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Zero 88 Leap Frog 48 Console

In one of my many past lives, as a systems integrator, I specified a number of Zero 88 Frog consoles, mostly the Fat Frog, which was nicely positioned for the entry market. I was surprised when Zero 88 opted to drop the Fat Frog and jump to the Leap Frog range. Rather than an entry-level board, it’s now a mid-range console with control of up to 200 automated lights. Zero 88 has kept the ease of getting started on the console, plus, if you plan to grow your system, Leap Frog does not have the limitations of Fat Frog.

Staging Lifelike Holograms in 3D

Samuel Ryder may have died in 1936, but that didn’t keep his projected 3D likeness from serving as emcee for the recently held Ryder Cup Gala in Louisville, Ky. Using the Musion Eyeliner hologram from Digital Illusions LLC, Ryder was able to walk, talk, and play golf as he did nearly 100 years ago.

Wired in Big D

For about 357 days out of the year, I’d rather be in Austin, where I live, than in Dallas. Nothing against our neighbor to the north; after all, Dallas is the cradle of the automated lighting industry, the birthplace of the DLP chip, and the exporter of both Stevie Ray Vaughn and Lance Armstrong, both of whom took up residence in Austin. It’s not that I don’t like Dallas — I do. It’s just that I prefer Jerry Jeff Walker to Jerry Jones, Kinky Friedman to Ross Perot, and Willie Nelson to Vanilla Ice.

Working With Celebrities

Working in the entertainment industry allows many opportunities for interaction with celebrities of all types. I have had the privilege of meeting rock stars, actors, models, politicians, and even an astronaut who walked on the moon. Celebrities come in all types and working with them presents some unique situations and challenges.

Swisson XMT-120

In the days of analog control it was easy to figure out if a control cable was good or bad. A simple continuity checker was all you needed to know whether or not it would pass signal. In the days of digital control it’s not that simple.

Recession? Bring on the Venting

Times are tough. People and lighting companies are running short on gigs. For the first time since 9/11, shows that I normally do each year are scaling down their productions, if not cancelling them all together. Empty spaces on car show exhibition floors say a lot. Empty venues and minimalist shows coming in say just as much.

Little movers

    This week I have been testing out a slew of new lights that manufacturers have been coming out with this year. And I have to admit that I have been impressed with all of them.

Black Ties, Boots, and A Steelers Win

         What up everyone. Well BuckCherry fell through so immediately I had to find another gig. Luckily the gig found me. I got a crewspace message from the PM at BSL Productions who gives a ring when they can use me for a string of days on shop work or show dates. Of course we get the talking about the Inauguration because any companies in the Baltimore/DC area are hella-busy around this time. If you read up in the upcoming February edition of PLSN magazine I got the opportunity to write about the Texas State Society Black Tie and Boots Inaugural Ball held at the Gaylord National Convention. In that piece I concentrated on the event as a whole instead of my own personal experience, which I wanted to share in this blog I'm writing today.

What it takes

    Years ago I was doing a corporate show with some friendly clients who produce multi million dollar events. Over a few drinks I got to know one of the executive producers pretty well. I asked him how his firm got in with these big drug companies he did events for. He explained the process he has to go through to make a presentation to get the gig. After wowing me with details he let me know that his company had spent 40k just in the presentation. I gasped and told him I could not imagine spending that much of my own money just for a chance at getting the gig. His reply was simple. “It takes money to make money.”

Top 10 Tours of 2008

*Ranked by Billboard Magazine, according to total sales, Nov. 14, 2007-Nov. 11, 2008

 

1. Bon Jovi's Lost Highway Tour 

Lighting Co: Ed & Ted’s Excellent Lighting (now Epic Production Technologies)

CREW
Performance Environment Designer: Doug “Spike” Brant
Show Director/Executive Producer: Justin Collie
Lighting Director: Pat Brannon
Lighting Crew Chief: Storm Sollars
Lighting Crew: Jason Bridges, Greg Walker, Trevitt Cromwell, Chris Keen
Set Company: Tait Towers
Rigging Director: Mike Farese
Video Director: Tony Bongiovi
Video Suppliers: Kosher Pixels, Nocturne Productions

Oak Ridge Boys Theatre

LD Greg Russell walked into the newly-named Oak Ridge Boys Theatre in Branson, Mo. last year with the words of the owners ringing in his ears. “They wanted to have the biggest, baddest lighting system that we could get,” he recalls. “They weren’t going to spare any expense to get it done.”

 

While that was good news for Russell, he also had good news for them after a quick look around the venue formerly known as the Glen Campbell Theatre. He discovered that much of the lighting and rigging gear that was installed in 1994 was useable, including almost 500 channels of ETC Sensor dimming.

 

Inspiration Behind the Canvas

Lincoln Maynard leads a double life as an artist and general manager of Scenic Technologies for PRG.

 

Adorning the walls of PRG’s Las Vegas offices are photographs of flashy sets from famous shows and concerts — the Billboard Music Awards, VH1 Rock Honors and Criss Angel: Believe, to name a few. They showcase decades worth of work on the Las Vegas Strip and across the country. Photographs of sets the company has built, however, aren’t the only works of art on display. They share the space with paintings by artist Lincoln Maynard, who also happens to be general manager of PRG Scenic Technologies.