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Homage Part Duex

After my move from Maryland to Arizona with the boys is when things got really busy with me. Matt Brown of Guitar Center- Peoria Ave. got us on our feet with sound and light initially (before I knew about ClearWing and Four Wall). I first started going through Four Wall Entertainment getting my gels together from Roscoe special thanks to Nancy Tallman for her help at the time and pointing me in the right direction which led to ClearWing Lighting who have been my go to guys ever since Adam (LTP vs. HTP), Dave, Nick (Repair Extraordinaire), Tiffany, Ashley, Seth, Christian, and Jeff you all rock and have helped me learn so much technically and aesthetically much respect.

The State of the Lighting Tech Today

I’ve been hearing some disturbing stories lately. And I’m getting upset. It seems like its becoming normal for touring shows to fire lighting techs. On several occasions in the last two years, I’ve heard stories of whole crews being replaced. I get calls from people who hate working with techs that I know do great work for me. I don’t get it. Is it the new generation of youngsters and their attitudes? Or the fact that many techs don’t know what they’re doing these days?

A Few Shining Lights at NSCA

High-tech users means the lighting industry can find profits in low-tech gear.

The National Systems Contractor Show (NSCA), which was held in Orlando in mid-March, reflects an industry trying to figure itself out. If you didn’t know what the show was about — putatively, commercial AV systems design and installation — and you were suddenly, magically plopped down in the middle of the hall, it could take you the better part of the day to figure it out from the hodge-podge of technologies that make up media systems these days.

Personality Counts

 
You’re going to work with it a lot, so it’ll help to choose a console that matches your style.

As new digital lighting fixtures and media servers are introduced into our industry, there is a crucial need for an easy way to control what can be a very complicated set of video functions. This is where the lighting console layout can hinder or help the programming process. How a personality for a digital lighting fixture or media server is implemented into a lighting console has a tremendous impact on the performance of the lighting programmer.

Wireless Solution’s W-DMX Pro

Wireless DMX has been around for more than a decade now. The idea is to use it when you cannot run a control cable from the lighting console to your lighting fixtures. For instance, you may have multiple lighting fixtures located on several rooftops and one console located in a van in a parking lot of one of the buildings.

How to Wow an Architect

San Diego’s U.S. Grant Hotel’s $52M Renovation left the architects asking for more.

It’s an unusually cold, nasty winter night in San Diego, and Tony Hansen is 11 stories up on the roof of the historic U.S. Grant hotel. He’s with the architects spearheading a $52 million renovation, and he is showing them some possible solutions to lighting the exterior of the building. All he has to do is flip the right switch on his computer to turn on the LEDs hung on the outside of the building to produce the right color of amber as specified. His fingers slip, and the lights come up a different color.

Chauvet Q-Wash LED: LEDs Lead Changing Times

When the editor of PLSN asked me if I would be interested in writing a review for the new Chauvet QWash LED, my mind raced back to my days backstage, when my crew and I would take advantage of slow moments between shows to give our flashlights the Pepsi Challenge. I would pit my Mag-Lite against anyone else’s flashlight to see which was stronger and at what distances. On one occasion, a board op came up with his LED flashlight, swearing that his could finally dethrone the hoss, and it did…at short range. But the Mag stood strong at longer distances, such as from the floor to the grid 60 feet above. Even at that distance, I could easily make out the details in the cables suspending the rigging. His LED didn’t even provide a light pool at that range.

Entertainment I

Entertainment1 HQ

Who: Entertainment 1

What: Event production and touring supplier.

Where: Chatsworth, CA

Dive in the Desert: Find a Pearl

The high stakes game of Vegas entertainment takes on another player in the Palms.

Las Vegas suffers from no shortage of performance venues. Throughout its history as a resort destination, performers have made their way to Vegas to play any one of the many hotels and casinos that call Sin City home, but the Palms hotel and casino has upped the ante with the addition of their new venue, the Pearl.

Slow Hand, Wide Reach

Eric Clapton hits the road and fills up arenas in his most comprehensive, elaborate show to date

Let’s face it: Eric Clapton could enrapture an arena-sized audience with three PAR cans and a lava lamp for lighting and scenery. His tasteful chops and song catalog pre-date modern-day production as we know it, but his penchant for entertaining keeps him consistently in the spotlight on stages across the globe. This time around he’s packing two hours of classic Clapton hits, and he’s got two powerhouse guitar slingers in tow; Derek Trucks, son of Allman Brothers drummer Butch Trucks, and Doyle Bramhall II, son of the legendary songwriter and blues drummer Doyle Bramhall. 

Who Wants To Be a Programmer?

Steve Garner explains the passion behind his position.

Work to live or live to work? When is it time to take that chance? As console programmer Steve Garner explains, he fell in love with the industry as a kid and then left it all behind. But, as fate would have it, the Siren of the Theatre, Lor-tel, kept calling him, so he packed his bags and moved to New York. Twenty-plus years later, he has found his niche and he’s back in the theatre doing what he loves most. Life is funny like that… sometimes, if we’re lucky, we can get back to where we started. 

Finding the right guys

I ran out of guys to run shows last week. Again. I can see a legion of kids out there waving their hands “What about me, I’m sitting here looking for a gig”. But I don’t know all of you and cannot vouch one way or another for you until I do know ya. Been bitten on the ass for trying to have people I don’t know run one of my bands.