This New Year’s Eve, some 200,000 people gathered in downtown Nashville to watch the descent of this 16-foot, 400-pound red note during the final seconds of 2019. Adding to the spectacle they enjoyed were 36 CHAUVET Professional COLORado Solo Batten fixtures supplied by Bandit Lites.
Chris Lisle and Erik Parker of CLLD, LLC, positioned 18 of the RGBAW IP65 rated batten units on each side of the three-dimensional note. Positioned this way, they provided a dynamic and vividly colored setting to highlight the giant three-dimensional music note as it made its annual passage down its 138-fot tall tower.
“The COLORado Solo Battens were pixel mapped,” said Parker. “We individually celled all of the 12 square sections on each fixture, so we had a lot of creative options, not only while the note was dropping, but throughout the entire evening.
“Therese Fensler programmed the drop itself,” continued Parker. “As the countdown to midnight ensued, we definitely added flashes and energy to the tower. Then shortly after midnight, we settled into a twinkle effect of sorts, before moving back to the base look for the return of the NYE show.”
During the evening, long before the Music Note dropped, the COLORado Solo Battens lit up night sky over Nashville. Their single homogenized light source and smooth color mixing created crisp looks on the tower, reinforcing its image as a NYE landmark. These qualities also helped the battens come off well on camera, which was especially important, since the festivities were included in NBC and CNN’s New Years Eve programs.
“I like the way these battens look live and on camera,” said Parker. “The cells on these fixtures create almost a straight line of light when they’re placed end to end, which really creates a dramatic impression on a structure like the Music Note Tower.”
The intense output of the COLORado Solo Battens allowed them to stand out even against the light of the event’s other fixtures, as well as the note itself, which featured 13,000 LED lights and video boards.
Given that the NYE celebration took place outdoors, the IP65 rating of the COLORado Solo Batten also was a key factor in the CLLD team selecting it for this project.
“These lighting fixtures are hanging in the air, unprotected for almost two weeks, and the elements of a southern Christmas and New Year are unpredictable,” said Parker. “However, things worked smoothly for us. The people associated with this project like Mark Anderson, the Assistant Production Manager, and David Spencer, the CVC VP of Events, all did a great job. If the way we ended 2019 is any indication, 2020 should be a great year!”
