Powerful. Versatile. Fast.

These are just a few of the words people used to describe the state-of-the-art Clay Paky lights on display at an ELS Open House on Dec. 14-15, presented in partnership with ACT Lighting.



An award-winning, world-class brand in professional lighting systems, Clay Paky manufactures a wide range of products including moving-body and moving-mirror projectors, color-changers, followspots, projectors for architectural lighting and various lighting effects.

Among the products demonstrated by representatives from Clay Paky at the Open House were:

	Sharpy Sharpy is a 189W moving beam light with an unprecedented brightness usually achievable only with far greater wattages. Weighing just 16 kg, Sharpy produces a perfectly parallel, laser-like beam with an incredible output of 59,760 lx at 20m (5,100 footcandles at 65 ft). Sharpy is also groundbreaking for the purity of its beam, which is sharply defined and free of any halo or discoloration around the edges. Read More
	Alpha Spot QWO 800 The Alpha Spot QWO 800 uses the latest FastFit single-ended MSR Platinum lamp‐an 800W light source that produces an intense sparkling light, brighter even than older 1200W lamps. Additionally, the Alpha Spot QWO 800 is equipped with optical features that place this luminaire at the very top of its class. Read More
	Shotlight Wash Shotlight Wash is a totally new kind of projector that combines an extraordinary 1500W discharge lamp washlight and a 3000W Xenon lamp strobe in just one device. The two wash/strobe functions are perfectly integrated and can be operator-controlled with either simultaneous or separate operation and special effects. Read More

For more information on any of these products, contact us via our online form or by phone at 800-ELS-LIGHTS.

In the October 2011 issue of Religious Product News, ELS Executive Vice President of Sales and Business Development John Mitchell answers several key questions for houses of worship that are interested in exploring LED lighting.

Included in the article is information and practical advice about the energy-saving aspects of LED, the versatility of LED lights for dealing with a variety of events in the same space, changes in LED technology and more.

Read the article here.

Now entering its third season, Love That Girl is a sitcom created by Bentley Kyle Evans and starring Tatyana Ali as a young divorced woman who comes back to L.A. to start a new chapter of her life.

For the last two seasons, the show's director of photography Scott Webb has called upon ELS to provide lighting, dimming and control equipment for the production.

"I like being able to call ELS and get exactly what I need, without any problems," said Webb.



Much of Webb's lighting setup is comprised of Mole Richardson soft lights and fresnels from ELS's extensive inventory. When it came to choosing a vendor to provide all those fixtures and equipment, Webb decided to go with ELS for reliability and excellent service.

"I chose ELS because I knew there would be no surprises when the order showed up," he said. "I also knew that I would have 100% support from them if needed. Equipment from other vendors has often been delivered in shoddy or even non-functioning condition. Getting follow-up support can also be a hassle with other vendors. With ELS, I know that when I order equipment, it works exactly like it should. And in the rare case when there is a problem, I know I can call ELS, even after hours, and get the problem taken care of right away."

The season premiere of Love That Girl airs tonight, Monday, October 17 on TV One.

Martin Professional, Inc. is hitting the road for the second leg of their 2011 Road Show! The Road Show is a 20-week, 15,000-mile tour through 32 cities across the country, with over 120 events for local customers—and on Wed., October 5, the Road Show will be making a day-long stop at ELS.

The Road Show trailer will feature demos of Martin's new and innovative technology, including products from their Mac, Exterior and Tripix lines, their highly successful M1 console, and more!

The "Engineered for the eye" Road Show tour is an innovative approach to relationship building that brings Martin directly to as many important lighting professionals as possible: LDs, end users, dealers, design houses, system integrators, venue owners and operators among countless others.

To reserve space, call 800.ELS.LIGHTS or send an email to info@elslights.com. Please be sure to let us know how many people will be coming. Lunch will be provided for those who RSVP in advance.

The relationship between manufacturers and dealers is about more than simply making and selling products. They are often partners and collaborators in coming up with solutions, sharing ideas and information that will improve products and make them applicable across a wide range of scenarios.



On Thursday morning, top executives from Traxon Lighting and representatives from MPA Lighting visited ELS to showcase their product line and to talk to ELS sales and rental staff about how Traxon's lighting and control systems can better serve ELS clients.

