Once, in a moment of apparent weakness, the dean of the college of engineering invited me and some other students to his house for dinner. We were all sitting in the study talking about school when I said something that, in retrospect, seemed to be the dumbest comment ever.

"Learning is painful," I said.

The month-long 2010 FIFA World Cup, played in 10 stadiums around South Africa, culminated in a match between Spain and Holland at Soccer City Stadium in Soweto, Johannesburg, and in Spain's first World Cup victory by a score of 1-0.

QMDI Event Organizer hired Creative Communication Group (CCG) to produce the light and sound for the third Senior Convocation of Education City, an initiative sponsored by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.

It probably wasn't intended to serve as a commentary on the current outlook for the international economy, but the British electronica band, Faithless, was booked to perform during the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia in mid-June.

Daktronics partner GoVision worked with BSUN Media Systems to help LuLu's restaurant at Homeport Marina in Gulf Shores, Ala. out of a jam. Tropical storm Alex forced the postponement of a charity concert to benefit those affected by the BP oil spill. Lulu's was left without an act to entertain the large crowds expected on June 30 and July 1.

When Scott Scovill of Moo TV was deciding which manufacturer's LED panels to use to create the video screen for Brad Paisley's 2010 Summer Tour, he turned to the artist to help make the final call.

A ballroom in London's Buckingham Palace was the site for a concert marking the 90th anniversary of The Not Forgotten Association, which was founded in 1920 to entertain disabled military personnel and veterans. The event was also accompanied by a 90-minute large format video projection show designed by The Projection Studio.

Lighting Co.
Creative Stage Lighting

Venue
Roseland Ballroom
New York, NY

 

Lighting/Video/Staging Co.
Beachsound

Venue
Filmore Miami Beach
Miami Beach, FL

 

Lighting Co.
Kinetic Lighting

Venue
LA Live Event Deck
Los Angeles, CA

Lighting/Video/Staging Co.
Focus Entertainment Design

Venue
Tempe Center for the Arts
Tempe, AZ

 

Lighting Co.
Pro Vision Productions Inc.

Venue
Red Rock Resort
Las Vegas, NV

 

Lighting Co.
Showcall, 4Wall

Venue
Washington D.C. Convention Center
Washington, D.C.

Lighting Co.
Production Design Associates

Venue
Memminger Auditorium
Charleston, SC

Lighting Co.
Mid-America Sound Corporation

Venue
Various (tour)

Lighting Co.
AVFX

Venue
Philips Healthcare
Andover, Mass.

Lighting Co.
BP Productions

Venue
Bayside Church
Rosevile, Calif.

Orwellian Influence Leads to Ministry Video Towers

 

 Oli Metcalfe is one of the new generation of lighting designers who is completely comfortable with developing video content to complement the lighting design.

"One Little Change" Leads to 14 Days of Video Madness for KISS Tour 

 

For a creator of custom video content, it was a tall order - create a towering quantity of custom content in a short 14 days - and hold the chicks.

One of the earliest automated lighting consoles on the market was called the Animator. It was very advanced for its time, but it never gained the widespread popularity it deserved in North America, probably because it had limited distribution. The company that designed and built that console is Compulite.

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

Bring up any topic with anyone remotely involved in lighting and the topic turns to LEDs.

"How's the weather?"

"It's hot! Not like those LED PARs I bought last month."

"How's your family?"

"My mom's in the hospital. You should see the cool LED lighting on that building!"

It was the year that Big William Howard Taft was president and little Marie Curie published her Treatise on Radiography; Mark Twain died and Django Reinhardt was born; Jack Johnson ruled the ring and the Titanic was being built.

 

Oh, and Rosco Laboratories was born.

Nashville's staging business is the anchor component of the increasingly-elaborate productions that chug out of Music City every year. But like the sets that the handful of companies here fabricate, the business is glossy on the part that the audience sees and less so back in the shop.

