Skip to content

The December 2017 Digital Edition

Click Here to View the Digital Edition

December 2017

Carrie Cavins joins ETC as Architectural Field Project Coordinator

[caption id="attachment_281672" align="alignnone" width="701"]ETC announces Carrie Cavins joins company as FPC[/caption]

MIDDLETON, WI – ETC bolstered its growing architectural lighting division with the addition of Carrie Cavins as an Architectural Field Project Coordinator. Cavins will provide support, advice, and education for ETC’s architectural line of products to their extensive network of reps, dealers, and specifiers. While technically part of the ETC Hollywood office, Cavins will mainly work from her home office in Houston.

Read More »

ESTA Announces Transition to the Next Generation of Staff Leadership

NYC – ESTA is very pleased to announce that it has named Erin Grabe to succeed Executive Director Lori Rubinstein in what is expected to be a year-long transition. Erin is currently ESTA’s Assistant Technical Standards Manager and part of the transition involves replacing her in that role. Erin is uniquely positioned to step into the role of Executive Director. She has been working in technical production in live events since the age of 15, including nine years working for Grand Stage Company as a sales associate, purchasing agent, and project manager.

Read More »

PRG provuded the screens above the stage. All photos by Steve Jennings

Arcade Fire’s ‘Infinite Content’ Tour

We caught up with Canadian rock band Arcade Fire on their “Infinite Content” tour in Denver, CO, where the eight member band, including husband and wife Win Butler and Regine Chassagne, Win’s brother William Butler and the rest of the band swap places and an array of instruments throughout the show. The tour continues into 2018 for dates in the United Kingdom and ends in March in Madrid, Spain. We spoke with creative director Tarik Mikou (of Moment Factory), lighting designer & director Chris Bushell and video director Icarus Wilson-Wright.

Read More »
Robe BMFL fixtures backlit Sheryl Crow’s portal drop.

The Scenic Wizardry Behind Jeremy Roth’s Designs

We sat down to chat with Jeremy Roth as one of his acts, Wilco, just flew in to town to perform three sold out shows at the local theater, finishing up a run that lasted over a year. Along the way, Roth picked up a couple more clients, Ray LaMontagne and Sheryl Crow, whom he designed touring set and light designs for.

Read More »
Vanguard, formerly Aeson, is a young company on the move.

Vanguard LED Displays – Leading the Way

Michael Wiener, founder and CEO of Vanguard LED Displays, is first and foremost an entrepreneur in its truest sense. Originally a CPA by training from Montreal, he’ll be the first to tell you that the pattern of his string of business ventures in his early years was pretty much that of a yo-yo, as he experienced many ups and downs.

Read More »
Elation Proteus Fixtures played a key role in the nightly shows for the 2017 State Fair of Texas. Photos by Interlaced Productions

Lighting the State Fair of Texas’ ‘Illumination Sensation’ Spectacle Shows

The State Fair of Texas has been an institution in the Lone Star State since 1886. Held annually at 277-acre Fair Park in Dallas, this year’s fair ran from Sept. 29-Oct. 22. Although the fair’s nightly spectacular, “Illumination Sensation,” hasn’t been around for quite that long, it’s become one of the big draws of the yearly event. Lighting designer/programmer Nick Belley and show producers Interlaced Productions upped the shows visual appeal for 2017, incorporating effects from Elation Professional’s IP65-rated Proteus series moving heads, along with other Elation gear.

Read More »
Lighting levels had to be balanced for the human eye and camera. Photos by Joan Marcus

Capturing ‘Holiday Inn’ for Posterity

The Art of Recording a Live Play on Camera

For theater lovers, nothing beats the experience of witnessing a show in person. But when one does not have the opportunity, watching it onscreen is the next best thing. BroadwayHD has begun capturing more and more shows for posterity and streaming them live from their website. One of the latest musicals to receive renewed digital life is Holiday Inn, the bright, peppy, colorful show inspired by Irving Berlin movie musical that wowed Broadway audiences last holiday season. It was first streamed live from Studio 54 last year.

Read More »
PLSN Dec. 2017 Buyers Guide -Strobes

Strobes

The days of xenon bulbs in strobes is just about over. Diversitronics, the one-time leader in the market, has stopped making fixtures, but they still sell bulbs. Solaris Strobe still offers one, and you may still be able to find a Lightning Strike in a Hollywood shop. The GAM Star Strobe (marketed by Rosco) is now a double-ended xenon flicker, but everyone else is now LED. The Martin Atomic got itself an Aura. The Ayrton MagicBurst is a strobe machine unlike any other. GLP may just be the leader these days with lots of functions — and a strobe with a tilt function. And all these babies are bright. Happy shopping, and be glad you’re just looking a photos and not actual units fired up at 100 percent.

Read More »
Wiess Energy Hall within the Houston Museum of Natural Science has become a showcase for advanced projection-mapping techniques. RabCup used Green Hippo technologies met the complex projection needs. Photos courtesy Houston Museum of Natural Science.

Bringing Energy City to Life

The most comprehensive energy exhibit in the world, the Wiess Energy Hall, opened Nov. 20 in the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS). More than two years in the making, the highlight of the exhibit is Energy City, a 2,500-square-foot 3D landscape designed and fabricated by Paul Bernhard Exhibit Design and Consulting (PBE), the design company selected to create the
Wiess Energy Hall.

Read More »