Philips Vari-Lite Puts Oath in the Spotlight

Lighting designer Barrett Hall uses Philips Vari-Lite VL4000 Spot luminaires for Oath's showcase event by the Hudson River in NYC, hosted by actor Jamie Foxx. Photos © Alive Coverage

Signify’s Philips Vari-Lite VL4000 Spot luminaires were used to provide powerful illumination and effects for a large-scale, immersive show for digital media company Oath, staged by the Hudson River in New York City.

Produced by FIRST as part of the NewFronts digital media showcase, Oath’s high-energy show featured content ranging from musical acts to theatrical style performances.

Lighting Designer Barrett Hall, of design consultancy Magic Hour East, said: “I needed to choose a lighting fixture with great light output, because the event began during daylight hours and would transition through sunset on Manhattan’s West Side, and on into the night.”

He added: “I was able to get light exactly where we needed it, without worrying about not having enough foot-candles to keep the cameras happy. Also, the framing shutters were very helpful in creating tightly-lit areas, as we were often times using them as key lights on 360° performance platforms, with audience and cameras on all sides.”

Supplied by WorldStage Inc, the Philips Vari-Lite VL4000 Spots were mounted on 14 high towers, providing lighting effects over a wide area. Hall, who worked closely with project manager J. Wiese and lighting programmer Eric Christian on the show, said: “With two main performance stages, plus half a dozen satellite platforms, the fixtures had to be versatile in providing key light, backlight, and cross light, as well as the overall visual landscape across the pier. The light output is great and I particularly like the animation wheel feature: it’s great to have that continuous, linear movement.”

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