A Papal Mass on Sacred Ground - PLSN.com

PROJECTION
CONNECTION
Starts on page 43
Road Test: HES Showpix, page 50
Vol. 9.5
JUNE
2008
A <strong>Papal</strong> <strong>Mass</strong> on Sacred Ground
BRONX, NY — The Catholic Church’s Archdiocese of New York had production crews working
extra innings to prepare for Pope Benedict XVI’s six day visit to the New York metro area in April.
The Pope offered a blessing of Ground Zero at the former World Trade Center, met with disabled
children at the Chapel at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y. and celebrated <strong>Mass</strong> in Yankee Stadium.
The legendary baseball venue was transformed into a billboard-free open-air cathedral, with
an altar, a performance stage and hundreds of field seats for the Pope’s entourage. Union crews got
the massive stadium job done safely in less than 50 hours — and did it without trampling the grass.
For the full story, turn to page 28.
Alice Cooper to Host the Parnelli Awards
Alice Cooper
LAS VEGAS — The “Oscars” of the live event industry, The Parnelli Awards, will
grow in scope and star-power this year. Alice Cooper will be part of the proceedings,
which will include emceeing the Awards Show, among other things. “Alice
Cooper is not only a respected rock legend, but he’s also a genuinely hilarious
guy,” says PLSN and FOH publisher Terry Lowe. “He will be the foundation to which
we build our best, most entertaining Parnelli celebration yet.”
The Parnelli Board of Advisors also unanimously decided to add an award to
the show this year to honor all who make our industry possible. In addition to
a Lifetime Achievement Award, the Parnelli Board will now continued on page 7
Rigger Dies in
Mississippi
Amphitheatre Fall
SOUTHAVEN, MS — An experienced
rigger who fell to his death April 24 was
wearing a harness, but it was temporarily
unsecured, according to the owner of
Cole Entertainment Services, the company
handling the rigging for a concert at
Southaven Springfest in Snowden Grove
Park outside of Memphis.
The rigger, Charles “Chuck” Houston,
died after falling some 40 feet to the amphitheatre’s
concrete stage. Cole Entertainment
Services owner Chuck Cole said
Houston had first worked as a stagehand
in 1997 and had been working regularly
as a rigger for more than five years.
Although the DeSoto County, Miss.
Coroner’s continued on page 9
Martin Reports
Q1 Gains
AARHUS, Denmark — Martin Professional
reported revenue for the
first quarter of 2008 at $55.7 million,
up from $54.9 million in Q1 2007.
Profit before tax was $4.6 million
in Q1 2008 compared with $1.8 million
in Q1 2007. Those results follow much
stronger increases in 2007 earnings.
Revenue in 2007 grew by 14.1 percent
to a record level of $234.5 million from
$205.5 million in 2006. Profit before
tax increased to $16.2 million in 2007
from $3.8 million in 2006.
Despite those 2007 gains, Martin
has only moderately increased its
profit forecast for 2008, citing concerns
with the DKK/USD exchange
rate and competitive pricing pressures.
The company expects to generate
revenue of approximately $250
million in 2008 with a profit before tax
of just over $16 million.
32
42
57
New Life for
Classic Play
Tennessee William’s Cat on
a Hot Tin Roof is proving to have
more than nine lives, and the
challenge for set designers like
Ray Klausen is to keep the latest
Broadway incarnation fresh and
interesting.
The basic story is as timeless as
the Biblical story of Cain and Abel,
and the all-star African American
cast, with James Earl Jones as the
dying Big Daddy, is just the first of
a long list of novel touches.
By deliberately demolishing
expectations for the movie version
of Brick, Maggie and the Big
Brass Bed, Klausen’s meticulously
thought-out designs relieve the
audience of the burden of their
preconceptions and let the play’s
timeless insights emerge anew.
For the full story, turn to page 20.
Road Test
Barco takes aim at the lighting
market with its DML-1200.
PLSN Interview
LD Diana Kesselschmidt lights
the stage with a sharp sense of
irony.
Feeding the Machines
Multi-part fixtures need a new
control paradigm.
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Frank Pinto
Joan Marcus

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www.plsn.com December
JUNE 2008
WHAT’S HOT
WHAT’S HOT HOT
PROJECTION, LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
Production Profile
Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z shared the stage for their Heart of the City
tour, and Justin Collie led a team effort at Artfag LLC to give each
artist’s songs a distinctive look
Wide Angle
Chad Peters and Leif Dixon had to abandon the live goat idea, but still
served up some tasty visual specials for the joint tour for Paramore and
Jimmy Eat World.
22
18
18 38
CONTENTS
Features
20 Inside Theatre
The Broadway revival for Tennessee
Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is
invigorated with a powerful cast and
the well-thought-out look of Ray
Klausen’s set design.
24 Installations
Brawner & Associates brought a
Florida church into the future with
LEDs, video projection and broadcast
capabilities.
26 Foxy and Fabulous
LD Martin Thomas created an
atmosphere of classic elegance for
Jill Scott’s Live Soul tour stop at the
Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis.
28 A <strong>Mass</strong>ive <strong>Mass</strong>
An all-star team of set and lighting
designers made Pope Benedict XVI’s
visit to Yankee Stadium a day to
remember.
32 Road Test
We check out Barco’s double-duty
DML-1200.
33 Buyers Guide
The media server category is
changing each year as manufacturers
roll out new features and add-ons.
36 Company 411
All Access is bringing TV set design
for American Gladiators and other TV
shows to a new level.
40 PLSN Interview
Diana Kesselschmidt’s lighting
designs match her sharp wit and
edgy irony.
50 Road Test
We test-drive the Showpix from High
End Systems and take its built-in
media server for a spin.
Columns
6 Editor’s Note
The time and energy invested in
rumors can always be better spent.
48 Video World
Digital technology requires the
re-use of recording media for video
footage, and a new workflow to keep
it safe.
52 Technopolis
Slow and stealthy programming
can amplify the benefits of quieter
moving lights.
54 The Biz
Prognostications about the future of
LED and projection technology.
56 Focus on Fundamentals
Toward a GFCI standard — and a
safer future.
57 Feeding the Machines
How to help lighting consoles keep
up with the complexity of new
lighting gear.
60 LD-at-Large
A look at the many uses — and
abuses — of BS.
Departments
7 News
9 Calendar
10 Letters to the Editor
12 International News
14 On the Move
16 New Products
18 Showtime
43 Projection Connection
44 Projection Connection News
47 Projection Connection New
Products
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TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION
EDITOR’S NOTE
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
By RichardCadena
Long, long ago, I used to work for
High End Systems. We had to deal
with a constant stream of wild rumors
about the company. One day I took
a call at my desk and the caller got right
to the point. “I heard that Ushio bought
out High End Systems.” I had to chuckle.
The Buzz Back Then…
EN
Ushio was the exclusive distributor for
High End in Japan and they were one of the
biggest distributors at the time. If anyone
had the cash to buy the company, it was
probably them. But this was about the tenth
rumor to the same effect that I’d heard that
month. Fill in blank…
was
buying High End Systems.
At the time of the call, High End had
just begun shipping the Cyberlight. (I
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Who’s Zoomin’ Who?
was only 11 years old then. ) The
warehouse used to be at the back of
the same building where sales resided.
I had just made a circle through the
warehouse to survey the inventory and
I noticed that we were very low in Cyberlights.
The Japanese, I was told, were
just sent a large shipment, very nearly
cleaning out the warehouse.
So I told the caller that he was right…
Ushio had just bought out the entire inventory
of High End Systems. It wasn’t far
from the truth.
…Persists Today
EN
The more things change…Last March
during the first day of USITT in Houston
there was a rampant rumor on the floor
of the exhibition that Martin bought High
All the rumor mongering and speculation in the
world hasn’t produced a single widget, filled the
belly of a single hungry child, put a roof over one
homeless family or delivered an ounce of goodwill.
The think man turned
to the laugh man
and said, “Why not
start a rumor?”
End. The phone calls were fast and furious.
I was convinced that the rumors
were started by ex-employees of a competing
company just to see how far it
would go. It was a homerun. It could
have cleared the fence at Minute Maid
Park five blocks over. If it was a moonshot
it would have had plenty to spare.
It might have even spread beyond our
own solar system.
Last week the rumor was that Barco
bought High End. Next week, who
knows who it will be? The real question
is, who’s zoomin’ who? Is the subject of
the rumor or the recipient of a false rumor
the one who has more to lose?
Laughable Thoughts
EN
Somewhere in the world sits a man
whose job it is to make the world laugh.
Next to him is another man whose job
it is to make the world think. One day
the laugh man said to the think man,
“I’ve run out of ways to make the world
laugh.” The think man turned to the
laugh man and said, “Why not start a
rumor?” The laugh man said, “How will
that make the world laugh?” The think
man said, “I don’t know, but I just made
you think, didn’t I?”
Rumors are not funny, but they do
make you think. And here’s what I think
about all the rumors about High End
Systems and every other company who
has been in the crosshairs: Someone has
too much time on their hands.
Your Time is Precious…
EN
All the rumor mongering and speculation
in the world hasn’t produced a
single widget, filled the belly of a sin-
gle hungry child, put a roof over one
homeless family or delivered an ounce
of goodwill. With very few exceptions,
most of the people starting the rumors
and keeping them alive have nothing to
gain and nothing to lose by the truth,
or lack thereof, of the rumors. The time
and energy invested in rumors can al-
ways be better spent by reading a book
or a magazine, or maybe even by watching
television (How It’s Made, Biography
on A&E, or even Gene Simmons Family
Jewels).
…And So is Mine.
EN
So call me to talk, call to discuss the
latest technology, the industry, your
family, but please don’t call me with
the latest rumors. When and if (fill in
the blank) is bought by (fill in another
blank), they will send me a press release
and we’ll immediately post it on our
Web site, e-mail the news in our weekly
newsletter, and print it in these pages.
Until then, I’m going to go read a book.
This just in:
w a s
bought by
. To be
continued…
The Publication of Record for the Lighting,
Staging and Projection Industries
Publisher
Terry Lowe
tlowe@plsn.com
Editor
Richard Cadena
rcadena@plsn.com
Managing Editor
Frank Hammel
fhammel@plsn.com
Associate Editor
Breanne George
bg@plsn.com
Contributing Writers
Vickie Claiborne, Phil Gilbert, Rob Ludwig,
Kevin M. Mitchell, Bryan Reesman, Brad
Schiller, Nook Schoenfeld, Paul J. Duryee
Photographer
Steve Jennings
Art Director
Garret Petrov
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Graphic Designers
David Alan
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Crystal Franklin
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Web Master
Josh Harris
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National
Advertising Director
Gregory Gallardo
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Account Manager
James Leasing
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Leslie Rohrscheib
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Linda Evans
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General Manager
William Hamilton Vanyo
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Projection, Lights & Staging News (ISSN:
1537-0046) Volume 9, Number 5 Published
monthly by Timeless Communications
Corp. 6000 South Eastern Ave.,
Suite 14J, Las Vegas, NV 89119. It is
distributed free to qualified individuals in the
lighting and staging industries in the United
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Postmaster please send address changes to:
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Duplication, transmission by any method of
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permission of Projection, Lights & Staging News.
ESTA
ENTERTAINMENT SERVICES &

Alice Cooper to
Host the
Parnelli Awards
continued from cover
present two Innovator awards,
the traditional Audio Innovator
Award and now a second Innovator
award, designed to honor those in
our industry who have pushed the
boundaries of spectacle in performance
in the lighting, staging, scenic
or video fields.
“As someone who has always
valued spectacle in a show,” deadpans
Cooper, “I am glad the Parnelli
Board has chosen to honor those
designers, technicians and engineers
who make the shows look
amazing.”
The Parnelli Awards banquet
and award show will be on Oct. 24.
Cooper was attracted to participating
because of the emphasis
the Parnellis place on education
through its Parnelli Scholarship for
the Entertainment Engineering and
Design department at UNLV. With
Cooper’s involvement the Parnellis
are giving more money to education
this year thanks to the Parnelli
Celebrity Classic charity golf tournament.
Proceeds from the tournament
will benefit Cooper’s Solid Rock
Foundation, a non-profit organization
dedicating to reaching at-risk
teens.
“The Parnellis are about honoring
the legends of the live event
industry, and helping educate the
next generation of leaders in the
field,” adds Lowe. “We couldn’t be
more pleased having Alice Cooper
on board for such an important
mission.”
The PLSN/FOH Parnelli Celebrity
Classic will take place on Thursday,
Oct. 23, at the Siena Golf Club in
Las Vegas, Nev., with the Parnelli
Awards Banquet taking place the
next evening, Friday, Oct. 24, in Las
Vegas.
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
LAS VEGAS — Riggers and electricians
in supervisory positions are encouraged
to obtain ETCP Certification
this October in Las Vegas, Nev. The entertainment
electrician exam is scheduled
for Friday, Oct. 24.
NEWS
Three Injured at Royal Shakespeare Theatre
STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, U.K. — The
stage supervisor at the Royal Shakespeare
Theatre was airlifted to a hospital after
a large piece of acrylic plastic scenery
fell during a set change. Two other crew
members were less-seriously injured in the
mishap.
News reports said that while Roger
Haymes, the stage supervisor, had been
hospitalized with a gash to the head and
with a possible fractured skull, he was
expected to make a full recovery, and that
the two other injured stage hands had minor
injuries.
The arena rigging exam is to be
given the morning of Saturday, Oct. 25.
The theatre rigging exam is scheduled
for that afternoon. Candidates who
wish to take multiple exams will receive
a discount for the second exam.
The theatre’s production of
Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice proceeded
without interruption. The crew
had just changed the set from a previous
production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer
Night’s Dream on the day the accident
occurred.
Paper and Pencil ETCP Exams Set for October 2008
All candidates must submit their
application, along with supporting
materials and fee, to the ETCP office
no later than Sept. 25, 2008. The testing
is scheduled to coincide with LDI
2008.
IATSE
Organizes
WMU Crew
KALAMAZOO, MI — Employees of Miller
Auditorium on the campus of Western
Michigan University have voted in favor
of representation by Grand Rapids-based
IATSE Local 26. The vote affects 60 to 80
full-time and part-time stagehands, wardrobe,
hair and makeup, and film and video
workers.
Stasia Savage, business agent for Local
26, said contract negotiations will be announced
shortly, with a goal of having a
ratified agreement by August for the start
of the 2008-2009 season at Miller Auditorium,
which runs from October through May.
The venue presents Broadway road shows,
concerts, dance, opera, seminars, university
programs and Kalamazoo Symphony
performances.
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NEWS
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
Dragon Flames Keep Detroit Hockey Fans Stoked
DETROIT — The number 8, a vertical symbol
of infinity, is also an emblem of good luck in
sports, from Beijing to Detroit. Hence the 08/08/08
start date for the Summer Games, and the tradition
among Detroit Red Wings fans for heaving
an octopus out onto the ice. (That tradition is so
strong that fish mongers in Pittsburgh refused to
sell octopi to anyone wearing a Red Wings logo
before the Stanley Cup finals began at the Penguins’
home arena on May 24.)
The NHL, which also frowns on the tradition of
flinging the oversized mollusks into the rink, has
threatened the Red Wings’ Zamboni driver with a
fine if he persists in swinging octopi over his head
when he’s out on the ice. That crackdown, as unpopular
in Detroit as former Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s
ban on fireworks for Chinese New Year was in New
York, is now being observed, but with a workaround
solution that helps keep fans stoked.
Motor City’s preoccupation with octopi began
in Detroit’s run to the Cup in 1952, when a fish
merchant created a sensation with the first hurled
octopus, signifying the need to win eight more
games. Fans are still throwing octopi, and Red
Wings crew members scoop them up and bring
them back to the Zamboni room. The driver still
swings them over his head, but off the rink, and
video footage is fed to the score clock.
You would expect the off-ice antics to hold
only a dim hope of rousing the home crowds. But
the Joe Louis Arena doesn’t just have a ho-hum
score clock. Sheldon Nueman, the Red Wings’
director of broadcasting, who is with Olympia
Entertainment, worked with Lorenzo Cornacchia,
vice president of Pyrotek Special Effects, to install
Dragon flame units into the score clock.
The pyro team, led by Renato Sulmona and
including Garry Bishop and Joe Lucier, conducted
thorough safety checks. But you’d never know it. “It
looks like we are burning up the entire PA system
and everything else nearby,” Lucier said. Combined
with the visuals of the octopus-swinging Zamboni
driver, the effect ignites the crowd — but only in
the metaphorical sense.
Maybe the good fortune of the installation
has something to do with the fact that each of the
four installed Dragon units have a double head,
creating eight separate flares.
The scoreboard shoots fire like an eight-headed Dragon.
Dave Reginek DRW/nHLi via getty images
“Made in New York”
Scholarship Fund Established
(From left) Russell K. Hotzler, City Tech president, Katherine Oliver,
NYC Commissioner of Film, Theater and Broadcasting and David
Smith, City Tech entertainment technology department chair.
NEW YORK — The “Made in New York”
scholarship fund, jointly sponsored by New
York City College of Technology/CUNY (City
Tech), Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office and
Local 817 of the Teamsters Union, has been
established by a $500,000 contribution from
Local 817 to the Mayor’s Fund to Advance
New York. The endowment will provide five
students a year with $5,000 grants.
The fund aims to support the growth
of New York’s diverse entertainment industries,
which together inject an estimated
$5 billion annually into the city’s economy.
City Tech’s programs give qualified students
the skills to master technologies needed for
the film, television, music and live entertainment
industries.
“The scholarship program fits perfectly
with the mission of this college. We prepare
technologically proficient graduates to
strengthen our city, our state and our world,”
said Dr. Russell K. Hotzler, City Tech president.
“This gift will allow us to better serve
the large and growing entertainment sector
in New York.”
The “Made in New York” initiative, spearheaded
by the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater
and Broadcasting, has included tax
credits and other financial incentives to
support New York as a base of creative filmmaking
and the arts, avoiding, among other
things, scenarios where movies about New
York are filmed in lower-priced locales.
Xtreme Structures Doubles Manufacturing Capacity
By Frank Hammel
SULPHUR SPRINGS, TX — Before relocating
to its new facility here in March, Xtreme
Structures & Fabrications (XSF) was bumping
its head and bursting at the seams at its
old facility in Emory, Tex. With 40,000 square
feet, the new factory has four times the floor
space and twice the manufacturing capacity
of the previous facility, according to Tim
Kruse, XSF vice president of sales. There’s
also enough headroom to fully assemble
any of the custom structures XSF makes.
That can prove to be a real plus, given
Texas’ erratic weather. Before, if XSF was testing
a structure outside and an afternoon
thunderstorm rolled in, “we’d have to take
everything down and lock it down” until the
storm passed, Kruse said. XSF’s ability to fully assemble
every custom structure it builds inside
helps the company test-fit all the parts before
any of its structures go out the door.
A key benefit related to XSF’s newly expanded
productive capacity, Kruse added, is the ability
to quickly respond to client requests for different
products. “Ideally, we like to be able to say
we have it in stock,” Kruse said. The new factory’s
multiple loading docks, he added, are another
important way XSF’s new facility helps the company
quickly respond to customer requests.
XSF’s new facility has enough headroom to assemble each of its biggest
custom structures inside.
XSF custom-makes aluminum, stainless and
carbon steel structures for use in the entertainment,
worship, theatrical, manufacturing and
trade show industries. Its products include standard
trussing, circular trusses, pre-rigged truss,
ground supports, truss hinges, corner blocks,
roof systems, rigging accessories and specialty
items.
XSF’s custom installations range from smallscale
projects to one of the most massive assemblies
of aluminum truss in the world — the
400-foot-by-160-foot overhead truss system
installed within the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma,
Wash.
Recovery Fund Established
for Bukovinsky
NORTH CREEK, NY — Stephen Studnicky,
industrial sales manager at Creative Stage Lighting,
has established a recovery fund for Wayne
“Wayno” Bukovinsky, who was critically injured
in a motorcycle accident on April 19 and is now
at Albany Medical Center in Albany, N.Y.
Bukovinsky has worked with Creative Stage
Lighting for over 15 years. He recently was lighting
crew chief on Jill Scott’s The Real Thing tour
and Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell III tour. Bukovinsky
also served as a lighting technician with
Maroon 5. He has also served as a volunteer
fireman in North River, N.Y.
Contributions can be made to: Wayne M.
Bukovinsky Benefit Fund c/o Steve Studnicky
287 Bird Pond Rd., North Creek, NY 12853.
Checks should be made payable to “Wayne M.
Bukovinsky Benefit Fund.
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OOPS!
A news item on Richard Wolpert’s
754-mile bicycle ride in support of ESTA
Foundation’s “Behind the Scenes” charity
should have stated that Rob Schraft joined
Wolpert for the first 72 miles and Jeni Lyn Anderson
joined him for the last 274 miles, not
the other way around.
8
PLSN JUNE 2008

PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
New Cognac Bottle Debuts with Splash of Color
WEST HOLLYWOOD —
Remy Martin wasn’t about to
roll out its newest version of
V.S.O.P. cognac in boring packaging.
And the brightly-colored
bottle, with graphics by photographer
David LaChapelle,
got an equally colorful launch
at Smashbox Studios.
Leslie Short from K.I.M.
Media in New York was the
producer, ShoPro supplied
the lighting, audio, video and
scenic projection services and
Matt Levesque of firstcircle was
the LD for the event, which
changed the stark white sound
stage’s mood from cool to hot to frenzied after
the new bottle was unveiled.
The event started out with a green palette
to complement the canopy of palm trees
at the jungle-themed entranceway. Then, every
hour, the colors changed, shifting to blue,
then to red as a model who resembled the
woman on the bottle appeared for the new
packaging reveal. After that, the sound stage
burst into multicolor jewel tones for an afterparty.
The translucent bar counters changed colors
as well, lit from beneath with 12 of Elation
Professional’s new Event Panels. Each Event
office reported that Houston was not wearing a
safety harness and there was no safety net, Cole
reportedly said that Houston was “very experienced,”
and that he had a safety harness, “but it
was not hooked up at the time.”
Houston, according to Cole, may have temporarily
unhooked the harness to move to a different
point above the stage, or may have been
on a beam where neither safety line nor safety
net was available.
The stark white walls of the sound stage were washed in a colorful countdown to the
new packaging reveal.
Panel is a color-mixing LED panel that can run
remotely via its own rechargeable battery pack.
With 288 10mm red, green and blue LEDs, they
can produce an unlimited array of colors.
Featuring a 40° beam angle, the Event
Panel has an output distance of 65 to 85
feet. It can run for 10 hours without being
connected to a power source. The panel sits
on top of a battery-pack base and comes
with a 12V power supply for recharging. The
panel itself measures just 16.7-by-10.3-by-3.2
inches and weighs in at 7.7 pounds. The battery
pack base measures 11.7-by-11.6-by-4.6
inches and weighs 19.5 pounds.
Rigger Dies in Mississippi Amphitheatre Fall
continued from cover
Houston was working alone and no one saw
him lose his balance, but Cole said he saw him as
he fell, and administered CPR in an attempt to revive
him. “He was a close friend,” Cole said.
Police officials in Southaven have classified
the death as accidental. The Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA) is conducting
its own investigation into the circumstances surrounding
the incident.
NEWS
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IN BRIEF
Jeff Ravitz’s lighting design for the Salute
to Teachers Awards 2007 program, which aired
on NBC Channel 4 San Diego, has been nominated
for an Emmy award…AV Concepts has
been named A/V Partner by the San Diego
Convention Center…The ESTA Foundation is
raising funds for its “Behind the Scenes” charity
with a new collection of holiday cards designed
by lighting designers Bob Bonniol, Scott Pask,
David Rockwell, Bruce Rodgers and photographer
Andrew Hefter… eventEQ said it has the
Washington, D.C. area’s first and largest inventory
of High End Systems’ DL.3 digital fixtures
along with DTek mixing systems…High End
Systems has also launched a new on-line
training center on its Web site, www.highend.
com…Bluefin Events’ new name is Bluefin Productions
and its new Web site is www.bluefinproductions.com.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Guangzhou International Lighting
Exhibition
June 8-11
Guangzhou International Convention &
Exhibition Centre
Guangzhou, China
www.light-building.messefrankfurt.com
Behind the Scenes Tony Awards Party
June 15
Cibo Restaurant
New York, NY
info@estafoundation.org
InfoComm ‘08
June 18-20
Las Vegas, NV
www.infocomm.org
Cine Gear Expo
June 20-21
Universal Studios Backlot
Universal City, CA
www.cinegearexpo.com
PLSN University Seminar in the City
July 15-17
New York, NY
www.plsn.com/university
NATEAC
Pre-Conference Cruise
July 19
Conference
July 20-21
New York, NY
www.nateac.org
Ad info:http:// www.plsn.com/instant-info
2008 JUNE PLSN
9

NEWS
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
A Multi-Brand Studio for Lighting and Video Designers
WOOD DALE, IL — Lighting and video designers
don’t get a lot of opportunities to play
around with and compare gear from different
manufacturers and distributors, all in one spot.
But Digital Stage Chicago is working to change
that with a commitment to gear that is brandnew
without also being brand-specific.
The studio owns, operates and trains
on AutoCAD, VectorWorks, ESP Vision, Wysiwyg
and DL.2/DL.3 fixtures, along with media
servers including Axon, Green Hippo
and Mbox. These devices are manipulated
via grandMA, Hog III and Virtuoso consoles.
The studio has no exclusivity agreements
with lighting or video vendors and welcomes
all suppliers into its studio — which
also happens to be open 24/7.
Joe West, a designer
himself, founded the studio.
The basic idea was to
provide designers with
easy access to different
tools. Along with the opportunity
to apply a variety
of equipment and
software to specific design
challenges, the studio
gives visiting designers
a way to push their
ability and knowledge
further than they’d be
able to in a studio with a
more narrow range of
branded equipment.
Digital Stage Chicago provides a variety of tools for designers to play with, 24/7.
LETTERS
TO THE
EDITOR
New Old Stuff
I just finished reading
your piece in the
May, 2008 PLSN, “Looking
for Some New
Old Stuff.” I probably
enjoyed it more than
others because it hit home with me. I did not
develop a new idea; all I did was take a piece of
gear that needed refining and polished it. Ever
hear of a reliable kabuki system, one that does
the job every single time? Well, I hadn’t, either.
So I hunkered down to design and build one
that was. I named the product “Chabuki,” a spin
on my name “Chuy” and “kabuki.”
— Jesus Chuy Fragoso, Fragoso Inc.
LED Alternatives
Having worked with many historic and religious
groups on lighting, I know how difficult
it is for them find the money even for essential
services. As wonderful as LEDs are (Video Digerati,
PLSN, May 2008) clients should be told that
after the end of their life (possibly 10 years), the
entire lighting system has to be renewed, and
there may not be funds again. The structures
will then be left in the dark. An even more energy-efficient
source/system is glass fibre optics
functional architectural lighting, used abroad
for decades, but strangely ignored in this country.
This completely different source/system is
well developed and dependable. Unlike LEDs,
these systems last as long as needed, with only
a few lamp replacements necessary.
— Gersil Kay
Stuck at Green?
“Getting to Green” (Focus on Fundamentals,
PLSN, May 2008) was very interesting. Something
you don’t talk about is the maximum lumens per
watt possible. It’s not an easy question to answer
as you have to integrate under the photopic
curve but, very roughly, it’s about 260 lumens
per watt for 3200K black-body white light. So the
29.2 lumens per watt of the HPL 750/115 is actually
about 11 percent of the theoretical maximum.
(Luminous efficiency is usually expressed
as a percentage of the theoretical maximum, so
for our HPL and white light that is 29.2 / 260 = 11
percent). The absolute best lumens per watt you
can have is for monochromatic green light right
at the peak of the photopic curve — 555nm,
and that has the familiar value of 683 lumens per
watt but with that same zero CRI as the low pressure
sodium you mention. This all means that the
green LED efficacy figure you quote of 58 to 79
lumens per watt is between 8.5 percent and 11
percent of its theoretical maximum — or exactly
the same as the incandescent. (I’m ignoring the
total lamp efficiency, which takes into effect other
losses for the sake of prejudice and emphasis.)
— Mike Wood
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Flicking the Switch
I enjoyed your article in PLSN on “Getting
to Green.” I have for years been following my
wife around the house turning off the lights…
As technical director for Jones Hall in Houston,
I follow the housekeeping staff around turning
off the lights they have just turned on. Nobody
knows it, but years ago while programming the
house lights, I also registered all the dimmers at
95 percent. My eye cannot tell the difference. My
second whine has to do with how to measure
light. In the old days we used to automatically
know that a 1000 watt fixture was brighter than a
500 watt fixture. Now what do we do? I thought
for a minute while reading your article that efficacy
would work, but no luck. Lumens are good,
but how and where and with what meter?
— Chip Purchase, Jones Hall,
Houston
10
PLSN JUNE 2008

Ad info:http:// www.plsn.com/instant-info

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
LEDs Add Light to Flaming Water Feature
The flaming water feature at Star City Casino has three concentric circles of Anolis LEDs,
controlled via an E:cue controller.
AMSTERDAM — For
two thirds of Mark Knopfler’s
touring show, designed
by Simon Tutchener,
a key visual element
remains hidden from
view. But halfway through
Knopfler’s “Speedway at
Nazareth,” a giant close-up
of a vintage steel guitar,
suspended on circular
truss, tips vertically, creating
a new look for the end
of the set and the encore.
Drapes specialist
company Blackout uses a
high-resolution photo of
the center of the vintage
National Style 0 Resonator
guitar that Knopfler plays
when he starts the song, “Romeo and Juliet.”
It’s a steel-body guitar with a very distinctive
sound and appearance, featuring a circular
sounding board and a resonator on the front.
Bandit Lites is supplying lighting equipment
and crew for the U.K., European and
U.S. legs of Knopfler’s 2008 world tour, which
kicked off in Amsterdam at the end of March.
This is the third time Bandit has worked with
the Knopfler team. The Bandit crew also
worked with Knopfler on his 2005 world tour
and his 2006 shows with Emmylou Harris.
As before, Tutchener’s lighting design emphasizes
simplicity in its look, with the eightmeter
A-type circular truss as the main focal
point over the center of the stage, flanked by a
24-foot and 16-foot A-type truss on each side.
There’s also a 56-foot A-type rear truss.
There are 12 Vari*Lite VL3000s hung off
the underside of the circle and eight Martin
Professional MAC 2000 washes rigged on top.
They come into play when the guitar close-up
comes into view. As tour
rigger Johnny “Hotpants”
Ashton controls the circle’s
movement using one of
Bandit’s customized motor
controllers, Tutchener
beams the moving lights
onto the screen.
Another 16 Vari*Lite
VL3000 Spots on the rig
are loaded with custom
gobos, six on the floor
and the 10 others on the
trusses. In addition, 20
MAC 2000 Washes are
on the trusses, which are
toned by 24 LED PAR 64s.
Bandit is also supplying
an 18 way motor control
system, an 18 meter by 10
meter LED Starcloth, four Lycian 2K Xenon
FOH followspots, a 10-way intercom system
and two DF50s with fans.
Tutchener chose a fully moving light rig
for two reasons. First, the trussing configuration
would have made it difficult to climb
and focus conventionals. Second, there was
a need to guard against dimmer buzz picked
up by the ultra-sensitive steel guitars.
With a total of 56 moving lights on
the rig, each one has several precise functions
and tasks. The show was initially programmed
over the course of two nights at
Bray Studios before the first show opened
in Amsterdam. Tutchener runs the show
from his own grandMA console with an MA
Lite supplied by Bandit as backup.
Bandit’s crew includes crew chief Mike
Humeniuk, dimmer technician Ewan Cameron
and lighting technician Tom Crosbie.
The tour’s production manager is Pete Hillier
and the tour manager is Tim Hook.
SYDNEY — Anolis LED
fixtures are illuminating a
flaming water feature at
the entrance to Sydney’s
Star City Casino. The installation
is the first of its
kind, and the light show is
designed to make people
stop and look before being
enticed up the steps and
through the portals onto
the gambling floor.
The brand’s Australian
distributor, ULA, supplied
the Anolis products. Con
Nomikos oversaw the project,
the first of a series of water features in and
around the Star City complex that will be lit or
re-lit with Anolis.
The circular shaped fountain encompasses
three concentric circles of Anolis LEDs. There is
a sphere of 20 cold white ArcSource 3s on the
outside and two tiers of ArcSource 12 RGBs in
the center, for a total of 12 fixtures. The lights
are run via an E:cue controller, triggered, along
with flame effects and the fountain jets, via a
ShowMagic show control system.
“This is our first LED lit work, although we
have been considering using the technology
for some time, for all the obvious practical reasons
— power and energy saving, low maintenance
and cost-effectivity,” said the fountain’s
Steel Guitar Steals
Mark Knopfler Show HANOVER, Germany —
The close-up of a vintage steel guitar, suspended
on circular truss, tips vertically, creating a new
look for the set.
GUANGZHOU, China — The Spring Lantern
Festival, held 15 days after the Chinese
New Year, has been celebrated in alternate
forms long before it was formalized by the
Han dynasty sometime in the two centuries
before and after the time of Christ. If the festival
itself hasn’t changed a whole lot over
more than 2000 years, the way it gets shared
with others in China has, with TV cameras
broadcasting images enhanced by digital
moving lights.
The Hunan Provincial TV station sponsored
this year’s Here Comes the Spring festival,
using two W-DMX transmitters and three
receivers to control four DL.2 digital moving
lights from High End Systems. Zhou Xiaolin
was the lighting designer at the event, and
the W-DMX products were supplied by Leifull
Enterprise, which also supported the
lighting design.
“What’s amazing is that we can achieve
an enormous span of control with just a few
W-DMX transmitters and receivers,” said Eric
Lee, sales manager for Leifull.
Who could have predicted,
back in 1989, that the fall of the
Berlin Wall would give rise to a
new one, nearly four times as
high? Only this wall, measuring
29 meters across and 14
meters high, is an LED wall that
celebrates the reunification of
Germany.
It was installed by Procon
Event Engineering, and it animates
performers from each of
Germany’s 16 federal states as
they vie for bragging rights in
Bundesvision Song Contest, an
annual music competition.
Created by German TV
entertainer Stefan Raab, the
event took place at the TUI
Arena in Hanover, and it was
aired on the ProSieben network
in Germany earlier this year. The backdrop
for the 16 finalists added up to 406 square meters
of Martin’s LC Series panels, the largest LED
wall installation for Martin’s LC Series line.
The uber-wall, built from more than 200
semi-transparent LC 2140 panels, dominated the
set for this year’s show. It had a physical resolution
of 725 x 350 pixels and was joined by another
32 square meters of LC panels used on a moving
catwalk that was seven meters high. That made
for a total of 438 square meters of LED panels.
The set also featured an LC panel ‘door’ that
opened up to provide contest presenters with
a unique way to enter the catwalk and set —
through the LED wall.
Set and video designer Florian Wieder created
visual content for the LED walls and projections
in full HD. The images were fed from FOH
via five Catalyst media servers. In addition to
stock media server content, live pictures were
presented on the LED wall with a switch over of
the image source occurring via media control
designer, Robert Portocarrero. “Additionally,
the Anolis colors and the quality of the light
are really excellent, so there’s plenty of imaginative
scope, and the product is robust and
very well made.”
The water feature cycles through a sevenminute
show accompanied by flames and an
audio track. During the show, the jets produce
different water shapes and formations, and
they shimmer, sparkle and refract the light,
creating visual interest with color mixes and
surprises.
The casino was impressed enough with
the fountain lighting to request that Anolis be
used to replace the current lighting in all 14 of
the complex’s other water features.
Uber-Wall Animates German
Singing Competition
The backdrop for the Bundesvision Song Contest is an LED wall made from a total 438
square meters of LED panels.
out of the OB van.
Production company voss | mediaDesign
GmbH was responsible for the lighting design
and playback of the video content. Manfred Voss
of voss | mediaDesign worked closely with Florian
Wieder, who specified the Martin LC Series
for the show.
Martin’s LC Series is a semi-transparent,
modular system of lightweight LED panels with
40 mm pixel pitch. The panels are usually bright
enough to be operated at a fraction of full intensity,
and they incorporate Genlock, which minimizes
the light-flicker often detected by television
cameras.
The lighting rig on the show consisted of
over 350 moving lights including 132 MAC 2000
Washes, 68 MAC 2000 Profiles and 28 MAC 700
Profiles, along with other automateds, conventionals
and PixelRange PixelLine LED Striplights.
The gear was supplied by Procon, and Martin
provided on site technical support headed by
Claus Jensen, product and application specialist.
DMX, Digital Lighting Update Ancient Festival
TV cameras and moving lights update the look for a spring festival that dates back to ancient times.
12
PLSN JUNE 2008

PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
LED Panels Brighten Theatre Within the Kremlin
MOSCOW — The State Kremlin Palace,
a theatre built in 1961, may have pre-dated
most of the casinos lining the Las Vegas Strip,
but it’s a youngster by Moscow standards. It’s
the only part of the vast Kremlin complex to
have been built during the 20th Century. The
fortified Kremlin complex itself has been occupied
continuously for some 4,000 years.
Now a venue for music and dance, the
6,000-seat auditorium ranks as the largest
concert hall in Russia, and also the temporary
home for the Bolshoi Ballet while the Bolshoi
Theatre undergoes renovation. For a special
event marking 75 years of Russian aviation
history, including the Sputnik rockets and
MiG planes, it also showed off its new Main
Light Soft-LED panels for the first time.
Jakob Sagiv, of Silk, the Main Light Industries,
Inc. distributor based in Utrecht, Netherlands,
handled the sale and installation of
14 Main Light Soft-LED Medium Resolution
panels. Each of the panels measures 16 feet, 1
inch by 33 feet, five inches wide, and weighs
only .21 lbs per square foot.
Lighting the
World’s Tallest
Theatre
BANGKOK — The stage for the
2,000-seat Ratchada Grand Theatre, at
50 meters by 80 meters, provides elbow
room (and martial-arts kicking room) for
spectacles such as Siam Niramit, with 150
actors, 500 costumes and 100 set pieces.
And at just under 12 meters in height,
the Ratchada Grand Theatre was recently
listed in the Guinness Book of Records as
having the tallest proscenium arch in the
world.
The dimensions of the performance
space, however, posed a challenge for
project lighting designer Poon Limpapun.
To meet the needs of the mammoth
space, he turned to Robert Juliat. “With
throwing distances from our front electrics
bars of over 30 meters, the 2000W
Profiles do their job very well. “
The rig includes more than 100 Robert
Juliat 700SX 2kW and Robert Juliat 600SX
1kW profiles with full accessories, along
a matching number of Robert Juliat 1kW
High Performance (200mm lens) 310HPC
fixtures. Together, they provide both
general and specific illumination from
on-stage and front of house positions.
There are also a pair of DMX controlled
Robert Juliat Aramis 2500W followspots
used as long-throw front of house spots
and another pair of Robert Juliat Korrigan
1200W DMX follow spots for side spots.
“The Kremlin Palace was used as the main
stage for the Communist conferences during
the Soviet times and is still used for all the
indoor concerts of major artists,” Sagiv said.
“The stage is vast and the sightlines are very
good so it is suitable for music and ballet.”
Giovanni Ciranni, Soft-LED Manager with
Main Light Industries, traveled to Moscow to
aid in the installation and to provide training
on the use of the Soft-LED panels. “Moscow
was a great place to visit and everyone at the
State Palace was very eager to add the panels
to their inventory,” Ciranni said.
Installation was not difficult, but Ciranni,
Sagiv and the crew from Silk faced a challenge
getting the panels into the theatre due to tight
security. “We had to wait nearly five hours until
the sniffer dog and its handler
arrived to inspect the
delivery before we could
get into the building and
onstage,” Sagiv said.
All the security of the
Kremlin simply reminded
Ciranni of the historic nature
of the venue. “It was
great to get the opportunity
to work in a space that
has seen so much history,
not just the State Palace
but the entire complex. It
is cool to think that Main
Light will now be part of
that going forward.”
The panels were also recently used at the Kremlin for an annual concert attended by Russian
president Vladimir Putin.
A throw distance of over 80 meters helps the Robert Juliat
followspots light the action on the stage.
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2008 JUNE PLSN
13

ON THE MOVE
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
Ad info:http:// www.plsn.com/instant-info
Alliant Event Services, a provider
of audio, visual, lighting and computer
rental and production services,
has named Lynn Anazaldua as account
executive for Phoenix, Dave Kronberg,
PhD., as account executive in Las Vegas
and Chris Bennion as account executive
for Salt Lake City.
Lynn Anazaldua
Arup, a design,
engineering and
business consulting
firm, reported
that director
Neill Woodger has
moved back to the
U.K. from the company’s
New York
office and will be
responsible for
acoustics and integrated
venue
design products
in London, while
Richard Bunn joins
as senior consultant
in Arup’s Winchester
office.
Dave Kronberg
Neill Woodger
Richard Bunn
Blue Planet Lighting, Inc. is the new
name for Koster Design LLC. Kelly Koster,
owner, said the name change reflects the
company’s expansion, referring to additional
designers and an expanded range of products
and services. The new Web site is www.
blueplanetlighting.com. The company is
also moving to: 115 Industrial Park Dr., Hollister,
MO 65672, Phone 417.332.1313, Fax
417.332.1343.
City Lights
Media Group has
named Lou Festa
the company’s chief
financial officer. He
will oversee the company’s
business and
finance operations
and strategic initiatives
with television
and film projects.
Design Partners Inc. has relocated.
The new address, telephone and fax
numbers are: 2919 W. Burbank Blvd.,
Suite B, Burbank, CA 91505, Phone
818.845.9191, Fax 818.845.9258.
DWR Distribution,
a Johannesburg-based
distributor
of Robe, MA
Lighting, Avolites,
ADB, CM Lodestar,
Strong and ArKaos,
has added Robert
Izzett to its sales
team.
Inner Circle
Distribution
(ICD) has announced
t h a t J a m e y B ro c k
will manage the
company’s Midwest
and Weste
r n territories i n
the U.S.
Lou Festa
Robert Izzett
Jamey Brock
LA ProPoint, which designs,
engineers, fabricates and installs stage
and show systems, has hired Stephen
Rowe as senior engineer. Rowe will
handle design and engineering
duties for theme park, theatre and
museum clients. Rowe’s first project
for LA ProPoint will be the company ’s
Universal Studios commission in
Singapore.
Lightronics has
announced that
Dan Phelps has
joined the company
as its new inside
salesman, responsible
for bringing in
new business and
maintaining current
customer accounts.
Opus Lighting,
Inc. is the name of
a theatrical lighting
start-up company
launched by Brandon
James. The
Web site is www.
opuslightinginc.
com. The address,
telephone and Brandon James
fax numbers are: 3105 N. Cascade Ave.,
#206, Colorado Springs, CO 80907, Phone
719.434.7354, Fax 719.434.7356
Rosco, which makes fog machines,
gobos and other products, has named
Ed Donohue national director of sales.
Donohue was formerly vice president of
sales for Chef’s Planet.
Rose Brand has added Steven Schweitzer
as manager of the company’s West
Coast rental operations. Schweitzer moves
to Rose Brand from Angstrom Lighting,
where he served as managing director.
Zenith Lighting has relocated to larger
facilities. The new address, telephone
and fax numbers are: 6557 Hazeltine National
Drive, Suite 7, Orlando, FL 32822,
Phone 407.855.0088, Fax 407.855.0069
Zenith Lighting’s new home
Dan Phelps
Philips Names Tom Folsom
GM for Strand Lighting
Philips Lighting
Controls, which
manages Vari-Lite,
Lightolier Controls,
Entertainment
Technology
and Strand Lighting,
named Tom
Folsom general
manager of the
Strand Lighting
division, worldwide.
This includes
the Strand Lighting operations in
Tom Folsom
Cypress Calif., London and Hong Kong.
“We have been working quickly
since our acquisition of Strand to create
the right mix of products and services
for the market the past two years,”
said Steve Carson, general manager of
Philips Lighting Controls. “Strand is
now positioned to move and establish
its position as a world leader in lighting
controls.”
“I began my career after graduate
school 30 years ago working for Strand
Century,” Folsom said. “The company
is in great shape and ready to move
forward. I look forward to working
with the staff and our agents all over
the world as we strive to bring Strand
Lighting’s technology and services to
the industry.”
A.C.T Lighting
Announces Staff
Changes
LOS ANGELES — A.C.T Lighting,
an importer and distributor of
lighting products in North America,
has reorganized in response to
growth and the addition of an East
Coast office based in Hackensack,
N.J. last year, according to Bob
Gordon, CEO and president.
“Now that we’re operating
multiple locations with a much
larger staff, we have decided to
reorganize our company hierarchy
to provide us with an active management
layer,” Gordon said. “ This
move is expected to improve communications
within the company
as well as allow us to expedite important
decisions and work more
effectively.”
Gordon and Ben Saltzman, executive
vice president, jointly announced
the promotions: Mario
Collazo was named vice president
of technical services, Brian Dowd
is now vice president of sales and
Joe Cabrera was named director
of software support and development.
“We’re excited about the team
we’ve built and the opportunities
in the marketplace and believe
that our reorganization will
further our goal of delivering the
best in products and services to
our customers,” Gordon said.
14
PLSN JUNE 2008

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NEW PRODUCTS
American DJ Accu Series
Ad info:http:// www.plsn.com/instant-info
American DJ’s Accu Series now has two new LED-powered
moving heads — the Accu Spot 250 Hybrid, shown here on
top, and the Accu LED MH. The Accu Spot 250 Hybrid combines
a 250W discharge lamp with nine 1-watt LEDs (3 red,
3 green, 3 blue). Features include seven replaceable rotating
gobos plus spot (two dichroic glass gobos), nine colors plus
white, sound active mode with built-in programs, RDMX remote
DMX addressing, auto X-Y repositioning, 360° pan/ 265°
tilt and a four-button menu system. It has a beam angle of 15°
with an optional 18° beam angle (sold separately). The MSRP
is $1,399.95. The nine-DMX channel Accu LED MH is a moving
head with 69 red, green and blue LED beams that produce an
output similar to a 250W halogen lamp, while consuming less
power. Its MSRP is $999.95.
American DJ • 800.322.6337 • www.americandj.com
Elation ELED Tri-64B Par Can
Elation’s new ELED Tri-64B PAR Can is a DMXcompatible
tri-color RGB LED color mixing fixture. It
features 18 tri-color LEDs, each with three differentcolored
1-watt LEDs — red, green and blue — which
eliminate multi-color shadows. It draws 70 watts and
the LEDs are rated at 50,000 hours. The fixture provides
flicker-free operation and six built-in programs
plus 35 color macros, which can be run in one of
six DMX modes: 1-channel mode, 2-channel mode,
3-channel mode, 4-channel mode, 6-channel mode
or 7-channel mode. It can also be operated without
a controller in three additional modes: Sound Active
Mode, Macro Mode, or Auto Mode.
Elation Professional • 866.245.6726 • www.elationlighting.com
ETC Congo v5 Software
Ad info:http:// www.plsn.com/instant-info
ETC has released a new software version for their
Congo and Congo jr lighting control consoles: Congo
v5. Version 5.0 introduces a new effects package, new
graphics and handling, better editing tools and more
functions and accessories. New v5 functions create
effects like the new chase effect for intensity effects,
dynamic effect, and content effect for complex effects
using groups, palettes, and presets. The new effects
playbacks handle all of these effects, and the new
version also updates the underlying graphics handling for improved speed in channel layout
views and better display within tables.
ETC • 800.688.4116 • www.etcconnect.com/congov5
Eye Lighting Cera Arc Natural Red Ceramic Metal
Halide Lamp
Eye Lighting’s new Cera Arc Natural
Red ceramic metal halide lamp is a High
Intensity Discharge (HID) lamp with a 92
color rendering index (CRI) and R9 red
rendition value up to 90. It represents the
color red and other hues, such as greens, blues and whites, with greater accuracy. It is available
in tubular, compact 70-watt or 150-watt models, and it provides up to 90 lumens per watt with
light output at the end-of-lamp-life up to 70 percent of initial lumens.
Eye Lighting International of North America, Inc. • 888.665.2677 • www.eyelighting.com
Gerriets “The Wall” Decorative Wall Covering
Ad info:http:// www.plsn.com/instant-info
Gerriets, the theatrical systems and event equipment
specialist, introduces its decorative wall covering, “The
Wall.” The decorative applications are available in Brick
or Rock versions. Brick has a realistic brick wall look, while
Rock imitates a quarry stone wall. The decorative wall
covering is made from Neopor, a lightweight, newly developed
Styrofoam. Customized painting of all panels
is done on site with standard scenic paint. The Wall is
made from flame retardant material (DIN 4102 B1), can
be mounted quickly and easily and can be reused several
times. It has been used for many TV and stage productions.
Gerriets International • 800-369-3695 • www.gi-info.com
16
PLSN JUNE 2008

PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
Light Converse Visualization Software
Light Converse, a real-time, photo-realistic, 3D
visualization software with optional on-board
controller has been updated with a quality rendering
engine with up to a 200 percent performance
boost for light and camera movements, transparent
surfaces lighting, high-resolution Showgun
visualization, 3D visualization of Pangolin Laser’s
Ethernet stream and a speed boost for rendering
large quantities of same-type objects. Further
improvements include a wide screen optimized
GUI with increased 3D window size, the ability to
work in imperial or metric measurements, additional
fixtures, trusses and people for database libraries and ArtNet-II compatibility.
AtFull Lighting • 866.922.9088 • www.atfull.com
LightFactory Version 1.3.2
Dream Solutions is now shipping version 1.3.2 Light-
Factory, a PC-based lighting control system. Enhancements
include full tracking backup function, ability for
one LightFactory system to control others, ability to set
a master fade override for channel groups, magic update
automatic updates of palettes when updating a
cue, property/attribute effects which can now support
out-of-order fixtures, media effects which can now play
more than one audio file at simultaneously, the addition
of generic color palettes, the addition of auto creation
of CYM and Color Wheel chases, enhanced effects
playbacks, a new “copy” button in the channel display, bi-directional communication with Light
Converse visualizer and full capture (CITP) auto focus features.
Stage Research • 650.488.4864 • www.stageresearch.com
Renaissance Lighting Solid-State LED Downlight
Renaissance Lighting’s solid-state LED downlight incorporates
a circular array of LEDs at the perimeter of an integrating
dome inside each fixture. The lights are available in RGB or white
LEDs with a correlated color temperature of 3000K or 4100K. The
optical design combines light uniformly before exiting the luminaire
in glare-free fashion. A light-sensing feedback system
continually monitors and adjusts each luminaire to factory-calibrated
color standards to ensure fixture-to-fixture consistency
and light quality throughout the 50,000- to 70,000-hour life of
the product. The RGB and white LED downlights are available in
4-inch and 6-inch aperture formats.
Renaissance Lighting • 703.707.2407 • www.renaissancelighting.com
Ocean Optics SeaChanger Studio Dichroics
Ocean Optics has added the new Studio Dichroics Series CYMG hexachromic
color changer to their of SeaChanger line. The four-filter CYMG color
engine attaches to the reflector housing of any ETC Source Four Ellipsoidal
and uses dichroic filter technology to create a wide variety of color-stable,
reproducible hues. Color transitions from clear to 100 percent saturation
are possible in less than one second. The SeaChanger Studio puts an
emphasis on deeper blues and truer reds for in-studio and broadcast
applications. The self-contained unit has an internal power
supply and is controlled via 4-channels of DMX or from its threedigit
LCD front panel display.
Ocean Optics • 727.545.0741 • www.SeaChangerOnline.com
Wysiwyg R22
Cast Software’s Wysiwyg version R22, a free
download for WYSIWYG members, features
new 3D beams and other upgrades. Replacing
each part of the live beam simulation over
two releases, R22 also features softer beams,
enhanced flares, color mixing and animated
smoke. Look for the enhanced 3D primitives,
new cones on the draw menu, improvements
to cylinders and spheres and changes to the
user interface. More under-the-hood architectural
upgrades and advancements to the user interface are due later this year.
Cast Software • 877-989-2278 • www.cast-soft.com
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2008 JUNE PLSN
17

SHOWTIME PROJECTION
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
ST
Bon Jovi Lost Highway Tour
Venue:
HP Pavilion, San Jose, Calif.
Crew
Promoter/Producer: AEG Live
Lighting Company: Ed & Ted’s Excellent
Lighting
Production Manager: John “Bugzee”
Hougdahl
Lighting Designer: ArtFag LLC
Lighting/Visual Interface and Programming:
Control Freak Systems
Lighting Director: Pat Brannon
Automated Lighting Operator: Pat Brannon
Lighting Technicians: Storm Sollars (crew
chief ), Steve Schwind, Jason Bridges, Chris
Keene, Trevit Cromwell, Greg Walker
Set Design & Construction: Tait Towers
Staging Company: Tait Towers
Staging Carpenter: Greg Gish
Rigging Equipment: Stage Rigging
Rigger: Mike Farese
Video Director: Tony Bongiove
Video Company: Nocturne
Gear
Lighting Console: grandMA (MA Lighting)
27 Elation Impesession LEDs
20 High End Systems Showguns
34 Lloyd Lights
64 Martin LC1140 panels
44 Vari*Lite VL3000s
53 Vari*Lite VL500Ds
Steve JenningS
IBM Impact 2008
ST
Venue:
MGM Arena, Las Vegas, Nev.
Crew
Promoter/Producer: Rebecca Viet / Encore
Productions
Lighting Company: Encore Productions/
PRG
Production Manager: Darryn Cray
Lighting Designer: Cue2Cue, Inc. / Greg
Cunningham
Lighting Director: Greg Cunningham
Automated Lighting Operator: Warwick
Price
Lighting Technicians: Geoff Huey, JJ Wulf,
Russ Skelton
Set Design: De Pass Studios
Set Construction: Just For Show
Rigger: MGM Hotel
Staging Company: MGM Hotel
Staging Carpenter: Scott Christsen
Staging Products: none
Pyrotechnics: Pyrityz
Video Director: Dave “Tex” Northem
Video Company: Encore Productions
Gear
Lighting Consoles: 2 Martin Maxxyz consoles,
1 Martin Maxedia video control system
24 Atomic 3000 Colors
24 Atomic 3000 Strobes
71 box truss sections (10’ sections of 20.5”
truss)
4 box truss sections (5’ sections of 20.5”
truss)
35 chain hoists (1-ton)
4 Reel EFX DF-50 Diffusers with RE-Fans
20 dimmers (5K)
2 ETC Expression 2X consoles
12 ETC Sensor (2K) dimmers
12 ETC Source Fours (10°, 750-watt)
12 ETC Source Fours (5°, 750-watt)
4 followspots (supplied by MGM)
20 Fresnels (5K, compact type with barn
doors)
36 Martin MAC 2000 Performances
36 Martin MAC 2000 Washes
6 moving light Ts (2x2x60”)
147 VersaTube Panels (1x1 meter, 5 tubes)
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18
PLSN JUNE 2008

