When ETC began developing a lighting product for cycloramas, the company says it didn’t want to put just any cyc light on the market — it had to meet several requirements to be deserving of the ETC brand: the light would be bright, easy to use, provide seamless coverage, and comply with the standards ETC sets for its products. The result is the Source Four LED CYC, an adapter that affixes to any Source Four LED luminaire, transforming it into a powerful tool to illuminate cycloramas.

Using the x7 Color System, which combines up to seven LED colors onto one unit, Source Four LED luminaires can output a nearly limitless range of colours, from pure whites to refined pastels and vibrant, saturated hues. With the introduction of the Source Four LED CYC, the company says that colour flexibility can now be applied to cycloramas. “The Source Four LED CYC can jazz up monochromatic drops and designers can experiment with the boldest x7 colours,” says ETC entertainment marketing manager Matt Armendariz-Kerr. “Painted drops get the biggest benefits. Designers can tweak the Source Four LED CYC’s color to bring out or tone down certain hues on a patterned drop, completely changing the mood of a scene.”

With the same optics and strong beam that the Source Four family is known for, the Source Four LED CYC evenly distributes light across the cyclorama, so scallops or gaps aren’t visible between the luminaires. “It’s really surprising how smooth the coverage is,” describes ETC fixtures product manager Jim Uphoff. “It’s hard to believe that the light comes from an LED.”

The Source Four LED CYC is a convenient and budget-friendly addition to fixture inventories, because of the Source Four LED’s multipurpose functionality. “Most venues keep a stock of cyc lights that can only be used to light cycloramas,” explains Uphoff. “If a show doesn’t have a backdrop, those expensive fixtures are put back in storage and not used. The Source Four LED is much more versatile, because the CYC adapter can be removed when a backdrop is not needed, and then the luminaire can be used to light another part of the stage.”

Setup time is also greatly reduced with the Source Four LED CYC. Says Armendariz-Kerr: “You don’t need a PhD in lensing to use the Source Four LED CYC. Designers can apply the cyc-lighting knowledge they already have without fussing with additional lenses or diffusion. As soon as the CYC adapter is added to a Source Four LED, it’s ready to go.”