Ask the Right Questions
Once you have committed to a production, it is important to learn as many details as you can. First off, you should check if you… Read More »Ask the Right Questions
Read More »Ask the Right Questions
Programming Media Servers into Lighting Consoles
The very nature of consoles results in limited capabilities for products such as media servers and digital lights. Because these devices exploit multiple layers of… Read More »Programming Media Servers into Lighting Consoles
Read More »Less Could Be More
The biggest problem when you are trying to build light layers is that you can end up with mud. That’s when you have too many… Read More »Less Could Be More
Read More »How Many Nits in a Stack?
It’s a fair question: Do two doublestacked 5K projectors equal the brightness of one 10K projector?
The issue, it seems, has been a hot topic among projection designers, but lately it has become more prominent since the proliferation of projection, double stacking and edge blending software. Last June, when High End Systems debuted their Collage Generator, which combines up to eight DL.2 digital projectors and creates one large edge-blended image, the question became even more complicated. What is the equivalent brightness of four edgeblended 5K projectors?
Read More »Taking the Frame Blender Off Choppy
Many media servers feature a control channel for Media Play Speed. How does this feature affect your content? Have you ever used it? Well, if you have, you will very quickly know whether or not that media server uses frame interpolation, also called frame blending or video smoothing.
Read More »Put Some Muscle in Your Balance Sheet.
John F. Kennedy was fond of saying, “The time to fix the roof is when the sun is shining.” Ladies and gentlemen, the sun is… Read More »Put Some Muscle in Your Balance Sheet.
Read More »Lessons from Art History
I was one of those sleepers back when I took Art History, and now I can’t get enough of it. I find myself going back… Read More »Lessons from Art History
Read More »We’ve broken the 512 barrier -long ago.
Multi-universe DMX control is now normal, the trick of using one controller for moving lights and another for the static units is old hat. Add… Read More »We’ve broken the 512 barrier -long ago.
Read More »Distribution Dynamics
A Price-Driven Landscape Shapes the Relationships Btewteen Manufacturer, Distributor, Dealer and User.
Money changes everything. Declining pricing for mainstream professional lighting products is accelerating a condition that has been part of the distribution channel for decades, one in which the once-distinct lines between manufacturer, distributor, retailer and end user become less clear as each one jockeys for best position.
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Dessert Anyone?
[In the last two columns, lighting designer Nook Schoenfeld and a posse of LDs including Bob Peterson, John Featherstone and Olivier Ilisca sat down for lunch to discuss how they got into the industry and what makes them successful. What we’ve learned so far is that, of the four designers, none of them were formally educated, but they all recognize the value of a good education. But when it comes to work, nothing can replace experience and handson training. And, if you really want to excel, there’s one more very impor tant ingredient. To find out what that is, read this, the last installment of the three-par t series, “Sushi in Chicago.”-ed.]
Read More »Selecon Performance Lighting
Who:
Selecon Performance Lighting
What:
Design and manufacture of theatrical and entertainment lighting fixtures.
Where:
Auckland, New Zealand — HQ, R&D, manufacturing; Forest Hill, Maryland — sales, stocking and distribution; Enschede, The Netherlands — sales, stocking and distribution; with additional market support personnel located in the UK, Germany, Australia and Asia.
The Illusion of Diffusion
A couple of months ago, I came face to face with the realization that all I had known to be true about diffusion was little more than illusion. For several years I put those little square pieces of plastic in front of my luminaires to magically transform the subject by changing the quality of the light. But by sheer accident I found it wasn’t changing it as much as I thought.
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