Canada will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its founding on July 1st, 2017. To mark this historic event, several illuminated, 3D “CANADA 150” installations will be on display in each Provincial Capital and major city across the land. From Victoria, British Columbia to St. John’s, Newfoundland; and from breathtaking Niagara Falls to the Nation’s Capital, Ottawa – the 36ft long by 6ft high CANADA 150 signs are a part of every Canadian’s sesquicentennial celebration.
Video: Justin Black
The project, which was initiated by Heritage Canada and Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC), has once again brought together the working collaboration of Unit 11 Custom Inc. and TAD Lighting Services – the same team that worked to bring us the Iconic TORONTO sign that continues to adorn the City Hall environ at Nathan Philips Square in Toronto.
One of the first completed CANADA 150 signs photographed inside the Unit 11 shop
Designed by Don Loughlin of Unit 11 Custom Inc., each of the CANADA 150 characters contain between two-five 5M Reels of RoscoLED VariColor Tape. The LED ribbon is mounted at 4” centres on Coroplast boards which are then attached in the centre of the letters/numbers, back-to-back to illuminate the frosted polycarbonate placed on both the front and rear surfaces.
RoscoLED Tape is mounted to Coroplast boards
Each letter/number is mounted on a 2’ high by 3’ deep Marine Grade plywood base. These bases not only provide weight and stability, but they also house all of the needed RoscoLED Power Supplies and DMX Decoders, as well as provide a secure pathway for the power and data wiring to control and illuminate the signage characters.
The RoscoLED Tape is tested after being centered inside the CANADA 150 framework
Once all of the RoscoLED Tape, Power Supplies and DMX Decoders are secured and tested, they were passed on to the teams at Unit 11 who completed the signs in their shop as they installed the LEDs inside their aluminum framed and Alupanel clad letters and numbers.
Just a few of the RoscoLED Power Supplies and DMX Decoders used to control the CANADA 150 signs
Each of the characters is assigned its own DMX address, allowing color and intensity control of the individual letters/numbers. The lighting-control of each CANADA 150 sign is provided by an Apple iPad running the Luminair lighting app. This enables each installation to program the color scheme and configure the schedule and sequences for each location’s individual needs.
The CANADA 150 sign illuminated in Calgary
Most installations feature a Red and White combination that is run at full during the daylight hours. The signs scroll through other colors and the LEDs are reduced to half-power in the evenings so they don’t flare-out the thousands of pictures being taken at each location.
The CANADA 150 sign illuminated in Regina
As the signs were shipped to each location, one member of the TAD Lighting team was on-hand to oversee the installation, make all of the wiring connections and act as liaison with the local electrical contractors charged with getting power to the sign. Fully illuminated an entire sign draws a total of 18.5 amps.
The CANADA 150 sign is installed at Niagara Falls
As memorable as all the locations were, some installations stand out more than others. The Niagara Falls sign, for example, is positioned on Table Rock with the stunning Horseshoe Falls in the background. The illuminated Falls provide an effervescent backdrop for the CANADA 150 sign.
If you’d like to see more CANADA 150 installations, you can explore the #3DCanada150 hashtag on social media. Be sure to visit Rosco’s VariColor RoscoLED Tape web page for more information on the product used to illuminate the CANADA 150 signs.
Adrian Goldberg June 29, 2017 Questions?
Adrian Goldberg is one of Canada's most accomplished television lighting designers. With nearly years of experience & over 350 project credits, Adrian has extensive lighting design experience in live TV broadcast and special/corporate events. Since 2011, Adrian has focused on developing LED lighting systems as a replacement for incandescent and fluorescent lighting fixtures. Due to his expertise in this field, he worked with Rosco to develop its RoscoLED Tape product line. To see more of Adrian Goldberg's work, visit his website: www.tadled.com.