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Philips Selecon SPXs Shine Bright in South African Theatre

L-R: Aubrey Ndaba, Muthiyane Trading cc; Dave Whitehouse, DWR Distribution; Simon King, State Theatre; Duncan Riley, DWR Distribution; Mpho Serunye and Lordwick Muthavhatsindi of Muthiyane Trading

Philips Selecon SPXs Shine Bright in South African Theatre

PRETORIA, South Africa – The State Theatre has invested in 77 new Philips Selecon SPX luminaires. Philips Entertainment brand partner DWR Distribution supplied the SPX luminaires to local installer Muthiyane Trading. Simon King, Head of Lighting for the Pretoria Theatre, says the fixture’s “crisp white light with no pinkish hues deliver high definition pattern projection as well as the color results our visiting companies expect. The interchangeable lenses also make them ideal for our various versatile venues.”

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Rep. de Audio’s Jaime Celis and Estuardo Zarate, with Antonio Parise (SGM)

SGM Appoints Rep. de Audio as Mexican Distributor

MEXICO CITY – Mexico City-based Representaciones de Audio have been appointed territorial distributors for SGM Lighting. SGM was formally introduced to the broadcast market by its new distributor during the recent Telemundo exhibition, and having been established for the past 25 years, Representaciones de Audio believe they are well placed to exploit the SGM brand potential.

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Mutemath

Jands Vista v2 Controls Mutemath’s US Tour

NASHVILLE – Design of Mutemath’s recent US tour production was a creative collaboration between the band themselves and Jeff Lava and Darien Koop of Nashville-based 44 Designs.  To control the lighting and visuals, they chose a Jands Vista T2 console, running the next generation Vista v2 software.

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Gator Cases

Gator Case Water-Proof Cases

Case manufacturer Gator Cases has added a new line of water-proof injection molded utility cases. Available in a range of sizes and styles with varied inserts, this new case series provides protection and security for audio/video equipment, optical lenses and various electronic components.

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Yanni

Chauvet Lights Yanni’s Puerto Rican Performance

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Famous for choosing historic sites for his concerts, Yanni’s most recent concert and DVD recording took place in another majestic location, at Castillo San Felipe del Morro in Puerto Rico. The front wall of the fortress became the central visual attraction for the two-day concert and recording, acting as a background for the stage positioned in front on the grass near the ocean. “The concept was to illuminate the wall of El Morro, as the fort was the main part of the scenography,” said LD Bud Horowitz. Musique Xpress Lights supplied the CHAUVET lighting.

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Sonnenfeld to Chair Panel at NATEAC 2012

NEW YORK – Industry veteran Sonny Sonnenfeld has joined the conference panel list for NATEAC 2012, set for the Hilton here July 22-23. Sonnenfeld, who joins  ETC’s Mark Vassallo, Jonathan Resnick of Barbizon and Bob Lorelli of Robert Lorelli Associates, will discuss the art and science of dealing with manufacturers’ reps when outfitting a new performance space.

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Hearing the Whole Picture

No, there’s nothing wrong with your eyes — you are reading PLSN and we are talking about sound. It is something I thought I would never in my life touch, other than the volume button on the remote. “As long as I can hear it, I am good,” has long been the extent of my experience with audio. In a visual media like lighting and projection, hearing is the last thing we think about.  But it shouldn’t be. Our sense of hearing is just as important to our jobs as our vision is.

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Yvan Miron

Live Event Tragedies: Industry Leaders Speak Out

“When someone goes to a concert, they shouldn’t come home in a body bag,” says production manager Jim Digby. This is just one example of the frank conversation that ensued when PLSN gathered six industry leaders for a roundtable discussion about recent staging tragedies.

Along with Digby, co-founder of the Event Safety Alliance (eventsafetyalliance.org), five other industry professionals offered their thoughts for this roundtable: LD Chip Monck, rigger Roy Bickel and staging providers John Brown (Brown United), Jim Evans Sr. (Mountain Productions) and Yvan Miron (Stageline Mobile Stage Inc.).

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InfoComm 2012

Show Report: InfoComm 12

InfoComm continues to grow each year.  Last year, Orlando set a record for the most attendees. In true Las Vegas style, InfoComm 2012 exceeded that number by 4 percent, with more than 34,000 attendees walking the Las Vegas Convention Center over three days. In all, there were 933 exhibitors occupying more than 487,000 square feet, along with numerous training and certification sessions happening over three days. There never seems to be enough time to see it all.

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Video elements play a big role in the production on both sides of the Atlantic. Photo by Sean Ebsworth Barnes.

Ghost Sculpting

The producers of the Tony Award-nominated Ghost: The Musical certainly wanted to create an eye-popping visual experience for their audience, and after two incarnations in England (Manchester, and then London), the Broadway version is the most video-intensive and tightly-sequenced of them all. It’s not simply telling the story of artist Molly Jensen and her banker husband Sam Wheat, who, after being murdered, emerges as a restless spirit and tries to warn Molly about impending danger through the assistance of psychic Oda Mae Brown. And it’s not about replicating the tone and look of the movie. It’s about creating a unique theatrical experience where a love story spanning life and death unfolds, but along the way we get the thrill of witnessing floating objects onstage, experiencing a supernatural subway ride and watching Sam’s spirit walk through a door.

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Lighting up Chicago’s Wrigley Field for Roger Waters’ The Wall Live tour.

Strictly FX’s Ted Maccabee

Like the name says, Strictly FX does just that, strictly special effects. The Wood Dale, IL-based company specializes in providing lasers, pyrotechnics, flames, confetti, cryogenics, and mischief. Since its founding in 1996 by Ted Maccabee and Mark Grega, the company has grown to be an award-winning staple of concert touring with a client list that reads like a Who’s Who of the music industry.

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Radiohead tour photo by Steve Jennings

Radiohead’s Andi Watson Creates Performance Environment with Bottle Wall, Moving Video Elements

As this issue went to press, Radiohead was reeling from the partial stage collapse on June 16 at Downsview Field in Toronto, which killed crew member Scott Johnson, injured three others and destroyed many of the lighting elements discussed in this Production Profile. In a statement, the band noted that, along with “the grief and shock ensuing from this terrible accident,” there were “practical considerations to deal with…The collapse also destroyed the light show; this show was unique and will take many weeks to replace.”

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