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The November 2017 Digital Edition

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November 2017

Zedd, with floating DJ riser and table. Photo by Travis Shirley

Zedd, Springsteen, Grouplove, Plant, Bleachers and a New American Idol

Russian-German EDM artist Zedd is on tour until Nov. 4 in Mexico with a creative team headed by show and production designer Travis Shirley. Longtime LD and lighting director Steven Hernandez and tour director Ken Floyd are also on board for the trek. “Zedd and his team were looking to get a bit more theatrical with the ‘Echo’ tour,” Shirley says. “We created a unique LED configuration along with a custom floating DJ riser and table and several projection moments throughout the show.”

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Sound guys can benefit, too - the Console Shade is pictured here on a DiGiCo audio mixer.

The Console Shade

It’s a hot one down here in Tennessee. I’m sweating just watching the local crew drag the control snake out to my lighting desk. The dust rises from the brown grass, the roof on the stage provides no relief from the blistering rays. My front of house platform is someone’s idea of a joke as there’s a plywood floor with some 12-inch truss slammed together around myself and two other operators that wouldn’t protect any of us in a storm. Yup, it’s another long day in a field where I must battle the elements and try my hardest to focus a moving light rig in the sun, before the crowd comes in.

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Illustration by Andy Au

Lighting Inside the Lines

Creating art while working inside client-imposed limitations can be more difficult than coloring inside the lines of an M.C. Escher painting. Constraints would seem like the last thing you’d want or need while embarking on a creative project, but they’re actually beneficial when it comes to doing beautiful work. We all know what it’s like to be paralyzed by a mountain of insurmountable options and opportunities. Restrictions take away some of the choices available to us, and with them, the fear of making the wrong choice. Working within the confines of artist restrictions can be taxing, but with these few ideas, I hope to make it minimally more palatable.

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Rosco Cubes are designed with pulse width modulation (PWM) characteristics that ensure flicker-free performance.

Pulse Width Modulation

As the world of lighting moves more and more into LED sources, Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) has become the most common means for controlling LEDs. What is PWM exactly and, more importantly, how does it relate to lighting applicationis it and how does it affect your lighting design?

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The musical chronicles a young Elvis Presley as a rising star. Photos by Gary Ng

Heartbreak Hotel

If you’re a passionate fan of rock legend Elvis Presley, you may already know much of the story that Tony-nominated writer/director Floyd Mutrux tells in his new musical, Heartbreak Hotel. The prequel to the popular Million Dollar Quartet (which was written by Mutrux and Colin Escott), this new play follows young Elvis from his humble beginnings as a truck driver to the peak of stardom — a tale that captures the imagination of anyone waiting for their own shot at greatness.

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