I remember a time over 12 years ago when I was talking with a young student in an automated lighting programming class I was teaching. He said that he really wanted to work in this field, but that his parents thought there is no future in it. They would rather have him become a doctor or lawyer than a "lighting guy."

When I was a kid, my two older brothers were standing in the front door watching a massive electrical storm through the screen door. I was afraid to get too close to the doors or windows because of what sounded to me like earschplittenloudenboomers. Each bolt of lightning shook the house and rocked the neighborhood.

It's been 20 years since I had anything to do with country music. This is not by choice; it simply never played out that I got a chance to light any artists in this music genre. So when a friend asked me to design the first annual Country Throwdown tour, I immediately replied that not only would I like to design it, I'd go out and run it.

Mega-Lite's Enlighten Control Wing is a response to users of Enlighten, Mega-Lite's lighting control software, for a physical interface. The lighting control board is designed to work seamlessly with Enlighten, giving the user hands-on control of their stage lighting. It's intended for those who prefer a physical board over a PC-only interface.

Flex Rental Solutions is proud to announce the release of Flex 4, the most flexible and intuitive Rental and Inventory software ever designed for the Pro A/V industry.

Martin Professional's EC-20 LED panels combine benefits of high-resolution screens with the low weight of mesh-type screens for temporary and permanent indoor and outdoor applications.

Alford Media Services, Inc.'s Widescreen Calculator iPhone app, which is like having a portable version of Alford Video Engineer or Projectionist, is designed to help with calculations for overlapping widescreen projections.

The Pixled F-6 6mm screen, set for a launch at the 2010 PLASA, is a bright, lightweight 6mm LED surface that is curvable in all directions - convex, concave and horizontal/vertical.

Panamax/Furman's BlueBOLT power and energy management platform has been updated with version 1.2, which promises to help users conserve energy, lower their utility bills and gain access to an expanded energy management feature set and new control options.

GE Lighting's Showbiz 24,000-watt CSR double-ended lamp is designed for the need for daylight color temperatures in film production, especially where light output, reliability and color stability are of critical importance.

Elation Professional's Color Tone 50 is a new DMX-controllable LED color changer for staging, entertainment and architectural applications that makes use of the new 50-watt Philips Lexel LED module, a homogenized LED light source.

Artistic Licence Rail-DALI, an all-in-one DMX/DALI converter, is being superseded by two new products: Rail-DALI-DMX and Rail-DMX-DALI. The new Rail-DALI-DMX can provide a multiple number of simulated ballasts that control DMX channels directly, or it can be used as a trigger interface.

Chromateq's LED Player is an entry-level priced DMX controller that works with Mac and Windows. The software includes a Profile Editor (library) and a Live mode. It can automatically generate color and matrix effects combined with pan and tilt movement. The software is downloadable and updates are free.

ETC Congo v6.0.4 software has been released is available for download at etcconnect.com. This release also includes a new firmware file for Congo consoles (not Congo jr or Lightserver).

GAM's new Remote Relay is operated from the Go-Lite low voltage controller and can handle loads up to 4,000W. You can select AC or DC relays at 120V or 230V. The unit is housed in a steel enclosure, and it can be hung with a C-clamp or mounted to a flat surface.

Synthe FX has announced the release of Luminair for iPad, its new desktop-class multi-touch DMX lighting control app for Apple's iPad. It uses the Art-Net protocol to transmit DMX data over Wi-Fi, giving users wireless control of color-mixable LED fixtures, dimmers, studio lighting, moving lights, media servers and any other DMX enabled equipment.

LSC Lighting Systems has announced the release of Clarity for Mac. This first public release for the Mac has the same features as the newly released version 1.2 of the PC software. For this reason, the first Mac release of software is also labeled Version 1.2 to ensure that the PC and Mac versions track each other. The latest PC version of Clarity can also be downloaded from the LSC website.

Altinex's new MX430-101 8x8 HDMI Matrix Switcher can simultaneously distribute any input to any one output, all eight outputs, or any combination of outputs while maintaining full HDMI image resolution and signal integrity.

