Plane Lighting
LED Color Changing Lighting at Wilson Air Center
Lighting Dialogue by Jack Kelly
May 7, 2008 | Wilson Air Center | Charlotte, NC

Private Jets, Gambling, and Red Bull: sounds like the ingredients of an action movie intro. Ascension Aviation, Red Bull, Gulfstream, Hawker- Beechcraft, Bombardier, & Embraer all joined forces to raise money for Fight Night for Kid’s and the Levine Children’s Hospital through creating a casino in an airline hangar. Amanda Combs of Ascension Aviation organized “A Mile High Affair.” As a result of positive recommendations from Red Bull, Amanda gave Eye Dialogue a call.

A couple years ago, I worked several parties for a skydiving crew, the Rodriguez Brothers. With my limited experience, I found lighting design for airline hangers particularly fun because the environment is open and white. Hangers have several key characteristics conducive to lighting effects: a giant white canvas receptive to every suggestion, tall ceilings great for beam effects, and highly reflective white surfaces allowing low light levels to still be effective. At this event the bay doors were to be left partially open. Because of the open air flow, hazers would have little impact, thus eliminating the effectual use of beam effects. I decided to focus on projection effects and wall washes.

The key to any event is effective branding. Transparent motivations of the event planners leave a stronger impact. It also allows the opportunity for guest to thank the host. Otherwise, it is just another nameless event for a nameless charity splashed with colorful stories of alcohol’s abuses. Opponents of branding don’t like an event to turn into a long commercial for the sponsors. I believe the key is branding integration. By creatively integrating logos or by suggestion of the logo as a design element, the event establishes a purpose without being pushy. With minor sacrifices such as color, the advertisement can work with the design environment without clashing. Viewers feel uncomfortable when unwelcome coloring clashes with the event’s themes. Much like a person who talks to loud or whose dress is over-the-top, the group will attempt to tune out the obnoxious effect. Little compromises with logo integrity allow the guests to accept the branding as an interesting effect within the design. Sometimes losing the image but keeping the color can also be effective. Coca Cola has effectively used this technique with small images with submersing advertising and events in Coca Cola red. Sometimes losing the name and maintaining the shape can also be effective. Microsoft’s four color flag, Macintosh’s Apple, and Mercedes-Benz’ three pointed star have become effective symbols no longer requiring a label for consumer understanding. Using creative advertising methods, corporate branding is not only palatable but desirable to consumers.

Custom gobos were designed for the airline sponsors. Images of Gulfstream, Hawker- Beechcraft, Bombardier, & Embraer stretched across the back wall in between every other column. All the logos were simplified and were projected onto the wall with white light. The white canvas featured Colorado color changing LEDs, highlighting the exposed I-beams supporting the walls. The color changing LEDs created interest around the logos creating an effective theme. If the client would have kept their colors, then each logo would have increased the list of clashing colors. When working with a singular client, the chosen room themes always compliment the logo colors. When working with multiple clients on the same event, the key is simplification. Armed with an arsenal of custom branding elements, Red Bull provided their custom DJ booth and extreme video to play on the center wall.