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The October 2017 Digital Edition

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October 2017

The choreography was conceived simultaneously with the projections.

Particle Dance

Daniil Simkin’s Falls the Shadow at the Guggenheim Museum Fuses Projection and Dance

For Falls The Shadow, a dance piece created for the Guggenheim Museum’s Works & Process series and staged in the famed art repository itself, choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo and principal dancer/director Daniil Simkin teamed up with projection designer Dmitrij Simkin and costume designer Dior for an unusual convergence of fashion, technology and art. Four dancers had their movements captured by motion sensors, which generated 3D mapped visuals that were then projected back onto the floors and the ramp of the famed building.

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Nook Schoenfeld, Editor, PLSN

Ode to the Color Wheel

There used to be a time when you designed your show around two types of moving lights — hard edge and wash fixtures. I grew up in a time where the hard beams were from Vari-Lites or lekos and the wash came from pars. The only color changing we saw was from color wheels and color scrollers on conventional fixtures.

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Pyro extended 200 feet into the air above the roofless stage. Metallica 2017 tour photo by Steve Jennings.

Metallica WorldWired Tour

Metallica’s current “WorldWired Tour” is in support of the band’s Hard Wired… To Self-Destruct album, released last fall. We spoke with the band’s longtime lighting designer and director, Rob Koenig, about working with Dan Braun (show director and set designer) and the tour’s design and logistics he’s encountered for this massive production that’s been filling stadiums around the world. The tour began last year and included a run of stadium dates in North America this past summer. The band is continuing with a series of dates in the U.K. and Europe this fall and next spring.

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Configuring mixes within Catalyst

Outputs and Mixes

From the beginning of the creation of media server technology for live events, it has been common for a server to have only one or two video outputs. With the increase in popularity of LED walls, multiple projector projection blends, and 4K resolution content, however, the number of video outputs required from a server has grown and, as in the case of the d3, as many as 16 in a single d3 server are now needed in order to accommodate the demands of today’s visuals used in productions.

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Marcia Kapustin at videoworld in Brazil

Marcia Kapustin

Video Content Producer, Video Director and Lawyer-in-Training

Marcia Kapustin, principal of Kosher Pixels, is a video content producer and a video director, working extensively in concert touring. She has currently taken a hiatus from touring to get a law degree. She has worked with a variety of bands, most notably Paul McCartney and Metallica, since her first major tour as assistant video director for U2’s 1997-1998 PopMart tour.

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The software lets users invite others to participate in a given project as 'members' or 'guests,' encouraging visual collaboration.

Previz

I’m reminded of an old commercial that went something like, “ When EF Hutton talks…people listen.” The “EF Hutton” in this case is Laura Frank. When someone with the level of experience and accomplishments of Laura suggests that I spend some time getting to know a new workflow tool, I listen. She is at the top of her craft in the world of screen management, having directed screen content on some of the largest projects in television and live entertainment.

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Kid Rock on the thrust provided by Gallagher Staging

Kid Rock Opens Little Caesars Arena in Detroit

LD Makes Use of State-of-the-Art House System for Six Sold-Out Shows

In retrospect, there was no question: Who else could have opened a new stadium in Detroit but Kid Rock? The hometown favorite sold out the new 20,000-seat sports complex’s six dates in mere hours. And, while all the shows went well, a few of the early ones didn’t go perfectly, as longtime Kid Rock LD Nook Schoenfeld was the guinea pig taking a brand new technologically-advanced stadium out for its first ride.

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Blizzard Lighting G-Mix 200

Blizzard Lighting G-Mix 200

Blizzard Lighting is based in Waukesha, WI. I’m not sure where that is either, but it turns out it’s about 30 minutes west of Milwaukee. Blizzard Lighting is a newer company to the industry, but not as new as you may think. They have been manufacturing lights since March of 2010. In fact, their first LED moving light was called “Flurry Wash,” which certainly aligns with their theme of “cool” and “wintry.”

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The 20,000-capacity arena is the new home for the NHL Red Wings and NBA Pistons hockey and basketball teams, while also hosting major concerts and other eveents. Photo by Todd Kaplan

Little Caesars Arena in Detroit: Built to Rock

New Arena Immerses Attendees with State-of-the-Art House Systems

“I believe we just opened the nicest, coolest arena I’ve ever had the pleasure of gigging in,” says Kid Rock LD Nook Schoenfeld after six sold-out shows at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. “It is an amazing structure; the likes of which do not exist anywhere in the world.”

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A Programmer's Guide to Sushi

A Programmer’s Guide to Sushi

Irasshaimase! Over the years, I have noticed that a majority of the automated lighting programmers I know also enjoy eating sushi. There are, of course, some exceptions, but I feel pretty confident in saying that most do. It actually makes sense if you think about it; there are many similarities between the raw fish cuisine and the craft of programming automated lighting. The skill of the chef, the varieties of available options, the creativity and more all align between the two very different topics. Since I personally love sushi and programming, I feel it is time to really compare the two.

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The nightclub turned to Tirso Lighting for the upgrade.

NYC’s Arka Room

Tirso Lighting Helps a Popular Manhattan Nightspot Rebrand

Arka Lounge operated for 16 years as one of the more successful nightspots in the Washington Heights area of upper Manhattan. Rebranded last December as Arka Room, owners of this sophisticated, intimate place to party are hoping for the same run of success they enjoyed for nearly two decades.

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