Among those visiting ELS from Traxon were CEO Nicolai Wiest, Vice President Tony Carrella, Business Development Manager Tim Guion and Project Manager Tim Welch. Also on hand were Jason Mullen and Tony Stefani of MPA Lighting.

Traxon Technologies Ltd. is a global leader in LED lighting systems offering sophisticated RGB and White solutions for the architectural and hospitality/retail industries. Together with its lighting control brand e:cue, Traxon provides its customers full turnkey solutions, reaching from the cutting-edge LED lighting systems to the sophisticated large scale control solutions.

In March 2009, Traxon Technologies entered into a joint venture partnership with OSRAM, strengthening its position in the market by combining know-how in technology and building on synergies with OSRAM's global presence.

With over 3,000 worldwide installations including famous architectural objects as the London Tower Bridge; Guggenheim Museum, New York; International Commercial Center, Hong Kong; and Antwerp Stadsfeetzaal as well as store interiors for Chanel, Biotherm, Louis Vuitton, Diesel and many other prestigious projects, Traxon covers various market segments and has the knowledge and experience to improve and illuminate environments of various size and complexity.

Among the products showcased by Traxon at ELS were:

• Wall Wash Shield XB-36 RGB


• 1-Pixel Cove Light XR RGB


• Dot XL RGB


• Media Tube RGB


• Mesh RGB


• Butler DMX Micro-Server

For more information about Traxon products, contact us via our online form or call us at 800-ELS-LIGHTS.

R&B artist R. Kelly's "Love Letter" tour is hitting several U.S. cities this summer, with lighting designed by Alex Skowron and controlled using a Martin M1 console, provided by ELS.

Click here to read an article on Martin's Website about Skowron's use of the M1.

We want to extend a big thank you to the hundreds of awesome folks who stopped by our booth this weekend at Cine Gear Expo 2011!



It was a pleasure meeting you all and chatting with you about the gear we were demonstrating, about lighting in general and about things that had nothing to do with lighting!

We hope to stay in touch with you over the coming months. If you have any questions about what we talked about at our booth—or if you didn't get a chance to stop by—please don't hesitate to contact us via our online form or by phone at 818-769-9800. Or leave a blog comment below!

And check this blog post again for an update in which we'll name the winner of our drawing for the Swisson DMX Measurement Tool! More than 200 people entered the drawing by having their badges scanned. If we scanned your badge, the winner might be YOU!

UPDATE 6/7/11 2:51 p.m.: Congratulations to Mique Hwang, winner of the Swisson DMX Measurement Tool!

When an event is being set up at an exclusive location like the Jonathan Beach Club in Santa Monica, everything needs to happen as unobtrusively as possible, so that members can still enjoy the venue without feeling like they've suddenly been thrown into the middle of a construction zone.

When the event calls for building a giant truss structure on the sand to support a concert stage featuring a legendary musician, being unobtrusive can be quite a challenge. But it can be done. It takes smart, careful planning, and a company with the experience and technical expertise to make it happen.


On Thursday night, May 19, the Santa Monica-based environmental organization Heal the Bay held its annual Bringing Back the Beach Gala Dinner at the Jonathan Beach Club, featuring a concert performance by Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. Santa Monica-based Homerun Entertainment was hired to produce the event, and when it came time to design and set up the truss and lighting for the show, Homerun brought ELS onto the team.

ELS provided a precise Vectorworks floor plan for detailed planning purposes. ELS also developed a plan to construct smaller sections of the truss structure in a parking lot off to the side of the Jonathan Club. Each section was then brought in and added to the overall structure, to minimize the amount of time that the construction crew would be visible to club members. Crews also worked overnight while the club was closed, although a span of unseasonable weather added difficulty to the work.

"We definitely had some Mother Earth challenges during the setup process," said Andy Wise, project manager and lead rigger. "It rained on us for five solid hours overnight."


Working straight through the bad weather, ELS crews completed the truss structure on schedule and then began rigging stage lights onto it, based on a light plot created by lighting designer Michael Roberts. Considering that the client was Heal the Bay, the use of energy-efficient LED lighting was essential to the project, providing powerful lighting for the concert with a substantially lighter environmental footprint than traditional lighting fixtures.

