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Intellectual and Emotional Emulsion

I don’t know why you got started designing lights, but for me, it was color. Specifically, how color acts as a direct visual manifestation of my feeling about a piece. I’m sure there are people who get into creative pursuits for other reasons, but for me, I can not imagine doing so without it being driven by a desire to create and participate in a work of performative art. It was music that did it first, followed in short order by dance. And that is how every project begins for me — with some initial creative impulse. Everything else derives from there.

Eric Von Fange with globe at Elevation Baptist Church, Raleigh, NC

The Light Source Moves Into LEDs

Company History an Inspiring Tale of Perseverance

Spotting something on eBay triggered Eric Von Fange to think back to his earliest days as lighting director and the latest in LED technology simultaneously. He had been in the business professionally since the tender age of 17, so he’s hoisted more than a few Fresnels in his day. And as the owner of a lighting clamp and accessory company for over a quarter of a century, he’s been able to keep up with all innovations.

Syncrolite ArenaColor

Syncrolite ArenaColor

Syncrolite, the lighting manufacturing company out of Dallas, has been around for over 25 years. Most pro lighting people have heard of them, and, more often than not, associate them with the high-powered skylights utilized at oversized rock concerts and mega sporting events. And while it’s true that Syncrolite makes the only dependable large-scale touring moving light, the company has come a long way since they unveiled the first fully automated DMX-controlled Xenon light fixture back in 1989.

The 12-by-160-foot interior display

Worth the Wait

The BCEC Gets a Dramatic Visual Update, Inside and Out

When the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC) was first designed in the 1990s, the design called for exterior features that would change the Boston skyline and interior displays that would impress attendees not just with aesthetics but with practical — and revenue-generating — communications capabilities.

Lightronics LED Ellipsoidal

Lightronics LED Ellipsoidal

Lightronics’ FXLD100E and FXLD100ECMY fixtures combines the functionality of classic tungsten ellipsoidal fixtures with an LED light source. Both are available with 50°, 36°, 26° and 19° beam spreads. Depending on the lens used, the fixture offers 7,000 lux with a 50° lens, up to 23,500 lux with a 19° lens.

Clay Paky Shotlight Wash

Clay Paky Shotlight Wash

Some of the best new ideas come from merging two great existing concepts. Clay Paky’s Shotlight Wash is a case in point. The fixture combines the strength and versatility of their 1500W wash light with two front-mounted 1500W strobe lamps. Although they are physically integrated, the two components can be used separately. Like a lot of  products that are both innovative and strikingly simple, it leaves you wondering why no one else came up with this idea before.

Willie Nelson Country Throwdown Tour

Helios 250 Mobile Stage

Solar-Powered Stage from Kleege Industries and Sustainable Waves

Kleege Industries has been around since Nevin Kleege designed and built his first “plank and ply” stage in 1984. Sustainable Waves has been an alternative energy trail-blazer for eight years. The two companies got together to come up with Helios 250, a solar-powered mobile stage. It toured the country from May to August 2011 with the Willie Nelson’s Country Throwdown and Vans Warped tours, soaking up the rays and providing enough power, even on cloudy and rainy days, to provide 120 amps at 120V for up to 12 hours.

KA at Comic-Con photo by Eric Meagher

Vertical Horizon: KÀ at Comic-Con

AD X Media Group, Cirque du Soleil Combine Live Performance with “3D” Projection

In July, AD X Media Group, a multi- and mixed-media company specializing in large format 3D projection, collaborated with Cirque du Soleil on a visual extravaganza for the opening night of the big convention in San Diego for comic books, Comic-Con.

3D Mapping with MadMapper

MadMapper

Projection mapping is all the rage.  You see a different amazing example practically weekly, involving everything from building facades to cars to trees and castles — and if you can’t see it in person, chances are it’s up on Youtube.

Mac or PC

The Eternal Question: Mac or PC?

DMX-controlled digital media servers range in size, features and even software platforms. How do you decide which one is right for you? For some, it boils down to this age old question: Mac or PC. That dilemma led me to ask, “What factors drive the manufacturer of a media server to choose one platform over another?”

Video digitizers translate video into pixels

LED Digitizers: A Primer

When I crossed over from the television broadcast domain to the live events market a few years back, there was a fairly steep learning curve regarding all the lighting, staging and video equipment required to produce shows. With LED walls in particular, I figured that you simply connect a video signal to the LED wall, and presto — I-Mag images appear on the wall behind the lead singer. Well, not so fast, Sparky.