Brigham Young University-Idaho (BYU-I) invests in Robert Juliat Lancelot 4000W followspots for its 3 theatres. Formerly known as Ricks College, BYU-I offers programmes in liberal arts, including engineering, sciences, agriculture, management and the performing arts.
BYU-I’s theatres host theatrical productions and concerts staged by students and visiting artists. BYU-I Center, the largest of the theatres, seats 15,000; the Hart Auditorium is a three-quarters arena that seats 3,700; and the Snow Drama Theater, the smallest venue, seats 400.
The new Lancelot fixtures were acquired from Barbizon Light of the Rockies in Denver as part of the lighting replacement cycle, says Braden Howard, lighting designer with BYU-I’s AV Productions. The university invested last year in Robert Juliat Dalis LED front-edge stage lighting.
Peter Maurelli, Systems integrator with Barbizon, had worked with the university when it was Ricks College and provided the original fixture package. Howard replaces the Robert Juliat Cyrano followspots, which reside in the Center: “The Cyranos were great but slightly underpowered for the cameras so we jumped to the higher output of the Lancelots.”
The 4,000W HTI-source Lancelots “ticked all the boxes” for Howard with their high output, super-narrow 2°-5° zoom range and electronic power supply for best on-camera performance, says Maurelli: “The trend we’re seeing is higher overall brightness on stage. So having a fixture than can cut through all the ambient light and direct the focus of the audience is important.” The four new Lancelot followspots are dedicated to the Center.
The Lancelot units arrived at BYU-I only recently, so they have been deployed only on new student orientation in the Center. But opportunities to use the new fixtures will soon multiply, and rounding out the year will be the annual Christmas concert, featuring 300 student musicians and guest artists, including former Metropolitan Opera star Frederica von Stade and the Sonos handbell ensemble.
Full details of Lancelot followspots and the full inventory of Robert Juliat LED and conventional source lighting products are available on the Robert Juliat website
