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Point and Shoot

Shooting Video with DSLRs (Part Two)

By now, having read my last column, I’m convinced that you ran out and spent your federal tax return on a new Canon or Nikon DSLR, and you’re gearing up to shoot videos and roll-ins for that big national touring company. Since you’re on a budget and a Red Epic (or equivalent high-end camera) is not in the cards, the DSLR offers a great alternative. With a high-resolution sensor (beyond HD), portability, superb depth of field, interchangeable lenses, excellent low light performance and affordable pricing, it also produces gorgeous pictures. All in all, today’s new-generation DSLRs offer a great way to shoot high-quality video on a budget.

Roland’s V-800HD Multi-Format Video Switcher

Roland’s V-800HD Multi-Format Video Switcher

Roland’s V-800HD Multi-Format Video Switcher may have eight mixing buses instead of 16, and four SDI inputs instead of eight. But like Roland’s V-1600HD, it lets users tap into a wide variety of analog and video sources, manipulate the imagery and display clean, sharp video, even on large LED displays.

Welcome to Storm Season

The 2012 summer touring season kicks off this month, a year after one of the most violent weather years on record: tornadoes in 2011 started the earliest ever — New Year’s Day — and went on to kill 550 people, injure 5,400 and cause $10 billion in damage, the most in U.S. history. Some of the biggest weather disasters in the touring business also took place last year, most notoriously the collapse of the stage, due to high winds from an approaching storm, at the Indiana State Fair last August that killed seven and injured dozens. And as I write this, people in Illinois, Kansas and Missouri are picking up the pieces from twisters that passed through on Leap Day, killing 14.

Brad Schiller scribbled these notes, just prior to the LDI show in 2000.

A New Programming Paradigm

There is a new programming paradigm that is gaining acceptance in our industry.  As lighting continues to converge with video, we are seeing more and more specialization of equipment and skill sets.  While automated lighting consoles are fantastic for lighting tasks, they are not ideal for programming media servers and other video devices.

Illustration by Andy Au

A Punk Rock Eyeful

Last fall, I heard from my friend Missy. She manages the Chicago-based rockers “Rise Against.”  They had been on tour last year and were looking to revamp their look and wanted some ideas. Their production guru is Jon Dunleavy, a man I had gigged with before. I reached out to him to inquire what they were looking for. They had a few requirements they wished to base a design around. First and foremost, they were a punk band. They didn’t need a lot of hoopla. Just a few backdrops and some rock ‘n’ roll lighting. They had some set carts that they would carry around the world this year, and they wanted a lighting package that could attach to the carts. They also wanted some “light boxes” that could spell out the letters, “R-I-S-E.”

Elvis Lives

Elvis Lives! Evolves Into Rock/Theatrical Hybrid

ST. LOUIS, MO — When Elvis leaves this building an especially roomy vehicle is needed as there are four Elvises (Elvi?) in this production.

“This show has thrown some people off, because it’s not strictly a Broadway show, not strictly a rock ‘n’ roll show, but a perfect hybrid of both,” declares Elvis Lives! tour manager Stephen Gudis.

From left, Tim Roberts, Karl Ruling, Steven Adelman, John Brown, Dave Frey, Mary Lou Figley, Jim Digby, Ed Wannebo, Keith Bohn, Hadden Hippsley

Live Event Safety Seminar’s Message: Act Now or Pay Later

A seminar on Live Event Safety would seem like a hard sell to a group of hardened concert touring pros, especially in the cheerful setting of the Pollstar Live! convention in downtown Los Angeles. For the rock ‘n’ roll crowd, health and safety discussions are up there with estate planning, colonoscopies and dealing with aging parents — all topics that will clear the lobby bar well before closing time.

Event Live Expo 2012

Show Report: Event Live Expo 2012

What happens when three separate tradeshows (Event Live Expo with Club + Venue Design, AEG Expo, and Pollstar Live!)  are co-located in one spot? The answer is simple:  a larger Event Live Expo! Billed as “The Trade Show for Live Event Production & Management,” this relatively new expo showcases all of the aspects of live events ranging from lighting, audio, video, and staging, to labor, trucking, and ticket agents.   Held in downtown Los Angeles, CA, this is year number two for the show, which is supported by AEG and Pollstar Live! I wanted to see for myself what the buzz was all about.

Pulling the Plug

Last month, I wrote about the bill that the Indiana State legislature was planning to pass, and how it will affect our industry. Since then, Indiana’s state OSHA has issued the report based on its investigation. The report reflects the scope of IOSHA’s inquiry, which was more focused on possible violations to worker safety than on risks to the public at large.

Porgy and Bess photo by Michael J. Lutch

The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess: Reinventing Catfish Row

It’s very rare when an off-Broadway production arouses international controversy and sets the stage for a highly anticipated Broadway run, but in the case of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, that is exactly what happened. Composing legend Stephen Sondheim wrote a letter to The New York Times that was like the musical “shot heard ‘round the world,” condemning the Boston-based production by director Diane Paulus at the ART last fall before he had even seen it. While that is negative attention, that’s still a lot of free publicity, and people’s ears perked up. Sondheim’s issue was with the fact that the show, being transferred from operatic to musical theater form, was going to include some modern revisions that were actually approved by the Gershwin estate.

Super Bowl Halftime Show photo by Brad Duns

Hail Madonna: The Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show

This year’s well-received Bridgestone Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show featuring Madonna was a great success, both artistically and technically. Once again the team led by executive producer Ricky Kirshner of RK Productions, director Hamish Hamilton, production designer Bruce Rodgers and lighting designer Al Gurdon presented us with a dynamic and innovative production that appeared effortless, which we all know means it took a tremendous amount of effort and hard work to bring together.