Enterprise 2008 Rental Meeting
ST
Venue:
Marriott World Center, Orlando, Fla.
Crew
Promoter/Producer: Swank Event Services
Production Managers: Ryan Falline and Rick
Ridpath
Lighting Designer/Director: Tim Edwards
Lighting Programmer/Operator: Jon Robinson
Master Electrician: Scott Hosford
Staging Design: Swank Event Services
Video and Projection: Swank Event Services
Rigging: NPS
Gear
17 Barco SLM R12s
86 CM Lodestar ½ Ton Motors
8 Reel EFX DF-50 Hazers
2 DPSS-Pro Lasers (5-watt)
12 ETC Source Four Lekos
96 ETC Source Four PARs
1 Folsom Encore Switching
2 High End Systems DL.2s
102 PixelRange PixelLine Micro Ws
9 screens (10.5’ x 14’)
4 screens (15’ x 20’)
2 ETC Sensor 48x2.4K dimmer racks
1410 Thomas 12” x 18” Super Truss, Black
12 Thomas Nine Lights
56 Vari*Lite VL3000 Spots
26 Vari*Lite VL3500 Wash
ST
VENUE
Madison Square Garden
New York, N.Y.
CREW
Lighting Company: Performance Lighting,
Inc.
Promoter Rep/Production Manager: Alan
Thompson, Al Haymon Productions
Lighting Designer: Daunte Kenner
Automated Techs: Craig Kreider, Mike Howe
Dimmer Tech: Al Lipper
Tech: Nate Davis
Chris Brown
Up Close and Personal Tour
GEAR
Lighting Console: Avolites Diamond D4
18 High End Systems Showguns
36 High End Systems Studio Beams
34 High End Systems x.Spots
16 Martin Atomic 3k Strobes
28 Pixel Range PixelLine 1044 LED Battens
24 Pixel Range PixelArc Rs
31 1-ton chain hoists
1 circle truss (18’)
390’ truss (12”x12”)
140’ truss (30”x30”)
Daunte Kenner
University of Montana Gala
ST
Venue:
Adams Center, University of Montana,
Missoula, Mont.
Crew
Promoter/Producer:
Sean Jackson/Penny Kauth
Lighting Company/Set Design: Shie
Production Manager/Lighting Designer:
Sean Jackson
Lighting Director: Gerald Werner
Automated Lighting Operator:
Chris Good
Lighting Technicians: Mark Michel, Francis
Ruiz, Mike Seavey, Dominic Adame
Rigger: Rocky Mountain Rigging
Staging Company: Adams Center
Video Director: Chris Caines
Video Company: Shine/APS/VER
Gear
Lighting Consoles: 2 Flying Pig Systems
Hog iPCs w/ playback wings
1 Barco Encore system
100’ box truss (12”x12”)
4 CM ½-ton Chain Motors
12 CM 1-ton Chain Motors
54 Coemar PARlite LEDs
45 Color Kinetics ColorBlast 12TRs
2 Da-Lite projection screens (9’x12’)
1 ETC 48-channel Sensor Dimmer
Rack
30 ETC Source Four Lekos
140 ETC Source Four PARs
12 High End Systems Studio Color 575s
1 jib (26’)
1 Leprecon 48-ch VX Dimmer Rack
2 Lycian Stark Lite II followspots
24 Martin MAC 2000s
5 Panasonic 7700 Projectors
60 PAR 36 Pinspots
126 PAR 38s
1 PRT roof (33’x46’ w/ two 8’ sound
wings)
2 Reel-EFX DF-50 Hazers
3 Skjonberg Controllers
3 Sony D30 cameras
1 Stumpfl projection screen (7.5’x10’)
2 Stumpfl projection screens
(10.5’x14’)
1 TMB ProPower Distro Rack
32 Wybron Forerunner Color Scrollers
Ad info:http:// www.plsn.com/instant-info
2008 JUNE PLSN 19

INSIDE THEATRE
Infusing Cat with New Life
Joan Marcus
Updated aspects for the Broadway production of
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof range from the Asian bamboo
print wallpaper to an all-African American cast.
By BryanReesman
Broadway revivals have become so commonplace
that a creative theatre team
must think outside of the box and indulge
in new ideas to make an old chestnut
both exciting and refreshing for modern
audiences. Debbie Allen’s interpretation of
Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning
drama Cat on a Hot Tin Roof — starring Terrence
Howard, Anika Noni Rose, James Earl
Jones and Phylicia Rashad — faced such a
scenario. Beyond its powerhouse casting and
acting and the overstated aspect of having an
all-black cast, the show is a rarity these days:
a three-act, three-hour show with one main
set that does not change. Set designer Ray
Klausen was up to the task of invigorating the
look of the show to fit Williams’ cynical tale of
a family whose sibling brothers — one an injured
alcoholic and former athletic hero, the
other a corporate lawyer — and their spouses
are tussling over the inheritance of Big Daddy’s
massive Southern plantation.
Originally a television set designer, twotime
Emmy winner Klausen worked on seven
Academy Awards shows, created the “Kennedy
Center Honors look,” and also worked on a
number of series before jumping into Broadway
work. Along the way to the Great White
Way he did a large musical number with Debbie
Allen, then teamed up with her on a series
of children’s musicals at the Kennedy Center.
“Debbie’s really great at collaborative work,”
states Klausen. “She’s a strong, strong lady. I
have incredible respect for her.”
Putting the Dollars on Stage
20 PLSN JUNE 2008
FTM
When they reunited for Cat on a Hot Tin
Roof, Klausen and Allen had to deal with him
being in New York and her situated in California,
and to cope with time constraints. “It
takes a long time to evolve a design and get
it executed if you’re going to do right,” says
Klausen. “Yes, you can do it very quickly and
waste a lot of the producers’ money, but that’s
not what I’m about. I’m about getting every
dollar up there on the stage.”
During an hour-long meeting prefaced
by plenty of research, Klausen and Allen laid
out the ground plans, and he immediately set
to work on them. “She went off to do other
things like auditions, and my assistant and I
put together a white model and came into
the theatre for a survey the next morning
with essentially the whole thing designed,”
Klausen says. “But I knew what I wanted. I had
very clear in my head the architectural style,
and I knew how I wanted it to feel. I really
moved quickly and had something concrete
to show her and the producer, Stephen Byrd.
This was his first pass at producing, so a lot of
explaining of what the process is and so forth
needed to be done. This man is incredible, by
the way. How he pulled off this quality production
as a first-time producer, I don’t know,
but my hat is off to him. He’s remarkable.”
Sightlines were an issue, as the bar was
all the way stage left while the dressing table
was on the opposite side. They both were
going to cause problems. “I got her to move
the bar upstage, which freed a lot of the action,
but I couldn’t talk her out of the dressing
table,” recalls Klausen. “So at about 3 a.m.,
I thought, ‘I have the solution. I’ll make it out
of Plexiglas, so people can see through this
piece of furniture.’”
Early Humdinger Furniture
FTM
Klausen had free reign with the furniture
because the character of Big Mama had no
taste and had gone on a shopping spree.
“I could just mix up styles with whatever
pleased me. I picked out a couple of humdinger
pieces. Chase Mishkin, who is a producer
I have worked with quite a bit, went to
see the show and said, ‘Ray, that is the ugliest
chandelier I’ve ever seen.’ I said, ‘Yes, but it’s a
Venetian glass chandelier, and it screams that
they’ve been on the grand tour,’” he says.
Knowing that the famous film version
with the image of Elizabeth Taylor leaning
against a brass bed was ingrained into the
public consciousness, he knew he had to
go a different route. The bed and furniture
were made of wood, and the dressing table
of Plexiglas. “The only patterns on the furniture
are the fabrics used on the upholstery,
including the sofa, ottoman, large arm chair,
and dressing table chair, all of which were different
from each other, reflecting Big Mama’s
tendency to buy, buy, buy,” Klausen notes.
“Interestingly enough, the wallpaper pattern
took quite a lot of work to get nailed
down,” he reveals. “I looked around town for
a lace that would work, and I found a very romantic
floral lace that was perfect, and I knew
that I wanted a photographic impression
onto scrim. So I bought quite a bit of yardage
of this lace, then in my studio made a series of
samples in various colors. Some of them were
stencils, and some of them were the actual
lace, in a wide variety of colors.”
After going to Los Angeles to show Allen
what he had, they settled on a specific color
with more of an Asian feel to it. “I have a fairly
good resource library in my studio and found
some wallpaper patterns, but really stencil
patterns, that were Japanese and not copyrighted
and we were allowed to use. It ended
up being this stylized bamboo pattern. We
got what we wanted. I think it took about five
passes to get the color right.”
Bruise-free Design
FTM
The set designer credits his “phenomenal
prop man,” Emiliano Pares, for helping him locate
certain pieces of furniture, including the
four-poster bed that looms over the whole
set. And when it came to the props, Klausen
was adamant that every prop that an actor
touched be present in rehearsal from day
one. That way they could learn if there were
any problems.
The sofa at center stage had to be remade
so that the cushions were firm enough for
James Earl Jones to get in and out of carefully,
but not so hard that Anika Noni Rose would
bruise herself when climbing all over it. “You
try to find out all the problems with the props
while you’re in rehearsal,” explains Klausen.
“You do not one want to be dealing with
those when you’re on stage. It’s just not fair
to the actors. When they get onstage they’re
dealing with so much adjustment that you
want to have as much support there for them
as possible.”
Another proven tactic that Klausen
implemented was having the scenic shop
Anika Noni Rose and Terrence Howard in another moment from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Ray Klausen, scenic designer, opted against a
brass bed to give the Broadway production a different look than the movie version with Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor.
Joan Marcus

PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
Joan Marcus
design is a key element in a show. “When you
look at that set, you have to feel that this is
a grand old house that’s been around much
longer than the characters who are currently
living in it, and what that brings to the story.”
“It takes a long time to evolve a design and
get it executed if you’re going to do right.”
— Ray Klausen, scenic designer
Ray Klausen, set designer for Broadway’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
set up the entire set, bring in all the major
props, then walk the actors and the director
through the set. This allowed the cast and director
to familiarize themselves with the set,
props and distances between things. “It was a
tremendous help that everyone went to see
the set, because when they came onstage, it
was something that they had already seen
and had in their mind,” Klausen says.
“I can’t recall a single problem we had
with the actors once we got on stage. They
happen to be a very cooperative, nice
group of people, so that helps tremendously.
But it was a fascinating experience, and
ultimately very, very rewarding for me. I am
immensely proud of the production, both
from an aesthetic standpoint and a technical
standpoint because one of the problems
that Debbie and I had was we wanted
the walls to be made of scrim. When you
light them from the front they look solid,
but when you light anything behind them
you can see through the walls.”
The scrim walls did present a challenge
for a set that has eight doors. Any time
someone slams a door with a fabric wall, it
will shake or ripple. “Fortunately I had Hudson
Scenic building the set, and they were
able to make every door and door frame
independent of the walls,” says Klausen.
“They look like they’re all attached, but
in fact there’s about a quarter of an inch
space between the two objects. If you slam
a door, even though the doorframe moves
a little bit, it doesn’t affect the walls.”
Nag-free Direction
FTM
When it came to the architectural style of
the plantation and house, Klausen went through
all his research and picked out the elements he
liked. He made sure the doorknobs were correct.
He and Allen brought in French doors. The
ones facing the patio had folding shutters to
cover them. The only unsolvable problem that
they had was the inability to slam two French
doors at the same time without them possibly
bouncing back, so Allen accepted that fact, and
the actors had to avoid this action.
“Bless her, if you explain something to
her clearly, with logic and with honesty, she
gets it and moves on,” Klausen reports of Allen.
“She’s not one of these people who nags
you and drives you crazy, because some
directors can do that. As much as I loved
working with her at the Kennedy Center,
I adore her now. I would do anything that
she does now because I gained so much respect
for her as a director and her abilities.
And because she’s a choreographer, she
used every square inch of that set. There’s
not a part that isn’t used, whereas a regular
director might not take advantage of a
certain space. She has people bouncing all
over that set, and I love her for it.”
Ultimately Klausen created a set that
he loved and which fit the show and its
story. But it certainly took a lot of time
and toil to get right. “You don’t get a designer
much more fussy than I am,” asserts
Klausen. “One of my big problems is that
because I’m so meticulous, when I get
through with a production, I usually have
this gut feeling that I could’ve done it
better. This is one of those rare instances
where there’s not a thing I would change
about it. I am really, really pleased with
how it turned out and proud of the end
result.”
Fire in the Sky
FTM
Another challenge that Klausen and
Allen faced was when the drop had to be
redone. Originally encompassing sky and
many trees, Allen decided she wanted it to
show more sky and fewer trees, which also
would allow the fireworks sequence, which
was done by slides, to have more space.
“Drops like this are painted on the floor, and
what they had to do was scrub all the paint
off, then mask off all the trees and repaint
the sky,” remarks Klausen. “The frightening
thing was that they couldn’t guarantee me
that it would work. They were 90 to 95 percent
sure it would work, but there’s that 5 to
10 percent that really eats into your sleeping
hours. Fortunately it worked great, and
we were able to see more of the fireworks
and not have them go off in the trees.”
Klausen ultimately took it all in stride. “It’s
really important that a designer be supportive
of the rest of the creative team because
you don’t always nail it right the first time. You
think you have, but then someone comes up
with an idea that makes it better.”
The designer recalls being in the masters
program for set design at Yale and having a
fellow student tell him, “It’s all about scale.”
That stuck with him, and he believes good
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2008 JUNE PLSN
21

PRODUCTION PROFILE
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
Photos & text by SteveJennings
Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z share the stage — but not all of the looks — for their Heart of the City tour.
Pyrotek handled “all things that go boom,” and did it safely, said Artfag, LLC’s Patrick Dierson.
The aesthetic for both artists had to be strong, but Mary J. Blige’s
songs needed a softer, more feminine feel.
The images appearing on a solid LED curved wall reach down
toward the stage via Barco MiPix band risers.
Despite the networking capabilities of all the lighting and video gear,
the crew chose to operate them independently for the two artists.
From the beginning, the plan was to have a large video element
that wrapped the stage.
When Mary J. Blige decided to embark
upon a solo tour, her production
manager wanted Justin Collie of
Artfag, LLC to be the designer. Over the course
of several weeks the tour evolved into a joint
collaboration with Jay-Z. But rather than
sharing design duty with someone of Jay-
Z’s choosing, Collie was asked to handle the
design of the entire tour. The result was their
Heart of the City tour.
Patrick Dierson, who has worked with
Collie on many occasions, was asked to take
on lighting director duties in addition to
maintaining the integrity of the design for
the run of the tour. Collie had the role of
“Performance Environment Designer,” and he
handled every aspect of the design including
scenic elements, lighting and video layout.
A Team Approach
pp
But it was a joint collaboration, with Collie
taking the lead. “Spike Brant, Kristin Costa, Zack
Guthimiller, Michael Goodwin and myself were
all involved throughout the process,” Dierson
explained. “This is a formula that we have
honed over the years and one that works to
the extreme advantage of the client. From the
performing artist’s point of view, they know
that that there is a team of people handling
the technically creative portions of their show
to make it the best that it can possibly be and
minimize the surprises that sometimes pop up
in the technical rehearsal process. And it gives
them the convenience of having a single go-to
guy.”
Collie, Dierson, and Brandt started by
creating several concepts in the early stages
of their involvement. They were ultimately
rendered in a VectorWorks file that was passed
between them until they arrived at the final
design. “Justin passed down an edict and we
were all in agreement — there needs to be a
definitive aesthetic difference between the
two artist’s looks. Both of them needed to be
incredibly strong but Mary’s needed to have
a softer, more feminine feel. Jay’s needed to
command strength.
“Having that direction is always key,
because it keeps you grounded from start to
finish. In this case we knew that we would end
up with a lot of hard edges on the stage and
that they would need to be softened for Mary’s
portion of the show.”
Still Edgy, but Softer
pp
The “softness” ultimately came in the form
of swaths of soft goods framing a massive
curved video screen. Three sparkling crystal
chandeliers were hidden in the lighting rig and
lowered into position at just the right time for
several of Blige’s songs.
Video plays an important part in the
presentation of the show. “From the beginning,”
said Drew Findley, the video screen director
and PRG M-Box Extreme media server operator,
“the plan was to have a large video element
that wrapped the stage.” They tossed around
ideas and came up with several different
ways to accomplish that from projection to
segmented LED panels. In the end, they settled
on a solid LED curved wall.
“The idea was that it would give the most
versatility to accomplish different looks for
each artist. When Justin Collie got involved in
the project he helped to refine the concept
even more by adding the Barco MiPix band
risers that helped to bring the video look down
onto the stage.”
Getting it Done
pp
Once the design was finalized, they went
to Prelite, LLC studios in Manhattan to preprogram
some of the show with a visualizer and
get their presets ready for the rehearsals. They
used the ESP Vision software for that process.
“Prelite provided the typically enjoyable
experience that we’ve come to expect from
them,” Dierson said. “It’s comfortable, quiet
and productive. You can just get things done
while being there with no distractions.”
Dierson programmed the lighting on an
MA Lighting grandMA control system. For the
first time, he used a PRG Series 400 power and
data distribution system, which lived at the
front of house control area. “We simply sent
ArtNet from the console directly into the Series
400 rack,” Dierson said. “It was a very simplified
system in terms of cabling and it proved to be
extremely reliable.”
Command and Control
pp
“The video control system for this show
is probably one the coolest I have ever used,”
Findley said. His grandMA console at the front
of house connects to video world backstage
through the Series 400 system via ArtNet.
It, in turn, controls four PRG M-Box Extreme
media servers and an Encore-DMX Bridge
from Control Freak Systems. “The Encore-DMX
Bridge is the heart of the video system,” Findley
said. “It gives me access to 12 layers of video on
the main screen, six layers for the side screens
and access to the router. The router inputs
include all seven cameras on the show, a line
cut of these cameras, four M-Box Extremes for
Jay-Z’s video content and two Green Servers
from Media Evolutions for Mary J Blige’s video
content — created by Mark Argenti and Ian
McDaniel of Media Evolutions. The Encore-
DMX bridge allows me to route any source,
whether it be a standard-def camera or a highdef
M-Box, to any Encore layer. Each layer can
then be sized, positioned, colored and keyed.
All this can happen as a cued event or on the
fly during the show.
“The advantage to this system is that we
can blend cameras with only a field of delay
with media server content on the same control
surface. It allows me to select individual
cameras during the show and also to show
camera director Mark Stutsman’s line cut on
multiple layers and have it integrated with
M-Box cues that are running content.”
An Evolving Video Mix
pp
The video content was supplied by William
Hines of Smash Studios, Hype Williams and
Media Evolutions. But according to Findley, it is
“constantly evolving — management for both
artists are very interested in the imagery that
their artist stands in front of,” he said. “With the
use of media servers like the M-Box Extreme,
we’re able change around elements on a daily
basis to find the best mix of imagery and
IMAG to support the song and the action on
stage. Working with media servers also allows
content designers to supply us with different
elements that we can use to layer live during
the show.”
Despite the networking capabilities of
all the lighting and video gear, they chose to
operate them independently. “We made the
decision at the inception of our involvement
that we would roll old-school and not network
the grandMA control consoles to run in
tandem,” Dierson said. “Since we were running
things completely independently of each other
we could deal with any wild on-the-fly changes
that might come our way, and that happened
on a nightly basis. Whereas Mary J’s show is
very structured, Jay’s is very loose. We never
knew when a guest artist might pop out from
the side of the stage and start into a song that
we weren’t planning on performing. In theory,
having two grandMA consoles networked
together would offer the same flexibility but
that requires some planning that, in the fast
pace world of on-the-fly hip-hop, just wouldn’t
be comfortable for us.”
Dierson attributed the success of the
approach to the skill of his colleague. “Drew is
a consummate professional,” Dierson said. “He
has years of live production experience in both
the lighting and video disciplines. Not only is
he technically proficient but he has taste and
timing; two things that are increasingly hard to
find these days.”
Balancing Lighting and Video
pp
Striking a balance between the lighting
elements and video elements in the visual
presentation can be challenging. With so many
LED sources, it’s easy for them to overpower
the lighting. No so here, said Dierson. “There
was very little issue with either one of us
overpowering the other on this project,” he said.
“I say very little issue, but there was definitely
great concern. The video wall that Drew was
controlling was fairly massive and had the
ability to make an entire rig of VL 3500s and
Syncrolites disappear if it was used improperly.
Once again, with Drew’s experience, I didn’t
have to worry about it, because he’s right on
track with making the show look its best.”
Combining all of these elements during
rehearsals and during the show let them refine
the look live and on the screen, instead of in a
video-editing suite. Having both lighting and
video control at the front of house allowed
them to more closely communicate with
each other. “This project has been a prime
example of how it should be,” Findley said.
“During rehearsals and during the show we
could change things up and adapt to things
22 PLSN JUNE 2008

