Absen’s The X3v (and its sister panels, the X2v and X5v) are made for mobile production, and they don’t care whether that quick setup and teardown is inside or outdoors. The X3v panel fronts are rated IP65. The rear of the panels rate IP54. So they can stand up to the challenges of an indoor or outdoor show with varying levels of atmospheric obstacles.
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Absen opened their headquarters in Orlando with only four employees in 2013. There are now more than 50 employees associated with the subsidiary handling the exponential growth that has taken place over the last three years. Absen’s Gary Fuller, Jeremy Fish and Alison Maxson recently gave PLSN the 411 on their growing company. We also spoke with Evolve Media Group’s Tyler Mayne.
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For Skalar, a large-scale art installation that invites visitors to explore light and sound in an environment that combines the raw industrial beauty of a derelict power station with the scale that brings to mind the soaring interior space of a cathedral, light artist Christopher Bauder and musician/composer Kangding Ray made use of lighting fixtures from Robe.
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Pioneering electronic music producer Porter Robinson has teamed up with lighting designer Ben Coker of Orlando’s Zenith Lighting and collaborated with All Access Staging for the 2018 “Virtual Self” Tour. This isn’t your typical EDM blink blitz — Coker, the Porter Robinson team, and All Access Staging have come up with a fully ground-based, modular floor kit with absolutely no front light package.
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LynTec, a U.S.-based power and control company, is a leading manufacturer of innovative electrical power control solutions for professional audio, video, and lighting systems. They incorporate electrical protection, circuit switching, and a patent-pending controller within a single enclosure. Let us take a closer look at the product line, both hardware and software.
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For a big concert staged during Super Bowl weekend at Mystic Lake Casino in the Twin Cities area, The Legacy Production Group got a big last-minute order for gear. “They took every last fixture we had and incorporated it into the design,” said Tom Gorman. “Our next problem was that, while we had the fixtures, we didn’t have the cable and distros to power them up, and they wanted to load in fairly soon.” The phone call had come in about ten days before load-in would commence in the ballroom, as the casino’s large stage in the theater was unavailable.
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Once again over 100 million people from 180 countries tuned in to watch the Super Bowl and its infamous halftime show, as Justin Timberlake played a 13-minute set revealing a new song and plenty of his hits. It was his third Super Bowl appearance, but first as a headliner. A crack squad of technicians and I.A.T.S.E. members were able to set the stages on the field in approximately six minutes. Considering there were seven different performance stations for Timberlake, this was a feat that took some serious planning.
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Miranda Lambert is out on her “Livin’ Like Hippies” tour, which started Jan. 18 and takes a break after March 24 before adding on three shows in June. In mid-July, Lambert hits the road again with Little Big Town on “The Bandwagon Tour, which then runs through Aug. 24. We spoke with lighting and production designer Paul “Arlo” Guthrie, lighting programmer and director Taylor Price and video director Josh “Death Ray” Clark about the “Hippies” tour looks.
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Creative director and scenic designer Willo Perron (Drake, Lady Gaga, Jay-Z), worked with choreographer and show director Annie-B Parson (David Byrne, Laurie Anderson, David Bowie) to collaborate on the “Fear the Future Tour” with singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Anne Erin “Annie” Clark (better known by her stage name, St. Vincent.) We spoke with the tour lighting and production designer Jesse Blevins (Jay Z, Rihanna, Demi Lovato, Lenny Kravitz) and lighting director and programmer Meagan Metcalf (Sheryl Crow, Fleet Foxes, Metric, Chromeo) to get some insight on the show.
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TOUR: First North American leg, Jan 18- Feb 24; Australia, UK, Europe, more North America through 2018.
DESIGN: “A show is about a mood. It changes every time. It is interesting to work with technology these years because we have super graphic lights, mood lights, video panels, etc. My approach is larger than lights. Depending on the project, I might be looking for something to be lit, like a set piece. Or I might use lighting to do arial looks. I like to define space. It all starts with what is my canvas.”
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As it crisscrosses the country, the Tony Award-nominated musical On Your Feet continues to bring the story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan vividly to life onstage, chronicling their ascension from modest beginnings to musical royalty through their group Miami Sound Machine. Six months in, the national tour has picked up after the show finished a nearly two-year run on Broadway. The original production, which features scenic design by David Rockwell and projections by Darrel Maloney, sweeps through dozens of scenes as it compresses decades of real life into key narrative moments.
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As I sat watching the closing ceremonies at the Olympics, I found myself in a peaceful place. The projection on the floor was superb, in my mind. The choreography, scenic design, visual elements, pyro and of course, the drones, made us forget about the issues of the days (such as today’s turmoil within the White House or this week’s school shooting). They did what good entertainment is supposed to do — take your mind to another place.
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