
Perfectly Flawless Proteus on LumiNature at Philadelphia Zoo posted: 11/01/2020
4Wall and KB Associates help transform Philadelphia Zoo into magical holiday light attraction
Philadelphia Zoo did their part to spread holiday cheer this season with LumiNature, a massive new experiential holiday sound and light attraction that transformed the nation's first zoo into a magical winter wonderland encompassing 12 captivating experience zones.
At the center of the event was a majestic multi-media spectacular called Northern Lights designed by award-winning lighting designer Ken Billington, using a 4Wall Entertainment-supplied lighting package that included Elation Professional's robust IP65-rated Proteus luminaires.
The show, produced and directed by Jason Kantrowitz of Luminous Ventures Ltd, played 11 times a night, and starred a 35-foot tall polar bear sculpture named Polaris crafted from recycled car doors and hoods. Polaris, which also served as a giant projection surface for the eco-themed show, stood prominently overlooking a lake containing eight LED-illuminated icebergs made of recycled plastic and reclaimed wood.
Thirty-seven multi-functional Proteus Hybrid IP65-rated arc source moving heads were used for mid-air beam looks, as well as washes, with and without gobos, to light Polaris, the grove of trees surrounding the lake, floating icebergs and impressive air effects. They were brilliantly bright, held up in snow and rain, and were perfectly flawless. Oh, how I wish I had had IP65 fixtures years ago, exclaimed LD Billington, his first time using the Proteus series. I was looking for an outdoor beam/wash/profile and the Proteus Hybrid seemed to be the perfect light. Lucky for me they were also in rental stock at 4Wall New York.
The goal was to use as much earth-friendly LED lighting and recycled elements as possible, says show producer Kantrowitz, who conceived the show together with Billington and their creative team. It was exciting for us to create a show that could touch the hearts of thousands of guests each night, inspiring them to make a change to help protect the diversity of life on Planet Earth.
Northern Lights
Billington created the Northern Lights show with inspiration from the Aurora Borealis, a natural phenomenon that he has personally witnessed. The Proteus Hybrid were a perfect fixture to bring the Aurora Borealis look to this show. Their bright columns of rich color shot up from the lake through the clouds, he said, adding that he also accessed the fixture's gobos, animation wheel and prism in the 30 minutes of show programming, including preshow, 8-minute main show, and post-show cueing.
The Proteus's IP65 engineering made them a very reliable choice for the wintery outdoor environment, Billington says. He comments, I have been using automated lighting outdoors since the original Fantasmic! at Disneyland. The problem has always been the weather; domes are great, but they are large, unsightly and costly. The IP65 rating made this the perfect mover for us. Also used to create the enchanting atmospheres were a plethora of LED Par lights along with large-scale projections and a rich immersive audio system.
LumiNature, with its delightful blend of colorful displays and environmental theme, proved a hit with both kids and adults. It debuted November 20th and ran until January 5th.
Creative and Production Team:
Show Producer/Director: Jason Kantrowitz
Music Director: Ben Cohn
Lighting Designer: Ken Billington
Projection Designer: Christopher Ash
Sound Designer: Josh Liebert
Associate Lighting Designer/Programmer: Jackson Miller
Assistant Lighting Designer: Mike Billings
Video Assistants: Sara Marinich, Michael Long
Production Electrician: Justin Petito
Master Electrician: Chad Lefebvre
Production Video: Travis Johnson
Production Audio: Scott Kuker
Creative Directors: Scott Gasparich, Desiree Lambert
Project Manager: Nick Heller
Production Coordinator: Amanda Lake-White
Sound & Projection Equipment provided by: Sound Associates
About Elation Professional
Based in California with facilities in Florida and Mexico City, as well as European offices in The Netherlands, Elation designs and manufactures a comprehensive range of innovative lighting and video products known for its superior performance, excellent efficiency, and outstanding price:value ratio, all backed by a hard-earned reputation for Total Support. Through nearly three decades of intelligent lighting development, our mission has always been simple: to provide best-in-class products and service while offering the best value:performance ratio in the industry, helping show designers and producers achieve their vision. From discharge to LED, intelligent to conventional, Elation products continue to be a part of the industry's most exciting projects across the globe and our list of references is always growing.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
26/03/2026
Wayne, N.J., March 26, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the latest product li...
25/03/2026
Live match directors Sarah Cheadle (Sky Sports), Rob Levi (TNT Sports), and Andrew Swift (BBC Sport) sit down with the Premier League's Rachel Nightingale t...
25/03/2026
The senior from Upstate New York is manning the mic while also interning for the athletic department's sports-information team
In the live-sports-video ind...
25/03/2026
Synamedia has announced ContentArmor Edge Watermarking, a server-side solution t...
