Skip to content

Photography Skills

Red lighting makes it difficult to capture details. Less-saturated colors tend to have less blowout.

Photography Skills

As people who work the day-to-day of concert, industrial, theatrical and television, we sometimes forget we to need to take photos to help capture our work.  It is important to show our work in the best way possible.  Detailing a design in words can only go so far; visuals help to explain what we accomplished. These days, websites and social media are great places for potential employers to see and learn about us. Our next gig might be a click away. We don’t always have the luxury to have someone capture our work. But we can learn to improve our own photography skills.

Read More »
Republic Live in Austin, TX

Plump DJs’ Show Lit Up with Mega-Lite

AUSTIN, TX – UK artists Plump DJs rarely play in the U.S., so for their appearance at Republic Live in Austin, TX, Jacked In Entertainment Owner Erik Johnson and Lighting Designer/Tech Jeff Franklin wanted to create an overwhelming lighting show that would be sure the impress the crowd. To achieve that, they used numerous lighting fixtures by Mega-Lite.

Read More »

Lighting Aerosmith, Sting, Anthrax/Testament, Miranda Lambert and a Playboy Fantasyland

LD Alastair Bramall-Watson is designing Aerosmith’s tour, which kicks off Oct. 22 in South America, swings to Mexico and ends Dec. 10 in Japan. This is his first time to work with the band, and he’s excited about the opportunity. To prepare for it, he didn’t look back at previous designs but put his own style forward. The longtime LD for Stone Temple Pilots said he was contacted by the band to submit a proposal. He met with Steven Tyler in Boston with the designs and got his stamp of approval. “I couldn’t presume to know what they wanted or didn’t want. I asked what they liked and didn’t like in a show and went from there. The show will be the best show I can give them,” he said.

Read More »
Illustration by Andy Au

Hitting the Sweet Spot

A spotlight does just what its name says it will do. Light a spot in a crowd to draw attention to it. A light shone on one person in a crowd will make them stand out, but so will a “key” light on stage. The difference is that a spotlight uses an operator to follow the performer around as he struts about on stage, keeping him illuminated as the intended focal point of the audience. The history of the spotlight can be traced back to 1550, when an Italian named Sebastiano Serlio used a brightly-polished barber’s basin (reflector) placed behind a torch to reflect the light through a bottle (lens) on the other side of the flame.

Read More »
Diespeker Wharf, Islington

Projection Studio Energizes Islington Wharf Revitalization

ISLINGTON, UK – Ross Ashton’s The Projection Studio was commissioned to design and create special video artwork for London-based Pollard Thomas Edwards architects (PTEa), who specialize in creating and revitalizing neighborhoods. A special event at their base in Diespeker Wharf, Islington, celebrated their first renovation: a former Victorian timber mill transformed into a contemporary workspace and headquarters for their practice.

Read More »
Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Fringe Benefits from Zero 88

CWMBRAN, UK – Cooper Control’s entertainment lighting control team spent the month of August onsite in Edinburgh supporting the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. More than 150 venues involved in the Fring chose Zero 88 control desks and dimming, with 200 products supplied from a host of Zero 88 dealers.

 

Read More »