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

Inspired by the neon artwork being created and displayed in New York in the 1960’s, the scenic and lighting designers for The Flamingo Kid at the Hartford Stage collaborated to design an “El Flamingo Beach Club” sign that would establish the setting of the show by hanging directly above the stage. It was designed to be a featured piece, and was one of the most important scenic elements of the production.

To maintain the integrity of the era for which it was designed, the designers sought to find a traditional neon replacement product that would provide the brightness and clarity of a neon sign and not only look good on stage, but also emit the same kind of glow that real neon does. They considered LED-based lighting solutions to avoid the delicacy of installation and maintenance of traditional neon, and incorporate the ability to change colors and dim the sign during the show.

City Theatrical’s QolorFLEX NuNeon RGB was selected as the lighting solution for the show’s “El Flamingo” sign, based on its ability to replicate traditional neon’s brightness and glow, change colors, and dim easily in combination with other QolorFLEX products

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, color-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 color-changing RGB LEDs that have the look and brightness of traditional neon, but with easier setup and wireless DMX dimming control

As their seventh time creating the holiday windows for Macy’s Herald Square, the creative team from Standard Transmission worked closely with Macy’s Visual Merchandising department to develop a design concept that tied in with Macy’s national holiday 2019 marketing campaign, “Believe in Wonder”. This year’s aesthetic was meant to have a high end look and feel, using more accent lighting and neon as a central element.

With six 15’ x 8’ x 6’ windows to fill, the creative team was tasked with reducing the scale of their inspirations, like Times Square and opera in New York, to fit inside these “small stages” and tell a story. Half of the window designs required extensive use of neon, and they sought an LED neon replacement product that could bend easily, be bright enough to transition from day to night, and could be programmed to change color upon button press by passersby.

City Theatrical’s QolorFLEX NuNeon was selected to provide the brightness and interactivity the team was looking for. Three of the windows called for a total of 32 reels of RGB and 11 reels of single color QolorFLEX NuNeon - almost 300 feet in total. Ten QolorFLEX wireless DMX Dimmers provided dimming control to help bring interactive lighting effects to life.