Event decor and rentals were provided by Classic Party Rentals and audio-visual was provided by Creative Technologies. CAT Power provided the electrical distribution and SEM was brought on to handle security.

By sundown, there was a full concert venue on the beach. Dozens of lights filled the space with moving and changing color as Brian Wilson and his band played some of the Beach Boys' best-known songs to a crowd of dancing fans.

And when the show was over and the guests were starting to leave, ELS crews began tearing the structure down, quickly and safely, as they've done for countless other shows. By the following afternoon, there was no trace of the truss structure left—just the beach, the gentle surf and the Jonathan Club, and the memory of a great night of music in support of a great cause.

For more photos of this event, click here.

On June 2-5, 2011, ELS will be among the more than 200 film, video and digital media companies from around the world taking part in this year's Cine Gear Expo on the Paramount Pictures Lot.

Cine Gear Expo is an annual trade event for those engaged in the field of the moving image, including pre-production, production and post-production. Over 12,500 people are expected to attend this year's Cine Gear Expo, participating in highly focused exhibitions, seminars, master classes, symposia, film competition screenings, demonstrations, still photo exhibits and panels, an awards ceremony and an industry network opportunity.

ELS will be at Booth S204 in Stage 18, where we will showcase some of the powerful, versatile lights and equipment we offer for rental and purchase, including the Martin 350 Entour LED Profile, the Vari-Lite VLX, and the Pearl, Vivid-R, Vivid Fire and Vivid Ice LED luminaires from ETC's Selador line.



Visitors to our booth can also enter a drawing to win a free Swisson DMX Measurement Tool (a $350 value). The Swisson DMX Measurement Tool is a highly useful portable device that lets you analyze and send DMX data, record and edit scenes, create a sequence, test cables and more. The winner will be announced near the end of the day on Saturday, June 4.

To register for Cine Gear Expo, click here.

For more information, click here.

R&B singer, songwriter and actress Toni Braxton premiered her new reality show Braxton Family Values last night at the London West Hollywood Hotel. Precision Event Group, the producers of the premiere, called on ELS to provide the press wall and a custom-printed pink carpet. Toni Braxton, her mom and her sisters provided the glamour.

The show premieres on WE tv Monday night, April 11.


Charley Gallay / Getty Images

Time Warner Cable and Spanish-language cable network mun2 kicked off their 2011 concert series on Saturday, April 2, with a performance by Mexican pop artist Dulce María at the Highlands Nightclub at Hollywood & Highland.

As the preferred vendor for lighting at Hollywood & Highland, ELS was hired to light and decorate the stage, which Dulce María shared with Mexican American artist Gustavo Galindo and the 2010 winner of Time Warner Cable's "Alcanza la fama" (Reach Fame), Abel Ullon.

In addition to casting the stage in violet, ELS projected the Time Warner Cable and mun2 logos against Dazian ChromaLink™ curtains on either side of the stage, adding an extra level of dazzle to the branding. Made of 100% aluminum, the ChromaLink material diffuses and enhances lighting without blocking views or ventilation, producing a scrim-like effect.



ELS also provided the violet-tinted carpet, black rope and stanchions for the artist arrivals in front of the Highlands Nightclub.

In Medieval times, the location of a special event might have been decided by a pair of armored knights clashing swords or jousting for the privilege.

But this is the 21st century, and things are decided more peacefully and democratically. So when Universal Pictures needed a location for the red carpet premiere of their new Medieval comedy, Your Highness, they decided to put it to the people for a vote.

And not just any people.

College students.

In a nationwide campaign, Your Highness star and co-writer Danny McBride (Up in the Air, Tropic Thunder) asked college students to go to a special Web page and vote for their campus to host the Your Highness red carpet premiere. Tens of thousands of votes later, a victor arose: the University of California at Santa Barbara.


After the location of the red carpet premiere was decided, a date was set for the event: Friday, April 1. This left just four days to design and produce all the elements needed for the premiere. Pulling the whole thing together under such a tight timeline required a company experienced in executing every aspect of a major Hollywood premiere from beginning to end—quickly, reliably and at a high level of quality. Universal Pictures called ELS.

