FutureTech Featuring Elation - Elation PARAGON LT Changing the Game

This episode explores the features, technology, and industry impact of Elation’s new PARAGON LT, the award-winning long-throw LED profile luminaire designed for today’s largest productions and stadium shows.

Episode Transcript

(00:19):
All right, welcome back everyoneto another Geezers of Gear
future tech Chris here as alwaysjoined by Lacey.
Today we are diving right into the new hotness from Elation,
the Paragon Lt. I'll be honest, Laci, it's been
a while since I've seen this much genuine excitement bubbling
up over a fixture that calls itself Long Throw.

(00:40):
I mean seriously Chris, every other week there's some new LED
on the block. The numbers on the Paragon Lt.
are like not normal 1300 Watt LED engine up to 52,000 lumens.
That's bonkers. And it's IP 54 rated, which I do
get excited about because if there's one constant in live
events, it's someone leaving stuff outside in the rain.

(01:03):
Oh you're not wrong there. Show must go on right?
That IP 54 rating means the Lt. is actually dust and splash
resistant, so you can run this indoors or outside without
losing any sleep. I actually had, OK quick story,
a massive stadium gig last autumn and of course the heavens

(01:23):
opened mid show. We were scrambling, worried some
of the kit would pack it in, butanything with real
weatherproofing it just keeps ticking.
Gear that can handle moisture and those miserable dusty
festival fields? Absolute lifesaver.
And it helps when the fixture isn't just tough, but also
clever. The True Tone variable CRI thing

(01:43):
makes sense to me. So you can dial it in from CRI
70 up to 93 depending on, you know, the camera or the look you
want. Exactly.
Variable CRI is fantastic because you're not locked into
one setting. Sometimes you want every bit of
brightness, sometimes you want accurate colour for broadcast or
a corporate. The turbo mode's a bit cheeky

(02:03):
too, giving you up to 20% more output.
Like if you want Let's Melt faces mode for that big walk in
look, you've actually got it. And Ultra dimming running at
25,000 Hertz means it dims smooth as butter and no weird
flicker for cameras or phones. OK, I'm not the expert, but zoom
from 3.7 to 48, that's a crazy range, right?

(02:25):
So it's not just your typical spotlight, it can do those
punchy beams or like really fillout a wash.
Spot on, and that 200mm in his front lens means you get real
presence, big look, not just a pin spot across the arena.
It's sort of a Swiss Army knife for the big gigs.
One day you need a razor beam slicing through haze, the next a

(02:46):
super soft wash for a sensitive show.
For anyone doing stadium shows or even those mad outdoor
installs, yeah, this is a tool you want in your box.
So not just muscle, but brains too.
Love it. All right, let's get into why
it's got everyone talking awardslately.
So, Chris, this thing isn't justa workhorse.
The Paragon series has been sweeping trophies, Best of

(03:08):
viewing product at LDI 2024 and then ABTT Lighting product of
the year. Like when was the last time you
saw a fixture get both? Yeah, the ABT, especially judged
by actual working theatre folks,not just a bunch of marketers.
That's huge. They said it's a leap forward,
not just in output, but in serviceability and lens

(03:28):
swapping, flexibility. You're not buying 3 versions for
different gigs. Just pull the lens apart, fit
what you need, you're off. I know LDI, the buzz wasn't just
from the lights. People were animated about how
you could get access for cleaning swaps, all that jazz.
This is definitely a fixture made by people who actually
listen to designers, not just the engineers.

(03:48):
And the fact it won at both a tech innovation show and with
old school theater practitionersreally tells you it landed with
both crowds. Let's talk about those creative
tools, because even if the show's outside in the rain, you
still want magic. So here's where I start needing
you to slow down for me, the FX package on the Paragon Lt.
It's wild. 3 gobo wheels, full animation, dual overlapping

(04:12):
prisms, dual frost, high speed iris, and then some sort of
indexable framing and it runs quiet for those noise sensitive
like theatrical situations. I don't think I've even seen
half this stuff done in one light before.
You and half the industry Laci. Let's break it down.
So you've got 3 gobo wheels. That's two rotating, one fixed.

(04:34):
You can throw in crisp logos, breakup patterns, all without
going dark for a swap. Plus that animation wheels fully
indexable so you get fire, water* field, whatever textures you
like dialed in smoothly. The prisms and dual frost let
you layer effects, hard beam, wide breakup, nice soft washes

(04:55):
all on the fly. Add in that high speed iris and
indexable full blackout framing and whatever beam shape you
dream up, you can do it. Even shut off spill for camera
shots or architecture. Wow.
And the colour part, that's not just your basic CMY, right?
There's this Spectra colour thing and I think variable CTO.
Right, so you get ultra fast andimportantly quiet CMY mixing

(05:19):
plus variable linear CTO for smooth colour temp changes.
But the real trick is with Spectra colour, an optional RGB
array on top of CNY. So you get both the Super
saturated Reds and Blues for those neon looks and gentle
pastels for proper theatre or broadcast.
You don't have to swap fixtures for different events.
A big theme in pro lighting now,as we've talked about before.

(05:42):
And I hear designers talking about challenges on those giant
football halftime shows or broadcasts like the whole camera
flicker problem or lights not looking the same on screen as in
person. Does the variable CRI in the
Paragon Lt. solve for that? It absolutely helps.
You can bump up CRI for beauty shots so colors pop and skin
looks real, or pull back for Maxoutput if you're lighting ADJ.

(06:05):
For example, the ultra dimming at 25 pile how it's means
whether it's a phone, TV, cameraor granddad with his old
camcorder, you're not getting nasty rolling bands or flicker.
I've had shows where a single flicker can kill a broadcast
cut. Sometimes designers are
terrified of going below a certain dim level, but with this
you don't have to worry. Also side note, the remote

(06:28):
controllable theatre mode drops the fixture noise even lower.
Could have used that a few timesback in my musical days, let me
tell you. And the lens swap, you can just
pop in a different lens and what?
It's a wash, then a profile, then a beam.
Who comes up with this stuff? It's almost like Elation heard
everyone moaning about hauling six types of kit to a gig and

(06:49):
finally did something about it. Pretty much, and with how big
some of these shows are getting,not even just stadium concerts,
but immersive installs, arc attainment stuff, TV, the more
flexible the better. It's just less to haul, less to
break, more time to focus on theart.
All right, that is a wrap, at least for today.

(07:10):
I think we pulled back the curtain pretty far on the
Paragon Lt. and why it's making so many waves.
Any last words, Chris? Just that it's refreshing to see
gear that's both clever and tough.
Gig tested, designer approved. I suspect we'll be seeing a lot
more of Paragon at the next round of shows.
Thanks for vibing with us, Laci.You bet, and thanks to everyone

(07:31):
listening. Keep those questions coming.
We love hearing from you. We'll catch you next time on
Geezers of Gear Future Tech Be safe on the gig, Chris.
Take care Lacey. Goodbye everyone.
Future tech is here. Come on man, you make the spec

(07:54):
so clear. Oh La La with music to your
ears. Hey, hey.
Yeah, let's go. New gear vibes, new tech jive.