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Lighting for Video – The Evolution of Cool

Lighting for Video - The Evolution of Cool

Lighting for Video – The Evolution of Cool

The history of lighting dates back to a distant time when there wasn’t any artificial lighting at all. In fact, in the early days, some film studios were designed with a rotating open roof to allow the maximum amount of natural light to fill the stage. Film companies moved to Hollywood in droves, where natural light was plentiful. Inevitably, directors wanted to film in the evenings, and they had the audacity to want a little “visual mood” in their scenes. Thankfully, along came Thomas Edison, followed closely by Mr. Mole, Mr. Richardson, and the Kliegl Brothers. Suddenly, the “electric” lighting industry was born.

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Shania Twain at Caesars Palace Colosseum with video support from Bob Bonniol

Bob Bonniol, Video Designer for Shania Twain at Caesars Palace

Shania Twain’s new show, Still the One, began its two-year, 110-show residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on Dec. 1, 2012. During the 100-minute, 18-song show, the venue’s 34-by-109-foot-wide 11mm HD LED screen is used to display a variety of images — from kaleidoscopic abstractions to clips featuring Twain, a Wild West saloon, leopards and a campfire scene in a forest.

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Barco PDS-902

Barco PDS-902

I’ve been on a switcher binge as of late. Multi-format switchers, that is. Besides an output source, the absolute heart of any rig is the switcher. In the production world, there has been an arms race of sorts, the race to cram more into less. The 1RU form factor is the de facto size, and there are only a few issues we need to overcome in order to make this the sweet spot for switching.

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Litepanels Sola 12

Litepanels Sola 12

Tungsten halogen lamps have been used in the theatrical, TV and film lighting industries for more to 50 years, and to some, they still remain the preferred lamp source. With the much-discussed LED revolution, advances in technologies have led to lighting alternatives that are just as bright but lower in wattage and energy consumption and cool and quiet in operation. And while there have been downsides, including a much-higher upfront cost, the benefits have been compelling enough to create a strong shift in demand toward LEDs. These include the costs associated with lamp replacement (including labor) and HVAC cooling along with more expensive power bills.

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Projection vs. Panels and Screens

Until recently, projection video and LCD video displays were easily perceived as two distinct silos, separated as much by scale as by technology. Sure, a 50-inch LED-backlit LCD panel looked equally impressive in either a sports bar or in someone’s living room, but it was an entire league away from a 20-foot diagonal HD projection. But then LCDs began getting bigger and better — LG’s 100-inch screen leapfrogged Sharp’s 84-inch and then 90-incher, after which Sharp fought back with a 108-inch Aquos — and Christies tile-based video walls can scale to sizes almost as wide as can be imagined, all while substantially outshining projection video and at a competitive cost.

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The World of Color

We are fortunate that we live in a world filled with millions of different hues, shades and variations of color.  Lighting engineers have provided us with the ability to adjust the wavelength of light coming from automated lighting fixtures so that we can create a multitude of colors on stage.  Lighting programmers are always working with color, and the consoles we program on a daily basis continue to provide us with more and more abilities to adjust the color outputting from our lighting instruments.  Early automated fixtures simply provided a fixed color wheel with twelve or so colors to choose from.  Today, most fixtures include very sophisticated color mixing system as well as fixed and special effect color adjustments.  It is up to the programmer to understand the color mixing processes that fixtures and consoles employ so that they can create the looks desired by the designer or production.

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Burj Khalifa New Years 2013 light show, photo by Ralph Larmann, The New Year's show recurred throughout January

A Tall Order: Lighting the Burj Khalifa; Quick Cues

Sydney-based Mandylights lighting designers Richard Neville and Alex Grierson were part of the international creative team that designed Dubai’s 2013 New Year’s Eve celebrations. And it was a tall order — instead of focusing on, say, the 141-foot descent of an elaborate ball in Times Square, the 25-minute show took place in front of, and included, the Burj Khalifa skyscraper — officially the world’s tallest building at 2,722 feet high. The pair illuminated the Burj, lake and surrounding area with 15 individual performer stages and a 689-foot-long (210 meter) seamless projection screen.

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Illustration by Andy Au

Set in a Bag

Each year I get a few calls from bands looking for a set or lighting design for their tour. It’s always an exciting process as I let my imagination run for a few days before I start putting pencil to paper. Last month, I got a call from a booking agent looking to hook me up with one of her new acts. So I contacted the management company and they emailed me a response. “Before we chat, take a listen to this music and let us know if this is something you would be interested in.” Nobody has ever approached me in this manner before. I had not thought I heard the band’s name previously.

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Nisha Suthar

Kinesys Adds to Marketing Team

LONDON – Automation specialist Kinesys strengthens its marketing team with the appointment of Nisha Suthar as marketing & communications assistant. She previously worked as a marketer for a leading publication, MoneyWeek Ltd. and prior to that has a journalistic background which includes working at the BBC Local London News.

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