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City Hall Meetings Never Looked So Good!
By Walter Olden
 When building their New City Hall complex, the City of Austin, TX engaged our services to help on a number of lighting issues. Not unlike many local governments, the Austin city council meetings are shown both live, and taped for later re-broadcast over local cable channels so that area residents can stay informed of government events which impact their daily lives. One of their problems, however, was that the quality of the video broadcast had been poor and did not reflect the contemporary, progressive, and professional ambiance the City wished to convey.
This customer, like many other municipalities, wanted to improve the appearance of the visual images contained in these important  broadcasts. They wanted a lighting system that would deliver enough light for videotaping purposes, yet still ensure that it would reflect the “daylight-balanced” look they prefer to project with their video productions. We needed daylight color temperature lamps to balance the large amount of windows in the main council chambers. They also wanted “dimming” capabilities compatible with their Crestron® control system from either the control room, or any of the remote touch screens located throughout the chambers.
And of course, like most of my customers these days, it was important that the lighting be as  energy efficient as possible. It could not produce unnecessary and expensive (especially during the very hot summer months of Austin) heat in the room. As you can imagine, any additional heat from the new light sources would obviously make things a little “hotter under the collar” than they need to be, especially in a room such as their chamber council meeting room where the potential for robust and contentious debate frequently comes to life. Minimizing electrical draw from the fixtures themselves was also a consideration – no sense running up the taxpayers’ electric bill if we could avoid it.
The solution we proposed, which met all of these seemingly conflicting demands and was subsequently approved, was KW/2 PrimeTime Lighting studio  lighting instruments. The fixture we recommended (the 1SL255) is the same fixture professional broadcasters use to light their talent. With KW/2 PrimeTime Lighting,we delivered great video imaging luminance, yet we kept their energy costs low (KW/2 PrimeTime Lighting's fluorescent fixtures typically draw only 20-25% of the electrical requirements that traditional incandescent studio light fixtures require) and minimized “heat-throw” into council chambers. The other big advantage we delivered with KW/2 PrimeTime Lighting,which is one of those “hidden” bonuses that you never see because they seldom occur, is a severe reduction in lamp maintenance and inventory expense. The KW/2 PrimeTime Lighting fluorescents are good for 10-12,000 hours of lamp life. In a city council chamber environment, that’s an equivalent of 5-6 years without having to worry about changing lamps, or finding a place to store replacements.
So, thanks to KW/2 PrimeTime Lighting, we’ve provided a lighting system that produces fantastic video luminance for the City of Austin, and it meets all of their demands as an efficient, cost-effective solution to their communication lighting needs. Local officials are excited about the improved video imaging, and look, of their new council chamber.
  
About the author:
Since 1985 Olden Lighting has been illuminating central Texas with professional lighting and theatrical equipment and design. They've helped to define the ever growing Austin based theatrical, film and video community as it expands to national and international notoriety.
As a member of the team of lighting pros for the world renowned Austin City Limits, Walter Olden helped Austin gain its title as America's live music capital.
Now as Austin's independent film and production community grows in leaps and bounds, Olden Lighting has become the premiere local choice for rentals and purchases of video and film lighting and grip equipment. Olden Lighting has provided packages for numerous independent low budget productions as well as bigger national productions like Spy Kids I, II III, and ESPN and MTV.
Olden Lighting
2008 Alexander Ave. Austin, TX 78722
ph.512 416 8080 / fx.512 416 8096
www.oldenlighting.com |
