Proteus Hybrid™ among IP65-rated luminaires speced by Stage Tech, Inc.  for new outdoor venue

Federal Hill Commons, a 6.5 acre multi-use site just north of Indianapolis in Noblesville, Indiana, recently opened a community amphitheater designed to hold any and every type of outdoor event. Professional production company and Elation dealer Stage Tech, Inc. of Indianapolis was commissioned to handle everything lighting on the project from concept and design to installation and programming and turned to Elation’s leading line of IP65-rated luminaires to realize the task.

“The nature of this installation demanded weatherproof fixtures so the IP rating was the first and most important criterion when compiling a list of options,” stated Mike Trotta, owner of Stage Tech, Inc. “Elation has a wide range of IP-rated fixtures, so we were able to weigh the benefits of various fixture types and feature sets, knowing that any of them would be appropriate for the outdoor environment. The competitive pricing also ensured we could include enough fixtures in the inventory to provide an effective system within the client’s budget.”

Stage Tech chose to use 6 Proteus Hybrid™ fixtures, Elation’s multi-functional, IP65-rated arc-source moving head, along with 4 DTW Blinder 350 IP™ variable white LED blinders and 16 SixPar 300IP™ LED Par color changers. Lighting design was by Stage Tech’s in-house lead LD David Lapham.

Besides the IP rating, Lapham says the venue’s operator wanted the capabilities inherent in moving lights in order to add excitement to music events. Capable of spot, beam or wash projections, the award-winning Proteus Hybrid is loaded with features like full CMY color mixing, 22 gobos and an animation effect wheel to bring graphics to life. “The Proteus Hybrid’s feature set allows for a high degree of flexibility for any type of performance. And since the lighting fixtures won’t be taken down between shows, a high IP rating was essential,” Trotta said, reiterating the importance of IP65 protection for open air performances.

The Proteus Hybrid fixtures work from an upstage truss to add movement and texture for rock shows and other more involved events while both an upstage and downstage truss holds SixPar 300 IP fixtures for general wash purposes. “The SixPars provide the base light for the stage and can easily be set for a basic look for smaller presentations,” Lapham said. 

Providing variable white light from the downstage truss are DTW Blinder 350 IP fixtures. Also multi-environmental to withstand the elements, the DTW Blinder 350 IP houses two high-powered 175W warm white/amber COB LEDs for color temperature-adjustable washes of white light or blinder blasts. “They are used for a classic rock show, call-and-response interaction, and for general post-show lighting for the audience since the park is only lit at night around the perimeter sidewalks and not in the main audience area,” states Lapham.  

Currently, the venue hosts concerts with mostly local acts and a theatre company also uses the space for public performances. “It’s a new event space so they are still testing the waters,” Trotta says. Venue operators are hoping to soon add holiday events and other special events to the schedule, even weddings, and have plans to host larger national acts as well. The Federal Hill Commons amphitheater install was completed on June 26th and the space is already proving a hit with the community.

Elation product support for Stage Tech, Inc. is provided by Elation manufacturer rep firm Five Lakes Marketing, who Trotta says is very responsive to their needs. “Ed Cheeseman and Rob Ludwig with Five Lakes Marketing also play a huge role in why we choose Elation for a lot of our in-house inventory and why we install so many of Elation’s products. Their knowledge and support of the products they represent is hands down the best.”