Blue Parrot’s Mike Somerville and Jonnie Clough take delivery
UK - Edinburgh-based production services and dry hire company, Blue Parrot, has taken delivery of Scotland’s first Ayrton Perseo-S IP65-rated LED fixtures. The occasion also marks Blue Parrot’s first investment in Ayrton fixtures which are destined for a very busy life in hire stock.
“We've just received our shipment of 14 Ayrton Perseo IP65 units and we're very excited,” says Blue Parrot managing director, Jonnie Clough. “We’ve been searching for a solid solution for an IP fixture of this kind for ages.”
Perseo is Ayrton’s first multi-function, compact, powerful, IP65-rated fixture developed for intensive outdoor use. Perseo produces 27,000lm from its 500W LED source, and sports a fully weather-proof housing with a new water-resistant menu navigation system to handle “whatever the weather can throw at it”.
Clough was first introduced to Perseo, along with the full range of Ayrton LED fixtures, on a visit to the Ayrton headquarters in Paris in the company of Ayrton’s UK distributor, Ambersphere Solutions. “To be honest, I wasn’t specifically looking for an IP-rated fixture at the time, but when I saw Perseo, I was immediately intrigued. They instantly caught my attention, firstly because they were LED, and secondly because they were much brighter than our existing discharge stock, which was a great surprise.
“But the main factor to clinch Perseo above anything else is because it is a really good light that just happens to be water-proof. They are small and light with fantastic output and packed full of features. You don’t have to compromise on anything, which is something I have not seen before. We can use Perseo indoors on theatre productions just as much as we can put them out in the Scottish weather.”
Shortly after the visit, Clough received a client request calling for a number of IP65-rated fixtures for 13 weeks of outdoor events in Glasgow. “It was the ideal opportunity to invest in Perseo which had so impressed me and add it to our rental stock,” says Clough. “The disadvantage of course is we haven’t had the chance to use it ourselves yet as it has gone straight on the first event at GlasGlow.”
The 14 units were supplied to Blue Parrot on a short turnaround by Ambersphere Solutions in time for the demanding outdoor event. “Going forward, obviously, we will have a large call for them on our own projects, and already have them earmarked for extensive use on the Cambridge college May Balls next summer,” says Clough. “Until now we have just made do with what we have, but it will be great to have a highly efficient LED moving head that we can use without an external waterproof dome, which gives us a lot more flexibility. And as we do a huge amount of outdoor events as well as theatre, I foresee them being very busy.”
(Jim Evans)

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