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WYSIWYG R23

The CAD tools in WYSIWYG may not be as advanced as in AutoCAD, but they are sufficient for most applications in our industry, and very easy to use.

One of the most important lighting design tools to emerge in the post-automated lighting era is lighting design software. The first to market was the WYSIWYG suite of CAD, paperwork, rendering, and visualization software for lighting designers and programmers. Eighteen years after version 1.0 comes the latest release from Cast Software, Release 23, and it represents a major step forward in terms of real-time visualization, detail, and quality of rendering.

Look Ma, No Console!

Last month I was hired to program the COTT 2008 music awards on the Caribbean island of Trinidad.  While the initial concept and plan for the show was very straightforward, there were many surprises that left me well equipped with material to write about the experience.  The show was a typical awards-style TV shoot with five cameras, a podium, and twelve musical numbers.  I was in control of automated lights, LEDs, media servers, and more.  Conventionals were controlled from another console.  The LD had done this show the year before but could not attend this year because his pregnant wife was due any day.  So it was up to me and the superb crew to help the locals make this show spectacular.

The Bare Truth About What’s Really Recession-Proof

Looking for a recession-proof market sector? That joint near the tracks with all the neon might be a good pace to start. This particularly pernicious economic climate is chipping away at the entertainment-related areas of business that putatively do well in recessions: film box office results are flat, video game sales are down slightly and music sales — fuhgedaboudit.

Bozo’s Balancing Act

“Know the light, but keep the shadow.”—Tao saying

Three-phase power distribution systems are very common around the world for a couple of reasons; they save money, and…I forget the other reasons.

Three-phase distribution saves money because it takes less copper to transmit the same amount of power with a three-phase system than with a single-phase system. In fact, it takes about 25 percent less copper to transmit the same amount of power with a three-phase three-wire delta system as with a single-phase three-wire system because the conductors need only be half the cross sectional area. And with a three-phase four-wire system it takes even less copper — about 66 percent less than with a single-phase three-wire system.

Accessorizing Your Lights

‘Tis the season of trade show lighting. And whether you are starting to design the lighting for your client’s booth or you are already on site, you must make sure to put some thought into bringing a box of lighting accessories; you know, those little things good designers can’t live without.

Should’ve seen it comin’…

     I should’ve seen it coming. I should’ve hit delete immediately. I should’ve done anything but what I did. Accepted an offer to join this phenomenon sweeping the country called Facebook.

 

BuckWild

Hey Everyone, 

     I talked myself down of that ledge after the last post. Recently a representative from BuckCherry contacted me inquiring my availability this coming year for an upcoming tour with Avenged Sevenfold, Papa Roach, and Saving Abel (I think). Jumping at the opportunity , I immediately expressed interest because these are a great pairing of bands.

Trying to keep that xmas spirit

    Things have ground down for the year. It seems like for the first time in a while many of my colleagues are looking for work. Heck, I’m even short on gigs. This is usually normal in the music biz around this time of year. But the corporate world has been hit even harder. No big xmas parties anymore. No new year’s extravaganza. For the first time since 9/11 struck, I am seeing a serious decline in trade shows and business meetings.

A Tale of Two Cities…and 48 Set Changes

Taking a famous literary work and putting it onstage as a Broadway musical is bound to draw fire from critics and purists, and A Tale of Two Cities is certainly no exception.

 

“If you’re doing something that’s derived from the classics there is almost no way past the critics because the past belongs to the critics, and they will always tell you how it should’ve been done,” remarks Tale scenic designer Tony Walton, a 51-year veteran of the business. He also notes: “Shows that are accessible in a big way to a popular audi-ence seem to carry within them the seeds of seething fury for the critics.”

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Turning the Set Upside Down and Inside Out 

 

When Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers go out on tour, they’re typically playing to sellout crowds. With the increasing demand for tickets, production designer Jim Lenahan was given a mandate at the start of Petty’s recent tour: keep 270 degrees of viewing angle.

The Michigan Theater

An American Movie Palace Gets a Lighting Makeover

 

The Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor is one America’s original movie palaces. Built in 1928 during the silent movie era, the theatre also hosted vaudeville stage shows — it is still home to a 1927 Barton Theater Pipe Organ — before giving way to talkies and live musical performances.

Robb Jibson

From Junkyard Theft to Living the Dream

 

Petty theft doesn’t pay, but it can lead to a dream job in the entertainment lighting industry. In this month’s PLSN interview, we speak with Robb Jibson, who explains how his deviant behavior led him to the lighting industry and why he’s living the dream.