Click below for the First Impressions videos of seven of the 75th Annual Tony Award-winning Lighting, Costume, Scenic and Sound Designers for 2021-22’s Broadway plays and musicals.
PLSN was saddened to learn of the death of White Light founder and former chairman, John Simpson. The company, which last year celebrated its 50th anniversary, announced his passing on June 11, 2022. He was 79. In addition to his work with White Light, Simpson was known for his charity work, acting as Chair of Backup: The Technical Entertainment Charity, which provides financial support to industry technical professionals in times of hardship. Over the last two years of the pandemic, he had been tireless in the support of the people in the industry who needed help – right up until a week before his untimely death. Here’s a remembrance by White Light of Simpson and his career. We send our sincere condolences to his family, colleagues, and friends.Read More »In Memoriam: John Simpson, Founder of White Light, 79
The eyes of the world were on the incredible Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Concert in June, to witness a host of big-name singers perform on a specially created stage in front of Buckingham Palace. As the Royal Family, politicians, dignitaries, and the public looked on, a show fit for a queen unfolded, backed by LED screen content driven by Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2 Media Servers.Read More »Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2 Drives Majestic Visuals for Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Concert
At the recent 20th Annual Parnelli Awards, Board of Advisors Chairman Marshall Bissett took to the podium to announce the 21st Annual Parnelli Award Honorees: Marty Garcia is the Audio Innovator Award honoree; Keny Whitright is the Visionary Award honoree; and Roy Lamb will be recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Click below to learn more about these three deserving honorees.
With more than 16,000 small to large street parties, the people of Great Britain celebrated the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s throne during the first weekend of June. But by far the biggest show took place in front of Buckingham Palace in London. 22,000 spectators gathered in front of the three stages, where Queen + Adam Lambert, Rod Stewart, Alicia Keys, and Ed Sheeran played, among many others, and another 13.4 million watched the BBC’s mega-event live on TV. For the lighting of the main stages, Buckingham Palace and the Tree of Trees sculpture designed by Heatherwick Studio, Version 2 Lights supplied more than 600 Cameo spotlights, including over 60 of the new hybrid outdoor all-rounder OTOS® H5.Read More »Cameo Illuminates the Queen’s 70th Anniversary at Buckingham Palace
During the construction of fine pixel pitch LED screens, there is a common occurrence of dark or bright lines appearing between adjacent modules. These lines are caused by the dislocation of panels during installation and can have a significant impact on the overall visual experience. Manual calibration and professional camera calibration are the two methods that are typically used for calibration; however, both of these approaches have limitations. Professional camera calibration equipment is expensive and awkward to carry; and the systems are often quite complex, and it is challenging for staff to operate them. While manual calibration relies on human eye observation, the efficiency is limited, and the quality cannot be controlled.Read More »AOTO Introduces Intelligent UAV / Smartphone Calibration Technology
Full-service video and lighting company 4Wall has extended its stock of Elation Artiste series LED moving heads into Europe with purchase of the Artiste Monet™ Profile, Artiste Mondrian™ Profile FX, and Artiste Rembrandt™ Wash luminaires. Following on from 4Wall’s positive acquisition of Artiste series fixtures in the US earlier this year, and in the wake of a series of favorable product demos at the 4Wall facility in Blackburn this spring, 4Wall Europe has acquired a significant quantity of Artiste series units.Read More »4Wall Europe Makes Strong Investment in Elation Artiste™ Luminaires
Production Resource Group, LLC (PRG), a leading provider of production solutions for entertainment and live events producers, announces the opening of Starwood Rehearsals, a new concept in rehearsal spaces serving Nashville music artists preparing for tour. The Starwood Rehearsals space is a blank slate, allowing for any type of production setup. However, given its location at PRG’s Super Depot in LaVergne, TN, it provides clients with direct access to the entire suite of PRG equipment and expertise.
Production teams have complete privacy at Starwood Rehearsals with exclusive use of the space and the resources to run through their projects from planning to show day. The new, climate controlled 10,000 square foot facility, boasts a 100′ by 100′ rehearsal space, dressing rooms, a green room, board rooms, production offices, and a gallery viewing space. Other venue features include:
“With so much pent-up demand for the return of concert touring, artists and their management are experiencing a scarcity of suitable rehearsal facilities. With Starwood Rehearsals, we’re rounding out our service offering by answering that need,” said Randy Hutson, CEO of PRG Music.
From 1986 to 2006, the Starwood Amphitheatre was an outdoor music venue just five miles from PRG’s current facility. The Starwood Rehearsals name serves as a homage to Nashville’s local culture, the rich history of concert touring, and the iconic artists and their production teams who put on shows at the venue.
PRG quietly opened Starwood Rehearsals this spring, hosting several musicians and groups including Dan + Shay, Brian Kelley of Florida Georgia Line, and Leon Bridges. Demonstrating its flexibility, the space was even used by a corporation to film a video segment for an event.
Further information from PRG: https://www.prg.com/page/nash-rehearsal
The #Collaborator Party is back for 2022! Join them this Sunday, June 12, in NYC & online for the official Tony night party of the entire theater community. Let’s face it, after the last couple of years, you’ve earned a celebration! Here’s the video invitation:
The 20th Annual Parnelli Awards were held Friday, June 3 during the 2022 NAMM show, with both events taking a big, if asterisked, step toward pre-pandemic normalcy. On the “normal” side, there were plenty of attendees at both events, and everyone there relished the chance to meet up again, face to face, after being kept apart for way too long.Read More »The 20th Annual Parnelli Awards: A Brief Recap
Dance is a uniquely human activity according to the biologists and naturalists who study such things. The “hidden language of the soul,” as Martha Graham described it, is also as unique and special as humans themselves. This diversity was on full display this spring at ExCel London, as the exhibition center hosted MOVE IT, an event that invited some 75,000 people to spread their creative wings and dance, either on stage, or in one of its many workshops and classes.Read More »OneBigStar Reflects Many Facets of MOVE IT With Help From Chauvet Professional
Eastern Lighting Design, an international design firm specializing in broadcast, location and special events lighting, employed nearly 200 versatile, feature-rich Ayrton Diablo luminaires and compact Levante wash lights for Al Jazeera Media Network’s new Studio 5 sets in Doha, Qatar. Read More »Eastern Lighting Design Chooses Ayrton for Al Jazeera Studio in Doha, Qatar