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The Sphere in Las Vegas Illuminates Entire Exterior For The First Time

On July 4, the Sphere came to life with a captivating display of dynamic, animated content on the venue’s exterior – the Exosphere – transforming the Las Vegas skyline. As part of a special show to celebrate the Fourth of July, for the first time ever, Sphere’s 580,000 square foot fully-programmable LED exterior – the largest LED screen on earth – was completely illuminated. The show started with a welcome – “Hello World” – and was followed by fireworks and stars and stripes animations, before transitioning through a wide array of visual content, from vibrant underwater scenes to performances to vividly-textured lunar surfaces, putting on full display the versatility of this unparalleled canvas. Here’s some video of the Exosphere in operation:

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City Theatrical Launches QolorFLEX 25x3A Dimmer

City Theatrical launched its newest addition to the QolorFLEX® brand of professional LED Tape, Dimming Control and Accessories with QolorFLEX 25x3A Dimmer (P/N 5811), which is a low voltage, constant voltage, dimmer that is designed for large installations of LED tape. Here’s City Theatrical’s 25-Channel Dimmer Product Introduction video hosted by City Theatrical General Manager Al Crawford:

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Theme Park Lighting Veteran Ryan Stumpp Joins Elation as Vertical Market Manager

After nearly two decades at Walt Disney World and Disney Live Entertainment, Ryan Stumpp has joined Elation Professional as Vertical Market Manager for Themed Environments. Ryan brings a wealth of themed lighting expertise to Elation, having designed and programmed lighting for a variety of marquee shows and spectaculars, including the recent redesign of Fantasmic! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Happily Ever After at Magic Kingdom.Read More »Theme Park Lighting Veteran Ryan Stumpp Joins Elation as Vertical Market Manager

Training at Nationwide University

Nationwide Video, with facilities across North America, is a leading provider of cross-rental equipment to the live entertainment and event rental and staging industry. Their Nationwide University (NWU) provides training industrywide for technicians and video engineers to get up to speed on a variety of video equipment and workflows.

Show & Design Group (SDG) Expands Its Lighting Rental Inventory with the Acquisition of Ayrton Diablo-S Fixtures

Las Vegas-based Show & Design Group (SDG) has made its first investment in Ayrton lighting fixtures with the purchase of 24 Diablo-S units. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton products in North America. SDG offers live event production and lighting rentals; a complete trucking division, SDG Logistics, Inc., is targeted at expedited entertainment logistics.Read More »Show & Design Group (SDG) Expands Its Lighting Rental Inventory with the Acquisition of Ayrton Diablo-S Fixtures

What Do I Mean When I Say XR?

The usefulness of words hinges on a consensus of what they mean. In his “XRticle” published in the May 2023 issue of PLSN’s “In the Volume” section, by Matthew Ward, who is part of the Emerging Technologies at Fuse Engineering Workshop and Head of Product with Superlumenary LLC offers his interpretation for how Reality, Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Extended Reality (XR) and Mixed Reality (MR) can be understood, then goes deeper in analyzing the trickiest one on the list: XR.

STARS Labor App

With the objective of minimizing labor management chaos and streamlining managers’ tasks, the STARS Labor app significantly reduces the time and effort required for managing labor. Powered by Synchronus, STARS is a web-based system supported by the secure infrastructure of Amazon Web Services (AWS).

4Wall Entertainment Acquires Atmosphere, Inc.; Strengthens DC Presence and Plans for New Facility

4Wall Entertainment has acquired Atmosphere, Inc., Washington DC’s premier event lighting production company. For almost 30 years, Atmosphere has been providing production services including lighting and rigging for events and venues throughout the DC region. The acquisition unites two industry-leading businesses in the DC area, with Atmosphere’s expertise in special event production complementing 4Wall’s extensive range of live entertainment equipment and services already in place.Read More »4Wall Entertainment Acquires Atmosphere, Inc.; Strengthens DC Presence and Plans for New Facility

Making the Evening Happen: The Sponsors

The annual Parnelli Awards ceremony is the one night a year we shine the spotlight on those who spend their careers away from it, toiling backstage. And the evening wouldn’t be possible without our forward-thinking, industry-supporting sponsors. Here’s a brief introduction to who they are and what they do for our industry.

Designer, Author, Educator James L. Moody, 80

Designer James L. Moody died this year at the age of 80. A pioneering lighting designer for concerts, television, and theater as well as a professor, lecturer, author, and mentor, Moody had an amazing and varied career that influenced many throughout the live entertainment industry.