My friend Kenny Mednick is also a lighting designer who illuminates musicians on their tours. While I was speaking to him this year I mentioned that I had been working with some less-than-pleasant people in the last year, namely musicians who were, for lack of a better word, mean, disgruntled people.
Last year, when Metallica was finishing a stadium tour and putting the finishing touches on their latest release, Death Magnetic, lighting designer John Broderick was preoccupied with other projects. The looming world tour meant that he was behind the proverbial eight ball.
John Lennon once said of touring, “It was like being in the eye of a hurricane. You’d wake up at a concert and think, ‘Wow, how did I get here?’” A hurricane is an apt description of the touring world; all the elements combine to create an experience that envelops audience and artists alike.
“Multi-Media” has just been redefined.
Some 17,000 people recently witnessed Star Wars brought to life on stage in London’s O2 arena. The event condensed 13 hours of films and music into a 90-minute event that combined video, an 86 piece orchestra and an 80 piece choir. It delighted everyone in attendance, up to and including the creator of the film, George Lucas.
If there was a box in which we could put lighting designers who are creative, expressive, imaginative and intelligent, Willie Williams might be the first to be put in. And he would probably also be the first to break out. The artist and production designer is a master of re-creation, often the first to conceive an idea and the first to abandon it and move on to a fresher one.
Software is the new frontier of lighting control. Advances in technology have made computers ridiculously affordable, powerful and readily available. The people who write code for them have harnessed that horsepower and put it to good use in our industry. Lighting control, for example, is making leaps and bounds, and DMXCreator software for the PC is a prime example.
What thoughts come to mind when you hear the term 3G? Could it be that ubiquitous cell phone spokesman, touting their company’s latest network? Perhaps — but if you walked the aisles at April’s NAB convention, the video industry’s most exciting new buzz was evident at almost every turn — and yes, it’s also called 3G.
In most situations, copying is a bad idea. I have taught my son that copying from someone else’s paper in school or copying data for a book report from a web page is wrong. If I were to copy a previous article and submit it as a new one, PLSN would almost certainly reject it.
“True revolutionaries are guided by feelings of love.” — Che Guevara
If everything goes according to plan, the revolution will start at 9 a.m. tomorrow. The plan is for you to realize that you want Remote Device Management (RDM).
One of my biggest joys of watching a live performance is when I see a lighting show where the designer has put a lot of thought into different aspects, when that lighting person is professional enough to know when to use the latest technological gadgets and when not to, when sometimes “less is more” and old school prevails.
It seems like the concept of the original musical, and particularly one that is not self-reflexive, has been harder to find on Broadway lately, especially in an era where movies are being turned into musicals and old movies are being turned into musicals then back into movies again. Frankly, the trend is tired, which is why Billy Elliot: the Musical stands out.
It should be required for anyone aspiring to be a lighting designer, programmer, or director to go see a Bruce Springsteen show. For 25 years, Jeff Ravitz has been his lighting designer and designated keeper of the flame of the classic rock show. Along with lighting directors Todd Ricci and John Hoffman, Ravitz schools the industry on how to do it right.