Ayrton’s IntelliPix™-R LED panels played a prominent role in the spectacular lighting design at the annual Japanese music show, Best Hits Kayousai 2014. The show, which recognizes some of Japan’s most popular artists of the year, took place in November at the Festival Hall, Osaka and was broadcast live on the NNN network. Over 18 acts, including Exile Tribe and May J, performed during the two-hour show.

Ayrton’s Japanese distributor, First Engineering Japan, supplied 120 IntelliPix™-R panels to their client, Heart-S, who used the static panels to surround the stage and performers with beams of intense light.

IntelliPix™-R is a modular beam projection panel of 25 independently controllable 4.5° LED emitters arranged in a 5 x 5 array which project graphics and media far into the air. Panels can be connected together to form a semi-transparent wall, screen or ceiling or be placed under specially designed glass using its dedicated floor installation kit to create an immensely strong projection floor that can wrap a performer in dynamic columns of light. Ayrton IntelliPix-R is suitable for indoor or outdoor use.

For the glittering television show, 80 IntelliPix-R panels were positioned centre stage behind a broad set of access steps to provide dramatic backlight while 22 more were arrayed in two columns stage left and right to project out into the audience. Heart-S and the designers from the television station also took advantage of IntelliPix-R’s dedicated floor kit to install a group of 32 panels the stage itself to form a performance area awash with colour and texture.

Heart-S useda GreenHippo Hippotizer media server to map effects to the Intellipix-R fixtures and triggered some of IntelliPix-R’s on-board effects from a GrandMA2 console.

“We were looking to create an original, unique production using hardware that stands out from the others,” says Heart-S’ Tomoki Mitsunaka. “Intellipix-R became our fixture of choice because of its ability to deliver high powered beam effects from the floor, and its versatile controllability with the video elements and other diverse lighting hardware.”

The ability of IntelliPix-R to stand out against the strong video and lighting elements of the show was an important factor. However, the units proved so powerful that theychose to run them at only 10% of their full intensity to keep them within the bounds of the broadcast cameras capabilities.

“IntelliPix-R is unique in its ability to form walls of high-powered LED beams and these were put to full use during Best Hits Kayousai 2014,” says Mitsunaka. “The fixtures also proved very robust and reliable, even surviving an accidental fall without any damage!”
“We are very satisfied with the performance of the Ayrton fixtures and will continue to work hard to market the products,” says First Engineering Japan’s Yuki Yoshida.
More information on Ayrton IntelliPix-R and the whole Radical Series of LED fixtures can be found at www.ayrton.eu