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Working for YOU

Justin Lang, editor, PLSN magazine

Working for YOU

Last month, I mentioned how I visit a number of production coming through the Washington DC area. This summer, I went on a working vacation and visited even more tours and productions around the country.  When I visit these various tours, I am primarily there to cover the tour and provide you, our readers with interviews and photos. A bonus for me is that I get to talk to all the stage hands, crew and locals about what is really happening out there on the road.  I live and work in a bubble back at the office. You can only learn so much about what is truly happening by reading countless web pages, Facebook and Twitter.

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From left, Tara Summer, Dakin Matthews, Jefferson Mays and Michael McKean during the 2013 production of

Simon Higlett’s Set Design for “Yes, Prime Minister” in Los Angeles

Many West End and Broadway designers are quite prolific, often working on more than one show at once. British scenic designer Simon Higlett likes to keep incredibly busy. As he spoke to PLSN from England, he was in the midst of simultaneously designing three shows at that very moment and seven in total for the time period. “I average about 15 or 16 a year,” he revealed, adding, with a touch of understatement, “I’m quite busy.” Higlett maintains a disciplined regimen to tackle this heavy workload. “I divide my time between morning, afternoon and evening and have quite strict rules,” he explained. “If it’s not done by the morning, I move onto the next one, and it kind of works until deadlines approach. It’s a slight juggling, but it’s not a problem really going from one to the other because they’re always so different. They don’t cross except when the deadlines get close together.”

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Mumford and Sons tour photo by Rachael Wright

Mumford & Sons 2013 Tour

Grammy-winning alt-folk artists and multi-instrumentalists Mumford & Sons know a thing or two about putting on an exciting show. Their live concerts are nothing short of a rip-roaring ride on an emotionally draining musical rollercoaster propelled by gut-wrenching vocals, feverish banjo pickin,’ rousing bittersweet string passages, throbbing kick drum patterns and the occasional self-deprecating, expletive-laced rant.

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Hakkasan Las Vegas photo by Rukes.com

Hakkasan Brightens Las Vegas’ EDM Allure

Las Vegas is upping its EDM ante, with competition among its casino nightclubs intensifying to the point where the desert city (also now host to the biggest of the annual Electric Daisy Carnivals) might rival Miami, and eventually even Ibiza, with appearances by world’s most popular DJs. The most recent addition to the lineup of clubs welcoming big-name DJs is Hakkasan, at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino. Since it opened in April 2013, Hakkasan, a name once associated mostly with Asian-fusion cuisine, has become synonymous with a no-holds-barred nightlife and clubbing experience.

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YouTube 2013 Upfront photo by Andrew Federman

YouTube’s 2013 Upfront

Upfronts are standard industry events where media companies and studios showcase their latest products and trumpet their latest programming to advertisers and the media. (For MTV’s 2013 Upfront, see PLSN, June 2013, page 42.) But when you work on the YouTube Upfront, things are a little more hectic and involved.

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Pathway Connectivity's Cognito Lighting Console

Pathway Connectivity Cognito Console

Pathway Connectivity’s latest product, the Cognito Lighting Console, has sliders like any other lighting console, but also has a gaming console vibe. The first question you might have upon seeing one is, what am I going to do with this thing, control lights or play Call of Duty? The second question is, why would Pathway Connectivity, a leader in network control devices, develop a lighting console? Upon closer inspection, however, the Cognito console makes a lot of sense.

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San Francisco's Sutro Tower loomed large in TV's rabbit-ears era.

The Future of Television

In case you haven’t noticed, the world of broadcasting and television is changing fast. Since we’re all part of the change, and in the midst of the evolution itself, it might be difficult to see the forest. I’m not talking about video technology (where change is a given factor), but specifically, I’m referring to the way that television programming is created, distributed and delivered.

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Elation Design Wash LED Zoom

Elation Design Wash LED Zoom

Elation’s compact, DMX-controlled Design Wash LED Zoom (RGBW) and Design Wash LED Zoom CW (Cool White 7500°K) fixtures are just 3.1 by 8.7 by 17.5 inches in size (L x W x H) but produce 400 foot candles at 20’ / 3,900 total lumens and 8,300 total lumens, respectively. The 108 Osram Ostar LEDs promise 50,000 hours of use, and features include 7°-30° zoom/13°-40° field angles, variable strobe, pulse and rainbow effects, 0-100% dimming and pan (540° or 630°) and tilt (265°) movement with 16-bit resolution.

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Primus toured with as many as 30,000 pairs of plastic glasses. Photo by Gunnar Curry courtesy of 3D Live.

To 3D, or Not to 3D: That’s the Question

Is 3D a passing fad, or will it become a regular component of the live touring effects arsenal? If you ask ESPN, which launched with much ballyhoo its slate of 3D sports channels in 2010, the most recent answer would be “fad.” The über-sports broadcaster announced in June that it would be pulling the plug on its 3D channels by year’s end. Shooting concerts in 3D for Blu-ray and cinematic release seemed like it was going to become a healthy industry niche, but has instead slowed to the point where just “niche” is all you need to describe it. 

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Programming Very Large Arrays (VLAs)

The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) is a radio astronomy observatory located in western New Mexico. It consists of 27 large dish type antennas. Astronomers reconfigure the array every few months into new alignments to better explore the universe. This requires intense computer programming to coordinate the movement and alignment of the large receivers. I am sure that programming for this very large array presents a level of complexity to its team of programmers. However, when I find myself programming a very large array of lighting fixtures, I think that their scope must pale in comparison to my task at hand. Programming very large arrays is quite a task for any automated lighting programmer.

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Foster the People's stage at the Firefly Festival had seven towers. Photo by Mat Stovall

Foster the People Towers over Firefly Festival; Rock ‘n’ Roll Reality Tour, Quick Cues…

Foster the People fans at the recent Firefly Festival June 21-23 in Dover, Delaware, were treated to a specially designed one-off production to tie in with the band’s new album in progress. “The show design was based around seven towers, eight to 28 feet high, that all rotated for a constantly evolving environment,” said Trevor Stirlin Burk, the production designer, creative director and show director of Foster the People.“We also collaborated with The Los Angeles Contemporary Dance company. It was super ambitious for the band to want to do a brand new production from scratch, specifically for Firefly. By all accounts it paid off.”

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Illustration by Andy Au

When Did it All Get So BIG?

Earlier this year, one of my clients called me in for a meeting about what he wanted to do for his annual summer shed tour. We were currently playing arenas, but were headed outside for the summer. He wanted to talk about the current trend in arena shows to get some big looks. He looks me right in the eye and asks me, “How high is that front truss flying?” Fifty feet or so, I tell him. “And how wide are all these trusses?” I reckoned they spanned about 90 feet, side-to-side. “Now don’t get me wrong, Nook. It looks frickin’ great, but when did we all decide these shows had to be so big, to be good?”

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