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The Art and Zen of Tent Lighting

The 'venue' often starts out as a lawn, or even a cow pasture.

The Art and Zen of Tent Lighting

Outside tent gigs. A love-hate relationship for many designers and technicians. We’ve all been there — watching the radar and weather reports, hoping for clear skies. Finding a safe and efficient path for the trucks to come on the property. How much plywood will we need to be able to drive the trucks onto the grass? Can we get the generator close enough to the tent so that we do not have to run a thousand feet of feeder cable? These are just some of the fun challenges that a production company has to face when planning an outside tent gig.

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AMC Fabrication designed and built a spiral truss ramp for motorbikes to ride up and jump off of for the Marvel Universe Live! show.

AMC Fabrication: Making Their Own Way

“We keep our head down and try not to look at what everybody else is doing,” says Matt Parnello. “We make our own way.” And for AMC Fabrication, that means making things that no one else can, taking on the nearly impossible jobs and delivering quality work in tight deadlines.

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Concert-style looks are part of the attempt by Premier Boxing Champions to bring the sport back into primetime. Photo by Suzanne Teresa

Modern-Day Boxing

Recently, broadcasting the sport of Boxing has grabbed a more central position on Network Television. New on the stage is Premier Boxing Champions. HBO has upped the ante with spectacular Pay-per-views. Top Rank and, more recently, TruTV are carving their niche in broadcast boxing as well.

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Lasers play predominantly in the set. Chemical Brothers tour photo by Todd Kaplan.

Chemical Brothers Mix it Up with a Fresh Design

With the release of their first studio album in five years, Born in the Echoes, The Chemical Brothers are once again out on the road doing what they do best — laying down some solid grooves with a heavy dance beat. Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons joined forces some 25 years ago in Manchester, England as The Chemical Brothers, one of the pioneers of Electronic Dance Music. Through a history of festival gigs their visual performances at live shows have reached legendary status, and once again they have not let their fans down with the current touring set up.

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Sheryl Crow performed on the Trestles stage, named for a nearby surfing spot.

Kaaboo Festival

New Event, and Fixtures, Make Their Debut

As luck would have it, PLSN editor Nook Schoenfeld was able to take some time away from the preparation of this particularly large issue to travel to Del Mar, CA, just outside San Diego, to light a special VIP stage performance for multi-Grammy award winning singer/songwriter/guitarist Sheryl Crow.

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The reveal took place at this year’s Helicopter Association International’s HAI Heli-Expo, the world’s largest vertical flight helicopter trade show, in front of hundreds of attendees and the industry press.

Vertical Lift-Off

The Airbus H160 Helicopter Gets a Show-Stopping Reveal

When Airbus Helicopters, a division of Airbus Group, decided to debut their brand new H160 helicopter, they wanted to ensure that the reveal was done on a scope fitting the Airbus brand of excellence and the elegance of the craft itself.

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The new design for the Center Bar at Las Vegas' Hard Rock Hotel and Casino incorporates 267 ÉPIX Strip 2.0 LED linear fixtures from Chauvet Professional. Photo by Erik Kabik.

Under the Dome

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas’ Famed Center Bar Goes Full Circle

Twenty years ago, the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas introduced the concept of situating a bar at the very center of the casino, where guests could scope out the action on the floor while drinking. The idea hit the jackpot, and the layout was copied all over the city.

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Dancing with the Stars photo by Eric Hansen

‘Dancing with the Stars’ Lighting Director Matthew Cotter

It’s probably a little early for a retrospective on Matthew Cotter. He is, after all, only 35. But his 18-year career in entertainment lighting has been illustrious and illustrative. He first saw the light in the late 1990s as a student in Huntington Beach (CA) High School’s magnet program in theatrical production. A classmate’s father worked for a lighting supplier called PLS and would bring in examples of lighting gear that was newfangled at the time: Intellabeams, Martin PALs, Vari*Lites, a Wholehog 1, and several iterations of a Microstar.

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Henderson Hills Baptist Church updated its traditional services with dappled, textured looks. Photos by Hal Holland

Henderson Hills Baptist Church

Historic Church Renovates with New Lighting Technology

Located in Edmond, OK, Henderson Hills Baptist Church is nestled among the trees and rolling hills in the region. With a history that dates back to December 1959, HHBC has expanded to serve its growing congregation over the decades. The church’s members moved into their present, more spacious facility on April 25, 2004.

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The multipurpose Two70 venue offers a 270-degree ocean view during the day. Photo courtesy Atmospheres

Smooth Sailing

Video Content Enhances Upscale Atmosphere Aboard Anthem of the Seas

Anthem of the Seas joins Quantum on the world’s high seas, as Royal Caribbean International (RCI) completes the second of its three ultra-technological cruise ship wonders known as “Smart Ships” (See “Smart Sailing,” PLSN, June 2015, page 46). Once again Christopher Vlassopulos, superintendent of Stage, Lighting and Video for RCI, designed and coordinated specification for all the entertainment equipment in the ship’s public spaces. With an eye to duplicate the success of Quantum, Vlassopulos called upon the same team of vendors.

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Miranda Lambert tour photo by Ben Dickmann courtesy MooTV

Moo TV

When Scott Scovill joined up with a U2 tour years ago, he had no idea that his relationships and industry acumen would lead to the creation of one of the industry’s most respected video supply houses. Naming the company as a play on the title of U2’s later “Zoo TV” tour, he’d go on to create a company whose name in our industry commands instant recognition — Moo TV.

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