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PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
Indispensable Technology Awards to Debut at 2009 Parnelli Gala
By Richard Cadena
NEW YORK — Vibrant Design LD Christopher
Landy provided the design for six MTV
Unplugged shows that debuted on the Web
at www.unplugged.mtv.com. Landy lit Adele,
All Time Low, Silversun Pickups, Paramore,
Katy Perry and Vampire Weekend.
The MTV Unplugged shows were executive
produced and directed by Matthew Mills
of Space Station Media, which has also produced
a variety of other Web projects, TV
It used to be that you lived and died using
the same technology. Fathers handed
down blacksmithing and printing techniques
to their sons, who in turn passed it
down to their sons. It might be several generations
before the technology changed.
Today, we live and die by new technology.
According to futurist George Gilder,
the amount of new technological information
is doubling every two years, and by the
year 2014 it will be doubling every 72 hours.
Think about the impact that has on our little
industry. No longer does the technology
you learned when you started in this business
mean as much as it did a few years ago.
In fact, as astonishing as it may sound, half
of what you learned two years ago might be
obsolete now. The most successful manu-
Vote for the Indispensable Technology “IT” Award Nominees at www.parnelliawards.com/vote
facturers are the ones who can leverage new
technology in the marketplace and bring
new products to the market faster and better
than their competition.
New technology is the only constant in
an industry where one of the most important
criterions for a designer is, “How can I
create something fresh and new?” Those
manufacturers who are clever enough to
help answer that question with new technology
are deserving of special recognition.
To that end, we have created a new award
called the Indispensable Technology Award.
One award will go to each manufacturer in
the categories of lighting, video, staging,
and something they call audio.
The inaugural nominees for the new
awards are:
Lighting
Clay Paky Alpha Beam — The Alpha Beam
is an automated ACL with a 1500-watt source
that produces a parallel beam of light. LD Jeff
Rials used them on the European leg of the
Limp Bizkit tour.
Coemar Infinity Spot XL — The sister wash
fixture to the Infinity Spot XL was used on AC/
DC’s Black Ice tour. Co-lighting designer Tony
Hill said he chose the fixtures “for their power
and ability to create energy without moving
or strobing the lights.”
Martin MAC III — The new flagship automated
lighting fixture from Martin, the MAC
shows and feature films. The MTV Unplugged
series was shot at NEP Studios in New York
with a two-day turnaround.
“It’s been interesting to work on a series
shot for the Web,” Landy said, adding that
“Web programming is a growing trend. At
least one song from each show comes into
rotation on MTV and MTV2, and now Palladia
HD has picked up the series in full HD.”
Mills and art director Scott Kawczynski
III, was on the Billy Joel/Elton John tour. LD
Mark Fafano said it’s “extremely bright” and
its optics are “amazing.”
PRG Bad Boy — PRG calls the Bad Boy a
“hybrid luminaire that combines the qualities
of a traditional automated light with a large
venue fixture.” LD Willie Williams, who is currently
using them for the U2 tour, said “I think
it’s fair to say that they are absolutely remarkable.”
Vari-Lite VL 3500 Wash — You can hardly
see a touring show without these workhorse
automated moving yoke fixtures. LD John
Dickson of LD Systems used them for 20
nights of shows during the Houston Livestock
and Rodeo. “I love how you can get such a
tight beam in the Vari-Brite mode,” he said.
Video
Barco/High End Systems ShowPix — Lawrence
“Loz” Upton used 12 ShowPix on the
latest Crystal Method tour. The combination
LED color wash/graphic image display
fixture was the first in the High End Systems
pixelation line.
Martin LC Plus — Martin’s LC Plus modular
LED video panels have an IP rating of 65
and are designed for low weight and high
transparency.
Main Light Industries MF3 — A panel containing
three Martin Stagebars in vertical
rows of 54 pixels each make up the display
area of the MF3. They are currently on tour
Lighting MTV Unplugged for the Internet
did the production design for the shows, creating
“something of a speakeasy vibe that
harkened back to the older Unpluggeds,” he
said. The designers took a more streamlined
approach to the décor, however, “because
we needed to be able to take sets down and
whisk them away in a heartbeat.”
“Chris knows how to work something up
in an unparalleled way,” said Mills. “When we
first turned on the lights he took our breath
away. And he’s shown us 10 different looks,
which were all great. Chris has been able to
take our simplified set and make it look much
more complex with a variety of lighting techniques.
He was able to change the lighting
from song to song so it’s moody for one track
and bright and vibrant in another.”
Landy supported the “simple and elegant
look” of Mills’ and Kawczynski’s set with a
complement of LEDs. “We kept it simple, too,
starting with 18 LEDs and adding six more.
with the Jonas Brothers.
Philips Color Kinetics iColor Flex — The
LED strand of lights enables any surface to
become a video display. It’s been used on
many custom designs.
Zap Technology RGBig LED — The company
known for its large format lights, Zap
Technology, has mounted an LED panel on a
single-armed yoke fixture base.
Staging
Brown United Post Technology Towers —
These towers can be used to construct anything
from delay towers to roofs. They were
used for Billy Joel and Aerosmith.
CM Entertainment Technology Prostar
Chain Hoist — The manufacturer of the
Lodestar recently introduced a smaller version
called the Prostar.
Stageline SL100 Mobile Stage Mix Position
— The SL100 mobile stage has been around
a while, but the new SL100 Mobile Stage Mix
Position is a new multi-level FOH unit that
can be ready in one hour.
Tomcat Edge Truss — Edge is a line of
“intelligent” pre-rig truss designed so four
would fit in the width of a typical truck. The
truss also features stacking spigots.
Tyler Truss GT Truss —Tyler’s Green Truss
(GT) was designed from the ground up to
save space and weight. Fixtures travel inside
the truss sections for faster load-in and out
as well as setup and tear-down.
It’s always surprising what you can do on a
show of that size.”
Landy’s lighting rig was comprised of 36
ETC Source Four lekos; 12 PAR 64 1K MFLs; 12
1K T3 striplights; 12 1K single-cell cyc lights;
24 Colorblast 12s; and an ETC Express 250.
Mills, who has teamed with Landy several
times before, says the lighting designer “is always
my first call. You just tell Chris what you
need, and he makes it happen. He’s able to
do more things with less money than most
people do with big budgets. He’s an intuitive,
artistic guy who can run with little direction.
And he always assembles a small but dedicated
crew.”
Matthew Piercy served as associate lighting
designer on the series with Gerard McCarthy
and CC Cooperstock as gaffers. Remote
Digital Media, where Sandy Bondorowsky is
technical supervisor, furnished the engineering
and camera gear.
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All Time Low performs for the Web, lit by LD Christopher Landy.
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PLSN OCTOBER 2009