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Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Studio Pro

Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Studio Pro

You probably read the title of this piece and then the byline, and asked yourself, “Why would a lighting guy be reviewing a video product?” I might start off by noting that it’s really okay for people to venture into unfamiliar terrain and learn something new. I could strengthen that further by saying lighting guys really should learn more about video, since our consoles are being used, more and more, for video cues. So if you’re also a lighting professional looking to learn more about new video technologies, join me as my venture into the world of video production continues.

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Elation Professional Platinum Profile 35

Elation Professional Platinum Profile 35

When you design a rig, you typically use fixtures for a given look that you are trying to achieve. Say you trying to wash a stage in a color, or you are looking for something that can project gobos. You choose a fixture based on its abilities. There is a give and take sometimes with a choice of fixtures. You might want the color mixing abilities, but the shuttering of a profile is something you can live with out.

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The Uplift system lowering a rigger to the deck

Uplift Fall Protection System (UFPS) from Limpet Technology

A new safety device has been introduced to our business from Scotland recently, and has been making waves on this side of the Atlantic as well. The Uplift Fall Protection System establishes a new, intelligent way technicians as well as other people in the entertainment field will work on gear hanging in the air. Designed by Limpet Technology out of Edinburgh, this unique device leads us into a new age of safety when it comes to technicians, actors and anyone whose feet leave the ground in their work environment. Upstaging Lighting, a leading innovator in touring lighting systems, is proud to be the first American company to buy and utilize the Uplift Fall Prevention System (UFPS).

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Stagemaker SR Series Hoists

Stagemaker SR Series Hoists

Lifting stage elements, truss, speakers… our industry requires some serious lifting power it order to make our rigs work.  Stagemaker hoists have a lineage that dates back decades, to when Verlinde of France launched the first inverted electric powered hoist, the Litachain L104, in 1975. Verlinde then launched the Litachain L5 and L10 range in 1990. In 1998, after the venerable French company (est. 1858) was acquired by Konecranes Plc in 1993, the Stagemaker SM series of hoists came to market.

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Media Servers for Lighting Programmers, by Vickie Claiborne

Media Servers for Lighting Programmers

Have you ever been so excited about something related to work that it was all you could think about?  In this business, I hope that happens a lot because we do some pretty amazing stuff.  When I first learned that our very own columnist, Vickie Claiborne, was planning to write a book, I got chills! First it was the fact that one of our own was publishing another book.  Doesn’t that speak highly of the columnists that we have on staff?  Second was the subject of the book — Media Servers and how to program them — a groundbreaking and important topic.

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The Four P’s of Programming

Automated lighting programming encompasses a vast amount of processes and routines, but actually the entire practice can be broken down into four segments.  Each of these segments is very complex on its own, and all four are required for any lighting programming project.  Programmers do not have to master each of these areas, but they certainly need to have a good understanding and be proficient in each.  All automated lighting programming projects require work in the following areas: Patching, Preparation, Parameters, and Playback.

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Close to 600 moving fixtures lit LP Field for 'Nashville.'

Bringing Nashville to Light; A Wide Shot on TV Studio Design

The ABC-TV’s hit series Nashville interlaces the grit and glamor of rising country stars with the politics of record labels and romance. The story line is fictional, but behind the scenes, the touring industry’s experts are supporting the fictional music stars in a true-to-life way. LD Steve Fallon started lighting the performances for the second season, which finished airing in May.

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Illustration by Andy Au

Women Lighting Designers

A few months ago I got an email from Kim Martin, an LD I met when she toured with Ringo, some 20 years ago. I had not seen her since she was the LD for Natalie Merchant in the 1990s. She inquired why I never seem to write about female lighting designers. I honestly don’t know why, as I have met and learned quite a bit from them my whole life. Looking back, I can’t believe how many great women designers share my job in the concert biz. And they all taught me something about lighting. They didn’t make it because they are women; they made it because they have talent.

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Justin Lang, editor, PLSN magazine

The Golden Rule RULES

Summertime madness is upon us!  It seems as though we skipped over the typical spring cool weather and into the thrill of summer.  While much of the country dealt with winter-like temperatures well into April, the industry has been preparing for the intense festival and summer tour season. Shops have been working long hours pulling gear, ordering up the latest gear and rehearsing to get this right for those millions of fans waiting for their favorite acts to roll into town.

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