Madrix LED Lighting Controller is a window-based effects generator and media server that supports DMX512, ArtNet, Philips Color Kinetics and Robe protocols, DVI and T9. The new version 2.9 now supports Streaming ACN and ASIO. It can be used stand-alone or with any DMX or MIDI console.

The new MVS-12 Multi-Viewer/Switcher from Roland Systems Group groups and displays up to 12 SD video signals to a single HD or RGB monitor. It eliminates the need for individual preview monitors, combining 12 SD inputs into one LCD display. It also has a built-in matrix switcher allowing up to 12 video sources to be routed to up to four separate outputs.

Prism Projection extends its RevEAL CW fixture line with the RevEAL Color Wash CW TrueSource (RevEAL CW-TS), with optical and color LED features managed through an LCD display and pushbutton controls.

The TV One-task product line now includes an EDID/CEC Selector to allow for easier setup of the EDID and CEC parameters between a source and display monitor.

Vision Pro from Midiator is a new visual live show controller that integrates various devices using industry standard protocols to control all the visual aspects of a live show. It acts as a central command station for media-servers, video-scalers, lighting consoles and other equipment.

Wireless Solution Sweden AB announced that Chroma-Q has chosen W-DMX as an OEM partner for wireless DMX. The first fixture to integrate W-DMX is the recently-released Color Charge LED fixture, a 600-hot-lumen, battery powered, wireless DMX fixture well-suited for indoor temporary lighting applications where wiring is a challenge or where install speed is critical.

Chauvet's Q-Spot 160-LED, a moving yoke fixture equipped with a 20-watt white LED that promises output comparable to a 150-watt fixture, is now shipping. Chauvet says the fixture, which replaces the Q-Spot 150-LED, is 46 percent brighter, with a lux measurement of 7,641 at one meter.

Mega Systems offers three different splitters to meet individual lighting installation needs - Mega, Disco and Enlighten Splitters.

Drivecon's LoadLock, a free feature available on all Drivecon closed loop hoist inverters, is designed to minimize the effects of operator-induced shock loading, which can result in cumulative fatigue on the crane's mechanical and structural components.

PC Wing is a compact training tool from Stage Technologies. The console enables students and automation technicians to learn to program and operate automation technology off-line in a classroom environment.

The new LSF Series Light Shaping Filters from Elation Professional can attach to a gel frame or the inside housing of an LED fixture to increase the beam angle or add a linear beam shape effect.

ERG Lighting, a new division of Endicott Research Group, Inc., has introduced the eDriver family of LED power supplies for a variety of solid state lighting (SSL) applications.

Upstate Case Manufacturing Company has introduced the Flylite line of hoist cases. The product line is designed solely for entertainment chain hoist transportation. The core substrate is a corrugated plastic, which is 30 percent lighter than traditional half-inch plywood.

Chino, Calif.-based Irradiant has introduced a new moving yoke color wash fixture with 3-in-1 LED technology called the SSDL-3201RGB. It features 36 3-in-1 RGB 3-watt LEDs, 540° of pan, 230° of tilt and shutter speeds ranging from 10 flashes per second to 0.1 flashes per second.

Litepanels has introduced the MicroPro Hybrid LED light which combines continuous output and a "flash" feature in a single fixture. The Hybrid's "continuous mode" provides soft output and the "flash" feature produces a 400-percent-brighter burst.

The Reveal Studio from Prism Projection is a soft-focus LED fixture with a housing that resembles a Fresnel. It has tunable correlated color temperature from 2700K to 8000K and 92+ CRI

The new Trap Lift from Serapid is a portable automated platform designed to carry actors, props or scenic elements from under the stage to stage level. It sets safely on the floor without anchoring or outriggers.

Shat-R-Shield's new Protect-R-Shield is a clear conformal coating for LED and printed circuit boards. It uses specialized coating materials to preserve the performance of precision electronic components.

Broadcast Pix is launching its Live Production & Streaming Bundles, packaging its Granite and Slate video production systems with a ViewCast Niagara streaming media appliance.

