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The Tao of Electrical Load Calculations

The Tao of Electrical Load Calculations

Let me put this right up front: I’m not the brightest lamp on the truss. At times, I can make Jessica Simpson look like Marilyn vos Savant, who is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for five years under “Highest IQ” for both childhood and adult scores. I’m not particularly proud or embarrassed about that, but admitting it has served me well. An empty head can be like being an empty vessel looking for understanding with which to be filled.

 

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BYU-Idaho’s Make-Do Makeover

 

Many of the students at Brigham Young University-Idaho in Rexburg can’t wait for the new 15,000-seat auditorium to open on campus. The senior class, in fact, can’t wait — it won’t open until 2009 in the earliest, and most will graduate before then. Not that there’s a lot of grumbling on campus. Students are aware that tithing dollars from faithful LDS Church followers around the world are funding the construction that surrounds them.

 

 

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Bill Conner on educating the architect and client, and watching the ROI

What is a theatre consultant? What do they do? Who are their customers? For this month’s PLSN Interview, we spoke with Bill Conner of Bill Conner Associates, LLC. Conner studied under the father of modern stage lighting, George C. Izenour, en route to building a successful career in the field. In this interview, he explains the vital role theatre consultants perform in our industry and why the discipline deserves full-time attention.

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From a Lighting Tech’s Point of View

Last night I found myself sitting in a bar with a bunch of lampys. How unusual. So I decided to check in with them on how they’ve seen the business of lighting shows change in the last few years. Between the five of us we have close to 100 years of experience in the entertainment biz. And since we’re lighting guys, it goes without saying that we have opinions about everything. So I posed a few questions.

 

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New Products

Antari M-5 Fogger

 

The new Antari M-5 Stage Fogger from Elation Professional is a 1,500-watt fog machine designed for stage and touring applications. Featuring a low-profile rectangular housing, the M-5 Fogger is designed to be unobtrusive. Two handles allow for easy transport and its 10-liter tank provides extended operation. With a warm-up time of eight minutes, the machine can produce 20,000 CFM. The M-5 weighs 33 pounds and includes a timer remote and onboard DMX-512. Optional accessories include a wireless remote and a heavy-duty flight case. Measuring 26”L x 12.5”W x 6.7”H, the Antari M-5 fog machine has a suggested retail price of $799.95.

Elation Professional  •  866.245.6726  •  www.elationlighting.com

 

 

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Ron StageMaster

Do you know how you can tell a rookie entertainment professional from a veteran? When they walk into a show, the rookie cranes his neck to admire the lighting rig while the veteran cranes his neck to see if it’s safe to walk under the rig.

 

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Strong Technobeam: Now Even Stronger

The new logo caught me by surprise. Though I knew Strong had recently purchased the rights to build and sell the Technobeam from its former manufacturer, High End Systems, it didn’t really fully register. But when I took it out of the box, grabbing it by its two handles, and set it down on the floor standing on end, there it was, staring me in the face. The Strong logo on the mirror end of the fixture is a stark reminder of the new manufacturer. The question is, is it the same fixture?

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Putting the Brakes on Aerial Risks

Motorized rigging eliminates the need to figure out how to safely adjust rigged loads with counterweights in a conventional fly system. You just push a button, and up it goes. And so far, for the most part, it’s stayed there. Catastrophic hoist brake failures have been exceedingly rare. With the scarcity of major hoist failures, we want to avoid breeding a new kind of danger: complacency.

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Inner Circle Distribution

 

Nick Freed, president, Inner Circle Distribution

 

Who: Nick Freed, president; Noel Duncan, vice president; and Gary Mass, vice president of business development.

What: A full-service distributor of entertainment lighting products for professionals.

Where: Sunrise, Florida

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Ozzy Osbourne: No More Bubbles

When Ozzy Osbourne recently hit the road, it was the first time in almost ten years that he was the headliner. His recent forays into reality television have pro-pelled him back into the limelight and the world now knows that Ozzy’s shows can’t have bubble machines. Lighting Designer/Director John Clark grew up in Nashville, so he’s been around the business enough to be familiar with the no-bubbles rock genre. Having worked for Vari-Lite and VLPS and toiled under the tu-telage of Eric Wade, he has lit everything from hip-hop to country to rock shows, the last two of which were tours with Disney’s Cheetah Girls and Ashley Simpson. He has also worked with Available Light in Boston doing corporate shows, trade shows, and “a lot of one-offs.” He’s currently touring with Ozzy and making sure the Osbournes are happy.

 

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passing it forward

If you've read enough of my jargon, you realize I'm a big believer in "giving something back". In other words, for years people have spent their time teaching me my craft. So now I spend time teaching others the same thing. But this morning I had something cool given to me.

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