Q1 Lights the Greatest Stars on Ice

Hockey's biggest names gathered in Vancouver on June 22nd to honor the sport's brightest stars of the season at the annual NHL Awards Gala. The event, held at Vancouver's Centre for the Performing Arts brought a dimension of dramatic glitz and glamour to a sport normally associated with the glaring white light of a packed arena on game night.

The show, produced by the NHL and CBC Sports for broadcast throughout North America, included appearances by hockey greats including Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky as well as performances by Canadian music legend Tom Cochrane and rockers 54-40. It was the first time the awards gala was held in Vancouver.

CBC Lighting Designer Brad Dickson is a veteran of the annual event, and had the opportunity to work on it with Q1 for the second time. This year Dickson and Q1's Tracey Ploss introduced CBC Vancouver-based set designer Lawrence Collett to LED fixtures which were used prominently in the set - which included a 3-dimensional "Burrito" drop from Atomic Design, as well as in the risers leading up to the stage and on the awards podium itself.

With conventional lighting used only for cuts to the star-studded audience, stage effects were created by the interplay of more than 200 Color Kinetics Color Blast 12 LED's and a full complement of automated fixtures including 78 VL3000 spots, 25 VL2500 wash, 12 VL2500 spots, 10 VL1000 spots, 3 M2 Lycian follow spots and 60 Par 64's.

Dickson and lighting programmers Stephen Plotkin and Danny Beardmore used 3 Vector Red control consoles, utilizing the console's matrix system to control the LED's. Q1 technician Todd Martin incorporated a wireless dimmer into the podium with camera batteries to power the LED's and a wireless DMX system to control the LED's in the podium, enabling it to be rolled on and off camera throughout the show without cables or hookups.

While the annual event celebrates excellence in sports with 12 main awards and a number of honorary awards handed out to recipients chosen by voters from the Professional Hockey Writers Association, the NHL Coaches Association and the NHL Players Association, the event has served for over two decades as a major fund-raiser for the Canadian Diabetes Foundation, furthering research, education and assistance for Canadians affected by the disease and reminding fans of the ongoing support professional athletes give back to their communities.

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