For a production house, one of the most tedious — yet mission-critically important — tasks is keeping track of the gear that goes out on a gig and then comes back in from it. So what if that cable could tell you it was there? It’s actually not that far-fetched…
Read More »A natural rainbow is a beautiful sight to behold. We have all marveled at the ethereal glow of colors arching across the sky. For as long as man has existed, the rainbow has triggered a sense of awe and inspiration. For centuries, humans tried to recreate the colors of the rainbow through various devices. Today’s modern automated lights and LED based products make recreating rainbow looks as simple as the press of a single button. But this magic comes at a cost. We are slowly losing our creativity and settling for simplicity as we accept rainbow chases into many facets of our lives. I am hereby calling for an end of the rainbow!
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It wouldn’t be a holiday without the heavy metal and production spectacle of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and LD Bryan Hartley is back with this year’s winter tour, “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve.” Hartley has been designing the production and lighting for 17 years, since the beginning of TSO, he says. “I decided not to build a traditional custom set and instead, I designed the video as the set. Then I can change to whatever set look I want.” The identical East and West Coast legs run through Dec. 30 in the US and Canada.
These days, putting on a harness before you climb is as automatic as putting on a pair of gloves or checking your radio channel before you start work. But any lighting technician or rigger of a certain age remembers when wearing a harness — even the ones that are illegal today for fall protection — was optional. In the early 80’s I was a house rigger at the Rockford MetroCentre in Rockford, IL. The head rigger there was Bo Medearis. Bo was a thoughtful, methodical, and confident rigger — which made him everything I wasn’t. I was young, brash, and cocky.
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I’m going on record here to say that I really like that LDI is during October and still in Vegas. November was always too close to Thanksgiving. It meant spending two different weeks every month away from home. As far as the town, well, it’s Vegas baby. There’s always plenty to see and plenty to eat, and you can hang out with adults. When I’m at LDI, I want to be the kid in the candy store. I don’t want to be Dad. I go to Orlando and California with my kids when I want to be an adult.
Tour: April 2015-Fall 2016
Design: “I had free rein, not something I’m used to, so it was fun. We use a lot of LED elements — for pixel mapping, as movers, strobes, PARs — including a LED Wall. We made a scrim using the band’s album art, which the video wall shines through.”
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It was another bountiful year in Las Vegas as the LDI (Live Design International) show hit the Convention Center for the fourth consecutive year. Over 10,000 people were on the floor to check out more than 350 different exhibitor booths over the three-day span the floor was open. From Lighting to Lasers, Staging to Scenery, it was all here on display last Oct 23-25. One didn’t have to search far for all the cool little gizmos we all need to keep the shows running. New inventions as well as improved versions of old standards peaked my technical interest as much as the great new lighting products.
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Lighting Co
East Coast Lighting & Production Services (ECLPS)
Venue
City Hall Plaza
Boston, MA
Lighting Co
Christie Lites
Venue
Various (U.S. Tour)
LAS VEGAS — Halloween came early to the 15th Annual Parnelli Awards on Saturday, Oct. 24. Audio Innovator honoree Pat Quilter dressed as Mountain Man with an Egyptian head piece; Visionary honoree David Cunningham came to the stage with two beautiful women and proceeded to change wigs and transform himself into a rock/drag star; and finally there was Chris Lamb, in his trademark cowboy getup.
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