Fluorescent fixtures have been replaced with Seven Batten LED linear lights from Elation Professional at the Nationale Opera & Ballet in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The new lights are used in a rig that also includes Elation SixBar 1000 linear battens.
In 2018, seeking to replace a number of fluorescent fixtures with something more modern, the Nationale Opera & Ballet contacted lighting supply company Ampco Flashlight to set up a demo of possible solutions.
Elation’s key account manager for Benelux, Bert Schmeits, brought a Seven Batten 72 to Bas van Schelven, sales manager at Ampco Flashlight, for the demo at the venue. “Overall they were impressed with the light but they had some concerns about the dimming,” said Schmeits. “That was an issue we were glad to address, so we produced new software that met their criteria and a new demo took place at the opera in May 2019. This time it was with the Seven Batten 42, which was preferable for them in terms of handling.”
Consequently, an order for 71 fixtures was placed via Ampco Flashlight and the units were delivered and installed in October 2019.
“The Seven Batten, with its seven LEDs, projected the quality of light required, especially when we put a special microstructure diffuser (frost filter) on it,” said Richard ten Hof, deputy head of the lighting department at Nationale Opera & Ballet. “As far as dimming, I requested to have 16-bit control over each colour and a dedicated dimming channel with 16-bit. The necessary changes were made so now we can make a proper colour in 16-bit and we have a dedicated dimmer channel, which, in combination, wasn’t there before. The dimmer channel is important because without it the colour can shift when dimming up or down. With a dedicated dimmer channel, that doesn’t happen and we stay in the selected colour. And, of course, 16-bit gives maximum control.”
The 1m (3.3ft)-long Seven Batten 42 is one in a line of linear lighting effects using a seven-colour multichip LED designed to give a wide colour spectrum for uniform projections of colour. It is suitable for use as a wash light, uplight, cyc wash, accent light or even a direct view pixel strip.
Ten Hof said the individual LED control came in handy on a holiday season production. “In The Nutcracker there is a scene where the Seven Battens were used to mimic light shining through a window, but the light appeared too uniform, so they tampered with the individual LEDs to make slight adjustments to the colour along the length of the fixture to give the light more of a dynamic look,” he explained.
Ten Hof said the new fixtures will be used for many different purposes, it is up to each production’s lighting designer. “We have provided the tool and they can use it however they want,” he adds.
The Seven Battens join previously installed Elation SixBar 1000 linear LED strip lights, which ten Hof reports have been used in all kinds of situations over the past couple of years.
Ten Hof says that working with Ampco Flashlight was and is always a pleasure. “I have known them for a long time and they are kind of a house dealer for us,” he said. “They listened to our wishes, especially concerning the dimming curve, and Bas van Schelven, together with the Elation development team, made it happen.”
He added that it also ensured that the fixtures came from the same batch to ensure consistency in the LEDs.
“We have had a long-standing relationship with the Nationale Opera & Ballet and it is always a pleasure to work with such professionals,” said Ampco’s van Schelven. “Likewise with Elation Professional. We have worked together with their European office for many years and are always pleased to specify products that do the required job.”
