UK – Blitz Communications is a company that prides itself in being a substantial investor in the newest, most innovative equipment available. With UK-wide presence sourced from bases in London and in Manchester, Blitz is well placed to offer clients the very best support in audio-visual, sound and lighting for events of all shapes and sizes. To this end, the company recently made the decision to purchase a substantial number of the new Clay Paky Glow-Ups.
LED uplighters have been around for a while now so why choose to invest in the new Clay Paky model? Andy Mahaffey is Head of Lighting at Blitz’s Elstree headquarters: “It’s true that Blitz have owned Wireless LED uplighters for a good few years; our existing stock from another manufacturer was starting to come to the end of its life. Although still a good product, I felt that the LED market had progressed in leaps and bounds over the last few years so the decision was made to shop around rather than just replace. Knowing both Glyn O’Donoghue (MD) and Lee House (Technical Sales) of Ambersphere Solutions of old, I knew that they would give me “honest” information regarding Clay Paky products. So I went for a beer with them at PLASA 2013 and then again at PLASA Focus: Leeds and reviewed the products.”
So what was the deciding factor in the final decision – apart from the beer? “The lighting department at Blitz is a relatively young and growing part of the organisation. All our stock is brand new and guaranteed to be at the cutting edge of current technology. So I have to be persuaded that any addition we make to our catalogue is of the very highest quality, offering the very best in performance; a chat with Glyn and Lee and a close look at the units in action convinced me that the Glow-Ups tick all those boxes and more.”
The Glow-Up is the ultimate portable battery-powered unit to provide a lighting solution in an almost limitless variety of environments. With a light source of 4 x 10W LEDs and with an adjustable zoom that ranges between 15° – 30°, each unit can run for 10 hours at full power or 20 hours when colour changing. Wireless control is through an on-board DMX receiver. Mahaffey elaborates, “I love the fact you have the ability to properly focus the head, and having the ability to zoom the optics in or out makes this product usable in many more situations than we previously would have used LED uplighters. Also, on every occasion, they just work!”
Now Blitz has had the opportunity to gauge the success of the Glow-Ups, Mahaffey finds no reason to regret what was a fairly substantial investment. “Once we had submitted the order to Ambersphere, everything was dealt with quickly and efficiently; the units arrived when promised and although we’ve had no reason to call them for back-up, it is reassuring to know they are there if necessary. The Glow-Ups go out on many of the wide range of projects we supply, ranging from banking conferences to award shows and parties. Their flexibility and ease of set-up means they have quickly become a staple part of many of our events; account handlers are now specifically requesting them and we’ve had nothing but positive feedback from clients.”
“I have barely seen these units in the warehouse since the day they arrived,” concludes Mahaffey. “They have proved immensely popular and the fact they have such a long and reliable battery life has won over all who have used them, placing them firmly amongst some of the most used fixtures we own. We will be buying more.”