To download a PDF of the June 2010 PLSN Buyers Guide, CLICK HERE .

If you were to go back in time to 1996, you could go to any concert and you would notice one huge difference between shows back then and shows today - video.  

If all the world's a stage, is it portable, mobile, compact, and durable? Can it be folded, rolled, tucked away and set up without tools? And how much truck space does it occupy? Does it link to other stages in a variety of configurations and what type of accessories does it come with? What, exactly, are its dimensions when it's deployed and when it's in transportation mode?

To download a PDF of the April 2010 PLSN Buyers Guide, CLICK HERE. 

LEDs have been doubling in brightness every 18 to 24 months for the past 45 years. That trend continues today, and the pièce de résistance is that the prices have been steadily falling. But all of that means very little if LED fixtures can't compete with more conventional stage lighting.

 To download a PDF of the March 2010 PLSN Buyers Guide, CLICK HERE .

When the show must go on, the power must first be applied. To apply it correctly it must be applied safely, and that's where all those codes and regulations come in.

To download a PDF of the Feb. 2010 PLSN Buyers Guide, CLICK HERE.

Technology is rapidly changing theatre. Just a few years ago it was almost unheard of to use automated lighting in the theatre, but now it's commonplace. Soon afterwards, projection started transforming scenic design. Now automation is spreading through the theatres around the world from middle schools to Broadway.  

To download a copy of the Jan. 2010 PLSN Buyers Guide, CLICK HERE

You need go no farther than your local concert hall to see how the smart phone is shaping our lives. Take a seat in the upper level, look down at the audience, and what do you see? A virtual sea of miniature video screens capturing stills and video of the performance on stage. But the influence of the smart phone goes much deeper than photos, Twitter feeds, and IM.

To Download PLSN's December 2009 Buyers Guide, CLICK HERE.

In 1997, few people believed that LEDs could ever be bright enough and affordable enough to play a major part in lighting a stage. When Color Kinetics introduced their first product at LDI that year there was a collective expression of doubt about the feasibility of an LED PAR fixture.

To Download PLSN's Nov. 2009 Buyers Guide, CLICK HERE.

The history of haze machines is a bit foggy, but it seems that Reel EFX DF-50 haze machines have been around since Juliet first uttered to Romeo, “Wherefore art thou Romeo? I dost not see thee through yonder haze.”

To Download PLSN's Oct. 2009 Buyers Guide, CLICK HERE.

Only a dimmer tech could come up with a term of endearment that we know as “dimmer beach.” It conjures images of lounge chairs, exotic drinks, sand, surf and bikinis. In reality, dimmer beach is not for the faint of heart. It’s typically very loud, hot, and cable is strewn about like vines in the Amazon. And if anything goes wrong, it’s typically the first location to be yelled at through the comm system. The term clearly overstates the reality. 

For a PDF of the September 2009 PLSN Buyers Guide, CLICK HERE.

If you’re old enough to have gone to a concert in 1979, and then the next concert you went to was not until 1981, then you would have noticed a huge step up in production values. Not only were automated lights introduced in the interim, but also color scrollers as well.  

For a PDF of the August 2009 PLSN Buyers Guide, CLICK HERE.

(Note: The data gathered this month was extensive and required significant editing. For a PDF with the full data gathered for the August 2009 Buyers Guide, CLICK HERE.) 

You’re probably familiar with Moore’s law — that computer power doubles approximately every two years — but you may not be familiar with Groves’ law: network bandwidth doubles approximately every century. That was Intel founder Andy Groves’ tongue-in-cheek swipe at the slow pace of networking technology. But that’s all about to change.

For a PDF of the July 2009 PLSN Buyers Guide, CLICK HERE.

Moving mirrors fixtures have been around for at least 40 years and they have been tried in the theatre, on concert tours, and in nightclubs. George Izenour undertook a project to build a remote followspot in a moving mirror form factor in 1969. The water-cooled fixture had heat problems and never found much commercial success but a couple of them that were installed in the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre.  

For a PDF of the June 2009 PLSN Buyers Guide, CLICK HERE.

Almost 20 years ago, Emmy-nominated director David Niles, a.k.a. Captain Video, had one of the first high-definition studios around. It was in the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York and it featured a giant projection screen and a hi-def projector on which he could show his work.

For a PDF of the May 2009 PLSN Buyers Guide, CLICK HERE.
 

Deep Throat: Follow the money.
Bob Woodward: What do you mean? Where?
Deep Throat: Oh, I can’t tell you that.
Bob Woodward: But you could tell me that.
Deep Throat: No, I have to do this my way. You tell me what you know, and I’ll confirm. I’ll keep you in the right direction if I can, but that’s all. Just…follow the money.