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The Pixies 2014 Tour

Bridges of Madison County photo by Joan Marcus

A Bridge of Imagination

When you are doing a musical based on the bestselling book and hit film The Bridges of Madison County and cannot actually build a bridge onstage, that conundrum creates a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. But scenic designer Michael Yeargan tackled the problem with ingenuity, knowing that sometimes one can show someplace or something without fully representing it. He needed to figure out “how to depict a covered bridge on the stage when this action happens in it, through it, and behind it,” he says. “There was no way we could really build a covered bridge, so we designed it to indicate it with those arches that fly in.” It was a balancing act of scope and intimacy for a story centered on two people in love in an extramarital affair.

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Miley Cyrus tour photo by Steve Jennings

Miley Cyrus 2014 Bangerz Tour

Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz tour, in support of her fourth album of the same name, is riding the momentum of the artist’s swing back from acting to music. The tour is not only showcasing Cyrus’ ability to belt out a tune, it’s completing the wrecking-ball-like annihilation of her previous child-idol Hannah Montana persona. (The artist’s twerking spectacle at the MTV VMAs in August, 2013, where Cyrus sang the Bangerz single, “We Can’t Stop,” generated 306,100 tweets per minute.) The album, featuring pop songs with country and Hip Hop influences, was released Oct. 4, and after the completion of a 39-date North American tour (Feb. 14-April 25), the tour has a 22-date run through Europe (May 2-June 15).

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Imagine Dragons tour photo by Debi Moen

Into the Night with Imagine Dragons

It started with a scanned drawing of trees with eyes. “We want trees onstage,” said the band members of Las Vegas-based Imagine Dragons. Production designer/LD Richard “Nook” Schoenfeld of Visual Ventures Design was one of three designers approached to turn the scan into an imaginative set for the last portion of their Night Visions tour, dubbed Into the Night.

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For Guess?, Matrix provided ten 20K projectors and a 20-by-50-foot LED display. Photo by Paul Motal

Matrix Visual Solutions

Life is eventful for Paul Motal. In fact, he and Matrix Visual Solutions, the company he founded, are involved in nearly 800 events per year, either as the producer or as the full-service provider of audio-visual gear and expertise through rentals and sales. Ranging from massive to modest, they include conventions, trade shows, gala parties, product launches, stadium concerts, film premieres, fundraisers, music festivals, television and movie production, sports and educational, religious and corporate events. Where else would you find a client list so diverse it contains such luminaries as Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Pitbull, Ford Motor Company, Samsung, Guess? Inc., the Latin Grammys, Safeway and the Barack Obama presidential campaign?

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An Ultra HD Update, One Year Later

An Ultra HD Update, One Year Later

By now, you’ve probably heard the hype about Ultra HD (also known as 4K), since the major manufacturers of 4K televisions are promoting it to the max. This new video format has four times the resolution of high definition video (1920×1080). Much has happened since the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which was 4K’s global coming-out party. In the biz, hopes remain very high for this new breed of video (clearly, since the coming out party for 3D in 2012 proved to be a flash in the pan).

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Roland VR-50HD Multi-Format AV Mixer

Roland VR-50HD Multi-Format AV Mixer

I was at FOH mix position the other day and had a look at the mixing desk and on the back was a DMX interface. What? Why on earth would anyone want to use DMX out of a sound console? Surely they don’t expect the sound guy to control lights too? What’s next — the video guy controlling sound? But then I thought, what if I were all alone in a ballroom at a corporate gig? What if I operated the switcher at my church? What if I operated a webcast in a studio that had to change equipment all the time?

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Chauvet Professional Nexus 4x4

Chauvet Professional Nexus 4×4

The Nexus product line from Chauvet Professional contains the latest in LED technology. There are three versions within the line: 4×1 linear strip, 2×2 block, and the award winning larger block version, the Nexus 4×4. Is it a blinder, wash light, low resolution video wall, or eye candy? The answer is YES! Yes, it is a LED audience blinder. Yes, it is a super bright soft edge wash light. Yes, it is a low resolution video wall. Yes, it is flashy eye candy. And yes, it can be used in many other creative applications.

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My First Time Programming

Hello, my name is Matthew Schiller, Brad’s son, and I have taken over my dad’s column to tell you about my first programming experience.  Although I have played with automated lights and consoles all my life, I only recently programmed a full production.  My high school in Austin, Texas put on a production of Miss Saigon, and I was assigned the position of automated lighting programmer for the show.

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