Mary Poppins is the latest, greatest spectacle to hit Broadway. It ambitiously attempts to recapture the magic of the film, including its myriad locations, its animated park sequence and all of the songs that people have come to know and love, along with some new material. And Gavin Lee, who plays artist/chimney sweep Bert, very much performs in the style of Dick Van Dyke.
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Different paths have led Seth Jackson and Eddie “Bones” Connell to lighting one of the biggest tours in country music.
Over the last couple decades, country music has inched its way out of the realm of the folk Americana sound and into the arena of, well…arena. Where country stars once played enclosed theatres and large clubs, they have now taken over the stadiums that once played host exclusively to rock. High on the mountain of arena country stands Toby Keith, and, just like the arena rockers before him, his current “Hookin’ Up and Hangin’ Out” tour encompasses largescale lighting, a big sound, pyro and video.
Read More »For whatever reason, intercom seems to be a no-man’s-land of technology for many of us. This is probably for a couple of reasons. The first and foremost is that most of us don’t consider it part of our technical field. We figure ‘sound runs through it’, so the sound guy should be in charge of it. Sound guys don’t want to run any more cables, so they think the lighting guys should do it. [Did I say that?] Secondly, many production companies (including one of my old haunts) categorize this as a light crew’s responsibility. This probably stems from the fact that we end up needing a lot more stations than the sound crew, and possibly that we’re better at coiling cables properly. [Where did that come from?]
Read More »Hello to everyone who is reading this blog! My name is Tony Caporale; I am 24 years old and have been working as an exclusive lighting director/ designer/ programmer/ videographer for a band named EastonAshe for three years. Here’s a rant on my background and how the hell I ended up doing what I do. I basically went to college following the footsteps of my older brother Brian who happens to be a freelance Cameraman. I also got some direction from a close family friend Tim Walbert who is a video director from WWE Entertainment. So I pretty much went on to get my degree in Electronic Media and Film with a TV production focus from Towson University in Maryland.
Read More »Being a lighting designer often brings up a whole slew of duties that one would not expect to have to look after. I get calls about what outfits the rock stars should wear on stage to questions about where they should be standing when playing their big rock god solos.
Read More »“You have to physically understand how the lights work inside. When someone asks you to do something, you have to be able to say, ‘Yes,… Read More »Only Say No if You Mean It
Read More »How many times have you heard lighting designers say that you shouldn't notice the lights, that they should reveal the subject, and that they shouldn't… Read More »It IS About the Lighting
Read More »Almost everyone of us has a workbox or gig-bag that goes out with us to every show. What form your gig-bag takes can vary quite a bit. For an international man of mystery or hot shot Video Director, it may be a simple computer bag, with your favorite kewpie doll sharing a compartment with the most important weapon in your arsenal, your laptop. On the other end of the spectrum, the road-hardened lighting tech may have a twelve-hundred pound fully-customized thirteen-drawer double-hardened triple-galvanized welded-steel-frame road case that is designed with the perfect truck pack in mind.
Read More »The business is still word-of-mouth, and how you behave effects the amount and type of work you get. Nook Schoenfeld says, “I call it ‘playing… Read More »You Gotta Have Heart
Read More »Once you know what you will be doing and how long you will have, it is vital to ask about the lighting equipment and the… Read More »Get the Console You Know
Read More »"If you ‘diaper’ a Fresnel (hang diffusion over the ends of the barn-doors), you increase the source size from the 10-inch lens to about 20… Read More »Diffusion’s Illusions
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Pinnacle Hills Installation Brings Church Out of the Box
Think show-stopping effects and state-of-the-art design elements are reserved for big-time Broadway shows or Hollywood sets? The Church at Pinnacle Hills in Rogers, Ark. begs to differ. After two years and exhaustive team effort devoted to the staging installation in its new 3,000-seat worship facility, church leaders and community members alike are enjoying a high-tech, TV-ready church that boasts an integrated and responsive theatrical system as it helps to redefine production values in worship.
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