes on structures for night exteriors, to fi lling in for spacelights in an overhead softbox situation. Versatile – yes, easy to manage - no. It was with this application, The Scene Snipers would run into one of the biggest drawbacks to the unit. They are bulky and heavy as [anything]. Weighing in at just over 40lbs, they are diffi cult to rig to a grid as a one-man operation. Not impossible... but diffi cult. Once the light is rigged in the air, and for the most part fi xed, this is where the Luminator really shines. With the aforementioned Wireless DMX capabilities, and a Luminair system provided with the rental, changing looks and programming effects into a scene are as simple as a swipe of the fi nger. Gone are the days of pulling out a ladder every time you need to tweak a light…. Need a red party gel for mood lighting? Done. Need a little less, or a little more? Done. Need it to be tungsten because the ‘day exterior’ scene just changed to a ‘night interior’ scene? Done. Need the cops to show up, in the middle of a thunderstorm, while you are watching? Done! Overall, the Bright Shots preformed admirably. Line of sight was never an issue, and the range of the system was limited only by the power of the WIFI signal. They are completely silent, and put out no heat when in operation. They consume next to nothing, power-wise, and, true to word, we had no problem stringing four of them into one 20-amp circuit. Nothing’s perfect For the next shoot, Cherry Pop, the lights were presented with an entirely new set of challenges - namely, more than 20 pre-set looks in three different stages. The user interface, in conjunction with a Luminair program, made quick work of changing looks in between, and even during, scenes. However, making adjustments manually ‘on the fl y’, proved to be a bit of a headache. The manual interface is just not intuitively designed at all. There is no simple ‘enter’ button; instead you must hold down the ‘1’ button on a nondescript telephone-style keypad, mounted into the back of the fi xture. Without reading the manual. or being instructed personally, a casual user would have little luck navigating the system. This could be necessary for any number of reasons, most notably, a bad antenna on the unit itself. This little thing would prove to be on of the most obvious design fl aws in the Luminator. The antennas that make the wireless DMX compatibility possible are fl imsy, and fi xed to the exterior of the unit, making L&D more probable than not. Function and versatility are not a problem with the unit; they perform just as advertised. However the aforementioned design fl aws, (weight, user interface, and antenna) make it a situation-specifi c rental in its current state. With some simple tweaks, which we are assured are in the pipeline, it could become a commonplace fi xture in any gaffer’s bag of tricks. The Luminator’s barn doors and lens size are standard, which is great, but the availability of the lenses from the rental house was an additional problem. Full sets of lenses were not available for each fi xture, making additional sub-rentals necessary to make the light fully operational. Diehard, Orwellian conspiracy theory electricians will argue that LEDs don’t have, and will never have, the ‘poop’, and write them off. And while it may be true, in their current incarnations, the majority of LED units do not have the punch and throw (which equals ‘poop’) of their traditional tungsten or daylight unit counterparts, that is not to say they are not without their advantages. Power consumption, wireless capability, lack of heat or sound, and of course the range of colour temperatures for a single unit make this light a force to be reckoned with. We are certainly looking forward to future incarnations of the Luminator that promise to be less bulky, and even more user friendly. The folks at Bright Shot are also working on several new prototypes to be demo’ed in the coming year and, in this tumultuous sea of change, we can’t wait to suffer the slings and arrows of all the new LED tech to come. ■ to LED, or not to LED: that is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of new technologies, or take arms against a sea of change. And by opposing, be ended by them?” - Knot Shakespeare 66 • MARCH <strong>2016</strong> • www.total-lighting.com
AN MMG PUBLISHING TITLE EIN FACHMAGAZIN VON MMG PUBLISHING sourcing ELECTRONICS tel: +44 (0)1892 613 400 fax: +44 (0)1892 613 402 www.electronics-sourcing.co.uk global media for purchasing professionals our publications include: ELECTRONICS sourcing FEBRUARY <strong>2016</strong> ELECTRONICS sourcing FEBRUAR <strong>2016</strong> DEUTSCHLAND (D-A-CH) Electronics Sourcing & Electrical Sourcing (UK Only) are publications for purchasing professionals who source components and associated services. Published globally to UK & Ireland, North America, Europe and Germany they reach over 137,000 purchasing professionals who are looking to develop their buying knowledge, gain an understanding of the best places to buy and learn how to obtain the right products at the right prices. For further information, please visit www.electronics-sourcing.com or ring our head office on +44 (0)1892 613 400
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