FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, which are organised by International Ski Federation, is the world’s highest governing body for international skiing and snowboarding. Vail Beaver Creek in Colorado hosted this year’s FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, with athletes representing 68 nations participating in this grand event, which was viewed by an estimated television audience of one billion.
Theatrical Media Services (TMS) provided a full service package consisting of lighting, truss structures, staging and LED video floor.
Selected for this ceremony were 37 x Q-7 flood/blind/strobes and 16 x P-5 wash lights, each chosen for their applicability in the lighting design. Aaron Stinebrink the lighting designer and operator from TMS, explains: “The idea for the opening ceremony was to make a very inviting space for the audience that also showcased [Solaris] Plaza and Vail.’ The key factor for Stinebrink was to deploy luminaires with an IP rating of 65, as they were to be placed outside in the elements, exposed to snow and sometimes rain, but also the operating temperature was essential. “With being in the mountains, we also had to apply units of a low operating temperature. At that point we really narrowed down the field of available LED fixtures, and the Q-7 and P-5 checked all the boxes.’
TMS customised truss and bases for the plaza, allowing for additional lighting positions to be installed on the second floor. “The wide beam angle of the Q-7 allowed for an excellent coverage of the shops behind, which created a lovely background in the plaza,’ says Stinebrink. “We decided to deploy the P-5s in this location as TV lighting and as general stage wash. With the fixtures’ IP rating, it allowed us to put them to use in this hard-to-reach area without the concern of having to change lamps as you would on a conventional fixture,’ Stinebrink explains.
The P-5s, fulfilling the same weather requirements as the Q-7s, were installed on top of the Plaza’s second floor pergola, from where truss was extended 15 feet into space for proper TV angle, while at the same the structure offered the challenge of being 40 feet in the air without any easy access.
The P-5 provided a beautiful even field for lighting video, having RGBW available in the fixture, Stinebrink was able to colour mix to the proper colour temperature that the camera required. “The Q-7’s output and beam angle made this fixture ideal for lighting the plaza’s shops. It is a great fixture with a lot of punch. We also included an additional 10 x Q-7s as strobe lights for a mobile stage for nightly concerts. The fixture has a high impact and is great as a strobe fixture,’ Stinebrink comments.
TMS’s role in the Alpine World Ski Championships 2015 has marked the culmination of a successful journey, and they can now relish the positive feedback in the aftermath of their efforts. “The ability to have RGBW colour mixing at my fingertips, while at the same time being able to provide proper lighting for TV, is fantastic,’ concluded Stinebrink.
