Clay Paky’s Alpha Beam 300 fixtures have now outshined even the sun. 46 Alpha Beam 300s took centre stage at the recent RMJ Festival in Finland, at which time the summer sun was up almost 23 hours each day.
Every year, the 3-day RMJ Festival gathers approximately 80 Finnish top artists and bands, attracting one of the biggest crowds in Finland. Among some of the 2009 artists were Nightwish, Petra, Stratovarius and CMX.
The Alpha Beams were aligned in rows forming the back wall of the stage. The beams were bright and sharp enough to count each one, even in full daylight. Lighting Designer Anna Pesonen says of the Alpha Beams, “My favourite thing is that they are visible in daylight! There are less than two hours of darkness during a midsummer night in Finland. I also like the frost, plus you can use them like washlights.”
So how do Alpha Beams compare? Pesonen says, “When comparing Clay Paky to other products, I especially like the true red. All other colours are nice also, but for some reason red is usually hard to get in other products.”
“If I think of the physical features, I really like the weight of the Alpha Beams. In Finland all festivals have a support stage, and usually the load capacity of those aren’t so much. With the Alpha Beams I can get more lamps and bigger sets more effectively and with lower electricity consumption.”
Pesonen’s next big project is Monster Jam Finland, where she claims, “The Alpha Beam 300s are perfect for that because the hockey arena lights are very bright and I’ve previously had big problems with that. But not anymore!”
Pesonen also wanted to thank a few special people including Riku Malinen, who was in charge of rigging and also programmed the set with a GrandMA console. Klaus Eklund was rigger and dimmer man during festival. “They are great!” she says. Gear was provided by Moving Light Oy.