What market needs or gaps did you aim to fill with the development of PARAGON?
“PARAGON was designed as a refined workhorse fixture that is at home in almost any application. You can take it from a live music show to a rave to a corporate event before lighting a theatre play. It performs perfect in any of those and many other use cases. To achieve the most versatility, we designed it from the ground up with some primary goals. Namely, to create the best light quality in its class while retaining very high output and incorporate a variable CRI engine for enhanced colour precision. We also merged the traditional spot/profile/wash products into one single unit by using easily interchangeable front lenses and created a sealed ruggedised fixture that can withstand any weather while remaining lightweight and serviceable without any special tools or testing devices – all while utilising the latest materials and technologies to make the fixtures light, compact and service friendly.”
What makes the TruTone variable CRI system essential for today’s lighting setups?
“We felt an increasing need for higher colour accuracy, something that wasn’t addressed well by the current options in the market. Users must choose a dedicated high CRI fixture, or at worst, exchange the entire LED engine. None of this is appealing to the designer or the production houses owning the fixtures. So, we came up with a variable CRI engine concept, originally for the PROTEUS ODEON, and further refined it for the PARAGON Series, with three different performance classes. The obvious application is white light quality, and the PARAGON allows you to dial in the perfect white light while retaining very high intensity. As a designer you get the perfect light source that allows you to tune the reproduction of colour on sets or costumes or find that perfect key light quality when you work with today’s extremely precise cameras. We also found the variable light spectrum interacts very nicely with the CMY mixing, expanding the colour range greatly. A magenta can essentially be more rock ’n’ roll or more theatrical, a yellow can have a harsh greenish tinge or a warm sunny tone. TruTone is remarkable in its ability to shape and compose colours in ways not previously possible with any fixture.“
How does the interchangeable lens system expand the versatility of PARAGON?
“As with the TruTone engine, we offer a way to adapt one fixture for the intended application. “Each PARAGON has two lens options and with the high and low CRI engine positions essentially merge six versions into a single unit. Lenses are easy to exchange, and due to its innovative IP54-rated design the PARAGON requires no IP testing after the lens installation. The optical design was created to accommodate the Profile, PC and Fresnel option, providing the correct beam pattern without compromise. The fixture automatically detects the installed lens, optimises its focus and zoom algorithm for the most efficient output, and even adapts its movement control as the lenses have different weights.”
How does the 30% lighter design enhance handling, rigging, and setup times while maintaining performance?
“IP fixtures like Elation’s PROTEUS Series have seen massive adaption in the market and encouraged some amazing stage designs encompassing the audience that bring performers closer to their fans. Fixtures can be placed anywhere without concern for bad weather or dry hot dusty environments. However, such fixtures tend to be heavier and larger. With PARAGON we didn’t take IP65 and make it a bit less so, we rethought how to create a fixture that operates and feels like any indoor moving light but sealed it and ruggedised it to be essentially weatherproof. Our R&D team managed to create fixtures that are lighter, brighter, smaller and with higher CRI than our previous generation. A show designed with PARAGON can have indoor and outdoor dates without compromise. No tarps or weather protection, simply have the exact same design in any location.”
What feedback have you received so far?
“The first feedback we receive when someone turns on PARAGON for the first time is how clean and pure the light quality of the white beam is. The fixture offers such a neutral brilliant light quality that must be appreciated in person. Users immediately study how the light reads on their skin or clothing and realise that PARAGON is one of the most refined lighting fixtures in existence. It just looks so clean and pure. Secondly, the combination of our new ultrafast CMY with the TruTone engine provides a wider creative colour range that allows subtle changes and instant colour bumps without compromise. Touring shows increasingly migrate from indoors to outdoors throughout their run. PARAGON allows you to scale up for a few stadia shows requiring fixtures that are designed to operate in an exterior environment, even upgrade some lighting positions for a few shows to a high performance long-throw unit like PARAGON LT. With its three performance classes and weatherproof design plus a fresh new gobo package that provides a great blend of textures and aerial effects, PARAGON is truly a unit that excels.”
