FutureTech Featuring Elation - Elation PARAGON LT Changing the Game

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All right, welcome back everyone
to another Geezers of Gear

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future tech Chris here as always
joined by Lacey.

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Today we are diving right into
the new hotness from Elation,

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the Paragon Lt.
I'll be honest, Laci, it's been

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a while since I've seen this
much genuine excitement bubbling

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up over a fixture that calls
itself Long Throw.

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I mean seriously Chris, every
other week there's some new LED

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on the block.
The numbers on the Paragon Lt.

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are like not normal 1300 Watt
LED engine up to 52,000 lumens.

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That's bonkers.
And it's IP 54 rated, which I do

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get excited about because if
there's one constant in live

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events, it's someone leaving
stuff outside in the rain.

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Oh you're not wrong there.
Show must go on right?

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That IP 54 rating means the Lt.
is actually dust and splash

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resistant, so you can run this
indoors or outside without

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losing any sleep.
I actually had, OK quick story,

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a massive stadium gig last
autumn and of course the heavens

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opened mid show.
We were scrambling, worried some

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of the kit would pack it in, but
anything with real

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weatherproofing it just keeps
ticking.

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Gear that can handle moisture
and those miserable dusty

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festival fields?
Absolute lifesaver.

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And it helps when the fixture
isn't just tough, but also

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clever.
The True Tone variable CRI thing

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makes sense to me.
So you can dial it in from CRI

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70 up to 93 depending on, you
know, the camera or the look you

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want.
Exactly.

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Variable CRI is fantastic
because you're not locked into

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one setting.
Sometimes you want every bit of

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brightness, sometimes you want
accurate colour for broadcast or

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a corporate.
The turbo mode's a bit cheeky

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too, giving you up to 20% more
output.

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Like if you want Let's Melt
faces mode for that big walk in

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look, you've actually got it.
And Ultra dimming running at

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25,000 Hertz means it dims
smooth as butter and no weird

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flicker for cameras or phones.
OK, I'm not the expert, but zoom

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from 3.7 to 48, that's a crazy
range, right?

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So it's not just your typical
spotlight, it can do those

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punchy beams or like really fill
out a wash.

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Spot on, and that 200mm in his
front lens means you get real

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presence, big look, not just a
pin spot across the arena.

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It's sort of a Swiss Army knife
for the big gigs.

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One day you need a razor beam
slicing through haze, the next a

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super soft wash for a sensitive
show.

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For anyone doing stadium shows
or even those mad outdoor

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installs, yeah, this is a tool
you want in your box.

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So not just muscle, but brains
too.

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Love it.
All right, let's get into why

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it's got everyone talking awards
lately.

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So, Chris, this thing isn't just
a workhorse.

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The Paragon series has been
sweeping trophies, Best of

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viewing product at LDI 2024 and
then ABTT Lighting product of

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the year.
Like when was the last time you

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saw a fixture get both?
Yeah, the ABT, especially judged

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by actual working theatre folks,
not just a bunch of marketers.

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That's huge.
They said it's a leap forward,

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not just in output, but in
serviceability and lens

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swapping, flexibility.
You're not buying 3 versions for

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different gigs.
Just pull the lens apart, fit

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what you need, you're off.
I know LDI, the buzz wasn't just

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from the lights.
People were animated about how

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you could get access for
cleaning swaps, all that jazz.

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This is definitely a fixture
made by people who actually

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listen to designers, not just
the engineers.

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And the fact it won at both a
tech innovation show and with

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old school theater practitioners
really tells you it landed with

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both crowds.
Let's talk about those creative

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tools, because even if the
show's outside in the rain, you

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still want magic.
So here's where I start needing

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you to slow down for me, the FX
package on the Paragon Lt.

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It's wild. 3 gobo wheels, full
animation, dual overlapping

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prisms, dual frost, high speed
iris, and then some sort of

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indexable framing and it runs
quiet for those noise sensitive

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like theatrical situations.
I don't think I've even seen

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half this stuff done in one
light before.

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You and half the industry Laci.
Let's break it down.

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So you've got 3 gobo wheels.
That's two rotating, one fixed.

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You can throw in crisp logos,
breakup patterns, all without

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going dark for a swap.
Plus that animation wheels fully

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indexable so you get fire, water
* field, whatever textures you

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like dialed in smoothly.
The prisms and dual frost let

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you layer effects, hard beam,
wide breakup, nice soft washes

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all on the fly.
Add in that high speed iris and

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indexable full blackout framing
and whatever beam shape you

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dream up, you can do it.
Even shut off spill for camera

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shots or architecture.
Wow.

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And the colour part, that's not
just your basic CMY, right?

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There's this Spectra colour
thing and I think variable CTO.

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Right, so you get ultra fast and
importantly quiet CMY mixing

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plus variable linear CTO for
smooth colour temp changes.

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But the real trick is with
Spectra colour, an optional RGB

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array on top of CNY.
So you get both the Super

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saturated Reds and Blues for
those neon looks and gentle

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pastels for proper theatre or
broadcast.

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You don't have to swap fixtures
for different events.

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A big theme in pro lighting now,
as we've talked about before.

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And I hear designers talking
about challenges on those giant

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football halftime shows or
broadcasts like the whole camera

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flicker problem or lights not
looking the same on screen as in

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person.
Does the variable CRI in the

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Paragon Lt. solve for that?
It absolutely helps.

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You can bump up CRI for beauty
shots so colors pop and skin

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looks real, or pull back for Max
output if you're lighting ADJ.

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For example, the ultra dimming
at 25 pile how it's means

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whether it's a phone, TV, camera
or granddad with his old

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camcorder, you're not getting
nasty rolling bands or flicker.

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I've had shows where a single
flicker can kill a broadcast

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cut.
Sometimes designers are

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terrified of going below a
certain dim level, but with this

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you don't have to worry.
Also side note, the remote

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controllable theatre mode drops
the fixture noise even lower.

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Could have used that a few times
back in my musical days, let me

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tell you.
And the lens swap, you can just

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pop in a different lens and
what?

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It's a wash, then a profile,
then a beam.

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Who comes up with this stuff?
It's almost like Elation heard

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everyone moaning about hauling
six types of kit to a gig and

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finally did something about it.
Pretty much, and with how big

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some of these shows are getting,
not even just stadium concerts,

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but immersive installs, arc
attainment stuff, TV, the more

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flexible the better.
It's just less to haul, less to

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break, more time to focus on the
art.

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All right, that is a wrap, at
least for today.

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I think we pulled back the
curtain pretty far on the

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Paragon Lt. and why it's making
so many waves.

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Any last words, Chris?
Just that it's refreshing to see

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gear that's both clever and
tough.

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Gig tested, designer approved.
I suspect we'll be seeing a lot

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more of Paragon at the next
round of shows.

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Thanks for vibing with us, Laci.
You bet, and thanks to everyone

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listening.
Keep those questions coming.

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We love hearing from you.
We'll catch you next time on

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Geezers of Gear Future Tech Be
safe on the gig, Chris.

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Take care Lacey.
Goodbye everyone.

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Future tech is here.
Come on man, you make the spec

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so clear.
Oh La La with music to your

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ears.
Hey, hey.

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Yeah, let's go.
New gear vibes, new tech jive.