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NYC’s Radio City Christmas Show Gets Even More Spectacular

Ultra-high-res projection-mapping extends from four to eight of the venue’s proscenium arches, and all native 14,000-by-14,000 pixels were mapped for the FOH projection. Photos courtesy Radio City/MSG.

NYC’s Radio City Christmas Show Gets Even More Spectacular

Since it premiered in 1933, the annual Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes has always wowed the New York City crowds taking a break from gawking at the big tree and window-shopping the holiday offerings lining the streets near New York’s Rockefeller Center. But the 2017 show can make a credible claim to being the most spectacular show to date, with an assist from a complete technical overhaul that includes a new 8K LED video wall and 14K digital projection-mapping extending to all eight of Radio City Music Hall’s iconic prosceniumarches.

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Fig. 1A

3D Pixel Mapping on a 2D Screen

As pixel mapping is becoming more and more commonplace in the lighting world, and LEDs are being incorporated into 3D configurations to create scenic objects like chandeliers and cubes, the challenge of programming them increases. Instead of looking at the pixels in a 2D flat “plan” view, now we’re beginning to think about looking at pixels from all sides and angles.

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Blackmagic Design ATEM Television Studio Pro HD Switcher

Blackmagic Design ATEM Television Studio Pro HD Switcher

Video switchers are not sexy. At least the smaller frames. Let’s face it, in terms of sheer eye candy, small event video switchers take a back seat to their audio and lighting cousins.

It’s a general rule that the larger the console, the more bells and whistles and consequently more blinky lights and buttons. The smaller fare is basic because they tend to be more utility than glam. There’s only so much you can fit in a frame anyway.

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Martin MAC Encore Performance

Martin MAC Encore Performance

I recently got a chance to test the Martin MAC Encore Performance fixtures from Harman, which are available in two versions — the WRM, or “warm” version, and CLD, or “cold” version. (As of last month’s LDI, Martin added the MAC Encore Wash, also in warm and cool versions, but here, I’ll just focus on the two versions of the MAC Encore Performance.) After playing with the Performance, I concluded that it is perfect for working with cameras.

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Paging All Playbacks

Paging All Playbacks

Automated lighting consoles have many great programming and playback features that provide many useful functions. One of the more clever functions has to do with expanding playback capabilities. Instead of being limited by the number of physical buttons and faders on a console, most make use of pages (or banks) to increase the playbacks immensely. The page functionality can be used for much more, such as organizing songs or scenes, adjusting playback styles, expanding capabilities and more. It is important for lighting programmers to understand the paging functionality of their console.

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Illustration by Andy Au

The Subtle Art of Self-Promotion

Tooting your own horn in public can be very successful, as long as you toot properly. I have had to toot my own horn to get where I am today. Learning how to walk the line between blasting a trumpet from the rooftop and noodling on a kazoo can be tricky. The world of self-promotion can be a real entanglement for the corporate artist type.

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Tecnica Vidal Chooses Robe

[caption id="attachment_281354" align="alignnone" width="782"]Miguel Vidal of Tecnica Vidal[/caption]

ARGENTINA – Tecnica Vidal is the largest rental and production company in the west of Argentina, and one of the top five in the country. Founded by Miguel Vidal in the 1980s … it is located in Rivadavia the center north of Mendoza province, internationally renowned for its wine production. The company has 20 full time employees at the moment and supplies the full range of technical production services, encompassing lighting, audio, video, staging, rigging and power, a ‘single-source’ solution business model that has proved very successful.

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Rogues Uplift The Gathering For Unfazed Productions

[caption id="attachment_281351" align="alignnone" width="800"]The Gathering gets aid from Chauvet[/caption]

STELLENBOSCH, SOUTH AFRICA – For two days in November, the gently rolling landscape of Sandringham Farm was transformed into a village of worshippers from throughout Africa and around the world. They came to this beautiful spot outside Cape Town to listen, as Christian bands from the UK, US, South Africa and other countries performed, as well as to raise their own voices in singing gospel music.

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