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A Perfect View

A Perfect View

Back in 1990, I was working for a theatre complex that opened a brand new multi-million dollar venue with two state-of-the-art theatres. Each theatre was designed with a booth that included large windows and built-in desks for the consoles. We were all shocked to find that the nice, new tech booths did not allow a good view of either stage. It seemed that the architects did not understand the diagonal view that was required. We ended up building a raised floor into each booth so that our viewing angle of the stage was correct. Since that time, I have programmed and operated lighting consoles in a variety of locations with various types of views. It is very important when setting up your front of house location that you consider your view of the stage.

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Justin Kitchenman served as LD and lighting director for Luke Bryan's 'Kill the Lights' tour. His new company is called Align Design Group. Luke Bryan 2016 photo by Todd Kaplan.

Kitchenman Creates New Company; CMA Touring Award Winners, More…

Production, lighting and media designer Justin Kitchenman started the New Year by creating a new company, Align Design Group in Nashville. “The focus of the Align Design Group is going to be live production, mainly concert touring,” he told PLSN. “But, as with all ventures, the future is a great mystery, with many twists and turns! I look forward to the future and all of the opportunities it brings.”

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Illustration by Andy Au

The Politics of Color Selection

I heard about a tragedy the other day. A designer lost a tour based solely on color selection. A particular band that chooses a different color for each album cover hired this person to do their tour. During a televised promotion for their upcoming tour, the production manager mentioned to the designer/programmer that they would like the color of their album to be in every single song. The designer chose to go against the band’s wishes.

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Video shoot in Bandit Lites rehearsal facility for Taylor X

Bandit’s Venue One Rehearsal Facility Hosts Video Shoot for Taylor X

NASHVILLE — For Taylor X’s recent video shoot capturing her performance of her urban pop dance song, “No Ceiling,” which took place at the rehearsal facility that Bandit Lites provides to its clients, LD Erik Parker availed himself of the some of the light fixtures that Bandit has in its inventory, including Vari-Lite VL3000 Spots, GLP impression X4S, Martin Atomic Strobes and ETC Source Four Pars.

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Stampede Drone Arena Returns to ISE for 2017

Stampede Drone Arena Returns to ISE for 2017

AMSTERDAM — The Stampede Drone Arena, which debuted at ISE 2016, returned to the big AV trade show, which runs Feb. 7-10 at RAI Amsterdam. This year’s Stampede Drone Area drew visitors to Hall 14 at Stand 14-A100 with a roster of manufacturers that included Yuneec, DJI, VideoBank, Virtual Air Boss, Trackimo, Agrowing, GPC, xFold, Amimon, Elistair, Droneify, Hoverfly, Christie, Vidyo, Aerialtronics, and Hitachi. Stampede also announced updated training programs and educational resources for 2017.

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ETC Introduces Two New Employees and a Job Transfer

[caption id="attachment_274591" align="alignnone" width="800"]David Hilton, Erin Giblin and Jacob Coakley (l-r)[/caption]

MIDDLETON, WI– In 2016, ETC hired a record number of new employees and had more internal job transfers than any year before. This year has started out the same, with many new employees joining the ETC team and employees moving into new jobs within the company. Erin Giblin and Jacob Coakley are two of those new faces, while David Hilton transitions into a new role at ETC.

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Main Stage Reinvented at Toronto Centre for the Arts

[caption id="attachment_274588" align="alignnone" width="800"]Toronto Centre for the Arts gets a visual assist from TCC[/caption]

TORONTO – An underutilized 1,800-seat Broadway-style touring hall underwent an ambitious renovation that resulted in two new venues. The 580-seat Lyric Theatre occupies the seating area of the former auditorium. Twelve rows were removed to accommodate the stage and the rake of the orchestra and balcony seating. Backlit acoustic panels–each programmable with color-changing LED fixtures–wrap the room, defining the proscenium opening and intensifying the theatricality of the space. Theater Consultants Collaborative out of Chapel Hill, N.C. was  involved with the project.

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Clay Paky Mythos 2 acquired by Main Light

Main Light Acquires Claypaky Mythos2 for Rental Inventory

LOS ANGELES– Main Light Industries, Inc., one of the largest equipment rental houses in the U.S., has taken delivery of a compliment of Claypaky Mythos2 fixtures.  Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, the company provides lighting, special effects and video equipment to professional production companies worldwide. Main Light has an extensive inventory of Claypaky lighting fixtures already in house.

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Gefen Introduces DisplayPort 1.2 Fiber-Optic Extender at ISE 2017

[caption id="attachment_274581" align="alignnone" width="1600"]Display port 1.2 Fiber optic extender[/caption]

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS, – Demonstrating its commitment to provide commercial integrators with a complete range of high performance signal distribution solutions, Gefen from Core Brands today introduced the EXT-DP-4K600-1SC extender that enables integrators to place 4K 600 MHz DisplayPort 1.2 sources and displays up to 660 feet apart with full optical isolation. The introduction was made at ISE 2017 in Core Brands Stand 1-N53 at the RAI Convention Center in Amsterdam.

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Xantech Expands Connectivity Solutions with Introduction of New EX Series HDMI Cables

[caption id="attachment_274578" align="alignnone" width="800"]New EX Series HDMI Cables[/caption]

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS  —  Xantech, the industry standard in IR and connectivity solutions, today announced the introduction of its new EX Series HDMI cables that set new standards for performance, reliability, and value. The introduction was made at ISE 2017 at Core Brands Stand 1-N53 in the RAI Convention Center in Amsterdam.

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