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It’s Easy Being Green: The Future of LEDs on Broadway

It’s Easy Being Green: The Future of LEDs on Broadway

For years, LEDs have been increasingly used in video projections on many theatrical productions to dramatic effect, most notably on last year's Seattle-based production of Catch Me If You Can, which incorporated LED walls that flew in and out of the set. But many people envision the next step for LEDs is to be used in area lighting, not just for video projections or background illumination, as has been the case on many larger and flashier Broadway productions. The question remains as to whether the technology has evolved enough to provide the necessary power and color palette.

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The Greening of “Opera Erotique:” Creating Sustainable “Design On Demand”

The article that follows is LD William Mackwood's account of research undertaken by York University comparing a production using LED fixtures with the same production previously staged with all-conventional gear -ed.

 

In June of this year, our small production company, Out of the Box Productions, was presented with a unique opportunity. In 2004, we had originally produced our show Opera Erotique at the Events Centre, a nightclub in Victoria, B.C., which was lit entirely with conventional instruments. When we talked about remounting the show at the Tranzac Club in Toronto, we decided to conduct a comparative study by lighting the entire production with LED instruments – not just washes, but acting areas as well. 

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Hometown Hero Finalists

Companies driven by people doing what they love to do most are what make a "hometown hero." There's a lot of passion in this eclectic collection chosen by the readers of PLSN. Some are old, some are new, some gear is borrowed (a.k.a. cross-rented), and one company is even blue.

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Parnelli Visionary Jim Bornhorst

"If I had to point to a single event that made the biggest impact in the live event production industry, it would have to be the development of the Vari-Lite VL0," says PLSN editor Richard Cadena. "As the leader of the project development group that invented the very first commercially available automated lighting system, Jim Bornhorst helped move the industry a giant step forward."

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Outdoor Video Reaches New Heights at 100th Anniversary Jamboree

It's not every day that the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) can celebrate their 100th anniversary National Scout Jamboree. The event, held July 26-Aug. 4 at Fort A.P. Hill, Va., with the main anniversary celebration held on July 31, drew more than 72,000, with production support from Alford Media, Annapolis Mobile Power, Clair Brothers, Christie Lites, CorporateMagic, Daktronics, EventsBum, Event Tech, GoVision and others.

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XL Video Supports Live Nation-Backed Concerts in Hyde Park

XL Video supplied video production for a series of shows in London's Hyde Park this summer, including the three-day Hard Rock Calling festival featuring Pearl Jam, Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney, the Wireless festival headlined by Pink, LCD Soundsystem and Jay-Z, and a Kings of Leon show in the middle, all promoted by Live Nation.

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3D Mapping

There's a new trend in architectural lighting and projection involving the use of projectors fed by digital lighting media servers to illuminate the facades of buildings both for entertainment and advertising purposes. Media servers like the Green Hippo Hippotizer and the Barco High End Systems Axon have been used in some of these projects because they offer 3D surface mapping functionality. And because these media servers are capable of being controlled via a DMX lighting console, it's becoming more common for lighting programmers to be involved in these projects. So let's take a closer look at 3D mapping features of the Axon and Hippotizer.

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Codes are Costly, but Failure Costs Even More

It was a weekend that went from the ridiculous to the tragic. On Friday, July 23, the Kings of Leon stopped their concert mid-show after being bombarded by pigeon droppings from the rafters of the Verizon Center in St. Louis. The remainder of the concert was cancelled, though fans were not informed as to the reason at the time, resulting in bottle tossing and other moderate crowd turbulence.

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Speak UP!

Working as an automated lighting programmer, you have a great view of many things going on all around you. From FOH, you can see the load-in, show, audience and more. As professionals, it is important to voice our concerns regarding safety, ethics and personalities. Sometimes, the best thing is to keep your mouth shut, but most often it is best to speak up and share your concerns. The recent news of various industry accidents (rigs crashing, people falling, audiences trampling) has again highlighted the importance of paying attention to details and expressing concerns as needed.

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Mine is Bigger Than Yours

Every year, I design a few festival-type tours. Normally I design the lighting rig, then the lighting director for each band programs cues on the console of their choice. It's normally about camaraderie between each band, and all of the lighting directors get to know each other and have a swell time.

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