happening on stage — not to mention we
have a good time.”
A Hand for the Helpers
pp
Dierson gave ample kudos to his support
team. “PRG did a fantastic job in handling
the lighting rig and provided a top notch
crew starting with Jason ‘Attaboy’ Stalter as
lighting crew chief. XL Video handled every
aspect of the LED screen, Mi-Pix, projectors,
and camera package along with some help
from Control Freak Systems who provided
their Encore-DMX Bridge touring package
to interface the Encore video processors
with the GrandMA control desks. All Access
provided us with a rather massive stage,
catwalk, and several elevator lifts while
Pyrotek handled all things that go boom
with the typical safety standards that one
would expect from them. Kevin Hughes and
Adam Biscow handled the ‘high-explosives’
on a daily basis. Atomic Design created
the curtains and chandeliers that were
used for Mary J. Blige’s performance, and
last but certainly not least was Five Points
Production Services, which handled the
rigging for the tour under the direction of
head rigger Gabe Wood.”
Findley is no less appreciative. “Working
with both Patrick and Justin on this project
has been terrific. And the vendors played
a large part in the flexibility of the system.
Matt Corke and Mark Hunt at PRG provided
M-Box Extreme support and updates
that enabled us to push it to the limit. I
would also like to thank Stuart White and
Dirk Sanders at Control Freak Systems for
helping me configure an extremely diverse
video system. I honestly don’t know how I
did shows without the Encore-DMX Bridge.
And although it sounds like the whole video
system is automated, I relied very much on
my incredible XL video crew, from camera
work and camera direction to high pressure
troubleshooting. This show would not have
been what it is without those guys.”
Yeomen Showmen
pp
“It’s always fun and challenging,”
Dierson said, of his experience working
with Collie. “In this particular instance it was
much more challenging than fun for the
both of us.” That’s no diss, just a reflection
of that fact that both Collie and Dierson
contracted pneumonia before the tour
started. The two of them were oh-so-close
to being hospitalized on opening night.
But, as they say, the show must go on, and
indeed it did.
“Cory Fitzgerald dropped what he was
doing to come help me program the first
week of the tour. I was in shambles with
the pneumonia. I couldn’t walk straight
much less be creative, call follow spots, or
execute cues on time. Cory came out and
saved my bacon. It also proved once again
that the Artfag machine works well. The
team saw how the physical health of both
Justin and myself was rapidly deteriorating
in rehearsals and had already put plans in
motion to get us support.”
Jay-Z Production Manager:
Bryon “Hot Dog” Tate
Production Manager (MJB): Harold
Behrens
Performance Environment Designer:
Justin Collie, Artfag, LLC
Lighting Director: Patrick Dierson, Artfag,
LLC
Video Screen Director/MBOX Operator:
Drew Findley
Tour Manager (Jay-Z): Randy Buzzelli
Tour Manager (MJB): Mike “Huggy” Carter
Stage Manager: Art Freund
Lighting Crew Chief: Jason “Attaboy”
Stalter
Lighting Crew: Matt Schneider, Drew
Johnston, Robert Simoneaux, Ryan Textor
Video Director/Video Crew Chief: Mark
Stutsman
Video Crew: Damion Gamlin, Johnny
Jordan, Seth Sharpless, Mark Inscoe, Kyle
Brinkman, Wayne Matlock, Jeff Gainer
Video Content: William Hanes of Smash
Studios; Mark Argenti and Ian McDaniel of
Media Evolutions, Hype Williams
Jib Operator: Vance Kaopuiki
Pyro Shooter: Kevin Hughes
Pyro Tech: Adam Biscow
Head Rigger: Gabe Wood
Rigger: Charles “Chuck” Anderson
Rigger/Fly Carpenter: Kenny Ackerman
Show Rigging/Carpenter: John Purciful
Lighting Company: PRG Lighting
Video Company: XL Video
MBox Extreme Media Servers: PRG
Green Servers: Media Evolutions
Staging Company: All Access Staging &
Production
Pyro Company: Pryotek
Rigging: Five Points Production Services
12 Syncrolite MX-3000s
24 Elation Impression
43 Vari*Lite VL-3000
35 Vari*Lite VL-3500
12 9-Lites with Morpheus color faders
31 Martin Stagebar 54s
15 Martin Atomic 3000 strobes with color
scrollers
3 Lycian M2 Short Throw truss spots
6 MA Lighting grandMA consoles
1 MA Lighting NSPs
4 PRG M-Box Extreme Media Servers
2 Media Evolutions Green Servers
1 Control Freak Systems Encore-DMX
Bridge
1 Barco Encore Video Processor
480 Barco I-Lite 12 LED Tiles
5000 Barco MiPix Units, 1/4 populated
5 Sony DXC-D35WSL camera
2 Sony Dome Cam BRC-300 3CCD
1 Ross Synergy 2 console
2 Barco SLM R12 projector
1/2 JR. VERTICAL AD
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2008 JUNE PLSN 23

INSTALLATIONS
On a Mission
How a Florida church embraced new
technology to spread its message
The $10 million upgrade expanded the sanctuary into a 420-seat facility equipped with LED lighting, video projection and broadcast capabilities.
By JenniferWillis
The First Baptist Church of Marco Island,
Florida, had a problem: They’d outgrown
both the size and technology of their
30-year-old facility. But on a small, conservative
island populated mainly by senior adults,
how could the church keep to its core while
also reaching out to a younger, hipper generation
— at home and around the world?
“We live on an island with a lot of older
people on it,” says Senior Pastor Tim Neptune.
“We couldn’t ostracize them by going with this
extremely new contemporary facility, but media,
lighting and technical elements are crucial
to delivering our message.”
Neptune knew his facility needed some
serious technology.
A New-Tech Vision
INST
He met with Donnie Brawner, president
and principal designer of Brawner & Associates
(Springfield, Mo.) and explained his
vision: to use new technology to blend traditional
values with a contemporary feel for
the benefit of his own congregation and the
faithful across the globe.
“What they came back to us with was
approved immediately,” Neptune says.
“We turned the design of the whole sanctuary
over to them, and they exceeded
our expectations.”
The result is a new facility that marries the
conventional to the modern, without hitting
extremes on either end. In just 11 months,
the First Baptist Church went from a 210-seat
sanctuary with a single screen and projector
and a basic audio system to a $10-million,
state-of-the art, 420-seat sanctuary with LED
lighting, video projection and broadcast capabilities,
digital signage and more.
Brawner says people feel comfortable in
a sanctuary that uses much of the same technology
that they see on TV and use in their
daily lives, and when people feel comfortable,
they are more eager to listen and learn.
“The technology gives the pastor a vehicle
to spread his message,” Brawner explains.
“The church has to stay up-to-date to reach
its audience and teach people in the environment
they live in or it will lose the undecided.
Our job is not just about video and lighting,
but it’s about creating an environment.”
Adapting to Changes
INST
Brawner & Associates had five months to
complete the main design elements, including
ceiling, acoustics, video, lighting and scenic.
Most elements came together in just a few
weeks, but there were two major changes to
the lighting system and three different plans
for the auditorium ceiling and stage set and
ceiling.
“AutoCAD was used to build almost all of
our drawing set, and we did multiple renderings
in 3D Studio Max,” he says. “We spend
a lot of time looking at how all of this works
together as a cohesive unit and the best way
to produce it. Each project is very unique and
requires its own study.”
The installation was completed in a oneweek
rigging install and a three-week lighting,
video and set install, with an additional week
for training and opening.
“The backlit stage ceiling was a very tricky
piece,” says Brawner. “The ceiling — consisting
of trussing with stretched fabric that is lit from
above with color changing LED units — was a
great element of the design. But getting it all
rigged and keeping all of the trades (e.g., electrical,
structural and HVAC) clear of the light
projection so we did not have shadowing issues
was a challenge.”
The rear stage wall is itself a set piece. The
three-dimensional wall unit was designed as a
broadcast-quality background and extends to
the soft set ceiling panels.
Cool New LEDs
INST
The initial lighting design for the sanctuary
called for tungsten color-mixing fixtures for
the set elements and stage ceiling lighting, but
as the project moved forward and technology
matured, the set lighting was switched to all
LED units — more of a green solution — and
also saving dimming, conduit and wire on the
front end.
The LED fixtures require less energy and
produce less heat, reducing the demand on
the church’s HVAC system. That’s particularly
significant on an island off the Southwest
Florida coast, where cooling systems run 12
months out of the year.
“There’s a tremendous upside to going
with the LED lighting,” says Shawn Hurtley,
technology and facilities director at the church.
“They’ll last for years and years and years. We
won’t have to change bulbs in them as we
would have to in a standard light fixture.”
Conventional lighting fixtures include 75
ETC Source Four Ellipsoidals and 40 Source
Four PARs. Moving lights include ten High End
Systems Studio Commands and four X-Spots.
There are 42 Chauvet Colorado One units
lighting the set wall and the stage ceiling. The
house lighting is done with an additional 32
ETC Source Four PARs.
The lighting control system consists of
Pathport nodes and patch panels. ETC provides
all of the dimming, and there is a Union
system and an emergency lighting transfer system.
The system allows control over all stage
lights, house lighting and architectural lighting
through an Ethernet network. Circuits are
distributed throughout the space in a series of
custom distribution boxes with 208V and 110V
convenience power.
The Power of Color
INST
“The thing that really makes this sanctuary
stand out,” says Hurtley, “is the flexibility
we have in terms of lighting. Brawner created
a system that allows us to take the entire stage
area and create any color scheme we want to.”
Using a Jands Vista console with an HP
touch-smart IQ/PC Display, Hurtley says he has
an unprecedented level of control.
“The whole stage becomes an element in
the set,” Hurtley explains. “At the flick of a switch,
you have this ability to paint the whole stage
area like you were a painter with a palette.”
Pastor Neptune is especially enthusiastic
about the ability to set tone and mood
through color.
“On Sunday morning when the screens
are down and the LEDs are on, we can put up
a PowerPoint slide — let’s say a picture of a
prairie with a blue sky behind it,” Neptune describes.
“We can set our entire stage up so the
top half of the stage is lit blue to match the sky,
and the bottom is lit green to match the grass.
It’s really dramatic. It’s awesome.”
The Push of a Button
INST
The lighting, video and rigging systems
were built with future-proofing in mind so
that the facility can grow with the needs of
the church. Brawner’s design offers flexibility
through multiple lighting positions as well as
accommodations — such as added power for
road show tie-ins and rigging positions for
touring groups.
The rigging solution consists of five motorized
drum and block batten systems from
Texas Scenic, some of which contain flat wire
pantographs for cable management. It offers
additional versatility in changing the backdrop
for holidays and weekly sermons. A stage curtain
makes full-scale theatrical presentations
possible, and a 16-foot-by-9-foot video screen
with custom-built surround and an internally
lit cross can be lowered into the scene.
“The way the system has been designed
allows us to very easily maintain it,” says Hurtley.
“The most significant part of the rigging is
that the light bars can be brought down to us
to work on them and then raised back up, and
that’s all done through motorized winches.
They’re basically just push-button control.”
Extended Reach
INST
A high-definition video system feeds live
and pre-produced content to three IMAG
screens and digitally records material for
post production. All told there is one operator
controlled camera, two remote controlled
cameras and a full video edit suite running on
Apple computers and Sony cameras and mixing
systems.
Multiple 50-inch digital plasma displays
installed throughout the facility are driven by
a matrixed high-definition content server, and
electronic media systems that interface with
the edit suite were also incorporated into the
children’s areas, youth rooms and fellowship
halls.
First Baptist Church’s ministry ambitions
extend far beyond its 420-seat capacity, and
an important design requirement was the ability
to use the church’s sanctuary for both live
sermons and video production.
“The pastor had a vision for trying to incorporate
as much technology as we could,
to give us the ability to not just reach those
people in the building but to create media
we could put out on the web or broadcast to
other locations,” Hurtley says.
24 PLSN JUNE 2008

PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
A “Swiss Army Knife”
INST
The most challenging part of a live/
video design is structuring the space to
produce both simultaneously, with an emphasis
on getting the correct contrast ratio
for video while keeping the proper balance
for the live audience.
“Everything has to be taken into consideration
from the control room to the
camera, lighting and background,” Brawner
says. “The end result is that they can now
stream their services for their nationwide
congregation, go to broadcast and create
powerful and inspirational moments in a
live service. They are set up for theatrical
pageantry, concerts, television and live services.”
“We look at the building as kind of a
Swiss Army knife in the sense that we can
reconfigure it to do what we need to do,”
Hurtley says.
Flexibility to Expand
INST
With so much new technology installed,
Hurtley — who has worked as a volunteer
sound engineer at other churches for the
last 20 years — says the main challenge is
getting up to speed on the new systems.
He’s excited about the new ability to
create content that can be shared across
the island and across the globe. For example,
the radio program, Classic Christian
Countdown, is produced at the First Baptist
Church and distributed to more than 150
outlets worldwide.
“The whole vision is to really just reach
out to as many people as we can,” says Hurtley,
who believes the new facility allows the
First Baptist Church to do that in ways that,
just a few years ago, the congregation could
only imagine.
For Brawner, the facility had to meet
three important criteria: intimacy, flexibility
and expandability. All agree the end result
easily surpasses these requirements.
“It’s about developing an early vision,
transforming that to a cohesive plan and
steadfastly working through the logistics to
transcend vision into reality,” Brawner says.
“The church has the ability to do television
broadcast, stage productions, concerts or
intimate live services in the feel of a small
space, but with the technology of the largest
space.”
“You won’t find another church quite like
this,” Neptune says. “We are unique. When
people visit our church for the first time,
they are blown away by the feel of the space.
It helps create a mood in the sanctuary and
enhance the total worship experience. It’s
just a complete transformation. People love
it. It’s stunning.”
Brawner & Associates handled the ceiling, acoustics, video, lighting and scenic design.
The upgrade was sensitive to the preferences of the congregation, a mix of longtime residents and newcomers.
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2008 JUNE PLSN 25

