Skip to content

Robe ROBIN DLX Spot

Robe ROBIN DLX Spot

Robe ROBIN DLX Spot

Robe’s new DLX Spot joins the ROBIN series of fixtures, with a size and weight (46 lbs.) comparable to other spot, wash and beam fixtures in the ROBIN line.  As with those other fixtures, the DLX offers an impressive number of features within a compact, lightweight package, but with a big difference — the light source.

Read More »
Miranda Lambert 2012 tour photo by Steve Jennings

Miranda Lambert’s “On Fire” Tour

Although she’s not really made of gunpowder and lead, Miranda Lambert is comfortable around firearms. But if lighting and production designer Chris Lisle jokingly claims to be “legitimately afraid of her,” the country singer who first gained national attention as a finalist on TV’s Nashville Star in 2003 can bank on her talent, and not just fearsomeness, for her fans and critical acclaim.

Read More »
Along with screens on the course, Upstage Video supported the Greenbrier Classic concert in 2011.

Upstage Video Expands in Three Directions

“We are busting at the seams,” says Doug Murray, who founded the Pottstown, PA-based Upstage Video in 2005.

To better serve its growing roster of clients, the company is expanding on three fronts. Along with the move from its current 8,000-square-foot home base to a 50,000 square foot building in the Philadelphia area later this year — “that should hold us for another year or two,” Murray laughs — the company recently expanded into a 10,000-square-foot facility in Boulder, CO, near Denver, and also acquired Los Angeles-based JumboScreen Co. (JSC) in April. Operations there will soon move from Thousand Oaks, CA to a 10,000-square-foot warehouse just 10 blocks from Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Read More »
High End Systems DLV

High End Systems DLV

The DLV, the newest fixture in High End Systems’ line of digital lighting fixtures, combines media server technology with a 4,000-lumen projector in a compact yoke luminaire designed for small venues like clubs and theatre. Based on the same software platform as the larger DL.3, the DLV programs and operates with very few differences from the DL.3.

Read More »
L'Arc en Ciel plays MSG

A Smooth Trajectory for L’Arc-en-Ciel

The Japanese Band’s big show at MSG got an assist from PRG

The Japanese group L’Arc-en-Ciel is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a world tour and making some concert history along the way. They became the first Japanese band to ever headline at New York’s Madison Square Garden (MSG) with their sold-out performance on March 25, 2012. Starting off the final leg of their world tour at MSG is a daunting undertaking — doubly so when you are starting off your first show with a brand new set, lighting, and video. The group decided to bring in concert touring production manager Tom Hudak to handle the Garden performance as well as the subsequent European dates and some of the Asian tour stops. PLSN spoke with Hudak about the MSG show.

Read More »
The 2.5-ton Swarovski crystal chandelier

Bamboo Miami

Bamboo Group, known worldwide for its trend-setting 100,000-square-foot nightclub in Bucharest, Romania, recently opened the doors to a 27,000-square-foot, 950-capacity nightclub in the space previously occupied by the Paris Theater in Miami Beach. (The capacity, limited by a layout dominated with VIP tables and couches, will expand when additional seating areas open with the second floor mezzanine and patio later this year.)

Read More »
Off the Hookah

Off the Hookah

Lighting Helps Turn Bayfront Restaurant into Hot Nightclub

It still is what it is — a neighborhood spot were Miamians can hang out in a family-owned restaurant, which it’s been since 2007. But expansion and a big vision fueled an evolution for the owners of Off the Hookah where the dinner plates are put away and hot nightclub is revealed — all in plain sight.

Read More »

What’s an IP Address?

In my day-to-day world, I teach some fairly high-tech classes in the digital projection realm, and the students who take these classes come from a wide range of technical backgrounds.  For the most part, it’s a very tech-savvy group — eager to learn, and highly skilled in networking, troubleshooting, preventive maintenance and operations.  This group is also very comfortable with new concepts and the methods required for setting up digital equipment.

Read More »
Blackmagic Design Mini Converters

Blackmagic Design Mini Converters

HD to SDI, SD to SDI, VGA, YUV, RGB, HDMI, 3G — I find myself converting a lot these days. Because of the plethora of video signals that have developed in the last few years, techs, roadies and designers are having to come up with creative ways to get signal from point A to point B — on time and under budget.

Read More »
Creating 3D objects in Cheetah3D...

Creating Killer Content

As the use of video increases in live entertainment, so does the need for fresh and unique digital media content. When a production team is given a project requiring media, there are basically two options for acquiring it: buying it or creating it. In this article, we will take a look at some of the tools digital content designers use to create the eye candy that gets displayed on all of those LED walls and projection screens.

Read More »
Altman Spectra Cyc 200

Altman Spectra Cyc 200

Altman Lighting has been in the business of manufacturing lights for the entertainment industry for more than 50 years.  When new technologies came about, Altman Lighting developed products that designers asked for. When a new light source technology came along called LEDs, Altman began researching and developing products.

Read More »

A Whole New Definition for “Dead” Heads

In show business, being dead has become a viable career option, thanks to technology. The most recent iteration of dead men telling tales was the projection resurrection of Tupac Shakur during a performance by rappers Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April in California. The projection was otherworldly and, depending upon your perspective, it was also either way-cool or downright creepy, but it also suggests that there is a budding business to be had here.

Read More »