Over 10 years ago the Claypaky B-EYE revolutionized the way we thought of LED show lighting. Its innovative optical unit enhanced the uniformity and efficiency of the light output, while the rotating front lens and the possibility to control each single LED individually made spectacular kaleidoscopic projections and charming eye candy effects possible. A sophisticated effect engine made it easier to routinely use macro effects. These technological innovations made the B-EYE a high-performance LED wash light, a perfect beam light, and a spectacular visual effect projector all in one. The Claypaky B-Eye won several awards and had been copied by countless manufacturers for years.

In April 2019 Claypaky launched the HY B-EYE, which was twice more powerful and bright than B-EYE. The success that followed was immediate and many lighting designers and rental companies began specifying HY B-EYE K25 and HY B-EYE K15 from the very first introduction on the market.

HY B-EYE K25 MADE A SENSATIONAL DEBUT WITH RAMMSTEIN

In mid-2019 the german rock band Rammstein made an ever stadium tour in Europe with Claypaky HY B-EYE K25, selected by Lighting Designers Ronald Greil and Patrick Woodroffe. From a complement of some 128 HY B-EYE K25 fixtures Greil integrated about 40 of the LED wash lights into the scenic pieces’ circular light fittings where they served primarily as aesthetic lighting.  “We were one of the first shows that used a large quantity of K25s,” said Greil.  “We were positively surprised by their brightness and reliability.  The band loved a lot of brightness and fire power, and the K25s did a good job”.

A few months later several K25 were used at the final stage of Russia’s 10th Night Hockey League National Amateur Teams Hockey Festival kicked off in Sochi in gala fashion, with Aleksey Inkov as Lighting Designer as well as Aleksey Pavlenko. Mounted on the winches, the HY B-EYE K25s “were used in per-pixel fashion for various color macros,” Inkov explained.  “We used the famous B-EYE effect when moving the trusses. Their large zoom range solved the problem of dynamic motion effects in addition to the Beams in the matrix.”b.”

Over 600 Claypaky Fixtures Lighted up Singapore’s Bicentennial National Day Celebrations, including 262 units of Claypaky Hy B-EYE. The show’s lighting design was handled by Michael Chan and Mac Chan . “The Claypaky K25s were a huge feature of the show, The fixtures are so bright that they also functioned as a secondary wash,” said Michael.

HY B-EYE K25 TEATRO, A SPECIAL VERSION FOR VENUES THAT NEED SILENT OPERATION

Following the great success of the HY B-EYE, in the 2020 Claypaky introduced the HY B-EYE K25 TEATRO, a special version of the HY B-EYE K25, designed for venues that need silent operation without sacrificing bright colors.

Claypaky HY B-EYE K25 Teatro units were installed at the Comédie de Genève and at the LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura. The Volkstheater in Munich had been fitted with HY B-EYE K25 Teatro as well.

The annual ARTE Concert Festival went virtual with three days of music live streamed to audiences worldwide. Lighting Designer Pierre Claude deployed two dozen Claypaky HY B-EYE K25 LED washes for the live musical performances shot at La Gaite Lyrique in Paris.

The Black Sea Arena Georgia hosted several big shows with Bruno Mars, Imagine Dragons and The Killers, all illuminated by hundreds of Claypaky lights. The lighting rig included a large number of Claypaky HY B-Eye K25.

Claypaky fixtures helped energize the crowd for Bagossy Brothers Company’s tenth anniversary concert in Budapest. The band’s LD, Ádám Pintér, selected Claypaky B-EYE K20 and HY B-EYE K25 fixtures for the rig.

Lighting Designer Simon Trottet selected 25 Claypaky HY B-EYE K25 LED for the Puccini’s “Turandot” reimagined at the Tokyo Nikikai Opera Theatre. He found that the K25s “have been particularly useful in meeting the specific needs of my projects, offering consistent power and color calibration”.

FROM BOLLYWOOD TO THE EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

In India the HY B-EYE K25 was introduced as first-choice lights in many Bollywood film productions. The Trinity Church in Singapore installed the HY B-EYE K25 at their Paya Lebar venue. The Universal Studios Beijing installed HY B-EYE K25 and HY B-EYE K15.

