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Bringing South Pacific to Lincoln Center

When stage manager Michael Brunner worked on South Pacific in summer stock as a younger man, he had no idea that he would one day be tackling it full force at New York’s Lincoln Center. Now the 30-year theatre veteran is the production stage manager (PSM) for the first revival of the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein show in 53 years at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre. And as he has noted — with a production that includes a large cast, prop plane and two real Navy trucks converted for stage use — the larger scale “makes a difference.” Critics and audiences are agreeing, along with celebrities like Robert Redford, Jane Alexander and David Hasselhoff, all of whom have come to check out the show.

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The Cure – 4 Tour 2008

Lighting designer Abigail Rosen Holmes had a collaborator, of sorts, on her latest tour design for The Cure’s 4 Tour. Her collaborator had lots of insight to the material, since he wrote most of it himself.

Front man Robert Smith “is very involved in the design of the show,” Holmes said. She and Smith exchanged sketches of the lighting system, projection, and stage layout before arriving at the final design. Then they tossed around ideas for the individual songs.

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The Jersey Boys in Las Vegas

All load-ins are a testament to the beauty of cooperation and madness. This gets amplified when you’re putting up the set as they’re finishing the theatre.

“They’re kind of building around us,” says Jim Fedigan, production electrician for the install of Jersey Boys in the Jersey Boys Theatre at the Palazzo Las Vegas — Resort, Hotel, Casino. We’re standing on the lip of the stage looking at lights that have been hung onto truss, and then wrapped in plastic bags to protect them from construction dust, which is everywhere. Fedigan started the load-in in a theatre that was far from complete.

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InfoComm 2008 – Some Like It Hot

Intense heat radiating from the streets and sidewalks outside of the Las Vegas Convention Center in June was no match for the cool gear at InfoComm 2008. True to form, LEDs, media servers and projection dominated the show, but not all exhibitors followed the formula. Some of them showed products to rig, power and network with LEDs, media servers and projection. Another dominant technology at the show was wireless DMX, with several dimming and control manufacturers offering it as an option as well as one or two automated lighting manufacturers.

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Truck Tricks

It’s not the sexiest part of the world of rock ‘n’ roll, but few can argue with its importance. After all, the band can fly around in their private jets or arrive with all the creature comforts they want in their custom coaches, but if the gear doesn’t arrive on time, safely and soundly, there’s not a lot that can happen.

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Bob See

Before automated lighting, media servers, and LEDs, there were a handful of pioneering individuals who took truckloads of conventional lights and figured out how to rig them, power them, and run a show on the road. They borrowed heavily from the theatre industry and the school of hard knocks to put together the first touring packages. One of them was Bob See, founder and CEO of See Factor Lighting in Long Island City, New York. About 40 years after See starting working in the entertainment production industry, PLSN decided to take a look back at the genesis of the industry from a pioneer’s point of view.

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DVI: Digital Video to Go

DVI is a versatile digital format that is now widely used in PCs, DVDs, projectors and display devices. The three-letter acronym is short for Digital Visual Interface, and this is one powerful video signal.

 

DVI was designed by the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG) for carrying an uncompressed digital video signal to a digital display device such as a LCD display or projector.

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wysiwyg r22

If you were to pick one technology that has single-handedly changed the way lighting is designed, rendered and programmed, it would have to be CAD lighting design and pre-visualization software. But not only has it changed the way we design and program shows, it has also saved countless hours, manpower and dollars. Having the ability to design, lay out a plot, patch it, create looks and render them in photo-realistic images is one of the best tools to ever land on the lighting designer’s desk.

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Could a Phone be the Next Power Tool of Our Industry?

Since the 2007 introduction of Apple’s iPhone, the company has sold over 6 million of the wunderkind devices.

Described by some technology pundits as the “Jesus-phone,” the second generation of the touch-screen phone / music player / Internet device will hit store shelves at about the same time as this issue of PLSN.

There are several reasons why this could be the next big hit at LDI and beyond.

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Sex Sells, Compliance Saves

“As a rock star, I have two instincts: I want to have fun and I want to change the world.” — Bono

 

On a recent late spring day, a rock star walked out on stage before a live audience of 5,500 very enthusiastic people. It was a big stage with a huge video backdrop framed by black soft goods that were splayed by parallel beams of white light. As the man in a black shirt, jeans and tennis shoes made his way downstage center, the house erupted in wild applause. And then he pitched the new Apple iPhone.  

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Becoming a Vampire

Walk into any venue after midnight during pre-production for a show and you will find several creatures dressed in black lurking in all areas.  These “people” often only come out after dark and seem to leave the venue once the sun comes up.  They usually work in darkness and yet they wield total control of the atmosphere, at least in terms of lighting.  The cast and other crew members often only see the lighting crew and automated lighting programmer as their paths cross, coming and going from the venue.  The lighting vampires often seem confused as they exchange “good mornings” with the other staff members at 9 p.m.  There are many pros and cons to working the “late shift” as an automated lighting programmer and also many things to consider as you switch from “normal” work times to overnight, then back to normal.

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Making an Honest Living

In the last issue (PLSN, June 2008) I joked about the usefulness of being able to BS your way through a difficult gig. But while I was pondering what I wrote last month, I realized that what is important in our profession is just the opposite. I think what makes someone good is that they run a fair business, earn their money the old fashioned way and don’t rely on BS to save a few bucks on a gig.

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