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Starlite Productions Lights Philadelphia Monuments During Democratic National Convention

Philadelphia Monument

Starlite Productions Lights Philadelphia Monuments During Democratic National Convention

PHILADELPHIA – The festivities for the 2016 Democratic National Convention extended well beyond Wells Fargo Center, with lighting transforming some of the city’s many landmarks.  Starlite Productions was tasked with creating a patriotic ambiance for two of them with the help of Clay Paky Mythos lighting fixtures.  The company was commissioned by The Lighting Practice to light 30th Street Station, Amtrak’s main railroad station in Philadelphia.  The Lighting Practice and Center City District also commissioned Starlite to illuminate the iconic, clock tower perched atop City Hall.

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Pet Shop Boys

Pet Shop Boys Rock the Royal Opera House with Support from Es Devlin, ER Productions

LONDON – With four sell-out shows, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe treated fans with a number of well-known hits and newer releases at London’s Royal Opera House. As one would expect from the Pet Shop Boys, the first-class set and spectacular production design by Es Devlin didn’t disappoint, providing the audience with a visual feast worthy of the highbrow location.

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The Sherlocks

White Light Offers Elementary Service to The Sherlocks

UK – The Sherlocks are an Indie band from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Consisting of two sets of brothers, they have already made significant waves in the music industry, having performed at both the Leeds and Reading Festivals along with playing the world’s largest music festival, SXSW, in Texas. The band is currently embarking on a UK tour, visiting venues up and down the country. 

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AAU Jr Olympics

2016 AAU Junior Olympic Games Celebration of Athletes Lit with Elation Platinum FLX Fixtures

HOUSTON – Full service production company GVPmedia, Inc. utilized the multi-functionality of Elation Professional’s Platinum FLX™ moving head on the AAU Junior Olympic Games Celebration of Athletes, The opening ceremony style event was held at the M.O. Campbell Center in Houston on July 31st and GVP produced the entire show from start to finish including designing the entire set, developing the run of show, and creating custom videos and content.

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Even the opening acts looked big at Rock in Rio Lisbon. Photo by Vickie Claiborne

Backstage Programming at Rock in Rio in Lisbon, Portugal

For the last two years, I’ve had the opportunity to be involved with the Rock in Rio festival in different roles, giving me a unique perspective on the festival both in the U.S. and Portugal. In May 2015, I managed the front of house control system for the Palco Mundo (World Stage) in Las Vegas and assisted incoming LDs with everything from setting up their consoles, connecting them to the main data distribution system, providing timecode connections, programming support, etc., etc. I even punted for a couple of the bands that traveled without an LD.

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'Pancake' style wash fixtures

“Pancake” Style LED Wash Fixtures

The first moving LED wash lights appeared on the scene about a dozen years ago. Upstaging lighting took a couple hundred Martin MAC 300s and had them retrofitted with RGB “Skittles” LEDs on the front, replacing the arc light source. LD Leroy Bennett requested such a fixture be made. Within a couple years, GLP came up with their series of Impression LED moving wash lights. Because these lights had no base and seemed to be able to just flip over in any direction at an incredibly fast rate, LDs started to refer to them as “pancake” style fixtures. These fixtures have undergone transformations and modifications, and it didn’t take long for them to start selling like hotcakes. Today, every major manufacturer offers at least one fixture that fits within this category. Each fixture has at least one unique aspect or feature that separates them from the rest. Look here for who’s offering what this year.

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Danny O'Bryen

2016 Parnelli Profile: Video Visionary Danny O’Bryen

“Danny O’Bryen is a visionary with a promoter’s mind,” says Mark Haney, video director and Parnelli Board of Advisors member. “He saw video as a way forward and a way to bring more value to the ticket buyer. He saw that this was the future and is really one of the biggest innovators in our field.” O’Bryen of Screenworks will receive the 2016 Parnelli Visionary Award Oct. 22, at the Parnelli Awards gala in Las Vegas. He’s the ninth live event professional to receive this annual award for career achievement, and the first from the video side of the industry.

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2016 Hometown Hero Finalists

2016 Hometown Hero Finalists

Here’s a look at the regional finalists in the 2016 Hometown Hero Lighting Company of the Year award.

There are many ways to judge the vitality of our industry — ticket sales, manufacturer’s bottom line, new hires. But from where we’re sitting, it seems especially telling that, for the first time in a long time, there are so many new companies being honored for their service in their region. Not that these are “new” companies per se — heck, one has been around since 1983. But it’s a dynamic, interesting bunch, and we’re pleased to present them to here. Let’s meet the regional winners!

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art courtesy of Ken Teegardin

Trust and Money: The Gear Purchasing Puzzle

“Trust. Money.” Boy, could that title be taken a few different ways. Money and trust have been odd bedfellows practically since currency was invented. Trust has been around a whole lot longer, but as soon as money entered the world, trust started getting in short supply. Why are these two so inextricably intertwined? Why do people spend a week’s worth of income on a concert ticket and just trust that it’s going to be worth it?

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ProPlex EZ-Lan Unity 20, front view

Show Networking Products from TMB

Today, we’re not going to look at the latest in whiz-bang technology or the coolest LED fixture on the market, but rather at the technological building blocks of a good show — networking and data distribution hardware from TMB. As our show networks get larger and more complicated, the need for sophisticated and reliable networking technology grows ever more important.

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High End Systems Announces New York City Open House

NYC – High End Systems, a Barco Company, will be hosting an open house at The Pershing Square Signature Center in The Ford Theater September 21 & 22 from 10 am – 4 pm each day. Over the course of 2 days, experts will be on hand to demonstrate the capabilities of High End Systems current line-up of products. 

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Mega-Lite Medusa 4X5R

Mega-Lite Medusa 4X5R

Every once in a while, a product hits the scene that gets a lighting designer’s blood pumping. That’s because it’s a product that nobody else has even thought of making and it’s fresh and, for lack of a better description, “really cool.” Such is the case with the Medusa, a four-headed beast of a fixture from Mega-Lite that is made to provide eye candy and dazzling effects. Picture a Lazy Susan on your dining room table. Remove the food items and put small moving head beam lights spaced evenly across the outside — four individually controlled fixtures that have an incredibly bright light source (Philips Platinum 5R bulb). Then you spin the Lazy Susan. You get the idea.

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