In less than a week, ELS CEO John Chuck and senior account manager Joel Goldman collaborated with Universal Pictures senior vice president of special projects Hollace Davids to design a Medieval-themed environment for the premiere, complete with Medieval-style banners, pennants, shields, swords and helmets. The centerpiece of the premiere was a stage platform featuring a long Medieval-style banquet table and chairs, backed by a giant billboard for the film, all of it furnished by ELS. We also provided pre-visualization and rendering, handled permits and logistics, printed all the graphics, provided all the necessary equipment and accessories and hired the crew to load the whole thing in and tear it down afterwards.


When all was said and done, more than 160 local freelance staff and crew members in both L.A. and Ventura Counties had been employed to make the premiere happen. And with thousands of Santa Barbara students taking part, Your Highness truly became a knight to remember.

Your Highness, starring Danny McBride, James Franco (127 Hours, Milk) and Natalie Portman (Black Swan, Black Swan), premieres in theatres nationwide on Friday, April 8.

Imagine you're entering a premiere. You walk down the red carpet as flash-popping photographers take your picture against a press wall sporting logos of your film and exhibitor. You enter a vacant lobby and go up to watch the film. When you come back out a mere two hours later, the lobby is no longer vacant—there are now dessert stations and floral arrangements. And outside, the red carpet and press wall are gone, having been replaced by a cocktail party environment, with a wine bar, tables, chairs and heat lamps, all enclosed within a wall of tall hedges.

That was the kind of quick turnaround that ELS coordinated for last night's premiere of The Kennedys at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.


The Kennedys is an 8-part miniseries about the American political dynasty starring Greg Kinnear as John F. Kennedy and Katie Holmes as Jackie Kennedy. The miniseries will begin airing on ReelzChannel this Sunday, April 3.

Although we at ELS are known for our lighting (after all, the word is in our name), we do so much more than that. In the case of The Kennedys, we provided the press wall, red carpet, ropes and stanchions and, yes, lighting for the red carpet arrivals. But that wasn't all. We also subcontracted the companies to put the after-party together, including rentals (Classic Party Rentals), catering (Along Came Mary), florals (Mr Walls Floral, Inc.) and security (SEM). And we secured all the necessary permits, since both the red carpet arrivals and the after-party would be taking place on the sidewalk in front of the Academy building.

All the client had to do was call us—we took care of the rest.

The new Wybron™ Mobile Light Lab, a 48-foot pop-out-equipped trailer that features all of the company's most crowd-pleasing products, has been traveling around the country for the past month and will be making a stop at ELS on Tuesday, April 12. Doors will open at 11:00 a.m.

The event will provide visitors with a one-of-a-kind, upscale experience that combines hands-on Wybron product demonstrations, continuing education and opportunities to network with colleagues and ask questions of Wybron product experts. ELS sales and rental staff will also be on hand to answer any questions.

Visitors to the Mobile Light Lab will be entered to win an iPod Touch—one of two that Wybron will be giving out each month—and complimentary copies of all of Wybron's iPhone apps.

The Wybron Mobile Light Lab comes on the heels of the Wybron Mobile Showroom, which had a successful 15-month tour from 2009 through 2010. For the new Mobile Light Lab, Wybron President Keny Whitright chose a larger vehicle and had it custom-built based on the feedback collected from visitors to the Mobile Showroom.

"When we demonstrated products in the old Mobile Showroom, the set-up really didn't do the lights justice," said Jim Koza, regional sales representative for Wybron. "The new Mobile Light Lab's projection screen, and its larger size, will give visitors a better feel for exactly what our products can do."

Dusty Hudgins, also a Wybron regional sales representative, agrees.

"It's going to allow us to show our products better because we will have an actual projection surface," Hudgins said. "In the old Mobile Showroom, we didn't have a flat wall where we could show anything. The screen alone absolutely makes the Mobile Light Lab better. And the fact that we will have competing products on board to do shoot-outs is always a plus."

Wybron has also decided to allow visitors to take the helm of their Mobile Light Lab experience.

"I think a lot of people will be overwhelmed by the 'high-tech' of it," said Dusty Hudgins, Wybron regional sales representative, of the new Mobile Light Lab. "Its layout differs considerably from the old Mobile Showroom. It's easier to locate things. If one of us is busy talking with someone, you can use an iPad to pull up specifications and features of a product and educate yourself about it while you wait."

