Designer Watch,” a new column written by award-winning journalist Debi Moen, has nothing to do with fashion timepieces. Instead, it focuses on people and projects – “the human-interest side of the industry,” as Moen puts it. Reach her at dmoen@plsn.com. She looks forward to sharing your news in her future columns. -ed.
"I got in this business so I wouldn't have to read." -Doug Heffernan, TV's "King of Queens."
In 1965, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore predicted that computers would double in power approximately every two years. His prediction became known as Moore's law.
I got a call a few months ago from my old friend "Shakes." He has been the production manager for Kid Rock forever, it seems. And his boss is turning 40 this year. He wants to have a big party, followed by a week of rehearsals for a tour to promote his album. But he wants two distinctly different looking shows. The party was booked in Ford Field and was all about special guests and being a big party for 55,000 of his closest friends. The tour will last two years and come back to Detroit this summer to play the baseball park across the street. Hence he needed to come up with separate designs to mix it up.
Lighting Co.
One Step Productions
Venue
Various (Tour)
Lighting Co.
Special Event Services
Venue
Ryman Auditorium
Nashville, TN
Lighting Co.
Hollywood Lights
Venue
Matthew Knight Arena
Eugene, OR
Lighting Co.
The Design Oasis
Venue
Collins Park,
South Beach,
Miami, FL
Lighting Co.
PRG/Northland Church
Venue
Northland Church
Longwood, FL
Last week, I found myself in need of a compact yet high output LED source. I needed to fit four individual light sources inside a 10-foot tall birthday cake that could effectively light dancers perched on top of this scenic element. The fixtures needed to be small enough to sit in a tiny space, yet powerful enough to actually light the models from underneath through a Plexiglas floor. A friend suggested I demo this new product from a company called "The Black Tank," and they were glad to come to my rescue. They shipped me eight Brickblaster Pros to use for the gig.
When Prince comes 2 town, it's always a big production. Lighting designer Demfis Fyssicopulos was tasked with keeping it that way for Prince's current Welcome 2 America tour. The show is presented in the round on a stage in the shape of Prince's unpronounceable symbol – the same shape used for Prince's 2007 Super Bowl halftime show performance. High above the stage is a lighting rig in the shape of a hexagon with six spokes radiating from the center. At the end of each spoke is a pod that is hidden by six large video displays. Four of the six pods also house followspots.
What can one say about a man like David Taylor, who was so gifted and talented, so full of humor and kindness, and so giving of himself to the industry and to his loving family, when his life is taken in a tragic accident? David was a lighting consultant, most recently with Arup as the leader of their Theatre Consulting division and with Theatre Projects before that. He died on January 16 at the young age of 48 when he accidentally fell from the roof of a 14-story building in Taipei.
The Judds have had a 26-year career, recording and touring both as an ensemble and individually. However, they last toured together for their Power To Change tour in 2000, and in the intervening decade, touring technology has changed significantly. For instance, witnessing the introduction of DMX-controlled media servers that turned LED from panel indicator lights into a display format and light source, and the evolution of video from simple image magnification to a creative graphics display platform.