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Backstage Graduates

Different paths lead to promising technical theatre careers.

In the live event production industry, many succeses are earned in the school of street smarts. You’ve heard the awe-inspiring story just about a million times. Well, here it is again — a million and one. A budding technical star moves to the Big Apple or Hollywood with nothing more than raw talent, a wad of cash saved from a low-wage job in “Nowheresville” and a lifelong dream to design for a large-scale, high-profile production. He or she takes a chance, hoping to become the next best thing in the world of glitzy lights.

Other aspiring talents, however, choose a different direction to reach the big time. From Hollywood to Broadway, many successful designers and technicians are also graduates of production schools. While they still have to pay their dues in the real world like everyone else, graduates consider the extra education and experience showcased on their portfolio as a leg up over the competition.

Geez Louise

Geez Louise, well I’m back and all settled in good ole Maryland. Aside from getting all my stuff into my new apartment I’ve been actually doing a lot or prep work for the Bonerama tour. I’ve been really working at adapting my old cue list to all the new ones I wrote. So what happened was that I took out “The Notebook” and began brainstorming all the ideas I had for the tunes. After getting down the initial ideas I like to go through all my old cue lists and compare what I wrote to the cues I already had programmed. Now, some cues work exactly with my old ones and then others require a bit of changes. I’ll also go through and create some new custom looks I feel would fit the show well. Another thing I’ve been doing is getting baggage for all my utilities like tools, cables, notebooks, etc. all gathered and placed in a certain way so I’ll be efficient as possible for loading in and out.

What’s all the noise?

I've come to the inconvenient part of the load in. The part where all the lights are up and working, but I'm sitting on my ass waiting for the set to be built.

Robe’s Flying Moving Lights

I was fortunate enough to visit the small town of Roznov in the Czech Republic a couple of days ago. There's an automated lighting manufacturer based there; perhaps you've heard of them. Does Robe ring a bell?

Solid(-State) Performance

Novella Smith, one of the founders of Selador, was passing through town the other day and stopped in to visit. She just happened to have some of her new products with her.

House LDs

   Today I find myself lighting Rihanna at the Avalon Ballroom in Hollywood. They have a selection of cheaper moving lights, LED fixtures and pars run from an Avo Pearl. But their biggest asset is not their system.  It's Joel Huxtable, the house LD.

Killing Time in Airports

I spend a lot of times in airports. I tend to be in them at least once a week. And they bore me. So here’s some nonsense I like to do to occupy the time while waiting for my inevitably late flight to leave.

The lights are broken in the sky

I like to check out a local musician from time to time named Shelby James. He’s got a lyric on one of his songs “the lights are broken in the sky.” Hahaha sure enough they were. I’m so happy to be leaving the bar scene from a production stand point. The live music in bars for the most part is unique and still has a sense of authenticity. I had an experience a while back at a local pub/club where I got to watch his solo acoustic gig and wouldn't ya know the damn LED pars and scrollers are left on sound active function with no one at either present at the sound or light consoles.

Active Production and Design, Inc.

Who: Matt Clouser, president/owner

What: Full-service production company specializing in audio/visual installations and live productions

Where: Atlanta, GA.

Founded: 1993

First gig: “Setting up the lights (PAR cans) for a local club. I was paid $25 dollars a night.”

Latest gig: “We recently had a successful show with the Caribbean Diplomatic Community in D.C.”

Wybron Outdoor BP-2 Beam Projector

Entertainment lighting professionals are from Mars and architectural lighting professionals are from…well, at times it seems they’re from a different galaxy altogether. If you’ve ever tried to navigate the maze of manufacturers’ reps, distributors and suppliers trying to get specifications, samples or information about architectural lighting products, then you can appreciate the relatively small network of entertainment lighting pros, most of whom you probably know on a first-name basis. 

Pixel-Packin’ Mamas

Working with Mixed Media and Mixed Resolutions  

So, you’ve just returned from a major industry trade show, and the LED exhibits were stunningly beautiful — simply breathtaking in their creativity. So, fresh with ideas, off you went back to the shop, slammed together some content, set up your company’s LED wall, sized up the video through your scaler — and voila! Third-generation VHS dubs look better than this. What gives? “Them trade show guys must know something,” I hear you mutter.

Well, in fact, they do.