FEATURE
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
Jill Scott
at the Fabulous Fox
A Special Kind of Elegance
By Kevin M.Mitchell
The lighting design for Jill Scott’s tour, shown here at the Fabulous Fox in St. Louis, was all about creating an elegant atmosphere.
Jill Scott wanted elegance. LD Martin
Thomas, as set designer, lighting designer,
and lighting programming, delivered.
Scott’s Live Soul tour had a lot of elegance,
plus a lot of heart and class, when
it rolled into St. Louis river city one recent
rainy night. The sold-out show was well
worth trudging through the wet weather,
as the R&B singer provided a powerhouse
of great music and showmanship. Scott is
far from what all too often passes for a pop
star these days: she’s a woman of experience
and talent, and effectively and sincerely
connects with the audience.
The Fabulous Fox
PLSN
Here in St. Louis, Thomas found himself
at the 4,200-seat Fox, which was built as
a movie house in 1929. It had glory days
in the 1930s and 1940s, but by the 1970s
it was severely neglected and had become
home to the rowdier rock acts (e.g., Grateful
Dead and Frank Zappa). It was finally
shut down and abandoned. In 1981 the
venue’s owners started restoring it to its
original 1929 splendor — which makes
for a great-looking place that is good for
theatre, but a bit challenging for modern
music acts like Scott.
Thomas’ approach was an apt one for
the stately theatre.
Our sources were unable to confirm
whether or not the traditional “kick
me” sign was ever taped to his back, but
Thomas began his career as “one of those
kids who were part of the A.V. club in high
school.” But it was not just any high school
— it was the prestigious High School of Art
& Design in Manhattan. “I was the guy who
knew how to make the projector work,” he
smiles. “Then from there, you get drafted
to work in the auditorium.” But Thomas is
quick to add that he’s grateful to the school
and for the opportunities it brought.
After high school he was out on the
road with bands, and he’s been on the
road almost 30 years since. “It’s been good.
Obviously, there are moments when you
go, ‘Crap, why am I doing this?!?’ But I’ve
met some great people here, learned a lot
about the business and technology. I’ve
learned people skills in general are especially
important.”
In 2005, Thomas was part of the Sugar
Water Tour, which included Scott, Queen
Latifah and Erykah Badu. He had run lights
for Badu and that’s when Scott and her
team for noticed him. They turned to him
for a European tour that had him flying by
the seat of his pants. Scott told him she
didn’t like followspots, didn’t like lights
in her eyes, and he basically had to reproduce
the show in whatever venue he was
in, whether it had 60 PAR cans and no automated
lights, or 48 automated lights and
no PAR cans.
“But this show was our show,” he says,
of Live Soul.
Prior to the tour, Scott flew Thomas
into her hometown of Philadelphia to talk.
The key word, he was told, was “elegant.”
Thomas says he came away knowing it was
going to be pretty show. “I knew she liked
atmosphere, and I had no problem with
haze.” But he quickly ascertained that the
reality was that the rooms they would be
playing in weren’t conducive to a complex
design, and he says he wasn’t about to design
something with a lot of circle trussing.
“I knew I’d never get the rigging points, so
why bother?”
For pre-production he had just one day
of rehearsals. Then it was out for a twomonth
tour.
Martin Likes Martin
PLSN
Being familiar with her music helped
him come up with a design for the show.
Soft goods played a major role, and even
led him to give a hand to his audio brethren.
“I designed all the soft goods to help
the sound guys deaden out that stage.
What little I know about audio, I know some
correctly placed curtains really help!”
To achieve the signature smooth and
coordinated look, he turned to a lot of Martin
gear. The show featured 21 MAC 700s,
five in a half-circle above Scott, and some
others upstage. The downstage truss featured
MAC 2000s that he uses for texture.
Thomas also used Martin Stagebar 54
LED strips, which he describes as “awesome.”
It allowed him to mix warmer colors,
something Scott very much wanted on this
tour. All the Martin gear he said performed
well “right out of the box,” and he’ll return
to that box, apparently, as they “worked all
the time, which is critical!” he laughs. “I’ve
worked with a lot of other great companies,
but when their lights work only 80
percent of the time; I’m spending time in
the trusses trying to fix them.”
For washes he unboxed some Vari*Lite
VL 3500s which he proclaims as “great
lights!” “The first time I saw them,” he said,
“I thought, ‘Wow, they are big.’ But their
color saturation is really good. Everything
about them is absolutely perfect. I didn’t
have to move them much and that helped.
I just had to get them in focus.”
Driving it all is an Avolites Diamond 4
Vision console. The variety of halls — from
the old Fox Theatre to much bigger and
smaller venues — needed an intimate feel,
and the theatrical nature of the show demanded
a lot of flexibility, which he says
he got with the Avo. “In a bigger theatre, if
I need an extra five points, I just push the
fader up five points and get what I needed.
It’s a very cool desk.”
Simple, Basic Stuff
PLSN
It all provided the tools he needed to
subtly enhance the mood through the big
brassy numbers down to whisper-quiet
ballads. “It was all simple, basic stuff,” he
says. “This was not a show that needed
a lot a lot of spinning, flashing, and wiggling.
It was architecturally clean.”
The show was also impressive for what
it didn’t have.
“You’ll notice there is no video in
this show. I’ve seen so much of it lately it
seemed like overkill, especially for this music.
Instead we went with soft goods, creating
texture with the drapes,” which were
supplied by Rose Brand.
The limitations of the Fox didn’t allow
for the kabuki drop. On most of the shows
in the tour, Scott is revealed with a fly away
kabuki. “Fragoso Inc. provided a ‘Chabuki’
for this show, and it made for a very dramatic
beginning. It would pyramid down,
and disappear up and Jill would appear
out of the darkness. It was a great reveal.”
Recalling an Elegant Era
PLSN
Creative Stage Lighting supplied all of
the lighting and soft goods for the tour.
Thomas says the tour has been a great experience,
and he loved that Scott wanted
something appropriate for her more sophisticated,
mature audience. He says that
26
PLSN JUNE 2008

Jill Scott liked atmosphere, and LD Martin Thomas had no problem with haze, but both opted against video.
The venues would not allow for complexities like circle trussing, so Thomas went with a simpler design.
Scott was all about creating an elegant
atmosphere, which he did brilliantly. As
almost a throwback to another era, it was
reminiscent of the Rat Pack. He says he
was influenced by the look of clubs out
of places like New York, Philadelphia, and
Chicago during the 1940s and 1950s.
“I’ve been influenced by Roy Bennett
(Madonna, Dixie Chicks, et al) and Howard
Ungerleider (Rush, et al). Howard is
the master of the long light, the one that
comes from heaven and strikes the stage.
Another thing I’ve learned from Howard
that I did with this show is never repeating
a look from song to song. There were
no giant moves in this show, just the careful
placement of lights and making subtle
color choices from there. During the entire
two-and-a-half hour show, I rarely
repeat a look. That’s the greatest part of
this show: I could paint all day with these
lights!”
And he did.
GEAR
Lighting Console: Avolites
Diamond 4 Vision
6 Active ¼-ton motors
9 Active ½-ton motors
6 Active 1-ton motors
1 box truss (10’x12”)
18 box truss (10’x18”)
10 Chabuki, Inc kabuki release
systems
2 curved truss sections
(12”x6’ 90°)
1 custom scrim (50’x 25’)
1 dimmer rack (24x2.4K)
2 DMX Opto-Splitters
15 ETC Source Four 19 Degree
750w ellipsoidals
4 Martin MAC 2000 Profile Spots
21 Martin MAC 700 Profile Spots
8 Martin Stagebar 54 LED strips
4 MR-16 Striplights (6’)
1 opening act black (50’x 25’)
1 Reel EFX DF-50 hazer w/ fans
4 Stations Headset
communications
2 tab track (single pull, 50’)
15 Vari*Lite VL3500 Wash
1 velour curtain (50’w x 25’ deep
violet)
2 velour curtains (10’ x 25’ grey)
4 velour curtains (8’ x 25’ grey)
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FEATURE
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
ERIN SIEGAL
The set design covered the bases with an altar, a performance stage, a throne for the Pope and more than 500 field seats for the Pope’s entourage.
Pope Benedict XVI at Yankee Stadium — The Sacred Ceremony on Sacred Turf
By KevinM.Mitchell
Some baseball fans might say Yankee
Stadium is already a place befitting
worship. But as one of the highlights
for Pope Benedict XVI’s six-day visit to the
New York area in April, the hallowed baseball
grounds needed to be transformed into
an open-air cathedral including an altar,
a performance stage and no billboards or
other advertising in sight.
Along with the need to be prepared for
inclement weather and to operate under
strict security measures, those involved
needed to coordinate the efforts of hundreds
of crew members, set everything up
within a two-day time frame between ball
games, and take extraordinary measures
to avoid trampling on the grass.
“The most astonishing thing about
the keynote project was that Yankee Stadium
didn’t open the doors for us until
12:01 a.m. Friday morning, and by 1:00
a.m. Sunday, Secret Service locked it all
down for a security sweep,” said Patrick
Stansfield, co-producer of the papal <strong>Mass</strong>
staged by the Archdiocese of New York.
“We’re talking about a total of 49 hours to
pull this off.”
First Call
PLSN
Executive producer Stig Edgren, of SEG
Events, had handled Pope John Paul II’s
visits to New York in 1995 and Los Angeles
in 1987. To begin preparations for the April
16 <strong>Mass</strong>, he got the call from the New York
Archdiocese last September.
“The beginning conversations are
about the Pope’s movement, when he’s
planning on celebrating <strong>Mass</strong> and security,”
Edgren explained. “The Archdiocese
is hosting the event, so it mostly
involves them, although obviously the
From left, Patrick Stansfield, co-producer, René Lagler, scenic designer and Doug Pope, production
supervisor.
Vatican is very concerned about the <strong>Mass</strong>
itself.” Edgren quickly got on the phone
with offices of New York Mayor Michael
Bloomberg, police, fire and others to coordinate
these important issues.
“We had the right team to do this from
the very beginning — no question,” Edgren
said. “Having Stansfield and production
supervisor Doug Pope in place early, managing
the labor overseeing everything allowed
me to run around working with the
Archdiocese.”
Many of these people had worked with
Edgren during the papal visit of 1995, including
Stansfield and Pope. “The Archdiocese
had complete trust me as far as
bringing people on board,” he said. “They
didn’t question my choices of vendors
because they knew I was picking the best
people in the business.”
<strong>Papal</strong> visit newbies included Ken Ashby,
who produced the pre-<strong>Mass</strong> show, and
Danny Ezralow, who directed it. Called
“The Concert of Hope,” the pre-<strong>Mass</strong> concert
featured Harry Connick Jr., Jose Feliciano
and other performers.
Paul Chavarria handled the exterior
décor, which was extensive. “He made it
look like a cathedral,” Edgren said. Lighting
consultant Imero Fiorentino was also
called in.
Peter Daniel of Pete’s Big T.V. supplied
the video. A total of six screens with three
aspect ratios were used.
DOUG POPE
Keep Off the Grass
PLSN
“What was fun about the progression
was how quickly it came together,” said scenic
designer René Lagler. “Stig called me
and needed a quick sketch, the caveat being
we had to keep off the grass. This led me
to something where the Pope’s part of the
stage was hanging over the grass.”
Lagler is an Emmy Award-winning scenic
production designer, and a veteran of
the crew that staged the previous papal visit
to the U.S. He got the call for the April visit
on a Thursday early in October. That weekend
he created some preliminary sketches.
The New York diocese’s Monsignor in charge
of approving the design was enthused by
Lagler’s vision early on.
“The only change from the original
sketches was that the Monsignor wanted
ramps instead of stairs going up to the main
stage,” Lagler said. “At first I resisted it, because
I was concerned it took away from the
overall shape. But it ended up working out
well because the procession of clergy was
so dramatic, and the ramps allowed that to
be a smooth affair. And, adding the ramps
allowed me to design in the subtle shape
of a cross — it was very subtle,” Lagler said,
laughing. “Sometimes you have to design a
little bit just for yourself, even if it’s just for
your own satisfaction.”
Yet like a chef who prepares a painstaking
dish only to set it down on the table and
see a fly land on it, his set had its own unforeseen
blemish. “At the last minute, a camera
guy who is up center stage brought a black
pallet to stand on — just a wooden black
pallet on a pure white floor!” he said. “And
the camera people weren’t even dressed
for a <strong>Mass</strong> — one was wearing a Safari hat!
It was a terrible smudge.” Otherwise, he was
28 PLSN JUNE 2008

very pleased with the final result. “The beauty
here was that I had a huge support team
— including Edward Pierce.”
From Concept to Reality
PLSN
Pierce, the event’s scenic designer, was
brought in to realize Lagler’s vision. “There
weren’t a lot of changes from concept to reality,”
Pierce said. “It was more about preserving
that initial concept to the best of our ability.”
Pierce said they worked closely with Hudson
Theatrical Associates, which built the décor,
and Mountain Productions, Inc., which handled
the understructure for the stage. “There
was a lot of AutoCAD work, and every aspect
had to be considered in every different way.”
On the pitchers mound, an 18-foot diameter
platform featuring the Vatican’s coat
of arms was suspended in the air. Radiating
from the platform was an array of gold
and white fabric provided by Rose Brand.
Then there were “a lot of chairs,” Pierce said,
for the Pope’s huge entourage. “There were
800 field seats — 300 chairs for priests, 200
for bishops, 14 for Cardinals and one Pope
throne.” The chairs for each group were colored
according to hierarchy.
Pierce added that with a positive mental
attitude and good planning, they were able
to get everything done in time…almost. “The
last remaining thing was the fluffing of the
flowers, and that was the only thing that really
didn’t get done.” Otherwise, “It was a beautiful,
technically impressive achievement and
one that was very safe in every respect.”
Look for the Union Label
PLSN
Hudson Theatrical Associates had the
daunting task of putting together the labor
force. Hudson’s Sam Ellis was the labor
supervisor and he said it was a long process
to figure out how many hands were
needed. “At any given time during the
load-in and set up, there were 200 or 250
Local 1 hands working on this. But the total
number of people involved was closer
to 490.”
Everyone involved emphasized that
the planning was critical. “First we had to
sit down with all the people in charge of
the individual elements — the video people,
the lighting, the staging — and figure
out how many people they each needed,”
Ellis said. “Then we assimilated all that into
a gigantic schedule.” For example, they figured
they needed a dozen electricians at
a certain point, and they needed a certain
amount of time to make it happen. “The
first five hours was just laying the flooring,
so we had to figure out what we could
do while that was happening. In this case,
start putting the chairs in and hanging
lighting trusses off of the front of house
balcony rails.”
But more important was choosing the
right people. “First of all, you pick the captains,
the heads of the departments, and
that was very important to us,” Ellis said. “It
was important to us that they be the best,
because they had to go reach out to their
best workers.” Ellis stressed that the best
were found in the unions. “There are critics
of union labor, but in our instance, only
by using union workers were we able to
accomplish what we needed to do. So in
addition to union stagehands and technicians,
we also used teamsters to load and
unload the trucks. We had 70 or 80 trucks
to unload, and we were very happy with
their professionalism.”
“It was an amazing team of union
workers,” echoed Doug Pope. “IATSE Local
1 especially and also IBEW Local 3 did an
amazing job. They knew their crafts and
they didn’t mess around.”
Production crew members weren’t expected
to walk on water, but they couldn’t
walk on the grass, either. To protect the sacred
turf, the crew used Terraplas, a patented
system of breathable sheeting capable of
handling light-duty loads. For vehicles, there
was Bravomat. “The entire warning track
was covered by 1,400 pieces of 4-foot-by-8-
foot Bravomat, five inches thick, heavy-duty,
capable of supporting loaded forklifts,” said
Stansfield. “The first 4-1/2 hours of the load
in was just laying that track. So we really only
had 45 hours to build the performance and
altar stage and decorate the stadium.”
Competing with the Sun
PLSN
The lighting designer for the Pope’s visit
to Yankee Stadium was Alan Adelman, who
is best known for his theatrical, television
and film lighting design work — not outdoor
venues subject to any kind of weather
conditions.
Even a cloudy day that gave way to
sunny skies could pose problems lighting
the Pope, who started the <strong>Mass</strong> in the shade
under a roof. “Alan had to make sure the
lights chosen could effectively be constantly
shifted to keep up with the shifting clouds,
keeping the Pope lit perfectly,” said Edgren.
“It was a daylight job, and the challenge
there is always balance,” Adelman explained.
The sun can produce about 12,000 footcandles,
and for the Pope to be seen, “you’re basically
trying to make up that sunlight. Otherwise,
on wider shots the Pope could be in
the black. We needed something at least in
the 5,000 to 6,000 footcandle range.”
That challenge, combined with the need
for “a system where you’re able to constantly
fill in shadows, accommodate for the sun
which might go behind some clouds for
a few moments,” was “daunting,” Adelman
said. The configuration of Yankee Stadium
didn’t make things easier.
Long Throw Distances
PLSN
“The throw distances ranged from 200
to 300 feet, plus there was a strict limit on
seat kills. It would have been easier to put all
the lighting at the front of house,” but that
was out of the question. “So additional, special
rigging was bolted into the upper deck
to carry extra lights.”
Adelman used a dozen Vari*Lite VL3500
Wash units and another dozen VL3000
Wash units in conjunction with Arri 6000
HMIs and 12 Zap Technology Lil’ Big Lite 3.5
units. “They are automated and offer a very
high intensive, very narrow beam. We hung
12 of them, six on each side on the trusses
on the upper deck, each on a 30-inch truss
with special breakers. They were intense —
they were blinding in daylight.”
Programmer Paul Sonnleitner controlled
the lighting with a grandMA from
MA Lighting. A wireless DMX512 provided
by Scharff Weisberg “worked flawlessly,”
Adelman said. Along with Yankee Stadium,
Scharff Weisberg supplied lighting packages
to support broadcast coverage of the
Pope’s visit to the World Trade Center site
and to the Chapel at St. Joseph’s Seminary
in Yonkers, N.Y. The Scharff Weisberg team
included Chris McMeen, Chris Komischock
and Ian Healy.
LYN PARKER
“Yankee Stadium didn’t open the doors for us until
12:01 A.M. Friday morning, and by 1:00 A.M. Sunday,
Secret Service locked it all down for a security
sweep.” — Patrick Stansfield, co-producer
LYN PARKER
Erin Siegal
The papal coat of arms served as a fitting backdrop to the altar. Riggers needed to anticipate inclement conditions… …but the weather cooperated, as if on cue.
Advertising and baseball stadiums
go together like Oscar Meyer Wieners
and Coca-Cola. Like most sports venues,
Yankee Stadium is normally the architectural
equivalent of a NASCAR chassis,
plastered with ads. But at wishes of the
Vatican, it all had to disappear.
“I’m especially proud of how we were
able to cover up all the advertising in
the stadium,” said lighting designer Alan
Adelman. “The day of the <strong>Mass</strong>, at dawn,
when it was still a little cloudy …it was
transformed into a Cathedral.”
He gives a lot of credit to gaffer Tom
Blancato. “He did a great job. Tom does
a lot of big shows, but logistically, this
was something else. And it’s a tribute to
Patrick [Stansfield] and Doug [Pope] that
it came off so well.”
Scenic designer Edward Pierce said
that the massive undertaking meant
more than just throwing some fabric
over the signage. Over 12,000 square
feet of soft goods were used to cover it
all. It required creative rigging and some
customized digital prints of the Vatican
coat-of-arms. “All that work involved a
team of 20 and was completed in a day
and a half.”
Yankee Stadium doesn’t have the flying
buttresses that adorn and support the
world’s great Gothic cathedrals. But as an
outdoor venue, it could serve as the launching
point for flying special effects — far
more appropriate for a celebration of <strong>Mass</strong>
than pyrotechnics or confetti cannons.
“The icing on the cake was the release of
several hundred live doves of peace,” said coproducer
Patrick Stansfield. “It was done in
coordination with the kids running, circling
the stadium with doves made of lightweight
foam, each suspended by a fishing pole. At a
dramatic point, we released 200 live doves.
They circled the stadium twice and then
flew back to their home in New Jersey, just
like they were supposed to.”
About a week before the big event, an
advance team of doves, made up of a lead
dove and some dutiful lieutenants, were
brought to the stadium from their home
in New Jersey. They checked out the stadium,
and then the lead dove circled the
stadium twice and flew back home, lieutenants
in tow.
On the day of the big event, two hundred
other doves were released with them,
and following the team leader, executed
their assignment with aplomb.
Some mysteries remain, however. Were
these doves in the union? And what was in
their rider? How, exactly, does one get to
be the lead dove? Is it based on merit and
hard work, or just a matter of who you coo?
(Maybe they have to fight for the honor, but
then again, probably not.)
Producer Stig Edgren chuckles and
sighs. “Oh yeah, there were a lot of dove
jokes — even the secret service guys got
on it saying they needed to frisk them and
check their beaks.”
2008 JUNE PLSN 29

