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Chauvet Maverick MK2 Spot

Chauvet Maverick MK2 Spot

Chauvet Maverick MK2 Spot

I recently had the pleasure of programming the Chauvet booth for InfoComm 2016. I was able to use the newest fixtures that the Florida-based company had to offer. The Maverick MK2 Spot especially impressed me. I didn’t even realize that it was an LED fixture until I was told half way through the day. I’ve known Chauvet to be the less expensive alternative to other manufacturers for years. This fixture has made me rethink my perception of Chauvet in several ways. Chauvet’s Professional product line is continuing the trend that the Nexus Panel started, taking Chauvet off of the alternate list and moving them to the preferred list.

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ETC CS20 and CS40 consoles

ETC ColorSource Consoles

What is ColorSource? Electronic Theatre Controls (ETC) has given birth to a family of products that is continually growing. It started with an only child, a Par (wash) fixture, followed by spot fixture. Wireless DMX and relays shortly joined. Now, new to the family, is a series of four consoles: the CS20 and CS40 (reviewed here) and the soon-to-be-released CS20AV and CS40AV. (We’ll probably be kicking the tires of the AV consoles at some point down the road.)

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Russ Felton, crew chief at BML Blackbird

So You Wanna Be a Crew Chief…

Be careful what you ask for. A lighting crew chief is the one who has to take whatever “rainbows and unicorns” vision a designer has plotted on paper and actually hang the corresponding, functioning rig. The first person that a lighting designer has to choose, once the rig has been confirmed, is the Lighting Crew Chief. This will be the person who is in charge of organizing, assembling and managing all of the logistics involved with the lighting rig. Here is a short list of the major qualities that a designer looks for when selecting a touring lighting crew chief.

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How Do You GO?

Some people read palms, and others are into studying the structure of feet or bumps on a head to determine personality characteristics about others. I have discovered that lighting board operators each posses a unique style when it comes to pressing the GO button on a desk. The number and placement of fingers, method of pressing and other indicators point to psychological information about the operator. What follows is a guide detailing various methods of pressing the GO button and what they mean about the presser.

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The ONE Grand Show in Berlin. Photo by Bernhard Musil

Peter Morse and The ONE; Debating in the Best Light; Wonder in the Woods; More

Peter Morse spent the past two years designing the elaborate lighting for a large German production show, The ONE Grand Show, which runs for two years in residency at the Friedrichstadt Palast in Berlin. The extravaganza, called “the most lavish show in Europe,” started previews at the 97-year-old theatre on Sept. 22, with the world premiere set for Oct. 6 and more shows planned through mid-2018. With a budget of 11 million Euros ($12.3 million), the show aims to take the audience “on a dreamlike journey through time in search of the person who means everything to us: The One.”

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Illustration by Andy Au

The Great Library of Libraries

We need to come up with a solution for all of the elusive fixture profiles that are costing us countless hours of hunting down DMX charts and building our own hacked-together libraries. In the last few months, I have received several emails, text and even Facebook messages asking if I had a fixture profile for everything from a two channel smoke machine to a 48-channel beam wash hybrid fixture. These cries for help are coming from newbies as well as top-level programmers who are scrambling to find the correct profile for the current fixture that needs to be patched immediately so that they can get to programming.

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Stampede’s Big Book of AV and Conference Series will stop in Toronto on Tuesday, Oct. 18.

Stampede Brings Road Show Event to Toronto on Oct. 18

TORONTO — Stampede’s Big Book of AV and Conference Series will stop in Toronto on Tuesday, Oct. 18. The event promises to be the company’s biggest-ever Canadian event, with technology updates, training forums, industry insights, and one-on-one networking opportunities among the benefits to attendees.

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JABOR helps Pegasus help others with therapeutic horseback ridding programs.

Just a Bunch of Roadies Helps Therapeutic Horseback Riding Center Spruce Up for 2016 Fall Season

PALM DESERT, CA — Charlie Hernandez, head of the charity group, Just a Bunch of Roadies (justabunchofroadies.org) rallied the troops in Southern California for a day of volunteer work in support of Pegasus Therapeutic Riding, a Palm Desert. CA-based ranch that offers free rides to create memorable experiences for disabled and special needs children and adults.

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In Memoriam: Buddy Sokolick, 1956-2016

In Memoriam: Buddy Sokolick, 60

CHICAGO — Buddy Sokolick, longtime head of the production department for Jam Productions in Chicago, where he supported artists including Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi and Amy Grant, among others, died Oct. 13 after a long illness. He was 60. Sokolick began his career as a stagehand at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago and quickly rose through the ranks to become a production manager for Jam Productions. In 1987, he became head of the production department at Jam, where he stayed for most of his career.

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