The Smithsonian Gets the CHAUVET Professional Treatment

Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History recently hosted a private donor event that featured a rig made up entirely of CHAUVET Professional and CHAUVET DJ fixtures.

Eric Hertsch of John Farr Lighting Design worked on the rig, which included 16 Ovation E-910FC color mixing ellipsoidals, 48 Freedom PAR Quad 4 uplights, 48 Freedom Par Hex-4 units, and WELL Fit uplights.

“We used a red, white and blue color scheme to represent the themes of American History found throughout the museum,” said Hertsch. “The colors from all of our fixtures were rich and vibrant. In the Flag Hall, the WELL Fits’ output was critical. Their throw distance allowed us to saturate the entire area with its high ceilings in color. The Ovations produced a brilliant white color temperature, which easily fit our red, white and blue theme.”

Hertsch noted that the fixtures’ ability to pre-set colors and use battery power proved to be vital when setting up the rig.

“There were things we had to address,” he said. “Power is very limited near the flag sculpture, a single circuit – which typically is used by the entertainment act. So, it was essential to use a battery powered fixture. Of course, as a bonus, this also eliminated unsightly cable runs. We weren’t allowed to set lights in that area until 5:30pm, and we had guests at 6:30pm,” said Hertsch. “However, by pre-setting colors in the cases, we simply were able to lay out the fixtures in the desired locations and go, which saved huge amounts of time.”