To RSVP, send us an email or call 818.769.9800.

For more information, check out Wybron's press release.

Spring is here, and so is Hop, a new animated feature from Universal Pictures about an out-of-work slacker named Fred (James Marsden) who accidentally injures the Easter Bunny (a.k.a. "E.B." voiced by Russell Brand) and must take him in as he recovers. As Fred struggles with the world's worst house guest, both will learn what it takes to finally grow up.

With the Easter Bunny himself as the central character, the premiere of Hop at L.A.'s Gibson Amphitheatre on Sunday, March 27, called for something a little different from the traditional red carpet—namely, a green carpet. And lots of it.


To help create this springlike atmosphere, Universal Pictures hired ELS to provide 1,200 feet of AstroTurf to guide celebrities through the CityWalk and into the Gibson Amphitheatre for the pre-party and premiere screening. ELS also provided lights, barricades, rope and stanchions for the event, as well as electrical distribution for the pre-party.

Hop bounces into theatres this Friday, April 1.

An Out-of-This-World After-Party for the Galaxy's Hippest Alien

Fugitive. Celebrity. Slacker. Joker. Alien.

That's how Universal Pictures describes Paul, the extraterrestrial who's about to land this Friday in movie theatres nationwide.

Directed by Greg Mottola (Superbad, Adventureland), Paul re-teams Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) as two sci-fi geeks on a trip through the New Mexico desert, where they accidentally meet Paul, an alien fugitive from Area 51 (voiced by Seth Rogen (Knocked Up, Funny People)).

The film also stars Jason Bateman (Juno) and Saturday Night Live regulars Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig.

Universal Pictures tapped ELS to set up Monday night's red carpet arrivals for the Paul premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre and to put together the after-party at the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.



The after-party was a prime example of the kind of all-in-one turnkey production services that ELS is known for throughout the industry. ELS executed everything from concept development and design to pre-visualization and rendering, permits and logistics, lighting and video design, lighting and video installation, fabrication of neon scenic elements, power distribution and rigging.

The tables and bars were provided by Town & Country Event Rentals.

The visual concept of the party was designed by ELS CEO John Chuck and senior account manager Joel Goldman, working directly with Hollace Davids, senior vice president of special projects at Universal Pictures. Together they mocked up conceptual renderings of a warm, exotic modern setting inspired by visuals from the film itself.

The party was held at the Roosevelt's swimming pool, with the pool covered over by a solid deck. The party concept included the use of intelligent LED lighting such as Vari*Lite moving lights, Color Kinetics ColorBlast and City Theatrical MasterBlast with Wireless DMX. The lighting was controlled by a Martin M1 console.



One highlight of the scenic design was the use of more than 200 Barco Versa®TUBEs to display full HD video design elements throughout the environment. The video for these elements was controlled by a Hog iPC Console and Axon media servers.

Combining state-of-the-art technology, creative artistry and logistical precision, ELS helped Universal Pictures give their latest alien creation a warm, splashy, colorful launch.

Paul opens this Friday, March 18 in theatres nationwide.

See more photos from the Paul after-party

Legendary football player Kurt Warner didn't start playing in the NFL until he was 28. Raymond Chandler didn't publish his first short story until he was 45. And Clint Eastwood didn't direct his first film until he was 41 (although he'd had a few acting jobs before then).

Why are we mentioning these people? We're just trying to make the point that there have been many late bloomers in the history of the world who have gone on to do wonderful things. And when it comes to blogging, we admit it: We're late bloomers. We're not the first ones at this party known as "the blogosphere." But as you can see from the aforementioned list of late bloomers, we're in very good company.

The reason we finally decided to start a blog was because we see it as a valuable opportunity to communicate better with our clients and customers, from the ones the ones we deal with now on a regular basis to the ones we've dealt with in the past, to the ones we've yet to meet, but will someday.

If you ever want to know what ELS is up to, or has been up to—or is about to be involved in—this is the place. We'll be posting everything from news items to product information, from tutorials on lighting to articles on lighting-related issues. We hope you'll find our blog to be entertaining, informative, useful, interesting and fun. We hope you'll engage us in conversation by posting comments on the entries you see here. (We only ask that you be relevant and respectful of others in your comments.) And we hope you'll keep coming back often.

Let the blogging begin!