Amid a growing field of computer-based lighting pre-visualization systems, lighting designer Charles Kirby and his company have been busy building and improving on a more organic and interactive method of modeling light. By taking advantage of today’s fiber-optic and LED technologies, Thematics is giving designers — and students of the craft — a way to build fully-operational scale models of their lighting designs.
I walked into my first ESTA Technical Standards Committee and quickly surveyed the room. Situated around the conference table were some of the brightest minds in the industry and some of the most dedicated people upstage of the proscenium. I felt like a Ford driving onto a Mercedes lot.
Last year seemed to be a tipping point for Thomas Edison’s most ubiquitous invention. Early in 2007, California Assemblyman Lloyd E. Levine proposed legislation that would ban incandescent lamps. The move was dismissed as a political stunt, but it did initiate some global hand-wringing and soul-searching, and that led to political initiatives in Canada and the 27 member states of the European Council to announce that those countries would begin researching similar out-with-incandescent lamp strategies. In mid-year, Australia became the first country to proclaim a policy designed to eliminate the most energy-inefficient forms of incandescent lighting. This will take the form of a standard — yet to be determined — for light source efficiency that must be met by every lighting product sold. Whatever that standard eventually is, it will certainly be far greater than the approximately 5 percent efficiency of the everyday incandescent bulb, which loses 95 percent of its energy in the form of heat.
OK we’re back with another fine edition of “The Notebook.” The Bonerama group just got done a two week run down south and are fresh off a great performance on the Late Show with David Lettermen with OK Go’s Damien Kulash promoting their new EP “You’re Not Alone.” These past two weeks were full of good things. One would definitely be the new sections and solos added to the music. Each time I’ve gone out to work something new has emerged in their performances.
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If you think you’re not familiar with John Huntington’s work, you’re probably wrong. Those of us who have been in the industry for a while might remember his erstwhile contributions to industry magazines. Others may remember him from his time at Production Arts Lighting before that company was absorbed by Production Resources Group (PRG). But even those who missed that period quite possibly know his work by way of the hundreds of students who have passed his classes at New York City College of Technology or at the Yale School of Drama where he teaches entertainment technology. Or perhaps you have a copy of his book, Control Systems for Live Entertainment, the third edition of which was recently published by Focal Press.
I light business meetings every now and then. Those boring conferences where people in the same line of work gather to get worked into a frenzy in order to sell sell sell whatever it is their company hawks. They always seem to have a motivational speaker. And I hate these bastards.
Well, well, well, I finally got to take my first trip to New Orleans recently and it was for Mardi gras! For me this trip was not only a unique experience but to try to understand more about the element of music I work with every night when I’m out on the road. New Orleans is known for their sacred music from down south and its there in the city is where it can be truly understood watching the parades and seeing all the plethora of musicians all over the streets. It is virtually impossible to walk down the streets of that town and not hear music.
I basically bounce between the Hog 3, the Grand MA and the Maxxyz console these days. Why? Because they get the job done. And they all suck equally.
Faders. I’m sitting here thinking about them. Who invented them in the first place?
And why do they only go up and down?
Lighting designer Chris Stuba tells the story of how he was once riding around in a car with legendary bandleader Billy Gibbons. It was early in his tenure as the designer for ZZ Top, and Gibbons wanted to talk to him about an upcoming tour. So he drove to Stuba’s house in Houston, where they both live, and picked him up. They were driving around, talking about the upcoming tour, when a ZZ Top song came on the radio. It was one of those moments when time stands still, and Stuba’s thoughts turned inward. “I grew up listening to ZZ Top, and here I was, driving around with the man, listening to his music on the radio,” Stuba recalls.
I recently programmed the lighting for Gospel Superfest, a nationally syndicated television show aired on gospel cable channels. For the past couple of years, the executive producer has been increasing the use of video in the show by adding video walls and plasma screens to the stage. This year, however, he asked Set Designer and Show Technical Director Rene Lagler to incorporate video projection into the design, and the result was impressive. My quest to find out how it was accomplished and what equipment was being used led me on a little backstage investigation of my own.