The Stage

Radiohead hunted

Published Monday 12 May 2008 at 14:50

UK-based LED specialist i-Pix has introduced a new fixture - the BB 7 - a seven cell, high powered homogenised 10 degree RGB light source. It is being used by Radiohead’s lighting and visuals designer Andi Watson for the band’s current world tour.

Forty-eight of the BB7s are in various positions around the rig, including 25 in five custom five-way frames produced by Specialz. Watson is also using 48 of i-Pix new production model BB4s on his front truss while there’s also four i-Pix Satellites with holographic film mounted on the floor in and around the backline to light the band at close quarters.

This project started when i-Pix’s Chris Ewington visited the US last October to see a new prototype narrow optic. He then showed Watson the BB 4 which was already in production in January, along with a test rig of the embryonic idea he had for the BB7 - without optics. The BB4 uses i-Pix new custom LEDs produced by Lamina, and the evolution of the BB series produced the building blocks - both electronic and mechanical - that could be applied to the new BB7 using the narrow optic. The i-Pix BB4 is a four cell, high power homogenised 20 degree RGB source, using a custom Lamina light engine produced exclusively for i-Pix by Lamina Ceramics in New York.