This was a very interesting project that started out with a relatively innocent question from one of our long-standing clients. The question was, “what do you know about Tesla coils?” Well it turns out our technical director, Tom Comet, worked extensively with Tesla coils a number of years ago on a TV show for the Discovery Channel. What a coincidence…
This time around the Tesla coil was to be part of a large set piece that would play a key role in the Chevy Volt launch held at Yonge-Dundas Square in downtown Toronto. We custom built a pedestal stand for an extremely large coil and incorporated the Chevy Volt graphics. Tesla coil demonstrations were staged throughout the day from 10am to 8:30pm.
In this case it was the car, the Tesla coil itself and the 2 million volt electrical streamers that fired 6-8’ off the top of the coil that was the featured attraction. People were blown away by this high voltage spectacle and it drew a lot of attention throughout the day. It was really interesting to work with high-voltage special effects and something that we hope to work into future performances and events.