25/03/2026
SES has announced meoSphere, a medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellite network targeted for operation by 2030. The first phase will pair SES-developed software-defin...
25/03/2026
TVU Networks is working with Reuters on a phased migration from satellite to a c...
25/03/2026
Nielsen has announced three senior appointments. Seth Ladetsky has been named Head of Global Sports. Trevor Fellows will lead Nielsen's advertiser and agenc...
25/03/2026
Anoki and Amagi have launched In-Scene Ads powered by Anoki ContextIQ across Amagi's portfolio of in-content ad formats for Free Ad-supported Streaming TV (...
25/03/2026
Arkona Technologies will announce a series of enhancements to its BLADE//runner platform at NAB 2026 (Booth C.1808). The updates focus on usability and workflow...
25/03/2026
Daktronics has installed two tower displays and a video wall in the Lexus Club at Petco Park in San Diego ahead of the 2026 season.
Continuing to improve the ...
25/03/2026
MultiDyne Video & Fiber Optic Systems is celebrating its 50th anniversary as NAB Show 2026 approaches. The company was founded in 1976 by Vincent Jachetta, an N...
25/03/2026
IPC, a provider of integrated communication solutions, will make its NAB 2026 de...
25/03/2026
Live production categories were led by NBC, FOX, and ESPN's NFL coverage...
25/03/2026
The Atlanta Braves and Spectrum have announced a multiyear distribution agreemen...
25/03/2026
(L-R) Charlie Tyrell and Daniel Roher attend The AI Doc: Or How I Became An Apocaloptimist Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre ...
25/03/2026
Directed By, Spotify's documentary-style series that pulls back the curtain ...
25/03/2026
BTS is so back., This week, the global pop superstars took the stage at New York City's Pier 17 for their first U.S. performance in four years.
Part of Spo...
25/03/2026
How you listen can shape what you hear. That's the idea behind the new Spotify Listening Lounge, an acoustic space at our London headquarters purpose-built ...
25/03/2026
Tape effects taken to the extreme
The latest release from New York-based developer Iconic Instruments is said to accurately recreate the saturation and comp...
25/03/2026
Launched alongside new Vocal Phrases bundle
Sonuscore's latest release has been designed specifically for composers working on fantasy TV, film and game...
25/03/2026
Latest update now live
The latest version of Steinberg's post-production-focused DAW has just arrived, and comes packed with new dialogue editing, sound...
25/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz joins FormFactor's MeasureOne partner program FormFactor and Rohde & Schwarz advance their partnership for on-wafer RF component character...
25/03/2026
L3Harris Technologies and RFTEQ Pty Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding to ...
25/03/2026
L3Harris delivers combat-ready Torpedo Tube Launch and Recovery system, which deploys and retrieves Iver4 900 autonomous underwater vehicles through submarine t...
25/03/2026
The company expands leadership team under Chief Revenue Officer Amilcar Perez
S...
25/03/2026
Winter Olympic Games Opening Ceremony features in top 10 programmes of the month...
25/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/03/2026
Providing wide view timing visibility across the entire production chain...
25/03/2026
Continuing development drives advances in security, availability, access and connectivity...
25/03/2026
Caudalie, the renowned French cosmetics brand, has unveiled a state-of-the-art 200-seat auditorium at its new headquarters in the historic Marais district of ce...
25/03/2026
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, today announced expanded integration with Adobe Premiere, Adobe Media Encoder (AME), and Frame.io, d...
25/03/2026
Marshall Electronics is expanding its lineup of high-performance POV cameras designed for broadcast, live production and professional AV applications with the d...
25/03/2026
OOONA, a global provider of professional management and production tools for the media localization industry, announced today that it has been awarded the TPN G...
25/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/03/2026
SipRadius, specialists in secure, low-latency media transport, will drive innovation and interoperability still further with the launch of the SipMX Alliance at...
25/03/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote contribution solutions, will showcase its award-winning StudioPro ecosystem at The 2...
25/03/2026
Alfalite, the only European manufacturer of LED screens, will once again be present at NAB Show, the leading global event for the broadcast, media and entertain...
25/03/2026
PC, a leading provider of integrated communication solutions, will make its NAB 2026 Show debut in Booth C 3341. The company will highlight the newly branded On...
25/03/2026
Open video transport network simplifies satellite transition with new partnerships and global reach as spectrum auction nears
LTN will demonstrate how its purp...
25/03/2026
Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics, will present the full range of Leader, PHABRIX and LeaderPhabrix T&M solutions at the NAB Show, which takes pl...
25/03/2026
MNC Software, a global leader in network management and operational support systems tailored to the broadcast and media industry, today announced the appointmen...
25/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...