Proactive Production Company Turns Warehouse Into Live Video Studio

Quick to adapt its business model to the current situation, Premier Entertainment Group in Dothan, Alabama has transformed its warehouse into a full-service video production studio. Featuring lighting from ADJ and sister company Elation Professional, the facility is being used by DJs, bands, and church worship groups to professionally record sets that can then be broadcast through online streaming.

The effect of the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic on the entertainment industry has been truly profound, with every kind of event – from arena tours to wedding receptions – postponed for the foreseeable future. However, many entertainment professionals are utilizing modern technology to broadcast live performances and DJ sets directly to the comfort and safety of their fans’ homes. Which is the route that Premier Entertainment Group (PEG)’s president and owner, Dave Guiler, has quickly steered his business.

“When it first happened, a few weeks ago, that announcements were made about the need for social distancing and other protocols,” explains Dave, “we immediately started getting calls from clients postponing or cancelling events. We went from 70-80 events booked in March, to having absolutely nothing. I took about a day to recover from the shock, but then gathered together the guys and said: “The last thing we want to do is furlough anyone, or lay anyone off, so let’s do anything we can to keep everyone working and do the best we can to keep a full staff. And, so far, we’ve been fortunate enough to be able to do that.”

PEG’s plan for diversifying during these difficult times involved clearing the space the team usually use for prepping gear ready to go out to events and shows. They then installed extra trusses either side of the one that is permanently installed and usually used for hanging fixtures for testing and service. Finally, they installed pipe and drape to cover the warehouse walls, giving them a ‘black box’ ready to use for filming whatever clients want to stream to the world.”

To create aerial effects and surface GOBO projections in the space, the PEG team rigged four of their ADJ Vizi BSW 300 moving head fixtures to each side truss and then deployed a further four units as a ground package. These are hybrid luminaires, which can function interchangeably as beam, spot or wash fixtures. However, in this instance, the units rigged to the trusses are primarily projecting textured effects down on to the floor of the space, while the fixtures on the floor are used to shoot punchy mid-air effects up from behind the performers.

“We chose the Vizi BSW 300 for this purpose because it has the widest beam angle of all the lights we have and the trim height in the studio is pretty low, at around 14.5 feet,” explains Dave. “It’s actually a fixture we use a lot for all kinds of applications; it’s been a real work horse for us. We’ve sent it out on everything from DJs playing weddings to big production gigs with national artists, and we’ve had incredible success with it. The 300W LED source is killer, it absolutely crushes almost any other light we put it next to. It’s a great fixture and really is versatile; anything you need from it – a tight beam, a nice profile or even a broad wash – it delivers. It’s a flexible fixture, and that’s the truth!”

To complement the moving beams and GOBO projections, Dave and his team also deployed fourteen of ADJ’s 7P HEX IP fixtures on the ground throughout the space. This robust and versatile LED par fixture offers heavy duty all-metal construction and an IP65-rated enclosure, while packing in 7 x 12-Watt 6-in-1 HEX LEDs to generate a powerful wash with huge color mixing potential.

“The 7P HEX IP is another versatile fixture, that we use for all kinds of events,” enthuses Dave. “The color mixing is great and the brightness is fantastic. Being an IP65-rated unit, it’s become our ‘go-to’ choice for front light when we’re doing smaller outdoor stages. Being a compact, lightweight fixture, we usually mount them on T-bars and throw them up on top of tripods. It doesn’t matter where we’re at, they have plenty of brightness, and they’re super reliable. We don’t have to worry about them, just plug them in and they work every time!”

In addition to the ADJ fixtures, the PEG team have selected two products from sister company Elation Professional to complete their studio’s lighting package. Nine FUZE WASH Z350 single source LED par moving head luminaires, three on each truss, provide overhead color washing and illumination of the performers. Meanwhile, eight CUEPIX Blinder WW2 fixtures, mounted on vertical pipes spread around the space, provide warm white fill washes and blinder effects.