A.C. Special Projects and CLS Light Up The Party at Madame Tussauds London

World renowned attraction, Madame Tussauds, have recently invested in CLS Jade fixtures to take their new Awards Party area to the next level, at their flagship venue in London. 

Madame Tussauds London is a major tourist attraction, displaying figures of famous and historical profiles, as well as popular film and television characters. With thousands of visitors a week, the Madame Tussauds London team are always working hard to ensure each visitor has a memorable experience. Great attention to detail in all areas is evident throughout the attraction, from the distinct features on the figures, through to the lighting.

Figure lighting at Madame Tussauds London is very important - the fixtures need to light a figure to show it at its best, not washed out or too dimly lit, and at angles that achieve a flattering look - complementing the months of work done by the team of artists to create and maintain the perfect likenesses that Madame Tussauds London is world famous for. Lighting solutions and installation specialists, A.C. Special Projects (AC-SP) were called upon to help with the lighting upgrade.

Madame Tussauds London’s Chris Gutteridge commented; “When designing the lighting for the figures, I need to be able to balance the amount of light on the figure with the ambient lighting of the room whilst taking the design of the sets into account. The lights used need to be compact enough to be unobtrusive, complement the set design and be powerful enough to light the figure from up to 10m away. The last thing I want is a big powerful light detracting your gaze from the amazing figures and sets.” 

“For our new Awards Party area a lot of the figures are in subdued lit areas to recreate an awards ceremony and after party atmosphere, others are in front of videowall screens, so I needed to contain the light to the figures only, limiting the spill as much as possible.
I needed to be able to control the level of each light independently and have different settings for both daytime and for Private Functions and Events that may require different light levels, so the lights needed to be controllable by DMX, preferably wired not wireless. We often update the position of the figures to reflect the celebrity landscape, so the ability to reposition lights easily is paramount, consequently we prefer to use lighting track as it gives us this flexibility.” Continued Chris.

Chris Little, AC-SP’s Project Manager comments; “Requirements for the new fixtures were very specific – they needed a track mounted luminaire that was capable of being controlled by DMX through data track, manual zoom to tighten the beam, have a range of accessories available, and finally, they needed the fixture to be at a specific colour temperature (to keep consistency throughout the building which uses 3000K) and bright enough to light a figure up to 10m away. After testing various fixtures, Madame Tussauds London chose the CLS Jade Zoom and Jade Expo, which met all their requirements.” 

Chris Gutteridge added; “We are really pleased with fixtures, the CLS Jades certainly fit all our requirements and have helped us achieve the look we wanted.”  

AC-SP also supplied barndoors to control beam and honeycomb louvers to reduce side glare, as well as DMX data track and associated accessories.

“It is not our first time working with the AC-SP team, so we knew they would be able to help with our specific lighting requirements. Chris was a great help from the first conversation, providing product suggestions and organising demo units for us to try. The service received is always friendly and professional, and the products are always high-quality and reliable. The project had a tight deadline and AC-SP and CLS were efficient in getting the kit over from the EU to meet our timelines.” Concluded Chris Gutteridge. 

Photo copyright: Madame Tussauds London

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