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Blackmagic Design Mini Converters

Blackmagic Design Mini Converters

HD to SDI, SD to SDI, VGA, YUV, RGB, HDMI, 3G — I find myself converting a lot these days. Because of the plethora of video signals that have developed in the last few years, techs, roadies and designers are having to come up with creative ways to get signal from point A to point B — on time and under budget.

Creating 3D objects in Cheetah3D...

Creating Killer Content

As the use of video increases in live entertainment, so does the need for fresh and unique digital media content. When a production team is given a project requiring media, there are basically two options for acquiring it: buying it or creating it. In this article, we will take a look at some of the tools digital content designers use to create the eye candy that gets displayed on all of those LED walls and projection screens.

Altman Spectra Cyc 200

Altman Spectra Cyc 200

Altman Lighting has been in the business of manufacturing lights for the entertainment industry for more than 50 years.  When new technologies came about, Altman Lighting developed products that designers asked for. When a new light source technology came along called LEDs, Altman began researching and developing products.

A Whole New Definition for “Dead” Heads

In show business, being dead has become a viable career option, thanks to technology. The most recent iteration of dead men telling tales was the projection resurrection of Tupac Shakur during a performance by rappers Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April in California. The projection was otherworldly and, depending upon your perspective, it was also either way-cool or downright creepy, but it also suggests that there is a budding business to be had here.

Time to Get Organized

The other day I was watching an episode of The Simpsons and Homer was hanging out at home.  He was at a loss as to what to do, so he grabbed the label maker and stuck labels on every item in the kitchen.  He was very thorough to the point that each egg had a label that simply said “egg.”  While this type of organizational skill is a bit over-the-top, automated lighting programmers need to be very organized and label as much as they can within their show file.  Good organizational skills lead to faster programming and easier to understand console layouts.

Illustration by Andy Au

Not Your Dad’s Projection System

Over the last 10 years, the live entertainment business has been overrun with video panels. We have high res, low res, 6mm to 80mm, cubed-shaped and cylinder shaped — heck, they have video elements that roll up into a truss like your overhead garage door. I like to play with all of it. But the problem I notice is that, no matter how high your screen’s resolution, it never looks as good as a well-projected image.

Justin Lang

Working the Gig

I recently worked a corporate gig in Washington, DC. My designer friend that I worked with a year ago brought me on to program. We worked so well together, he wanted to work together again. He knew well beforehand that this new job would have crazy tight time frames. So the more prep work we did before, the smoother it would go on site, we thought.

NAB 2012 show floor

NAB 2012

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show is one of the largest trade events in our extended industry. The final attendance count for the 2012 show in Las Vegas was 92,112, up from 91,932 in 2011. Some 1,600 exhibitors occupied 815,000 net square feet of exhibit space, up from 1,550 exhibitors and 745,000 square feet the year before.

The setup for rehearsals in NJ before the big MSG debut. Image by Oscar Cruz

Crowning the King of Bachata

Regal Looks for Romeo Santos’ First Solo Tour

When Romeo Santos kicked off his Formula Vol. 1 Tour with three sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the audience was treated to an elaborate design — and one that was conceived and pulled together in a mere 45 days. Creative producer and tour director Veikko Fuhrmann and production designer Eduardo “Wady” Rodriguez collaborated on the sourcing as well as the set, lighting, and video designs.

Once on Broadway. Photo by Joan Marcus

The Warmth and Intimacy of “ONCE”

It’s quite understandable if you roll your eyes at the thought of yet another movie being transformed into a Broadway musical, but the outstanding Once is a rare exception. “I had seen the movie on my own when it first came out and loved it,” recalls Tony Award-winning lighting designer Natasha Katz. “I remember reading in the New York Times that they were turning it into a musical and hoped that somebody would ask me to do it. I don’t always feel that way, and I was lucky enough to actually have been asked.”

All Access Staging and Productions is supporting Motley Crue this summer.

Summer Tour Preview

Spring is in full swing. The cherry blossoms have come and gone. The blistering heat of the summer is right around the corner. Just like the heat index, this summer tour season is going to be on fire. Production companies from around the country are preparing their tours as we speak. Here’s just a sampling of what production companies have in store for the Summer of 2012.