News

LAS VEGAS — For the seventh time, PLSN and FRONT of HOUSE readers will have the opportunity to nominate lighting, staging, video and audio technologies worthy of an Indispensable Technology “IT” Award. The awards competition recognizes technologies that have advanced the state of the art in each of those categories within the previous year. The recognition process starts with nominations from readers of each magazine. Top nominated products make it onto the Parnelli Awards ballot for a final vote.

ZOTTEGEM, Belgium —For the Dunk! Festival, which ran from May 5-7 in Zottegem, Belgium, LD Frederick Heerinckx of BlackBoxDesign specified 42 Chauvet Professional Nexus 7×7 panels, making use of the fixture’s classic tungsten looks and pixel mapping capabilities. The festival acts as an extension of the independent record label, Dunk! Records and serves as a platform for its bands to perform to thousands of post rock and post metal fans.

VANCOUVER, BC – Under the working title “Hidden Fortress,” filming for the third installment of the Planet of the Apes commenced in the Lower Mainland of Vancouver in October 2015. Production crews have chosen to utilize Larson Electronics’ explosion proof fluorescent light fixtures on set, as well as their four-foot hazardous location light fixtures. Larson Electronics’ four foot, two-lamp fluorescent light fixtures are being used for War for the Planet of the Apes, due out next summer.

NASHVILLE– For more than 20 years, Big Events, Inc. has been designing and creating unique, customized events that guests will remember for years to come. So when they were approached by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts to help them create a contemporary “New Spain” club atmosphere for their Annual Gala on April 9, Big Events president Malcolm Greenwood welcomed the opportunity to showcase the design firm’s creativity. With the goal of implementing the highest production-value the event had ever seen, Greenwood then called upon Nashville-based Elite Multimedia who provided him with a complete lighting, audio and projection package for the black-tie dinner and cocktail reception.

AUSTIN – For the sixth season of PBS’ Bluegrass Underground, LD Allen Branton and programmer Han Henze of Keylight LLC used six SolaSpot 1500s provided by 4Wall Lighting to augment the show’s lighting production. A Todd Squared production for PBS broadcast, Bluegrass Underground is the brainchild of entrepreneur Todd Mayo, who transformed an underground cave system discovered by Aaron Higgenbotham in 1810 into the magical performance environment of The Volcano Room of the Cumberland Cavern.

ORLANDO – LMG, a national provider of video, audio, lighting, and LED support and a fixture in the Orlando high tech community for 32 years, held a ribbon cutting ceremony to introduce their second expansion to its current Orlando headquarters.  Founded in Orlando, LMG provides technical services for some of the world’s largest corporate meetings, trade shows, concerts, tours, and permanent installations. With steady growth over the last decade and continuous investments in ground-breaking new technology, the second expansion will provide a much needed larger facility. 

MANCHESTER, TN – The 15th Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival took place June 9-12, once again turning a 700 acre field into a concert destination for 85,000 attendees, which would make the rural area rank as the state’s 7th largest city for a weekend. Bandit Lites once again worked with Lambda Productions to provide a lighting package for the weekend that featured a lineup including Pearl Jam, Dead & Company, LCD Soundsystem, J. Cole, CHVRCHES, Jason Isbell, M83, Halsey and Chris Stapleton. Dead & Company’s set is pictured here.

MIAMI – Alpha & Omega Church in Miami was looking for a dynamic lighting solution for their newly remodeled Next Level Youth ministry auditorium, something both welcoming and energetic. They found the flexibility they were looking for in an Elation Professional lighting package of LED lights and Platinum Series moving heads. Total Audio & Visual Solutions (TAVS) of Miami installed the lighting system upgrade during a refurbishment of the space, one that allowed the South Florida production and rental company to start with a fresh canvas.

LAS VEGAS — An intensifying heat wave in the U.S. Southwest posed some concerns, but Insomniac Production’s 2016 Electric Daisy Carnival event at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway went relatively smoothly. One crew member looking after the Bass Pod stage sustained minor burn-related injuries in a pyro accident on the second night of the three-night event, however.

LAS CRUCES, NM — The Long Reach Long Riders recently completed their 13th annual charity motorcycle ride. The ride, which was dubbed The Radioactive Ride by ride marshal Loren Schreiber, raised more than $45,000 for Behind the Scenes and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, bringing the total raised since the LRLR rides began to well over $550,000. It began and ended in Las Cruces, NM, running from June 4-12.

BEL AIR, MD — Harford Community College and Barbizon Capitol will hold the second annual Entertainment Design Expo (EDX) on Thursday, June 23. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the APG Federal Credit Union Arena at Harford Community College in Bel Air, Maryland. It will feature national and international manufacturers and representatives for a day of exploration and education in entertainment technology.