Christie's new Mirage WU7K-M 3D video projector features WUXGA resolution, dual lamps and outputs 6,300 ANSI lumens. It has dual-link DVI support at 330MHz, up to 10,000:1 contrast and 3-Chip DLP technology.

Draper's FocalPoint is a portable video screen designed for smaller venues. Its modular frame is constructed of extruded aluminum and used no hinges. All available sizes are built from combinations of the same frame segments, including the legs.

Pixled's new F-37L is a flexible 37 mm LED mesh video display that can create LED displays of any shape including wide flat screen backdrops. It delivers 2300 nits with a 37mm pixel pitch and 57 percent transparency factor.

Elation Professional is offering two new fixtures with five-color LEDs: the Design Brick 70 indoor wall wash and IP-rated ELAR 180 RGBAW indoor/outdoor PAR can. Both use red, green, blue, white and amber (RGBAW) LEDs.

Chauvet's SparkliteLED Drape is a black fabric panel studded with LED lights that can be attached together for a fully controllable field of color or theater curtain.

The new Axis Tri-LED from Mega-Lite is a moving head wash fixture with 90 tri-colored LEDs. Since the color mixing occurs at the lens level with tri-colored LEDs, each lens always appears lit. This prevents the light from looking spotted when viewing the fixture directly and leaves only a solid punch of color from a distance.

Martin Professional's Maxedia 4.2 is the latest version of the company's media server, positioned for performance and ease of use.

The E Spot LED from Elation Professional promises an output that's brighter than a typical 150-watt discharge lamp, yet uses less than half the electricity. Its DMX-operational features and effects include eight dichroic colors, seven rotating gobos, three rotating prisms, variable speed shutter/strobe, 0-100 percent electronic dimming and motorized focus in a compact, lightweight fixture.

Robert Juliat's new Aledin LED Profile Framing Spotlight operates on 85 watts and its low heat output helps preserves color media while reducing HVAC demand. A built-In electronic power supply provides flicker-free light and allows DMX control with no external dimmer.

The ORB XF has been designed to bring hands-on lighting control to the Cooper Controls' ORB platform. ORB XF adds fader control for intensity channels and live submaster playback, and combines theatrical syntax with an interactive hardware platform to control generic dimmers and moving lights.

Christie added two new LCD projectors - the Christie LWU420 and the Christie LW555. The LWU420, pictured here, targets professional users requiring WUXGA high resolution. The LW555, pictured below, is positioned as a more affordable WXGA high brightness widescreen projector.

Vaddio's OneLINK digital bus technology is designed to reduce the number of cables required in videoconferencing and presentation installations. With OneLINK, power, video and control are passed over a single bi-directional Cat. 5e cable.

Flex Rental Solutions is offering web-based rental and inventory management software that lets users access their information anywhere in the world with a web browser and an Internet connection. This lets users access their system anywhere without using a remote desktop or VPN connections.

Anidea Engineering's AEI2000-DMX is a customizable embedded controller for the entertainment and lighting industry that incorporates DMX, Motor, PWM and Triac control with a LCD User Interface and is offered at a competitive price point.

Elation's Design Spot LED is a hybrid spot/wash featuring bright colors, rotating gobos and energy efficiency. An LED-powered version of Elation's Design Spot 250 Pro DMX moving head, the Design Spot LED weighs 48.5 lbs./22 kilograms, less than the original Design Spot 250 Pro, but with a light output comparable to a 250-watt discharge lamp, and an extended lamp life is 50,000 hours.

TheTCP-IP CueSystem from GDS is a networked cue light system, designed to bridge the gap for stage management environments. The TCP-IP CueSystem uses the established ergonomic control platform with standard GDS outstations.

PRG, the U.S. distributor for Gekko Technology LED fixtures, debuted the Kezia range of LED spot luminaires at the NAB show in Las Vegas. The Kezia LED spot luminaires are hard-source LED spot luminaires with tunable white light that eliminates the need for color correction. They are available in two models: the Kezia 50 and the Kezia 200.