Proving that new ideas to enhance backstage communications don’t have to be high tech to be effective, J. R. Clancy is offering new writeable batten end caps, which can help rigging operators identify batten numbers from the deck or the grid.
The Headlite W LED, a 5200 kelvin white LED fixture in an 18-inch by 18-inch size, uses 24 strips, each with six high power Luxeon LEDs, for a total of 144 LEDs per fixture. With a combined output of over 25,000 lumens, the fixture is designed to be used as a “low-wattage blinder and special effects fixture,” according to John Huddleston, general manager of Upstaging Lighting Services.
Lycian Stage Lighting’s 1233 Mini Arc, designed for schools and small theatres, operates on 110V. Optics include the use of a dichroic glass reflector, and the fixture has a fully closing nichrome iris, dowser, fine focus mechanism, gobo slot and is able to run with no-fan operation. The manual color boomerang has six color rings. The Mini Arc comes with castered base and line cord with connector.
Elation’s Design Wash LED Pro DMX-compatible LED moving head color wash, available for a “street price” of under $3,500, is powered by 108 3-Watt Rebel LEDs (52 red, 22 green, 22 blue and 12 white), which can be blended through additive RGB mixing using a DMX controller for a wide range of colors including pastels and white.
LAS VEGAS — He may have his face plastered all over town and a new contract for a five-year run at the Mirage in Las Vegas, but the production crew for Terry Fator, the singing ventriloquist who won NBC’s America’s Got Talent competition, still had to keep the budget in mind when it came to creating larger-than-life video for the show.
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — Radiant Church, which had been using one projector at the front of its worship center and one at the rear, with digital switching performed manually, recently upgraded to a system incorporating Aurora Multimedia’s WACI NX+ control system, WACI-PAD control panel and IBZ-1041W wireless touch panel to provide video switching between multiple projectors, cameras, monitors and feeds for digital signage.
NEW YORK — ESTA announced that the draft standard, BSR E1.23 — 200x, Entertainment Technology —Design and Execution of Theatrical Fog Effects, is available for public review through June 22. The BSR E1.23 project is a revision of the existing ANSI E1.23 — 2006 standard, which offers advice on the planning and execution of theatrical fog effects using glycol, glycerin, or white mineral oil fogs or mists in theatres, arenas, and other places of entertainment or public assembly.
WARSAW, IN — Da-Lite Screen Company and Joe Kane Productions have formed a strategic partnership and launched a new line of projection screens.
COLUMBIA, MD — In terms of product placement, it may not have been as much of a coup as Hershey’s Reese’s Pieces beating out M&M Mars for a spot in ET. But Nemetschek N.A.’s Vectorworks CAD software is playing a role in the recent release of the movie, Duplicity.
Right now I feel tired, frustrated, and I feel like I have lost all will to care about anything to do with my work here. I really don’t like how I feel in this moment. I really don’t want to be involved anymore….. If you are working on a show and find yourself going down a similar path, the first thing you should do is to speak calmly with the production staff. It is easy to sit around and complain, but this never solves anything. Call a production meeting and calmly list the problems at hand. Explain that the production is in trouble and that you have reached the end of your rope. Ask for help in a calm manner and you will be surprised at the results. Too often people tend to let their emotions drive them and they begin yelling. Calmness is key. In this case, I called a meeting and I explained peacefully exactly what was going on, and we managed to solve many problems. Other members of the staff were then willing and able to help resolve problems that had existed for days.
—Brad Schiller from Feeding the Machines, PLSN, April 2009
PITTSBURGH, PA — Holo-Walls, manufacturers of holographic films and special effects products for the entertainment industry, produced a Liquid Fusion stage floor system with backlit floor tiles for Cheerleaders, a gentlemen’s club.
HOUSTON — With its show in Cincinnati instead of Houston this year, LD Systems wasn’t able to provide a backstage tour of the 2009 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo as they did in 2008. But the company was able to help the audience at Reliant Stadium get a better view of performers during concert events even if they were facing the other way.