PHOTO COURTESY: CHRISTOPHER TOULMIN PLASA 2011: Excelsior! with LEDs leading “IT’S THE BEST THING ON THE FLOOR,” said engineering consultant Martin Moore about the STLD LED Shootout Area, one of the featured areas at PLASA 2011, held September 11 through 14 at Earls Court in London. I don’t know if it was the best thing, but it was a good thing. It further convinces me that LEDs, besides being nice for colorful effects, now are viable sources for theatre and studio luminaires with no caveats or excuses. The theme I found myself pursuing as I dodged other visitors in the halls of Earls Court was that of effi cacious LED-based luminaires. I saw other things, too, and will report on some of them I found particularly interesting. At fi rst I avoided the Society of Television Lighting & Design’s LED Shootout Area that Moore praised. The name suggested fall 2011 BY KARL G. RULING Terry Clarke of amplifier manufacturer MC 2 was honored with the 2011 Gottelier Award in recognition for his work on standard-setting products at Klark Teknik, Midas, XTA Electronics, and MC 2 . that there would be one victorious luminaire shining over a fi eld of defeated junk. No, it was pacifi c. It offered the visitor two areas where LED luminaires could be compared with each other and with conventional incandescent studio luminaires. One was a public area where a wall of instruments faced a cyclorama and cutout human fi gures sporting photometers. Presenters gave talks and offered side-by-side comparisons of lighting instruments. I heard none being condemned as junk; they were simply good, not so good, and different. The second area was a tiny TV studio where visitors could focus lights and see what the resulting illumination looked like on camera. It was hands-on, and I heard several people say that at last they had a sense of what LED luminaires can do for video and how they 80 FALL 2011 PHO T O COUR TESY : CHRIST OPHER T OULMIN