In 2022, The K25 played a key role for the Holiday Light Show on Mumbai’s Bandra-Worli Sea Link Bridge: This was a benchmark holiday event in India for Christmas and New Year’s. The lighting set up and installation happened in just two days. With such a short turnaround, the Hy B-EYE K25 fixtures were the perfect choice to enable renowned Lighting Designer Becket Tundatil to program and control everything in a tight timeline.

In 2022 again, the ESC Juniors took place in Armenia using 1000 Claypaky moving heads. The incredible rig included 90 x HY B-EYE K25 and 80 x B-EYE K20 plus many other Claypaky fixtures – tallying up to what is for Claypaky one of the largest supplies ever made.

In 2023 Tim Routledge, Lighting Designer for the show, utilized 40 Hy B-EYE K25s to illuminate the set of the Eurovision Song Contest.

To celebrate their 25 years of musical success, the iconic Spanish duo Estopa embarked on a tour that set new benchmarks in every city they visited. Claypaky B-EYE K20 and Claypaky HY B-EYE K25 fixtures played a pivotal role in delivering this visual spectacle.

OLYMPIC GAMES: HY B-EYE K25 LIGHTS UP THE WORLD’S BIGGEST SPORT SHOW

This year 350 Hy B-EYE K25 fixtures were used to illuminate the Opening and Closing Celebrations of the Olympic Games in Paris as well as on some playing fields, such as the stands at Roland Garros, to illuminate the changeovers and the ceremonial moments of the matches.

The opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics took place on 26 July 2024 across Paris. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings included an artistic program showcasing the culture of the host country and city, the parade of athletes and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. The opening ceremony was held outside of a stadium for the first time in modern Olympic history.

The closing ceremony took place in Saint-Denis on 11 August 2024. Unlike the atypical opening ceremony, the closing ceremony took place at the Stade de France, in a more traditional way.

THE VASCO ROSSI TOUR 2023-2024: A TRIUMPH OF HY B-EYE K25 FIXTURES

For the Vasco Rossi’s 2023 Tour, the LD Giovanni Pinna used 148 Claypaky Hy B-EYE K25 units. He stated that “The Hy B-EYE K25 units were a very important part of the line-up; you could even say they made the show on their own for several pieces. The tour started in May, so there was a lot of sunlight throughout the first part of the show, for about an hour. Therefore, I really needed a spotlight that would ‘shine a lot of light’. I used Hy B-EYE units with white light for the first six pieces. Then, as darkness came, I added colour. I was really impressed with their power and flexibility”.

In 2024 Giovanni Pinna lighted Vasco Rossi’s 2024 tour again with Claypaky HY B-EYE K25s and told us: “We used the same rig and the same kinds and number of lighting fixtures as last year; However, we made a significant improvement in light programming and overall use”. According to Pinna, the Claypaky HY B-EYE K25 units were the central component of the lighting setup since they were in constant use throughout the show. “I used the Claypaky K25s as the foundational lighting for all scenes; they were the only wash lights on the set. Additionally, I used them extensively for textured lighting and special effects, taking full advantage of the quality of their pixel mapping and rotating optical unit.”

This year’s stage was a record-breaker, with a total width of 90 metres and a video area spanning 1,200 square metres. The LED wall was divided into multiple triangular sections, outlined by battens, and unlike in previous years, it was used exclusively to project live images of Vasco, with no visual effects that would interfere with the lighting. “In these conditions, the beams from the K25s were incredibly penetrating and thick,” Pinna said. “Moreover, the K25s perfectly balanced the light output from the enormous LED wall, which was larger than ever before this year.”

In total, 148 Claypaky HY B-EYE K25 units were used extensively: 48 above the band, 80 at the front of the stage at a height of 20 metres, and 24 on the ground for scenic and audience lighting.

“With the K25s, you have the unique ability to manage wash lighting, even with the most saturated colours,” Pinna added. “I worked a lot with red and dark blue because these lights handle them exceptionally well. In fact, the ‘wow’ factor was often achieved more through powerful washes than through other special effects.”

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