Elation Shines Bright at Grand Opening of National Medal of Honor Museum

ARLINGTON, Texas, May 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The highly anticipated Grand Opening Celebration of the National Medal of Honor Museum took place on March 22, 2025, with a breathtaking nighttime spectacular that showcased Elation lighting with the company's new ultra-long-throw PROTEUS ATLAS beam FX fixture taking center stage. Located in the heart of Arlington, Texas, and the newest national museum in the United States, the National Medal of Honor Museum honors the courage, sacrifice, and service of U.S. Armed Forces personnel who took extraordinary action in the service of others.

Designed by renowned Rafael Viñoly Architects, the National Medal of Honor Museum is a tribute to over 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients and the millions of Americans who have served in the United States Armed Forces. The opening night celebration was a grand affair, with dignitaries, donors, and Medal of Honor recipients in attendance, along with local citizens of Arlington.

"Mission to Inspire Spectacular"
The nighttime spectacle—"Mission to Inspire Spectacular"—featured a stunning 360-degree display of fireworks, drones, storytelling, and live performances, all supported by an immersive lighting design by Ryan Stumpp, Principal at Cue 13 Design. The nighttime spectacular, produced by Dallas-based corporate and event production company Corporate Magic, was crafted to reflect the core mission of the museum to inspire America through storytelling while celebrating the Medal of Honor recipients, the nation's highest military honor.

Stumpp, who worked closely with Corporate Magic as the lead lighting designer and programmer, brought his extensive experience in nighttime spectaculars—gained from nearly two decades at Walt Disney World and Disney Live Entertainment.

"The way I approach nighttime spectaculars is to carefully support the thematic emotions of the music and story through a visual journey, much like theater - but on a much larger stage canvas with a variety of viewing angles and lighting positions," the designer stated. "In this case, it was to set moods that reinforced the narratives of commitment and valor with big and grand looks, bravery and sacrifice with solemn beams to the heavens, and a huge grand finale celebrating honor and legacy – complimenting a beautiful drone and pyrotechnics design."

Elation Lighting
The event marked the U.S. debut of Elation's PROTEUS ATLAS, an ultra-long-throw IP66 moving head fixture, and the foundation of a powerful team of Elation luminaires that also included PROTEUS BRUTUS, PROTEUS HYBRID MAX, PARAGON M, FUZE WASH 500, and KL PANEL fixtures. Stumpp noted that the design relied on Elation for 75% of the lighting, some 110 fixtures for the nighttime show alone. "With the backdrop of a nighttime spectacular and such a variety of important people present, we needed large and impactful lighting looks with the finesse of perfect key lighting to put our best foot forward, and Elation lighting helped us achieve that," he stated.

Four Separate Events
The opening celebration included four events—a cocktail party, a Gala dinner, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and the "Mission to Inspire Spectacular"—all lit by Stumpp and all featuring Elation lighting. PARAGON M and FUZE WASH 500 lights were used for the cocktail party, while PARAGON M, FUZE WASH 500, and KL PANEL fixtures lit the Gala dinner, which took place in a tent with the museum as a backdrop. The ribbon-cutting ceremony, featuring former President George W. Bush, one of the honorary directors of the museum, was held in the museum's open-air rotunda. Here PARAGON M was used for key light, with KL Panels utilized for high-quality softlight. The evening culminated by the museum's lagoon with the "Mission to Inspire Spectacular" with an awe-inspiring combination of 32 PROTEUS ATLAS, 52 PROTEUS HYBRID MAX, 20 PROTEUS BRUTUS, and 8 PARAGON M.

Theatrical Environment
The show took the audience on a journey, starting with a powerful opening, weaving through educational and informational moments that honored the history of the Medal of Honor and culminating in a dynamic finale of light, color, and impact. Stumpp sought to create a theatrical environment in which guests could be immersed.

"It was important that the show be creative yet very emotional," he said, "but it also needed to be backed with big beams; therefore, I relied on the PROTEUS ATLAS as the flagship lighting fixture." Stumpp was already familiar with the fixture and its laser-based LILI light engine from his work at Elation, where he saw a shootout against competitor lights in which, he says, it more than held its own. "It has a massive front lens and throws a concentrated 0.6˚ beam of light impressively long distances," he said.

PROTEUS
The PROTEUS ATLAS lights were strategically positioned around the site—including Choctaw Stadium rooftops, parking lots, and atop the Arlington Museum of Art. The fixtures created a stunning 180-degree backdrop of powerful beams, adding an impressive, layered dimension to the event's overall look. "I needed a hero fixture that gave me strong, bold, regal moments in the show, and the ATLAS provided that," said Stumpp, who, with his fellow designers, curated a nighttime spectacular that was worthy of some of the best theme park presentations in the world.

Despite the unseasonably cold, clear evening with minimal particulate in the air, the ATLAS's beams remained punchy and impactful. "The ATLAS set the tone, and framed the picture," the designer remarked. "Even when the fireworks smoke blew away, the ATLAS remained strong and punchy, wrapping the audience in an immersive lighting experience and creating a great backdrop."

The PROTEUS BRUTUS and PROTEUS HYBRID MAX, placed around the lagoon to add dynamic mid-air effects and majestic washes over the water, also provided moments of veneration. "When we shot the BRUTUS, HYBRID MAX, and ATLAS beams straight up in the air, it really gave a sense of awe and wonder as they disappeared into the heavens," Stumpp said.

