I took the summer off from lighting any shows to concentrate on the magazine and be available to see all the shows coming through my city.
I have caught up with so many old lighting designer colleagues as well as meeting a few new board operators that have tons of talent. I really wish I had enough time to catch up with everyone out on the road.
I have always had an affinity for strobes. Ever since I got into this biz, I have been fond of all kinds of these fixtures and watched them grow in wattage from small Xenon gas discharged units to Lightning Strikes to LED models that are just blinding. Strobe lights originated in 1931 using flashtubes with energy supplied from a capacitor, similar to a battery, but capable of charging and releasing energy much faster.
Relics: I believe this is a term used to describe ancient stuff. Like rock bands that never seem to die. I want to know what happened to the mantra “Hope I die before I get old” that the Who preached back in the ‘60s. But hey, we’re all happy to see the remaining live members celebrate their 50th anniversary with a tour. Albeit with cancelled dates to rest an ailing throat, these guys are still working it.
As I wandered the halls at 2015’s Prolight + Sound show in Frankfurt last month, I once again looked for the unusual items. I’ve come to expect the large manufacturers to show off some great stuff to augment their wide array of fixtures. But I am more impressed at these trade shows with the little things that are original. I’m talking about stuff so cool and simple that I have been wondering where this item has been my whole career. And it’s not necessarily something that everyone can use. I found three companies I was unfamiliar with, that showed me gear I can really use.
An amateur is defined as someone who doesn’t get paid for the work they are doing. An amateur may be a college athlete busting his butt in exchange for an education. He or she may be a volunteer worker. They may not be trained well, but they are doing their best to do something they want to participate in. Either way, they are not considered skilled professionals, even if they are quite good at what they do.
As a lighting designer, I just love my software. I know a lot of designers who whine about drawing plots and having to number things. They’d rather shout directions out to some assistant who can scribble notes now and transform that into 2D plots, 3D renderings and paperwork on how to make it all work. I get all that, and there’s nothing wrong with it. But I am not that guy. I am addicted to my software and would rather do it all myself.
I saw two shows last month that had absolutely no video components. It was odd, having to focus on the performers themselves with nothing other than a lovely set to distract you. Okay, one was The Grinch, a play performed quite professionally at the Children’s Theater of Minneapolis. And the other was a punk rock band I saw thrashing in a club. They were good shows… but then I saw Fleetwood Mac last night, and it was a spectacle to behold. It all came back to me — why I love my pixels. I like them small, big, spread out or even on curved surfaces. They just make me happy.
Well, here I am. The new editor of this fine magazine you are reading. And I’m over my head…again. But I’m not afraid, because most of my career has been spent being thrown into the fire. The fact is that, for the last 10 years, I have just been designing stuff, and nothing in my workload was stressful. Sure, there were challenges and long hours spent tweaking designs to bring my ideas to fruition, but I never stayed up late wondering how the heck I was gonna pull something off. Then came this new gig offer.
As we close out 2014 and I reach the end of my tenure as editor of I want offer some insight going forward in our industry. As you can gather from the past four years of my time at I am a technology junkie, always looking for new and exciting things that can make our work and personal lives that much better. Part of my daily routine is to read through press releases from around the industry. If that wasn’t enough, I’ve been making a habit of checking in on information from more than 300 news sites, technology blogs and websites. Sounds like a busy morning, right? It normally takes two to three cups of coffee to get through it all.
What is the most important thing in your life? Depending on your age, position in the industry and your family life, everyone will have varying answers. Early in a career, it might be friends and your career. But in the thirty-something to forties, your values might change, and it might be your family. Then in your fifties and sixties, you might start to be thinking more about your legacy and how you can pass everything important that you’ve learned about anything on to the next generation coming up.