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‘Sweeney Todd’ Receives Imaginative Retellings at Two Summer Venues

On Judith Bowden's skeletal set for the 'Sweeney Todd' production at the Shaw Festival in Nagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Kyle Blair as Adolfo Pirelli and Benedict Campbell as Sweeney Todd enter into a fateful competition. Photo by Emily Cooper.

‘Sweeney Todd’ Receives Imaginative Retellings at Two Summer Venues

With the news that Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street will return to the West Village in New York City this winter after an 11-year absence, it’s time to take a fresh look at Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s crowning masterpiece. Coincidentally, the timeless classic received two professional re-mountings in the summer of 2016 just a few hours from one another: one at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, and the other at the Glimmerglass Festival, a summer opera company outside of Cooperstown, NY. The same story was interpreted in two different manners.

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LD Scott O'Conner has been the band's LD for the past four years. Photo by Schlee Media

Slightly Stoopid ‘Return of the Red Eye’ Summer Tour

San Diego has been long known to produce some of the best surf-punk-ska style music originated by southern California bands. Slightly Stoopid, an act from San Diego’s Ocean Beach neighborhood, can’t really be labeled under any genre — they play it all. The band has been building up a fan base for some 20 years now; they were first signed to a recording contract when they were still in high school. In 2015, they released their 12th album, Meanwhile…Back at the Lab, and, as is their forte’, they hit the road.

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Beck Studios and J.R. Clancy teamed up on a rigging upgrade for Miller Outdoor Theatre in Houston, TX

Miller Outdoor Theatre Gets a Power Assist

Unique Venue Gets First Major Rigging Upgrade in Nearly 50 Years

The Miller Theatre, located within Hermann Park in Houston, TX, is a unique venue. An outdoor, full-proscenium theatre, the original facility was built in 1923. Rebuilt in 1968, the Miller now includes a 64-by-41-foot stage, 54 line sets, an orchestra lift and a 100-ton air conditioning system to cool the performance area. Seating is provided for approximately 1,700 patrons, with a sloping lawn that accommodates roughly 4,500 more.

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Drafty is an Internet-based CAD program.

Drafty: A New Affordable CAD App Hits Our World

Today’s CAD packages have — and this is perhaps an understatement — a lot of power beneath their hoods. An industry-standard drafting suite like Vectorworks or WYSIWYG costs thousands of dollars, not only in up-front costs but also in ongoing update and maintenance fees. For this, they provide a stunning array of features that — when used to their fullest extent — give the user a great deal of power. Learning to harness this potential, however, comes at the cost of a steep learning curve, many hours in training or searching through tutorials looking for the exact function one needs. The creators of Drafty thought this was unacceptable; that between ease of use and overbearing sophistication lay a realm of software usability begging for our acquaintance. And thus, Drafty was born.

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MTV Video Music Awards photos courtesy of Matt Steinbrenner

Buzz about the Hive

The Dynamic Visual Design at MTV’s Video Music Awards

There were any number of standout moments during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, broadcast and streamed live from NYC’s Madison Square Garden on Aug. 28. Whether it was Beyoncé, Rihanna, Nick Jonas, Future, or the return of the Pop Princess Britney Spears, certainly the visual design for VMAs yet again raised the bar. As ever, the show’s producers never want to repeat themselves, so it’s no small assignment to design a dynamic and unique environment inside the MSG arena. The task and wonderfully realized design was accomplished by the creative team of production designer Tom Scutt along with art director Matt Steinbrenner; screens producer Laura Frank, principal of Luminous FX; and lighting designer Bob Barnhart of Entertainment Design Group 22˚.

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Josh Adams, founder of Mindpool Live, at Milwaukee’s Summerfest 2016.

Josh Adams and Mindpool Live Make Their Mark in Milwaukee

Mindpool officially started out in 1998, when a young video director with a big imagination got his break: being asked to shoot his first music video, The Beastie Boys’ “Three MCs and One DJ.” He followed that by producing The Beastie Boys’ “Video Vanguard” set at the MTV Music Video Awards later in the year, cementing the idea that he needed a creative space in his hometown of Milwaukee. Josh Adams had the idea to open a place for producers and directors to collaborate on content development. An editing suite with a few cameras was what he envisioned. Thus Mindpool Live originated. And today, 18 years later, it’s so much more.

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Chad Fraughton and his team at Cornerstone AV incorporated PixelFLEX’s 8.9mm FLEXLite Plus panels into the LED cylinder design. Photo courtesy Young Living.

Young Living Event Goes 360 Degrees

Cornerstone AV Creates LED Cylinders to Support Therapeutic Oil Company’s Message

Young Living, a leader in the healthful essential oils market, held its International Grand Convention in downtown Salt Lake City June 21-25. Cornerstone AV was asked to create an inspirational and exciting production design inside the Vivint Smart Home Arena, home to the NBA’s Utah Jazz. While also incorporating dynamic lighting and projection mapping into the comprehensive stage design, the team at Cornerstone AV led by Chad Fraughton created four 360° LED video walls comprised of FLEXLite Plus 8.9mm LED video technology from Nashville-based PixelFLEX.

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Enrique Iglesias toured recently with a visual assist from Black Widow CTS 6.9 video tiles.

Ready to Roll

Oracle LED Systems Sees Early Success with New Video Panels

Two new video panels introduced by Oracle LED Systems earlier this year have seen significant early success in the event and rental markets. Oracle LED will demonstrate these products at its booth (#445) at LDI.

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The New Grandstand features CreateLED Video Tiles

Game, Set and Match as Video Presence at US Open Expands

CreateLED’s AirULTRA-7 Displays Utilized at US Tennis Open

The US Open Tennis Championship has been held in New York City for the last 101 years. The event ran from Aug. 29-Sept. 11, 2016. Spectators from all over the world convened on the USTA event, which has been held annually at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York since 1978. It is the only Grand Slam tennis championship held in North America.

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A good backup system may be redundant, but that doesn't mean it's not important.

Redundancy

What is an often-overlooked- but-essential element of any lighting or video control system? The Backup. Whether it’s a lighting console or a media server, the backup is the unsung hero of the show. Often it sits there — quietly, lonely almost — as if to say “Put me in coach, I’m ready to play,” but never getting called upon (hopefully). Yet it shows up the next day without complaint. How do you plan for this important piece of the control puzzle? The answer: Very carefully.

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Images courtesy of Intuitive Aerial, AUVSI and Stampede

Cleared for Takeoff

Back in the fall of 2015, I authored three “Video World” articles for PLSN regarding the emerging drone revolution, and its remarkable impact on our AV industry. Also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), these versatile drones are being used for both primary and B-roll footage in everything from commercials to documentaries to network programming. Lately, we’ve come to expect that dramatic shot that rises up over the trees, or that flies along the river — and the footage is breathtaking.

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