I recently came across a great article outlining how working in theatre while in school prepares you for adulthood, and I started thinking about how my time in college theatre had helped me on my career path in lighting. Today, as I find myself more and more involved with the world of video, I realize that working with media servers has helped me be a better lighting programmer too. How so?
Read More »
There is a saying that big things come in small packages. Measuring in at a whisper over 12 inches long and 4 inches wide, the new HD video switcher from Roland is proof of that. This sophisticated-yet-compact video switcher combines professional compositing features such as keying, graphic inserts, titling and numerous visual effects with the ability to connect to a variety of HDMI sources, smart phones and video cameras…even a 12 channel audio mixer. Safe to say, this switcher can manage a lot.
Read More »
For this year’s Grammy Awards, held on Feb. 15, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences asked Lady Gaga to perform a tribute to the late music legend David Bowie, who died Jan. 10 at age 69. Gaga, her creative team at Haus of Gaga, along with creative collaborators at Prettybird and Studio XO, merged music and technology for a performance that evoked Bowie’s defining talent as both a visual artist and musician.
It’s hard to remember a time when video wasn’t part of the live event landscape, though Danny O’Bryen sure does. He was there. As a kid, O’Bryen’s first gig in the business was plastering Boston with concert posters for $50 a day. This led to some live event work and then, wisely, he dabbled in video in the earliest part of the visual revolution..
Read More »According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, “Ballyhoo” is defined as “a noisy attention-getting demonstration or excited commotion.” Every automated lighting programmer has created ballyhoos for a production at some point in his or her career. In the lighting world, ballyhoos were first invented by asking followspot operators to swing the spots around in a figure eight motion on the stage or house curtain. Now, with automated lighting fixtures and consoles, ballyhoos can be as simple as the press of a button or complex programmed sequences. Although a ballyhoo might seem like a simple task, there are many things a programmer should take into consideration.
Read More »
The Imagine Dragons film, Smoke + Mirrors Live, uses scenes captured at their Toronto show on July 4, 2015. The movie premiered for one night only March 2 in select cinemas worldwide. It’s now available on Blu-Ray. Imagine Dragons LD Sooner Routhier and lighting director Mitchell Schellenger worked with film director Dick Carruthers, director of photography Rob Scarborough and a film crew of about 45 people with an audience lighting package to help make the live show appealing to the cameras.
Read More »
Your boss heard that you really love the theater and would appreciate some extra hours on show site, so he offers you the chance of a lifetime to come and work on his next show for no money, as an intern of sorts. You jump at the chance to gain experience. The next gig comes along, and he asks you do it for no money again. Now you realize that you have no way to get to the show site because your gas tank is empty.
Read More »
Tour: “Gimme Love” U.S. and Canada tour
Dates: Feb. 12-April 5, 2016
Hello readers, this month the word “BIG” springs to mind when I think of this issue. It seems that every week, we here at PLSN get a new piece of news across our desk that utters the word’s “Largest” or “Biggest Ever” in the headline.
Of course, this draws my eye every time to see what they are announcing. Half the time it’s a con job, 25 percent of the time the writer actually thought they were really the biggest, and well — sometimes it actually is.