FEATURE
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
Security, of course, was always a concern.
Once the Pope entered the grounds,
everyone was locked down into position.
This meant that Adelman and everyone
else had to anticipate any problems that
might occur. Jumping up and running to fix
it during the <strong>Mass</strong> was not an option. Good
planning and execution preempted the
need. The kid from the Bronx was unfazed.
“It was pretty cool to be locked down in the
visitor’s dugout,” said Adelman.
Pope on the Pope
PLSN
Doug Pope, who has a 30-year history
with Edgren, said early on a key factor was
bringing in Hudson Theatrical Associates.
“Neil Mazzella and Sam Ellis put together a
crack labor team, starting with scores of department
heads.” How important was this
gig? “People dropped out of their Broadway
shows to do this.”
For Pope, spreading the work around as
much as possible was going to make this
event a success. “We didn’t want to wear
people out—just the department heads!”
After the first site survey in the fall, they put
together a timeline. They knew they would
be starting at midnight and knew the Bravomats
needed to go down quickly in order
to accommodate the forklifts and rest
of the workers.
“We did have the benefit of a pre-rig
day, the Monday before, where we moved
in as much equipment as possible. It was
still not very much — it is an 87 year-old
stadium and there are not a lot of spaces to
put things,” he said.
The Yankee Stadium grounds crew was
looking over the creative team’s shoulder
the entire time, making sure nothing damaged
the turf. As intrusive as that sounds,
Pope says they did their job with professionalism
and respect for what the team
had to do.
“People like us, we’re only there a little
bit,” he explained. “But the Yankee team
personnel have to carry on, and they have
a love and respect for their grass, and we
respect that. Hats off to the Yankees for all
they did, including allowing us to use the
team’s locker rooms and everything else,”
including the umpire’s changing room,
which was transformed into a vesting room
where the Pope could “suit up.”
Fleeting Moments
PLSN
Composer Benoit Jutras was brought
in to compose special music for the
event. “He’s very brilliant, and quick, and
he came up with themes for the opening
and closing that sounded like angels,”
said Edgren. This music inspired Edgren
to imagine flying doves, and he passed
the idea along to his creative team. The
director of the pre-<strong>Mass</strong> show, Ezralow,
brought in Michael Curry, a renowned
designer known for his work with the The
Lion King. “He came up with an idea which
included doves that fly on sticks.”
Edgren said that he would have liked
to see the young people and the doves
run out on the field one moment before
the <strong>Mass</strong>, “but it was just something
that didn’t happen in time.” Even so, the
papal visit to Yankee Stadium scored
a home run on most accounts, thanks
in large part to the prevailing spirit of
teamwork. “I had the best team in the
world,” Edgren said. “They surrounded
me, protected me and I was honored to
be part of it. It was magical.”
Perhaps a higher power was rooting
for the production team as well. Everyone
involved needed to be prepared for
the worst, but the weather improved,
as if on cue. “At the youth rally the day
before, it was a warm beautiful day.
Then at the Pope’s visit to ground zero
of the World’s Trade Center, the clouds
were dark and ominously low; it was as
if you felt the victim’s spirits in the air. It
stayed like that through Sunday morning,
and then when Jose Feliciano started
to play, the clouds broke,” Edgren
said. “It was good advance work from
God Almighty!”
René Lagler’s front elevation of the stage. AutoCAD renderings helped the crew prepare for the actual event. The diamond-shaped set was designed to keep off the grass.
LYN PARKER
PAtRicK StANSfiELd
The entire set was rigged, wired and lit within a 50-hour window. Part of the set’s overhead truss, being prepared for the massive <strong>Mass</strong>. Along with Pope Benedict XVI, there were 14 cardinals, 200 bishops and 300 priests.
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, N.Y.
Creative Staff for the Archdiocese of
New York:
Executive Producer: Stig Edgren
Production Designer: René Lagler
Co-Producer: Patrick Stansfield
Lighting Designer: Alan Adelman
Creative Consultant: Imero Fiorentino
Production Supervisor: Doug Pope
Sound Mixer: Howard Lindeman
Pre-<strong>Mass</strong> Show Director: Daniel Ezralow
Pre-<strong>Mass</strong> Show Producer: Ken Ashby
Pre-<strong>Mass</strong> Talent: Rick Southern
Scenic Designer: Ed Pierce
Exterior Décor Manager: Paul Chavarria
Scenery Associates: Nick Francone, Jen
Price
Communications Director: Larry Estrin
Media Director: Maris Segal
Head Gaffer: Tom Blancato
Programmer: Paul Sonnleitner
Backstage Managers: Scott Schneider, Beth
Schneider
Communications Manager: Pete Erskine
Production Controller: Mark Aurelio
Lead Production Coordinator: Dennis
Menard
Production Rigger: Hans K. Wert
Production Site Electrics: James Eisner
Production Electrician: John Ellar
CAT Event Power: Burt Bracegirdle
Media Project Coordinators: T.J. Morehouse,
Nancy Shefts
Traffic Manager: David McDaniels
Runner: Jedi Keith Ketchum
Crew Caterer: Gordy Hebler, Full Plate Catering,
Inc.
Yankee Stadium Staff:
Stadium Operations Manager: Doug Behar
Stadium Superintendent: Pete Pullara
Stadium Electrician: Fran Ninivaggi
New York Police Department: Capt. Drew
Kastner
Production Suppliers:
Sound: Clair Brothers Systems — Ralph Mastangelo,
Mike Wolf, Doug Nightwine, David
Staub, Tom Huntington, Christopher Fulton,
Robert Bussiere, Kevin Dennis, Anthony
Sabao, James Ward
Video: Pete’s Big Screen TV — Peter Daniel,
Erin Lynch
Lighting: Scharff Weisberg — Chris Mc-
Meen, Chris Komischock, Ian Healy
Scenery: Hudson Scenic Studios — Neil
Mazzella, Robert McGarvie
Labor: Hudson Theatrical Assoc. — Sam Ellis,
Susan Bristow, Irene Wang (Supervisors)
Staging and Ground Cover: Mountain
Prod., Inc. — President Jim Evans, Ron
“Wilky” Wilkinson, Paul Serkosky, Michael
Gasper, Jake Smolenak, Bill Heinzlmeier,
Paul Simoncavage
Rehearsal Studio/Music Rentals: Studio
Instrument Rentals — Bo Holst, Carly Vena,
Erik White
IATSE Stagehands Local #1:
Carpentry: Frank Illo, Kevin Camus, John
Woytas
Rigging: Wally Bullard, Jeff Goodman
Electrics: Jimmy Maloney
Sound: Tommy Arrigoni, Rich Gilmour
Load Master/Forklift Crew: Pat Quinn
Teamsters: Vinny Russo
Local One Steward: Dan Gilloon
Lighting Consoles: 2 grandMAs, 2 grandMA
NSPs
6 6K HMI PARs
8 Arri 2.5k/4k HMI PARs
12 Zap Technology Lil’ Big Lite 3.5s
12 Vari*Lite VL3500 Wash lights
12 Vari*Lite VL3000 Wash lights
10 Vari*Lite VL3500 Spots
8 Vari*Lite VL2500 Wash lights
9 Mini Lite 10s
30 PLSN JUNE 2008

Ad info:http:// www.plsn.com/instant-info

ROAD TEST
Barco DML-12oo
By NookSchoenfeld
Since Lighting & Sound Design introduced
the Icon M at LDI in 1998, manufacturers
of lighting equipment have ventured
into the video production market. Barco,
the Belgium-based manufacturer of video
equipment, has reversed this trend and
ventured into the lighting market with their
new product, the Digital Moving Luminaire
1200.
A Floor Wax and Dessert Topping
RT
This fixture is designed to be used as
both a high quality video projector and a
bright moving light fixture. By selecting the
correct setting in the DMX512-controlled
menu, the fixture can be in light or video
mode. In light mode, the fixture emits a perfect
circular beam of light that looks to be
equivalent to a 1200-watt hard edge fixture.
To the naked eye, it appears to be about
the same brightness as a Martin MAC 2000
Profile. The output measures 12,000 field lumens.
It has a mechanical dimmer (iris type)
that produces true black versus video black.
It fades in a smooth linear path. Of course, it
strobes as well.
In video mode, the beam and image are
rectangular. The fixture has a sealed DLP
engine which delivers full color, DLP-quality
video with SXGA+ resolution (1400 x 1050
pixels). The light output in this mode is over
10,000 center lumens, making it at about
twice as bright some of the other digital
light products out there. I saw four of their
competitor’s fixtures quadruple-stacked to
blend one video image on a screen. Next to
it was one DML-1200 with the same image.
To my eye, the brightness of the one Barco
fixture was equal to the four others combined.
This fixture contains four 300-watt UHP
lamps. If one fails, the other three stay lit. The
lamp life is rated at 750 hours before noticeable
lumen depreciation. In projector mode
the color temperature is 6400K in white
(no video playing). The lamps are easily replaced
by clicking them into place; no need
for alignment. Barco claims that the lamps
cannot explode because each one is locked
in its own module with a separate cooling
fan. For heat management in the rest of the
fixture, it has a water-cooled radiator, built
into the fixture. There are also heat sensors
located in the head. You can switch between
one, two or four bulb mode to control the
heat, if necessary.
Signed, Sealed, Delivered
RT
When it’s opened up, I can see that everything
is modular and the modules are
sealed. This is good for technicians, as they
can easily replace a faulty module. But more
importantly, no dust or fog juice will accumulate
in the fixture as in normal projectors.
Finally, someone has made a moving head
projector bright enough to work alongside
moving lights in large shows.
For instance, there are two color systems in
the head. Neither one will ever need cleaning.
In projector mode, colors can be blended
with the video image using RGB. In lighting
mode it uses the subtractive CYM mode
for adjusting and bumping colors. The color
system is extremely fast and totally seamless,
unlike most moving lights sold today.
The RGB color system does cut down the
light output; hence, the fixture is brighter in
light mode.
The optics (lenses) are also enclosed in
a sealed module. The fixture can zoom between
12º and 42º while keeping a gobo
pattern perfectly focused. You can zoom out
the beam to a full 50° if a wide unfocused
light beam is desired. It has a lens throw of
1.2, meaning that if I have a throw distance
of ten feet, the image on the screen will appear
eight feet wide.
Hip Media Server
RT
The fixture has Green Hippo Hippotizer
v3 software and a built-in media server. The
Hippo plays back any file uploaded to it by
Barco’s main controller. This controller is a
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
PC-based machine
called the “media
wing.” The wing will
convert any file into
MPEG files with no
loss of frame-to-frame
data, which the Hippo
requires for playback.
It deals with file management
for the fixtures
and can also control
other attributes of
the fixture if necessary.
The DML-1200 comes
stocked with plenty of
images as well as complete
gobo files from
all your favorite pattern
manufacturers.
This fixture is also
able to take in any Barco’s DML-1200
outside media source
through HD or SDI
inputs. Live video can play through this fixture
with no noticeable time loss. You can
also blend images from multiple fixtures.
Through the “Encore” system, the Hippotizer
can blend up to 64 separate projectors to
make one seamless image. For live video,
the DML-1200 uses its own algorithms to
collate the images.
There are four layers on this particular
media server and you can design your own
mask to be used on any layer. The media
wing provides a series of different wipes,
which they call “transition EFX.” Effects can
also be added to existing images to create
things like water, tiling and rippling on top
of the image.
Physically, this fixture is as large as
any moving light head on the market today.
But it is well-built with an aluminum
frame and plastic covers. It is approximately
42 inches tall and about half that
wide. It weighs in at 165 pounds. There are
clamps that attach to the top for easy truss
mounting.
It has a 540° pan and 270° tilt, but it
moves very slowly — only about 80° per
second. It can take between 200-240
volts AC at 50 or 60 Hz. It runs off of any
DMX512 or ArtNet output either through
a 5-pin XLR connector or Ethernet input. It
requires 78 DMX512 channels to run one
fixture. Through the Ethernet connectors
you can synch all the fixtures together to
play footage at the exact same speed.
Finally, someone has made a moving
head projector that is bright enough
to work alongside the moving lights that
we use in large shows. It can be used as
another moving light when it’s not being
used as a projector and it can hold its own
very well.
What it is: Digital luminaire that runs
in video mode or light mode
Who it’s for: Anyone wanting full-color
animated graphics and a profile fixture
in one
Pros: Bright enough to work along side
bright moving lights; SXGA+ resolution;
sealed optics; modular; easy lamp
replacement; built-in media server;
effects; nice zoom; image blending
Cons: Slow movement for a moving
light fixture; extremely heavy
Retail Price: $50,000; Media Wing:
$12,000
Ad info:http:// www.plsn.com/instant-info
Ad info:http:// www.plsn.com/instant-info
32
PLSN JUNE 2008

PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
BUYERS GUIDE
Media
Servers
By RichardCadena
Pandora’s Box Media Server from Coolux
One of the best indications of the growth
of a new technology is to compare the
latest Buyer’s Guide with a previous
year’s version of the same subject. If it grows
horizontally (features) and vertically (listings)
then that’s a good indication that the category
grandMA Video screenshot
is thriving. This year’s Buyer’s Guide on media
servers is as wide and tall as ever.
A more subtle way of gauging the technology
is to keep an eye on which columns
go away after they’ve appeared at least once.
You see, as a new technology develops, particularly
software-based products, new features
are added and the number of columns
in our buyer’s guide grows. But as all of the
competitors catch up, then the answers in the
columns start looking the same — there’s less
competitive advantage, at least on paper.
Fewer Distinctions
BG
Take, for example, the column that used to
say “graphics mapping to geometric objects.”
In the early days of media servers, this was a
feature that some offered while others didn’t.
Today, virtually all of the media servers offer
some form of graphics mapping onto objects.
The same goes for keystone correction. The column
that used to say “number of file locations”
has gone away because computers have gotten
so powerful and memory so cheap that it’s not
much of an issue any more. So we have eliminated
some columns as the competition catches
up and competitive advantages diminish.
On the other hand, the number of listings has
grown. Today, there are 18 individual product
listings from 10 different manufacturers, with
prices ranging from $899 to $42,999.
With the media server Buyer’s Guide growing
in width and height, it’s not easy keeping up
with the new offerings. But a few minutes spent
perusing the next couple of pages will keep you
up to date until the next trade show.
Axon Media Server from High End Systems
Hippotizer V3 HD from Green Hippo
Maxedia Pro from Martin Professional
Mbox Extreme v3 from PRG
ArKaos VJ DMX screenshot

