Lighting It Blue in the West Country
UK - “We’re in this together,” has been a common rallying cry for communities throughout the world as they deal with the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Andy Tugby took this to heart when he turned his home into an inspiring symbol in the Cornwall town of Camborne
With business at his company, SoundONE Disco, halted because of the prohibition on events, Tugby brought some of his idle Chauvet DJ lighting fixtures home to his 160-year old house and created a Light It Blue display, the kind normally seen on landmarks and public buildings.
“I felt this would be a nice gesture for my neighbours,” said Tugby. “At 8 pm people would come out to cheer the NHS, so I wanted to create an uplifting visual that would support them and serve as a positive symbol.”
Working with his DJ Sam Luke Barns, Tugby positioned four freestanding and battery powered Freedom Stick RGB fixtures evenly spaced across the front of his four-bedroom detached house. The powerful output of each unit’s 32 SMD LEDs allowed him to create an even field of colour across the width of the building.
Adding impact to the display were four Intimidator Spot 455Z IRC fixtures. Drawing on the tight beam angle and illuminance (up to 7,700 lux at 5m of these 180-watt movers, Tugby created crossing blue beams on the face of the building, lending greater dimensionality to his design.
Tugby and Barns were careful to leave the area directly below the home’s windows dark to allow the blue uplights inside to show through. Care was also taken to avoid spill- over light, so as not to disturb the neighbours.” I didn’t want the light to be disruptive to anyone in the area,” said Tugby.
The response to his Light It Blue creation was overwhelming positive, with scores of photos taken and shared on social media.
“It felt good doing this, and we were very happy that it made so many of our neighbours feel good too,” said Tugby.

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