Immediately after receiving the first production batch of the new KL CYC light at Elation’s European headquarters in Kerkrade, The Netherlands, Bert Schmeits, Elation’s Key Account Manager Benelux, and Dutch distributor Rolight decided to find a suitable venue to test the new fixture. The Wilminktheater in Enschede, conveniently located in the same city as Rolight, provided the ideal stage to put the KL CYC through its paces.
“We were given access to the stage at the Wilminktheater to experiment with the new CYC light,” Schmeits explained. “In order to properly assess how the fixtures behave when multiple units are placed next to each other, I brought four of them with me.”
The theater’s 11m high backdrop was illuminated from above using four KL CYC L units placed two meters away, side by side at one-meter intervals, and operating at 50% intensity.
The coverage impressed the theater’s lighting technicians, prompting a follow-up shootout against competing fixtures, and the KL CYC lights excelled in this direct comparison, verifying their capability.
“During the test, we set up the fixtures, and when we switched them on, I was immediately impressed by the powerful output and excellent colour rendering,” shared Robin Eijlders, owner of Rolight.
“Originally, we thought the fixture would be mainly suitable for the front edge of the stage, but we quickly discovered it could do much more than that.
“It turned out to be a true horizon fixture, which completely exceeded our expectations. We were soon very impressed with its versatility and performance.”
Paul de Vries, head of the Wilminktheater’s lighting department, was particularly impressed with the product’s versatility.
“The cost-to-performance ratio was just right with the Elation fixtures,” de Vries said. “The form factor was also better than the competitor products, as it allows us to use them as high or low cyclorama lights or even as footlights.”
The KL CYC is an LED light designed for cyclorama, set, and wall-washing applications. It features a full-spectrum RGBMA colour system with high CRI and offers smooth, diffused light and exceptional colour blending.
Available in one-meter or half-meter models, its fanless operation makes it ideal for noise-sensitive environments and the fixtures’ low-profile design also allows them to double as footlights, offering even more adaptability in design.
The Wilminktheater and Muziekcentrum Enschede is an important cultural facility for the municipality of Enschede and the surrounding area.
The company, which operates four buildings with five stages in the center of Enschede, invested in 36 KL CYC L units, most of which are installed on their main stage with additional fixtures placed in an older theater space.
“The new system is not only lighter and more efficient, but it also offers far greater intensity and flexibility than our previous halogen system,” de Vries commented. The former setup weighed around 500kg, while the new Elation system is 330kg with rigging.
“The speed, intensity, and range of colour options are all huge improvements,” de Vries added. “We used to be limited to four colours with the old system, which required constant effort to change gels. Now, it’s as simple as a button press, and we can offer a wider variety of colour choices.”
Top and bottom barndoors on the fixtures allow for more precise framing of the light output along the surface or to avoid overshot in footlight applications.
“As a footlight, it’s a small fixture on front of the stage and is just perfect,” continued de Vries.
Another deciding factor in their choice, he says, was a directive from the city of Enschede to move away from halogen to more efficient lighting sources like LED.
“They’ve already elevated the quality of our lighting, and we’re excited to see what more we can achieve with them.”