Live Events Productions / Gemini / Pyrotecnico
Event production company Live Events Productions worked with Gemini, their local shop in Dallas, to supply the lighting, audio and some of the video elements for the event. Pyrotecnico, a sister company of Live Events Productions, provided the stunning fireworks and drone show. "I'm proud and honored that we were part of this event," said Ben Coker, VP of Technology and Assets at Live Events Productions. "For our companies, working on a project of this scale, with such a rich heritage, and integrating fireworks, drones, lighting, and audio into one show created a full 360° experience, which was truly special."

Christopher Laue from Corporate Magic, the event's executive producer, shared, "The partnership with Elation and the deployment of their ATLAS fixtures allowed us to create the visual continuity between story and screen content to pyrotechnics and drones. All working in harmony with an epic musical score. There wasn't a dry eye in the house."

Dan Lamphier, VP of Production at Live Events Productions who headed up the project for the Live Events team, adds, "It was a true team effort. We worked with Corporate Magic for 10 months, refining the design to create something special. Bringing everything together on-site, through a week of installation, programming, and rehearsals, it resulted in a spectacular event, and I think everybody walked away with a sense of pride. The lighting, fireworks, drones, and storyline combined to honor the history of the Medal of Honor—it was more than just a building opening; the event brought home the profound significance behind the Medal of Honor."

PARAGON
The design team also had to consider the broadcast and online audiences as the event was live-streamed, covered by media outlets, and documented by an in-house team. In particular, Elation's new PARAGON M LED profile moving head was selected for its high color fidelity and versatility, ensuring that the live audience and camera crews captured the event's magic in the best possible light.

Stumpp comments that the PARAGON M's TruTone variable CRI system was essential for delivering consistent, high-quality lighting across the entire event. "I got to unlock some of the great creative abilities of the fixture through TruTone," he said, noting that he used the variable CRI engine to get the proper skin tones for the ribbon-cutting ceremony and live performances but also used it at higher output, narrow zoom and lower CRI for extra punch during the nighttime spectacular. "It looked absolutely perfect and was well balanced on camera for both IMAG and streaming. They were a real workhorse that did what we needed them to."

Live Events Productions recently added the PARAGON M and PROTEUS HYBRID MAX to their stock of Elation lighting gear and debuted the fixtures at the event. "The PARAGON's TruTone variable CRI engine gives us a lot of flexibility," stated Ben Coker at Live Events Productions. "It answers the need for a natively high CRI fixture but with LED and without having to use a filter to achieve that. It also gives the ability in the same fixture to have a higher output and lower CRI and not have to carry two fixtures. Plus, the IP54 rating means we can use it temporarily outside on shows like the Medal of Honor and don't have to worry about it."

Regarding the PARAGON's ability to enhance mixed color tones and expand the color range, Coker added, "It really is incredible how different colors look at the different CRI values from 73 to 93. When you put different colors in and change the CRI, you get some really fantastic, dynamic looks." Dan Lamphier added, "The scenic in the show lent itself to ambers, and with the variable CRI engine it was easy to get a variation of shades. It's a tough color to reproduce in LED, especially with a subtractive color mixing system, but PARAGON did it quite well."

Given the immense size and scope of the event, Stumpp required lighting assistance and brought Kevin Harvey onboard as Lighting Director to handle the lighting of the Gala dinner held inside a large tent. He comments, "With our low trim heights, we needed a compact framing profile fixture and the PARAGON was the perfect fixture for the job. Combined with its compact size and TruTone high CRI, I was able to use it for key lighting the performers and had zero issues with the fixture."

The lighting system relied on Obsidian Control System NETRON devices—EN6 and EN12—for precise signal distribution, ensuring that every fixture performed flawlessly across the vast venue.

Lighting Collaboration
Stumpp expressed his privilege in lighting such a noble event and reflected on his first time working with Gemini, which he gives an A++. "It was a real honor to work on such a prestigious event, and collaborating with the Live Events Productions team, Gemini, and Pyrotecnico was an amazing experience. They were fantastic partners with a dedicated staff that pays close attention to detail. We couldn't have done it without them."

The National Medal of Honor Museum opened its doors to the public on March 25, 2025, as a source of pride for Arlington and the entire nation.

Christopher Laue: Executive Producer, Corporate Magic
Ben Coker: VP of Technology and Assets, Live Events Productions
Stephen Dahlem: Creative Director
Ryan Stumpp: Lighting Designer and Programmer, Cue 13 Design
Steve Dumbacher: Technical Director
Kevin Harvey: Lighting Director
Shawn Jobin: Lighting Programmer (tents)
Nick Deel: Master Electrician

About Elation
At Elation, we represent the elite in the lighting industry. We design and manufacture a comprehensive range of best-in-class entertainment lighting products valued by production/rental houses and lighting designers worldwide. Our dedication to extraordinary quality and creative solutions has established us as the go-to choice for professionals. With a storied legacy of brilliance, our influence extends from iconic stages to cutting-edge studios across the globe. We also offer an advanced line of lighting control products through Obsidian Control Systems, and a full range of dependable specialty effects called Magmatic. We invite you to take a closer look at www.elationlighting.com and elation.global 

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