ETC (Electronic Theatre Controls, Inc.) has unveiled a line of motorized hoists and hoist-control systems for theatrical and architectural use called ETC Rigging. Its first offerings are the fixed-speed ETC Prodigy hoist systems and ETC QuickTouch controls.
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The Jarag, manufactured by Chromlech, is an integrated, programmable, lighting effects system that can be used to create arrays of light. The Jarag-5 is a matrix of 25 lamps with integrated electronics that provides dimming and sequencing. It is available with 75-watt PAR20 or PAR30 lamps and it draws 8A at 230V or 16A at 110V.
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The tour for Train has been rolling across America with lighting and video gear provided by LMG. Lighting designer Matt Mills and tour manager Thomas O'Keefe co-designed the rig, then handed it off to lighting director Shawn Seithel.
Read More »Every January, we all step up to the home plate of the New Year and get ready to take our swings at the wild pitches of life. Some of us dream of pointing to the center field fence like Babe Ruth and swatting one over. Me? I'm happy just to not strike out. I still remember the words of my little league coach, who used to tell me, "Just meet the ball. Just get on base."
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LD Tim Dunn used 282 Robe fixtures in his design for Miss World 2009, which was staged at the Gallagher Convention Centre. The show was televised and broadcast live to 80 of the 112 participating countries, including, for the first time, the U.S., India and China. Along with the 3,500 in the live audience, an estimated 1 billion people saw the show.
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Try reaching Alan Falkner, an ETC field service engineer based in Hollywood, during the two weeks surrounding Thanksgiving. Usually Alan is jimmy-on-the-spot, a testament to ETC's exceptional service. But for those two weeks, Alan completely disappears. His friends anticipate it; his co-workers prepare for it; and his fellow church members make fun of him for it. Come December, though, Alan's reclusiveness reveals its yuletide bounty.
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HSL supplied lighting equipment, a Kinesys automation system and crew to the final leg of Snow Patrol's 2009 world tour, "Snow Patrol Reworked." As the tour's name suggests, there was a departure from the group's standard five-piece rock band setup, with 12 extra musicians onstage, bringing an orchestral feel to the show.
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LD Mariano de Tassis credited Clay Paky gear for helping him fulfill Claudio Baglioni's ideas for lighting his 2009 tour, which included stops in historic venues. "The original idea for the lighting design came directly from the artist and was then developed jointly by myself and Fabrizio "Bicio" Marchi, production and designer manager," said de Tassis.
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Upon Ragtime's official opening night performance at Broadway's Neil Simon Theater last November – when the curtain rose and the crowd saw fancily-clad Americans (in early 20th century chic) standing atop a three-story steel and wood set – the audience erupted in applause.
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I recently got an e-mail from the editor of PLSN asking if I would mind covering The Monsters of Folk show for him while he was out of town. Would I mind?! The band has just released its first self-titled album in September and had seen it climb to number 15 on Billboard's Top 200 list. Its members include M. Ward, a personal favorite. Its LD, Marc Janowitz, was a part of the design team for the Blue Man Group, another one of my favorite acts.
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Catering to a clientele that wants to see and be seen, Voyeur, an electronic music nightspot in San Diego's Gaslamp district, has been equipped with lipstick cameras placed throughout the venue, feeding imagery of patrons onto nearly two dozen plasma TVs.
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Highlands Community Church's "Inside Out" project in Renton, Wash., uses a HD video production infrastructure provided by Advanced Broadcast Solutions (ABS) for its expanding congregation, and also for a second, video-based service in Kent, Wash.
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