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Cloning Done Right

Cloning is used to add fixtures to the rig which are supposed to behave the same as an existing fixture or fixtures. This becomes useful when rigs grow or change over time… Dirty show files are full of clutter and mismanaged data. If two fixtures get cloned to 12 fixtures, then a single hard value will be multiplied by six. If you are preparing to clone your show, please take time to open a tracking sheet and repair any raw values before the clone. This will save you time in the long run.

Giving NFL Honors a Vegas Welcome

Tamlyn Wright, Principal at Silent House, served as Production Designer for the 13th annual NFL Honors ceremony, which was held Feb. 8, 2024 at the Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas. Reprising a role she’s played for the NFL ceremony since 2022, she once again dreamed up a design that embraces the city hosting the Super Bowl. For 2024, accordingly, her design “oozed Las Vegas.”

Creating a Venue Like No Other

With the goal of offering “the most elegant and intimate nightlife and superstar artist experiences in Las Vegas,” Voltaire at the Venetian’s ambitions went beyond captivating audiences with impressive scenic design on just the stage itself. Instead, a relatively basic Vegas showroom was transformed into a venue like no other.

Hands-on Experience Helps Programmers Trim Busywork for Others

Chris Lose, PLSN’s LD-at-Large, worked as a moving light tech, dimmer tech, and crew chief before finally moving to the front end of the snake. He credits the years he spent tinkering on moving lights in the shop for giving him the insights to be a more effective, streamlined programmer. As he notes in PLSN’s March issue, “the most efficient way that programmers can support their team is by helping them to avoid busywork. I have seen several programmers send technicians up into the rig to sort out a fixture only to realize that they hadn’t even attempted a soft reset before ringing the alarm bells. Often, a reset or two is all that a fixture needs to straighten up.”

A Monumental and Memorable Finale

The creative team for Daddy Yankee’s final ‘La Meta’ shows in Puerto Rico had a clear goal in mind: to give the artist and his fans the ultimate show experience as a send-off. Everyone on the creative team had their own favorite moments, from the top of the show where Daddy Yankee performs on his lighting platform and is floating back and forth to the beginning of Act III where the full scale of this 1,000-fixture production was presented to the reveal, in Act IV, of the giant inflatable statue of the artist that appears to cry golden tears. But the most memorable aspect of the production for Lighting Programmer/Operator Will Flavin was the behind-the-scenes teamwork that was required to stage this enormous production in the first place.

Capturing NYC’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in an LED Volume

In PLSN’s February 2024 issue, Cinematographer Pierre Gill, CSC, spoke of how he and others filming Disney’s “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” were able to capture, among other things, a very realistic semblance of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, inside and out, relying heavily on virtual production with ILM.

Safety First

For this month’s PLSN Buyer’s Guide, we take a look at some of the latest safety gear and services that manufacturers and vendors make and supply. The concert touring and live events industry are filled with numerous dangers and hazardous situations. Be sure to take proper precautions and be aware of the potential for dangerous situations. Check out these products and services that help protect the safety and well-being of people in our industry.

Four Rig Plans for Kim Petras’ Feed the Beast Tour

Lighting Designer Ricardo Rojas designed German singer/songwriter Kim Petras’ latest tour, Feed the Beast, but Lighting Director Dan Lavoie took it on the road. Knowing that the show would be staged in different rooms, diverse versions of the set up were planned for—not just “A” and “B” rigs, but also a “C” and “D” ones as well. “Dan was great,” comments Rojas. “He was able to maintain my vision while making the adjustments necessary and deal with the occasional curveballs that come on tour.” Lavoie notes that he did in fact use all four of the rig plans. “Adapting to different venues presented unique challenges, especially dealing with low ceilings and daylight issues in amphitheaters,” Lavoie says. Follow the link below to learn about this tour’s design.

Always Have Fun, but Get the Job Done

Production Manager Jesse Sandler may be the son of well-known Tour Manager Harry Sandler, and Jesse may have modeled his career on some aspects of his dad’s success, but the two didn’t work together that often, and Jesse acquired most of his PM skills and smarts by working his own way up through the ranks of concert touring. Asked of advice he got early on, that’s still applicable today, Sandler says that would be to “work hard, do the right things, and stay true to yourself” and try to disregard the “outside noise” that can “make you question yourself and what you’re doing.” Last but not least, he says: “Always have fun, always have a good time, but take the work seriously and get it done.”

You Don’t Need a Backup Plan…You Need TEN!

Michael Brammer, son of Parnelli Lifetime Achievement Award winner Jim Brammer, stepped up to the podium on January 26 to present the plaque to his dad. After some private plane piloting and skydiving jokes, Michael quickly disabused the crowd of the notion that his dad is the kind of guy who ever takes on big risks with a backup plan. “He’ll have TEN backup plans,” Michael said, a truth reflected in the panoply of companies now under the Concert Stuff Group (CSG) umbrella, including Special Event Services (SES) and many others.