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www.plsn.com SEPTEMBER December 2008
WHAT’S HOT
WHAT’S HOT HOT
PROJECTION, LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
Installations
Caesars Palace’s 4,148-seat Colosseum, built for Céline Dion’s A New
Day in 2003, now rotates set elements and lighting for a new set of
stars — Elton John, Bette Midler and Cher.
Wide Angle
Video looms large for George Michael’s 25 Live tour, the first North
American tour for the singer/songwriter in 17 years.
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CONTENTS
Features
26 Inside Theatre
A veiled light wall helped David
Korins create some visual intrigue
to accompany the music, acting and
dancing in the Broadway production
of Passing Strange.
30 Production Profile
Megadeth LD Brandon Webster’s
goal with the latest incarnation of
Gigantour was to create a big, retro
rock show look that showcased the
band members’ skills.
34 Michael Tait: 2008 Parnelli
Visionary Award Winner
Michael Tait put the Roundabout in Yes’
early concert tours. Next month, he’ll
receive the Parnelli Visionary Award in
Las Vegas for his pioneering vision.
38 Hometown Heroes Regional
Winners
A look at the lighting and staging
companies in five U.S. regions and
Canada voted the best by PLSN
readers.
44 Company 411
With an atrium that evokes a 1940s
Town Square, ETC reveals how serious
it is about having fun.
47 Buyers Guide
As a product category, lighting design
software has eclipsed all others in
innovation.
52 PLSN Interview
Cody Stoltz, an intern at RZI Lighting
in New Orleans, did some of the
programming for the Essense Festival’s
Coca-Cola stage — at age 13.
54 Road Test
LD Assistant ’08 lets designers drag
virtual fixtures, snap them to virtual
truss, and automatically update reports
and renderings with attributes like color.
Columns
6 Editor’s Note
Want to give your career some upward
momentum? Spend an hour a day
reading.
60 Video Digerati
Cool video effects don’t have to crash
the server. Give raster mapping a try.
62 Feeding the Machines
Common sense — and a shirt and
shoes — can do wonders for your
career.
63 The Biz
Production values keep rising, and so
do school budgets for AV equipment.
64 Focus on Fundamentals
Can the strategic use of both Ethernet
and DMX512 slay the Cable Monster?
68 LD-at-Large
Creating a visual mosh pit for fans of
heavy metal music.
Departments
7 News
10 Calendar
10 Letters to the Editor
18 International News
20 On the Move
22 New Products
24 Showtime
55 Projection Connection
56 Projection Connection News
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