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Billy Joel & Elton John: Face 2 Face

Billy Joel & Elton John: Face 2 Face

Steve Cohen is one of the few in the industry who really know what it's like to light a show without the benefit of today's touring technology. Having worked with Billy Joel since 1974, he's keenly aware of the distinction between art and the hardware with which it is produced. But he's equally adept at designing with state-of-the-art gear, having done so for Joel, Elton John, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Van Halen and Paul Simon, to name just a few.

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Union Connector’s Electric Past, Future

It was an era where people like him were either cops, priests, criminals or stagehands,” says Rich Wolpert, referring to his grandfather, Bill Wolpert, founder of Union Connector. Given those choices, Bill could have done worse. But instead of turning to a life of crime – or arresting or hearing confessions from others who had – Bill Wolpert worked as a union stagehand on Broadway.

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Cirque du Soleil’s Viva ELVIS!

Elvis is definitely in the building, and it's a building literally built for a king.

 

Cirque du Soleil, in partnership with Elvis Presley Enterprises and MGM/Mirage, has Viva ELVIS happening at the new Aria Resort & Casino at CityCenter in Las Vegas, the world''s largest hotel to achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) Gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. Those expecting a "traditional" Cirque show (if such an animal even exists), or one that mimics their last smash hit, the Beatles-themed LOVE, went home dazzled by the unexpected.

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The Scheimpflug Principle

So, there I am in my projector 101 class, and things are progressing quite nicely.

"Let's discuss the mechanics of focus and lens shift," says the esteemed professor. "No problem," says I … easy terms and concepts.

"Let's ponder the mysteries of color space," says the master of PowerPoint. "Gotcha," says I, as we dive deep into the CIE color space chart in all its beauty.

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Lights, Action, Nashville

Shortly after Dan Daley compiled and submitted the information for this column, the Nashville area was hit by what locals are calling a 100-year flood. Many of those who Dan interviewed for this column were directly or indirectly affected when water levels on the Cumberland River exceeded 50 feet – more than 12 feet above flood stage. For more details on the flooding and its aftermath, please CLICK HERE .

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The Art of the K.I.S.S.

Early in my career, I was working at a theatre as one of the house guys. We had a tour come in and use our space for pre-production. It was the first time I really got to watch a touring show prepare for the road. I remember sitting with the LD (I don't remember his name) and watching him program the conventional lights. He also had about six moving mirror fixtures with a dedicated controller. He explained an important principle that he tries to remember as often as possible.

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Staying Grounded

"Rock ‘n' roll is like a circus today." -Ray Manzarek, keyboardist for The Doors

Once upon a time, early in my career, I was at the top of my game. At the time, my game was a 16-foot ladder, and I working on a light that was rigged on a truss. As I was holding on to the truss for stability, I reached out and grabbed a second truss and that's when I got a shocking lesson in grounding and the potential differences between two metal structures.

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Friend or Foe?

One of the first places I found on the Internet to meet people was the lighting forums. I found a place called the Light Network years ago, and through this site I exchanged a lot of lighting questions and answers. While we chatted about light fixtures, media servers, various CAD programs, etc., we were making friends. This was the start of social networking through the World Wide Web.

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