Madrid, Spain – Clay Paky Sharpys have one again played an integral role in an epic stunt by trailblazing light artists Marshmallow Laser Feast (MLF) and lighting designer Matthew Button, who have combined their creative genius to pull off a sensory spectacular for Lexus Europe and international megastar will.i.am.
The amazing technological feat, which is part of Lexus’s campaign for the Lexus NX SUV, sees will.i.am create a choreographed laser light show in time to his smash hit #thatPOWER, using a trio of Lexus NXs on a disused Spanish runway lined with 350 motion-sensitive lasers and Sharpys. The number-one artist was challenged with directing the three cars to hit the beams at the right cadence to synchronise with his track.
“The fantastic beam quality was the driving force behind the choosing the Sharpy,” explains Button. “Having used them previously on a project for Castrol where they race supercars, we knew their speed and output would be perfect for this similar concept.”
The 160 Sharpys, supplied by PRG, were rigged from 8 x 40 ton cranes with spreader bars to enable each crane to take the weight of the truss and keep it in a straight line. The stunt was performed and filmed over the course of one night and has had over a million views on YouTube to date.
“The Sharpys were put through their paces, but worked very well,” says Button. “We only had to make small adjustments with the positioning.”
Button and the MLF team, led by creative producer Mark Logue and light artist and director Barney Steel, also relied on the Sharpys to perform as artnet nodes for each universe. They ran Ethernet into the units, with the Sharpys then retransmitting the universe.
“The whole system was backed up by Wi-Fi, which we never had to use,” says Button. “The Sharpys proved very reliable regardless of going through a freak storm with winds of 50mph and being cooked in the Spanish sun during set up. Everyone was extremely pleased with the end result.”