QolorFLEX® SHoW DMX Neo® 4x2.5A Dimmer (Legacy Product)

Architect Dore + Whittier was submitting a design for the Robin Hood look to the IIDA Fashion Show and reached out to Port Lighting to find out how they could best integrate lighting into the costume. The theme of the show was “portals”, and the design used interior design materials such as jute webbing and burlap from flooring tiles, rockwool insulation, and laser cut pieces of cork flooring. They sought a way to illuminate the jacket and boots by integrating LED tape.

Port Lighting used their LED installation experience from interior or theatrical projects to craft an LED and dimming solution that could look beautiful while moving and on camera. The lighting team oversaw the testing of LEDs and dimmers to use with the outfit, and the drapery department sewed and assembled the outfit.

The lighting team from Port Lighting used four QolorFLEX wireless DMX Dimmers, one for each shinguard, one in the back plate, and one placed in a custom-sewn pocket on the right side of jacket, each controlled wirelessly with a single SHoW DMX SHoW Baby 6 device with an external panel antenna mounted backstage, giving the model free movement over the course of a two-minute choreographed walk down the runway.

“We went with QolorFLEX wireless DMX Dimmers because we needed something that was small enough to integrate into the costume, could be controlled wirelessly, and had a strong dimming curve so it wouldn’t flicker on camera. QolorFLEX delivered.” - Ron Kuszmar, VP, Architectural and Theatrical Lighting, Port Lighting Systems

With a SHoW Baby 6 wireless DMX system already in place, the creative team for Freaky Friday was looking for a way to create an urban Chicago setting using bright, colour-changing LED products that could be controlled wirelessly. With limited transition time between scenes and a cast including 55 middle schoolers and an additional 45 students working backstage, the ideal solution would not only add dimension and visual interest, but also require minimal relocation after installation, and be simple and safe to use in a high traffic area.

The script called for an oversized hourglass that would be “broken” in half on stage. This presented one of the largest challenges of the show to the creative team: Designing a prop that could create a magical effect, while using two separate lighting and wireless DMX control systems.

City Theatrical’s QolorFLEX NuNeon was selected as the lighting solution to outline the Chicago skyline that spanned the 40-foot-wide stage. The skyline was set in two layers, one at each wireless DMX controlled portal, to add dimension with colour-changing RGB LEDs that have the look and brightness of traditional neon, but with easier setup and wireless DMX dimming control

The outfits have been designed to complement the circular main stage at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria, which is hosting this year's contest. The stage contains a 30m-wide LED screen and 300 metres of LED strips.

Electro Velvet have spoken of their delight at their costumes, saying: "The whole Eurovision experience has been illuminating for us, and we can't wait to literally light up on stage in front of the entire world - it's going to be electric!"

Guy Freeman, BBC's head of delegation of Eurovision, added: "The creative team behind the concept have been working exceptionally hard to ensure that the United Kingdom has a visually stunning and memorable performance on the night of the grand final, and we can't wait for the world to see it."