We just returned from LDI 2012 in Vegas where we debuted our new "Angle Light Wireless Highlight System" to the world. For those of you that have never heard of LDI... LDI is the world's largest event lighting/technology trade show. Hundreds of companies that specialize in the lighting, sound, projection and support segments of the entertainment industry choose to debut their newest products and innovations there. Thousands of professionals visit from all over the world to get a first-hand look at the newest technologies and meet the people responsible for developing cutting edge new capabilities.

We are proud to say the show was a huge success for us. Not only did we get a chance to meet some truly talented people, but the over-the-top positive feedback we received about the quality, function, design and creative thinking behind the Angle Light was beyond anything we could have imagined. To see so many faces light up when we went through the features and concept of the Angle Light was just amazing. Watching a whole new wave of inspiration come over people as they realized the full potential of a totally wireless highlight system was a surreal experience.

After all of the great feedback the weekend was not over yet. We still had the industry awards to attend in hopes that we would/could be recognized as one of this years most innovative lighting products.  Now, to try and explain the gravity of the moment here is how it all happens... You have to inform the LDI judging panel of a new lighting product that is debuting at LDI for the first time. Once the show begins, the panel of judges individually visit your booth without telling you who they are and look at the product you have developed. From all the products that are new they collectively vote on this years most innovative product.

So how did we do?... Well, something happened that is unheard of. The lighting category is HUGE. It's like the Emmy's when they announce the top award at the end of the night. To even be considered one of the top is extremely difficult to achieve. So when they went to announce the winner, they as a panel of judges decided to do something they never do... have more than one winner, and mention more than one company. They said it was simply too difficult to pick one top product because each were so influential and unique. So they decided each company and product had to be mentioned separately. 

So they continued to say... "First... we would like to recognize FUEL Lighting Systems for developing the "Angle Light Wireless Highlight System"... It is truly an elegant, beautifully designed, well thought-out and innovative light system". "Congratulations on such an achievement". 

Ok.... what did I just hear? I just about fell on the floor! This is our first year at LDI, and our first product we have developed and launched, so it is difficult to imagine what i just heard! Everything after that was a blur... can't remember a thing for at least a minute.

From there they announced the two top winners... Clay Paky for their industry changing "Sharpy" moving light fixture, and ETC... for updating their Source Four spot light to include an LED version. Both of these companies are at the leading edge of innovation affecting the entire globe in respect to new lighting technologies and capabilities.

We are humbled and honored to be selected as one of the top three companies in 2012 to develop a new lighting innovation that is changing the landscape of the event world. It was a dream of mine that someday I would be able to contribute to the innovative thinking of the event lighting industry and it is amazing we were able to stand out above so many truly great new products. Being in the top three, we were standing along side two of the world leaders in the industry and that by itself is an honor to say the least.

A special thanks to the LDI judging panel for recognizing and believing in our new vision for the lighting industry. It is only the beginning of a new wave of innovations that will create unique lighting possibilities and exciting new designs that will continue to transform the look and feel of many amazing events for years to come.

Check back soon for exciting additions to our portfolio such as the upcoming "Penda-Light" System... The industries first wireless pendent light.

Paul Therrien (Systems Developer)

It is incredibly difficult to describe a beam of light, especially if we are talking about color temperature, throw distance and intensity. But if we had to start by describing the look and feel of the Angle Light itself we would describe it as a Designers LED Spot Light. Small and well built, beautiful by design, pleasing warm-white light beam, with many ways to configure them for each venue and event. Not simply a pin-spot replacement, but a new type of LED highlight instrument.

As for the quality of light, and the way it projects light, here are some images we captured, along with some comments of interest that may help give you a better understanding of what the Angle Light does best.

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For this first image we generated some haze in the air so you could see the structure of the beam. If there were any visual issues such as glare or uncontrolled light spill, haze would certainly expose these types of potential problems since you can see the beam passing through the air.  Looking at this image, notice we were able to achieve something very special with the Angle Light... a narrow beam of light that has a beautiful soft edge without the typical flare/glare you would normally see from a soft edge fixture. 

For this image a single Angle Light was mounted at a 40deg position above the table. The goal was to show the shape of the beam once it hits an object, but also the way in which it has a precisely tuned soft edge that comes to a visual end. This is very different than a beam that is simply diffused which would cause some light to spill 180deg wasting power and causing unwanted glare.

 Now for a brighter more contrasty version of the above image...

 Depending on what you intend to light, a narrow controlled beam is a good starting point. We can always spread the beam with our beam shaping diffusers, it was much more complex to make this type of exacting beam.

 Amazing lighting designs are about balance. This image below demonstrates how the background color helps make the centerpiece visually pop, two opposite elements working together to create one scene. But one other aspect of this image to consider is the effect of uplighting on a space that does not include highlighting, and how the lack of highlighting effects how we see these important elements.

Uplighting alone can cause unintended light balance problems. The problem lies in the fact that you are lighting the edge of the room bright, while simaltaniously leaving the centerpiece, food stations, cards tables and even the dance floor without any light, making these areas appear, in comparison to the walls and ceiling, to be even darker to the eye than it normally would. Essentially, with uplighting alone you are creating silhouette's of all these great elements. With the Angle Light there is finally a wireless solution that can illuminate all these areas with warm beautiful light.

Imagine if the centerpiece was as dark as the chairs?

This image below demonstrates a few interesting things to check out. First, the glow on the drape is due to reflection of light off the table which is something to keep in mind when lighting events. If you are lighting 20-40 tables and your goal is to create a very dimly lit space then reflection of light off surfaces such as this can become an issue... that is why we made sure you could remotely dim each light.

A note about beam color....I have to admit it is impossible to show the color of light accurately in an image. Between the camera capturing it one way and the LCD monitor showing it another way... it is just plain impossible. So what you want to look at are the surrounding light sources such as the candles, lamps etc to get a feel for the true color of the beam. Since you are familiar with candle light or what a regular light bulb looks like you can judge other colors better. We would describe the Angle light beam as a warm-tone similar to a incandecent bulb dimmed to 50%,  leaning ever so slightly toward the pink side of the spectrum. On my monitor this image below makes the beam look slightly more yellow than it really is.  It is more of a pinkish warm-tone which was chosen due to its ability to look warm and pleasing, but still show colors such as the different hues you may see in a floral arrangement with depth and accuracy.

With the introduction of the wireless Angle Light System, it will finally allow many more events to incorporate highlighting as part of the design. It will not only be possible to add pin-spotting in spaces that normally would not be able to accommodate it, but you will find many new opportunities to offer proper highlighting on many other aspects of the event.

With this new innovation, you will soon realize that uplighting is a "wanted" element, but "highlighting" is both wanted and needed. Simply put... The Angle Light System is about to change everything... what we call a global shift of capability.