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Bo Ivers and Matt Anderson of Daktronics

Daktronics Stays on the Forefront of Video

South Dakota is known for big things. Big skies, big motorcycle rallies, big faces of presidents sculpted on the side of mountains. But despite being far away from entertainment and technology centers, today it’s also known for big video. Despite its unlikely environs, Daktronics has become a major designer and manufacturer of electronic scoreboards, programmable display systems and large screen video displays using LED technology. They are now common in both sports facilities and the world of live touring. A host of tours have taken their gear out on the road in recent years, including AC/DC, Josh Turner and Star Wars: In Concert, among others.

GLP impression X4

GLP impression X4

For the last year, I have been waiting for a manufacturer of LED heads to make a certain fixture — one that allows me to decide which of the 19 individual LEDs in the face will illuminate and which I can keep dark, without having to use hundreds of DMX channels per fixture. GLP (German Light Products) has figured it out. The same people that led the LED-based moving head revolution have upped the ante with the release of the Impression X4.

The new video system gets used for weekend services as well as holiday shows, such as the Plus/Minus series with senior pastor Brad Powell.

NorthRidge Church Raises the Bar with Lighting, Rigging and Video

When you’ve got thousands of seats, dozens of moving lights, hundreds of conventional fixtures and a Christmas production seen by more than 30,000 people each year, what do you do to raise your production bar to the next level? IS there a next level? If you’re NorthRidge Church in Plymouth, MI, the answer is a resounding “yes!” The 3,300-seat facility just west of Detroit has wowed audiences for almost 20 years with its production values, not just at Christmas and Easter, but every Sunday.

Martin MAC Viper

Martin MAC Viper

It’s hard to get excited about a new hard-edge moving light. At least that’s what I thought until I ran one of Martin’s new “Viper” fixtures. I was impressed because someone didn’t just join the party of recently released 800W fixtures; they came up with a whole new line.

Both the Ai from Avolites (here) and d3 from d3 Technologies (below) enable real-time video previsualization.

The Next Generation of Media Servers

From the early days of DMX-controlled media servers, something has been missing. Missing, that is, until recently. Two of the more recently launched media servers (the Ai media server from Avolites and the d3 media server from d3 Technologies) take video control into the next generation by adding the missing link: real-time video visualization.

From left, Brett Amman, manager, GoVision Golf, and Chris Curtis, president of GoVision, in front of the LED screen between holes 15 and 16, which was built on a pond.

15 GoVision Screens Support 2012 Ryder Cup

Golf tournaments usually focus on the competitive abilities of individuals, but the Ryder Cup puts the competitive focus every two years on players based in the U.S. vs. those from overseas. Administered by the PGA of America and PGA European Tour, the Ryder Cup stokes trans-Atlantic rivalries and has become one of the most eagerly anticipated events on the golfing calendar, for pros and fans alike. This year, the 39th Ryder Cup took place Sept. 25-30 at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, IL, and while the outcome wasn’t favorable for the U.S., Europe’s stunning comeback on the last day of play lived up to the Cup’s reputation for epic drama. Nearly 40,000 spectators attended.

Mbox Director softwarey starts with an intuitive GUI

PRG’s Mbox Director

For users of PRG’s Mbox EXtreme who are not familiar with how to program a lighting console, the wait for a non-DMX-based control interface is over. PRG has released standalone software for controlling Mbox that runs on a Mac, and it’s free!

Closing ceremonies at the London Olympics, 2012. Photo courtesy of Merging Technologies.

Events (and Lighting and Projection) Keep Getting Bigger and Bigger

The big opening and closing ceremonies at the Olympics in London over the summer weren’t the only examples of the rise in large-scale events that have made a huge visual impact around the world in the last few years. There was Expo 2010 Shanghai — there, a record 73 million people visited pavilions from 250 countries and international organizations, and on one particularly busy day, more than 1.03 million visitors were drawn to the attraction. Add to that a record number of music festivals and the fact that, slowly but surely, the high-concept event — corporate, music and otherwise — is slowly edging its way back from the precipice that was the Great Recession. It looks as though, when it comes to creating events, big is in again.

Fig. 1

The Quickest Path, and Other Nifty Color Tricks

Automated lighting manufacturers create some amazing products that we programmers are fortunate to get to operate. Quite often, their software developers will implement features that are essential to enhance the lighting experience. It is extremely important that automated lighting programmers are aware of and understand the features that are included within each fixture. Armed with this knowledge, you can achieve the best possible use of the products that you are programming and therefore create the best lighting achievable too.

Production Designer Bruce Rodgers and Mary Wilson, original member of The Supremes, at the 2012 Parnelli Awards

Rolling Stones’ 50 & Counting, Super Bowl 2013, Touring Career Workshop, Manilow on Broadway, Rascal

The Rolling Stones celebrate their years in the industry with their 50 & Counting tour in November and December. The last time Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood performed together as a band was in 2007 at London’s O2 Arena. This production also brings together longtime collaborators set designer Mark Fisher of Stufish and LD Patrick Woodroffe.

illustration by Andy Au

Sexy Toys and Money

I spent some time recently talking to the people who run a few different lighting companies. Being an LD myself, I don’t see the business through the same eyes these people do. I tend to pick on them to lower prices on older fixtures. I don’t look at the big picture, what it really takes to run a lighting company. Besides just purchasing new realms of sexy toys, one has to take into account all the other nuts and bolts; the non-sexy items that enable these fixtures to perform.

LDI 2012 Shines with New Gear

Each year, the industry gathers to see the latest and greatest at LDI.  This year, it was in PLSN’s home base, Las Vegas. At the time of this writing, I am still recovering from a jam-packed weekend of events, training, parties and, oh yeah, LDI!