Clay Paky at Sydney's Vivid Festival of Lights

For a couple of weeks every June, Sydney is transformed into a spectacular canvas of light and music as the Vivid Sydney Festival takes over the city after dark.

The festival features a rich international program of music and arts events including a spectacular 3D illumination of the Sydney Opera House and an outdoor exhibition of interactive light sculptures.

This year also saw the launch of Skyscraper Illuminati, a theatrical transformation of Sydney's Circular Quay, in which the district's large facades are brought to life each night with choreographed light shows that play throughout the evening.

Behind the illuminations was Sydney-based 32 Hundred, an event lighting and audio company. When 32 Hundred's managing director, Iain Reed, discovered that his company had won the tender to design, install and operate the production, he turned to the Clay Paky Alpha Profile 1500.

"The Vivid Festival and the Clay Paky Alpha Profile 1500s were the perfect match," Reed declared. "They are very, very, very bright and I'm extremely happy with them. Their sheer intensity is brilliant and the classic Clay Paky eye for detail with the optics is amazing. I love the auto focus, vast color mixing, gobo selection - really, they are the Ferrari of moving lights!"

For Skyscraper Illuminati the Clay Paky Alpha Profile 1500 fixtures were supported by 44 LED fixtures used to wash three prominent city landmarks: the AMP building, the Four Seasons Hotel, and the Marriott Hotel. While the LEDs provide a general wash of color, the Alpha 1500 fixtures provide texture and movement. Each of the 12 Alpha Profile 1500 fixtures is housed in a custom-made Perspex housing, designed and constructed by 32 Hundred Lighting.

The Clay Paky Alpha Profile 1500 possesses a comprehensive range of graphic effects, an innovative Stay-Sharp-Zoom function allowing automatic focusing; and the Zoom-Tracking-Diffuser for linear beam softening - all features that make the Alpha Profile 1500 a valuable resource for designers working in demanding lighting environments, the company says..

Read reports that there have been no problems with the Alpha Profile 1500 fixtures and that they have added an extra dynamic element to the lighting display.

"I have been blown away by their optics," he added. "You can light a 20-story skyscraper with just four of them."