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A Quantum Leap for Softlights

LiteGear, which introduced its LiteTile softlights in 2016, followed up with a larger version, LiteTile XL. The company now offers something even bigger: its Auroris X softlight, which is able to cover a 100-square-foot area with just one fixture. Measuring 10’ x 10’, Auroris X is also scalable, and users can simply deploy 10 Auroris X units to cover 1,000 square feet. Other overhead products might require 40 separate products to provide the same level of softlight coverage. The Auroris X can also be quickly uncoupled from your rig, folded, and stored in minutes.

The Two Magic Moments for a Touring LD

Parnelli Visionary Award honoree Peter Morse cites two magic moments on every tour where he’s served as LD. “I always look forward to the first time we run the cues in real time with rehearsals. It’s a feeling that we’ve crossed over the first major hump and can now view our work with bodies on stage and music at volume.” His second favorite moment is the first actual show. “The audience is there, all elements are running at full tilt, and we feel the appropriate response from the audience to the entire package. That is electric!”

For ‘MJ: The Musical’ – Windows, Mirrors and Flying Glass Shards

For Broadway’s MJ: The Musical, which focuses on Michael Jackson’s 1992 Dangerous world tour, Derek McLane’s scenic design include 30 feet tall and 4 feet wide window walls on the side of the stage which pivot to open and close, and an upstage wall of windows that is 20 feet high and 27 feet wide. The show also has a significant mirror motif. Actors roll in large 3 ½ feet wide by 8 feet tall mirror panels, seven in all, which can be used in varying configurations. For the musical number “They Don’t Care About Us,” McLane envisioned shattered mirror pieces flying through the air. PRG created two intricate and delicate metal frames to hold 160 mirror shards made of Lexan.

Learning to Love the Nuances of Lighting for Television

“In early 2000, I moved to LA, and all I wanted to do was tour. I loved music and touring; big shows, bright lights and really dynamic stuff. But hanging out with [Allen] Branton, I began to appreciate the art of paying attention to those really, really micro details and making them right. The whole television lighting experience, that I thought would be limiting, was in fact the opposite.”
—David Hunkins, interviewed by Michael S. Eddy, for his column, 1,000 Words with… PLSN, April 2022, page 47

Did You Check It in the Shop?

“I dunno, it worked in the shop, I swear.” How many times have I heard this? Too many. Gear may work fine in the shop, but did you actually physically attach all the pieces that will work with it at the actual gig, or did you just assume?

Moving Lights for Movie-Making

Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth drew plaudits—and Oscar noms—for Cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel and Production Designer Stefan Dechant. The high-contrast, black-and-white film’s visuals were inspired by graphic novels and German Expressionism. Some test-shooting quickly revealed that, instead of traditional film lighting using Fresnels and flags, moving lights would be the way to go.

Rock Solid AVL Power Control for a Concert Venue in a Quarry

FirstBank Amphitheater in Thompson’s Station, TN, is unique. Honed from the former Graystone quarry, the 138-acre site is now home to a 7,500-seat amphitheater that sits the base of a 100’ cliff. Along with clearing an incredible amount of rock and debris, this venue required the installation of a state-of-the-art audio, video, and lighting (AVL) system that includes miles of fiber infrastructure. Integration company Integrated Production Solutions (IPS) was responsible for powering, managing, and protecting the amphitheater’s AVL systems.

For TV Lighting, Edging Away from 3,200K

For the annual NFL Honors, broadcast from YouTube Theater at SoFi Stadium on Feb. 10, PLSN’s Michael Eddy asked LD Jon Kusner about balancing the lighting with the video screens. “It’s now getting easier and easier to get away from 3,200K, which was always not ideal for the screens department,” Kusner noted. “Being in the color space closer to 5,600K makes the screens look better. We were at 4,200K, that was our white light on this show. I like being at 4,200K because the color spectrum of reds and blues, from a lighting perspective, land pretty well there if you go either direction.”

Check Out These Products and Services Featured at USITT

The 62nd Annual USITT Conference and Stage Expo is coming up on March 3-5, 2022, in Baltimore, MD. Held as an in-person event, there will be a wide variety of applied educational activities, sessions, panels, and more. In PLSN’s February 2022 issue, we featured a preview of products and services that will be featured at this show. Check them out by clicking through the links below.

New Badge Recognizes Theater Companies for Pay Equity Standards

On Our Team, which was founded in 2020 by Bob Kuhn, Christine Pascual, Elsa Hiltner, and Theresa Ham, is now offering theater companies their new Pay Equity Standards badge. Inspired by organic and fair-trade food labels, the badge is designed to recognize theater companies that have made a commitment to equitable pay policies.