The MTV program “TRL” returned to the air on October 2 after a nine-year hiatus with new Maverick MK Pyxis fixtures from CHAUVET Professional.
Mike Grabowski of the Lighting Design Group worked on the original run of the show, and returned to it this year.
“The Pyxis had not even been introduced yet, but a few people I know saw the pre-release demo,” said Grabowski. “Every single one of them called or messaged me saying this light is right up your alley. So, that got my attention!”
He specced 25 Pyxis fixtures for his rig and had them supplied by WorldStage.
“It was a little bit of a leap, but we were very comfortable using the Pyxis, because of the reputations of WorldStage and Chauvet; plus, we tested the fixture extensively,” he said. “My decision came about because I wanted a very versatile and attractive LED moving head wash unit. It’s important to me that on a long-term show like this, all of my moving heads be more than one trick ponies. The market has many moving head LED washes. It also has LED ‘moving gimmick lights’ that are sort of – but only sort of — wash units. The Pyxis is the best of both worlds. It has some truly nifty effects, like the center beam, the pixel ring and continuous motion –but it’s also a really good, strong, zoomable wash light. Another way of putting it is that this fixture has some unique features, but resists being a single look unit, because it includes these effects in a wash. On top of that, it’s also a very attractive fixture.”
Grabowski positions most of his Pyxis fixtures around the studio’s “South Homebase” performance area and distributes the remaining units along the window side of the room. Working with the other moving fixtures, battens and ellipsoidals in the rig, the Pyxis units give Grabowski and Production Designer Dave Edwards the kind of dynamic and colorful looks a show like “TRL” demands.
“Unique looks are essential to us,” said Grabowski. “Things can rapidly become routinized when you’re doing a program, but Pyxis helps combat that. It not only gives us more options to create original looks show to show, it also provides us with the flexibility to support a lot of different acts. The flexibility of the Pyxis was invaluable in this regard. It is really the Swiss army knife of wash lights—a wash that even has a spot beam effect. It has a great color, so if I necessary, I can spin it to become a talent fill light. Also, the zoom looks awesome on camera. Jerry Grant, our programmer, does a great job helping us take full advantage of this versatile tool.”