BUYERS GUIDE
Mfr. / Distr. / Web Site
Product
Name
Description Hardware Libraries
Number of Outputs/
Format(s)
Output
Resolution
Number of
Layers
Live Video Input?
ArKaos s.a.
Rose Brand
www.arkaos.net
www.rosebrand.com
ArKaos VJ
DMX
ArKaos LED
Mapper
Media server software that allows triggering
and real-time manipulation of
video, graphics and flash texts.
Software extension which enables
mapping of the server’s video output
directly to any configuration of LED
panels without additional hardware to
convert video signal (VGA or DVI) into
DMX signal.
Software that runs on both PC and Mac.
Software that runs on both PC and Mac.
1.07 GB ArKaos
content and 703MB
AV3 media content
included
none
Up to 4 outputs
by using Matrox Dual-
Head2Go
Up to 256 DMX universes
with ArtNet, more
with e:cue butlers
Up to 4096 x
4096. Support
for standard
resolutions +
user-defined
settings
Unlimited in
simple mode
(lim. by computer
perf.) 8
layers in fixture
mode
Yes, unlimited (as
much as the computer
can support)
- - -
Coolux Gmbh
Coolux Int’l
www.coolux-us.com
Pandora’s
Box Media
Server
Digital hi-def video playback with softedge
on all systems; 2K x 4K resolution
per server; unlimited number of linked
servers; live image acquisition and
real-time processing..
19” dual quad Core-Duo Intel server w/
integrated SATA-2 RAID system, N-Videa
768M graphics RMA, 2GB system RM, ArtNet
1000baseT
700+ media content
files, gobos, tiles and
masks
2x DVI / VGA / RGBHV 8x
VGA with MediaSpitter
Interface
2 outputs up to
1920 x 1080 per
output for each
output
Up to 48 (model
dependant)
Dependent on I/O
card 1x VGA,; 2x VGA;
1x SD-SDI; 1xHD-
SDI4x composite
Green Hippo Ltd.
TMB
www.green-hippo.com
www.tmb.com
Hippotizer
V3 HD, V3
Stage
Networkable media server w/ up to
16 configurable media layers; built-in
media encoder and media database
system;
2.4Ghz dual core Duo processor, 2GB RAM ATI
X3870HD (model specific) graphics card in
custom-designed touring case with pro connectors
and configuration LCD on front.
Full gobo library, 50
Alpha Wipes, test
patterns, moving
media content from
Mode, Showfootage
and Beacon, plus 100
HippoFeed clips
2 outputs -
VGA,DVI,RGBHV,CV or
S-Video; up to 6 outputs
using splitter modules.
2 x Up to 2560
x 1600 (model
specific)
Up to 16 model
dependent
As many live inputs
as the computer can
handle; standard
options, single+quad
SDI, VGA, DVI,
composite/4-input
composite + S-video,
Firewire
High End Systems Inc.
www.highend.com
Axon Media
Server
3U rack-mounted media server powered
by the DL.2/DL.3 graphics engine.
Provides all the functions of the DL.2/
DL.3 including Collage Generator and
Curved Surface Support.
19” 3U rack server running XP embedded
on 2.4GHZ Core2 Duo, 2GB RAM, highestend
ATI graphics card available, DVD+/-RW
drive, DVI Output, DMX512 and ArtNet Input,
and now shipping with SDI input/output as
standard
Royalty-free stock
digital art collection
w/ 1,000+ lighting-optimized
files; supports
custom content
1 graphics output (DVI),
1 local CMA output
(DVI)
1920x1080
3 active media
layers + many
built-in functions
that serve as
separate ‘layers’
yes
MA Lighting
A.C.T Lighting
www.actlighting.com
grandMA
Video
Real-time, two-way communication
between server and the console allows
for instant access to new content.
Any console in the grandMA range (including
onPC) and user-supplied PC; minimum
2.4Ghz CPU, 512MB RAM, Win XP, DirectX 9,
64MB dedicated video RAM
Included with grand-
MA software: 18GB+
of free content plus
Bluff-Titler application
for content creation.
1 format defined by
user-supplied hardware
Adjustable up to
2,048 x 2,048
Up to 32 content
+ 1 SoftEdge, 1
Keystone, 1 Master,
as needed
4 - user supplied
hardware
Martin Professional A/S
Martin Professional, Inc.
www.martin.com
www.maxedia.com
Maxedia
Broadcast
Maxedia
Pro
Advanced version of Maxedia Pro that
handles various types of digital media;
files can be altered, mixed, masked,
added to, and generally changed using
Maxedia Plug-ins;
Media server that handles various
types of digital media; files can be
altered, mixed, masked, added to, and
generally changed using Maxedia
Plug-ins;
Pentium Dual PCI Express 512MB graphics
card w/ second engine suport (4xDVI
outputs); Black Magic SDI input card; Raid5
config for media disk (650GB capacity); 4GB
RAM; Intel Quad Core processor; input/output
unit, flight case, rackmount keyboard/mouse
Pentium 4; 3.2GHz w/ hyper threading; 1GB
RAM; 2 x 120GB SATA; DVD R/W burner; I/O
unit, flightcase, rackmount keyboard/mouse
650+ free content (5
DVD set)
4 DVI, VGA, composite,
S-video or SDI
(optional); total of four
outputs can be used at
one time.
2 DVI, VGA, composite
or S-video (out 1 + GUI
or out 1 + out 2)
Hardware
dependent
20 yes (2)
Maxedia
Compact
Maxedia Compact is a ecomical version
of the Maxedia PRO. This media
server capable of handling a multitude
of digital media.
Shuttle PC XPC P3100G - Pentium D, 3.2 GHz
- 2 GB 200 SA memory - 2 x SATA WDC 200 GB
hard disk drives - ATI PC I Express X1600 video
card - DVD +/- R/RW drive
2 output - DVI or VGA
(Out 1 + GUI
or Out 1 + Out 2)
5 yes, firewire
Production Resource
Group
www.prg.com
Mbox Extreme
v3
Mbox Extreme can display up to
six layers of video. Layers can be
any combination of 3D objects or
backgrounds.
Apple Macintosh (Mac Pro), custom dual
I/O dimmer module with program monitor;
custom rolling-rack w/ integral UPS.
1380+ stock movies
and stills, 70+ 3D
objects, 6 animated
gobos, 624+ digital
gobos
2 outputs - each output
has DVI, RGBHV, SDI,
and HD-SDI; each
output also has DVI
preview.
Up to
2048x1536,
output resolution
depends on
connected video
equipment
6 layers w/ ability
to transition
content on the
same layer.
2 local - SD/HD-SDI
or composite, and
FireWire/USB (DV), up
to 30 additional via
network feed
Radical Lighting
PixelRange
www.radlite.com
www.pixelrange.com
PixelDrive 2
NG
VideoDrive
Controls DMX lighting fixtures via
DMX or built-in preset creator w/
scheduled playback.
Video playback with enhanced 3D
effects and advanced keystoning
features.
One layer of video playback with
enhanced 3D effects and advanced
keystoning features.
None supplied (software only) PC only
Hundreds including
Radical Flashes, Aluna-
Blue and more
Incl. w/ Pro Edition of
NG or as a personal
edition w/ 2, 4 or 8 universes
+ video output
Supports 4 outputs,
dependant on hardware
Supports 3 outputs,
1 for control panel, 2
outputs
Up to 2048 x
2049
Unlimited
1
Up to 4
Up to 4, up to SDI
quality
Additional plug-in
available at extra cost
Rose Brand
www.panoramadigital
scenery.com or
www.rosebrand.com
Panorama
Digital
Scenery
Tour Edition
Panorama
Digital
Scenery LE
Media server with 8 layers of video,
still images, live feed, and flash text
control and manipulation in real time.
Server is controlled from a console
or from the internal Panorama DMX
software.
Identical to the Panorama Digital
Scenery Tour Edition except it does
not contain internal video capture
abilities. “Light” refers to weight and
compactness at 13.5 lbs, 9”x9”x13”.
8RU flight case, 2 monitors, keyboard, mouse,
rack-mount PC: Intel Duo Core Processors,
dual NVIDIA graphics, 2GB RAM, 2x 160GB
SATA drives, DVD R/W +/- burner, 2 video
capture cards, rack-mount I/O: DMX in & out,
ArtNet In & out, SMPTE in & out, VGA ove
2 monitors, keyboard, mouse, custom Shuttle
PC w/ Intel Duo Core processors, dual NVIDIA
graphics, 2GB RAM, 2x 160GB SATA drives,
DVD R/W +/- burner, DMX in & out, SMPTE
in & out, ArtNet In & out, VGA over CAT5e
adaptors.
Supplied w/ 20+ GB of
content from multiple
creators: Blue Pony,
GoboMan, Braden
Stroup and more.
Dual control monitors
plus dual output with
2 VGA or 2 VGA over
CAT5E, number of outputs
can be expanded.
Standard options
1024 x 768
(single or cloned
outputs), 2048 x
768, 1024 x 1536
8
2, S-video or composite
0, inputs can be
added via firewire
Panorama
LED Mapper
Add-on for any Panorama enabling
the broadcast of up to 128 universes
via ArtNet. Available as stand-alone.
n/a n/a ArtNet n/a n/a n/a
SAMSC Designs Ltd
Projected Image Digital,
Ltd.
www.samsc-pm.com
Catalyst
v4 Pro, DV,
Express,
Lite Media
Server
software
Macintosh-based software w/ up to
16 configurable layers up to image or
movie size of 4096x2048.
Best performance on Tiger 10.4.9 or greater
w/ 2GB RAM, SCSI disc preferred, X1900 video
card preferred. Universal binary supports PPC
and Intel. Intel preferred
None included. Supports
up to 65,535 files
with 65,535 frames in
each file
Up to 8 outputs independent
mixed outputs
w/ dvi /vga splitters
Output resolution
up to limit
of graphics cards
- can be as high
as 3840x1024 on
2 outputs
Up to 14
Up to 8 live video inputs
simultaneously;
virtual video inputs
34 PLSN JUNE 2008

PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
Number of Effects
Import 3D
Objects?
Serial
Control of
Outboard
Devices?
Frame Synch
for Multiple
Media Servers?
Audio Effects?
Input
Control
Protocol
DMX Channels
Warranty
Retail Price
Comments
60 ArKaos effects, 40 Freeframe
effects. Support
for additional Freeframe
effects and Core Image
(Mac OS X)
no no no yes
DMX, ArtNet,
MIDI, keyboard,
mouse
Maxi fixture-51 channels;
full fixture-43
channels; small
fixture-25 channels;
simple mode up to
128 channels
- $899
ArKaos runs on servers and laptops with leading consoles and accepts major
video formats.
- - - - - - - - $899 ArKaos LED Mapper is a software extension for ArKaos VJ DMX.
Up to 144 effects engines
w/3 effects engines per
layer and 255 effects per
engine
.x Files
yes, 1024
ports with
network
and remote
RS-232,
422,485,
TCP/IP
yes, sub-field
accuracy with
greater than 128
servers
yes, 2/8/24/48/72
output channels
with full 3D
control of channel
placement. 48K
audio with full
SMPTE synchronization
over all
audio channels
PB Automation,
DMX512,
ArtNet, Serial
RS232, RS422,
TCP/IP
37 ch. per layer; 44
ch. per output
1 year
$21,500
- $42,999
based on
config.
The Coolux family of products integrate to allow selection of different system
configurations to work where needed on each project. Multiple complete
time lines and remote resource management with MediaManager allow
operation from any location.
100+ effects per effects
engine, 18 effect engines
per unit; engines can be
“stacked” for more effects;
multi parameters per
effect
yes, via
external
program;
can import
3D scenes or
objects
yes
yes, frameaccurate
sync
between servers
or individual layers
plus “virtual”
server emulation
for big multi
display screens
yes
DMX, ArtNet,
RS232, MIDI,
TCP-IP, keyboard,
mouse
2 to 450 (configurable)
1 year
Hippo HD
V3, $42,079;
Stage V3,
$21,830;
Zookeeper
software,
$1,485
Additional components: scenery automation link, calendar/scheduling,
advanced timeline, 360 degree sphere projection, multi-channel audio, soft
edge blending, beat recognition, pixelmapper, video to fixture mapping,
SMPTE sync, remote media management, H-Map 2 and more on the way.
Hundreds of graphics and
color effects; each media
layer supports multiple
effects stacks + global
effects stacks that apply
to all layers
yes, .x
format
no yes no DMX, ArtNet
35 global layers; 38
per media layer
1 year
$8,960 MSRP
US D.
Built on the same graphics engine in the DL.2/DL.3 Digital Light. CMA
software allows content and configuration on multiple Axons to be managed
remotely across a Gigabit network. New software release coming this summer.
All software downloads free from website
23 yes no
yes - between up
to 144 grandMA
video servers in a
network
no
MA-Net
From 2 to 2048 per
server, depending
on required amount
of control. All channels
are calculated
at the server, not the
console.
1 year
(parts &
labor)
$8,775
grandMA Video connects to any grandMA console.Software installs on any
laptop w/ min. requirements; or a PC that exceeds min. requirements for
larger shows. Pixel-mapping with Art-Net output.
$41,995
Hundreds yes no yes
yes
DMX, ArtNet
Base: 24 channels/
output adj; 48
channels (optional)/
layer; 24 per layer
(optional)
2 years
$26,500
Maxedia can be programmed or operated ‘stand alone’ as a virtual media
switcher without a lighting console. Touch screen optimized customizable
graphical user interface, custom wipes, build-in media manager and pixel
mapping allows for mapping of digital
DMX(external
interface
needed),
Artnet
$11,495
75 effects total (2 per
layer, 2 on camera) and
54 transitions; custom
effects (image units) can
be added.
yes, .obj
format 3D
objects, .svg
and .ai digital
gobos
no
Yes - via SMPTE
or MIDI timecode
or between layers
on servers
no
DMX512,
ArtNet
Operating mode
dependant
n/a
P.O.A.
New I/O module receives DVI video from server and converts it to analog (RG-
BHV), SDI, and HD-SDI, no scan converter required. Pixel-mapping with ArtNet
output, no limit to number of universes. Three dual-output modes allow vary
amounts of cooperation between screens.
Hundreds including pixellation,
mosaic, chromakey
yes, .x files
yes
yes
20 no
no
yes
DMX via Art-
Net, Pathport,
Enttec or local
control and
scheduling.
Midi control
now available
Between 13 and 33
per layer type
4,11 or 37 channel
mode
1 year
Personal
Edition avail
from $1,600
$6,250 software
only
$1,600 software
only
Off-line editing even from free evaluation version, w/ DMX512-controllable
playback of cues or automated scheduler; new auto setup and extra selection
tools available.
“Click and Fit” allows NG to act as a stand-alone unit or integrated into other
NGs to make a customized media server.
Designed for smaller budget events where a video display is desirable but the
features of a full media server is unnecessary.
$8,500 $8,500 price includes entire system and all components in the flight case
Hundreds no no no no
DMX, ArtNet,
SMPTE
Setup dependant;
25 ch/layer; full: 43
ch/layer; max: 53 ch/
layer; internal board
- 0 ch/layer.
1 year
$5,500-$6,500
Base system incl. Panorama LE PC w/ software and DMX/SMPTE USB dongle:
$5,500; full system incl. optional hardware: $6,500
n/a n/a n/a no no n/a none
$1,200 -
$2,000
Panorama add-on: $1,200; stand-alone software: $2,000 - does not include
ArtNet-to-DMX nodes/conversion.
Unlimited yes yes yes yes
DMX512,
ArtNet, MIDI,
or Mackie
controllers
40 per layer; 10
layers = 400 DMX
channels
software
only
Software
only:
Pro$5500; DV
$3500; Express
$2500;
Lite $1500
All versions support HD playback on all layers, compressed or uncompressed
Quicktime movies, 8 video inputs, cue lists, show control; upgradeable between
versions, and upgradeable to 250 DMX output universes.
2008 JUNE PLSN
35

COMPANY 411
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
The set design for NBC’s Identity is helping All Access make a name for itself in television.
By Kevin M. Mitchell
It may still be referred to as the “small”
screen. But TV sets are growing in size. So,
it turns out, are the sets for TV. “We just
had a production meeting here, and everything
is getting bigger and bigger,” says Clive
Forrester, CEO for All Access Staging and Productions.
“A lot of it has to do with our products,”
Forrester said, noting the company’s transition
from the concert touring industry to TV
production. “Our products lend themselves
more and more to the needs of the current
trend in television shows and events.”
Thinking Outside the Riser 411
More than a staging and platform fabricator,
All Access is able to come up with custom
designs that think creatively outside the typical
riser. As such, it has the ability to serve as a
design partner, shaping and adding momentum
to demand for its services.
“We’ve always done quite a few TV shows
— MTV events, and so forth,” says Bob Hughes,
vice president and co-owner. “But recently, in
the last few years, we’ve become seriously
involved in a wider variety television productions
— and more of them.”
Serious indeed. From wrestling to game
shows to special events like Nickelodeon’s
Kid’s Choice Awards, the company is increasingly
being called on for big entertainment
events.
A Good “Deal” 411
Hughes, with All Access since 1994, cites
Deal or No Deal, which premiered in late Dec.
2005, as a “break out” show for the venerable
live event staging company. A personal relationship
with Emmy Award winning production
designer Anton Goss got Hughes in the
door, but then he and the All Access team still
had to prove themselves.
Goss, a sought-after designer, and his
team went on to do Are You Smarter Than a
5th Grader, Identity, Show Me the Money, Set for
Life, Master of Champions and My Dad is Better
Than Your Dad, among other shows. All Access
played a part in them all.
“But our biggest single rental period to
date is our relationship with American Gladiators,
Hughes says. First aired from 1989 to
1996, the athletic competition reemerged,
bigger than ever, in 2008. For the TV show’s
revival, All Access was given the challenge of
building arena seating inside an arena, yet
make it intimate. “It’s becomes a really cavernous
space which is hard to fill, so we had
to make the audience risers steeper and closer
in. That was a particular challenge because
we had to build it over the existing upperlevel
arena seating.”
Plexiglas Steps 411
Everything within view of the television
cameras was carefully scrutinized. The show’s
producers planned out every shot from every
camera, including audience shots. That led All
Access to use Plexiglas for the steps on the set
to add a critical element of illumination.
“When the audience was shown, it started
looking like a black hole in the sea of people,
so we constructed the steps from Plexiglas
and lit them from behind,” Hughes says. “It
helped bring the whole thing to life.”
American Gladiators shows are typically
filled to full seating capacity, and the challenge
is to fit stairs for egress in the event of a
fire. “That’s where our creativity comes in. We
have a good team that we rely on, and one
of our CAD guys works through any situation.
After all, as much as I’d like to think so, I don’t
have all the answers,” Hughes laughs.
New Season, New Challenges 411
All Access was recently involved in installing
the set of American Gladiators’ next
season, which will take place inside the L.A.
Sports Arena. “It’s funny — you’re always
happy when a show gets called back because
you think you can just go in and redo it, and
it’ll be easy.”
Think again. The new season’s set required
a complete redesign. First, they brought in
two new 50-foot-by-15-foot climbing walls.
At the other sound stage, the water tank was
below floor level. This time they had to bring
in an 180,000-gallon water tank that is 10 feet
deep and 61 feet across. Because of the tank,
the walls and seats had to start at 10 feet off
the ground — the height of a NBA basketball
hoop.
“It’s cool, though, because while it’s an
above ground pool, we had to create the illusion
that it’s in-ground. Right off the bat, the
first bleacher is 12 feet off the floor.” The seats,
meanwhile, were built to accommodate an
audience of 1,500.
As for the walls, they needed to be supported
carefully. Staging supervisor Joe Barry
put a trussing structure together to hold the
walls, and it was rigged with two-ton hoists
from above to support the weight and to accommodate
a deck, handrails and a camera.
Turning Visions into Realities 411
The current trend in prime-time game
shows and special events play to All Access’s
strength, Hughes says. “The first thing we try
to do is take the television producer and designer’s
creative vision and turn it into a reality.
We’ve adopted our concert industry standard
to the television world, and it has been
a good fit.”
All Access’s Rob Achlimbari worked on
another recent television event, WWE’s WrestleMania
and the Wrestling Hall of Fame Award
Bob Hughes, vice president, All Access Staging and Productions.
A circular set brought visual focus to the two contestants facing off in ABC’s Duel.
Show. Working with set designer Jason Robinson,
they re-created a South Beach hotel
look. They handled the seating needs and a
50-foot high WrestleMania sign, among other
elements.
“We also provided the grand entry way,
which is where all the wrestlers enter,” Achlimbari
says. They fabricated custom pieces and,
borrowing a page from their All Access playbook,
they also supplied a Plexiglas staging
deck, which could be lit from below.
All Access’s handiwork can also be seen
on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live. The company
supplied the outdoor stage, roof and tower
system, building on its six-year relationship
with the late night talk show host and his
staff. “I’m very proud and happy to be part of
the Jimmy Kimmel family,” Hughes says.
If All Access’s success has grown along
with the complexity of its installations,
Hughes isn’t inclined to crow about it. “I just
happen to have relationships with a few designers
in town, so all this work kind of fell
into my lap.” But of course, if you don’t prove
yourself day in and day out, the phone stops
ringing. Hughes does give in to that point:
“We’ve carved a decent niche.”
36
PLSN JUNE 2008

A Balancing Act 411
To ensure that the phone keeps ringing,
All Access tries to stay ahead of the
curve on custom TV set design trends,
without abandoning its basis in off-theshelf
rentals or its concert touring business.
“One of the great things about our
rental operation is we see the demand,
the way the trends are moving, and we
try to fill that demand and build rental
stock for some of these more lucrative
custom jobs,” Hughes says. “We’ve always
had an 80 percent outlook. We can
provide 80 percent of your rental equipment
off the shelf, and 20 percent custom
equipment to give you your specific
creative individual look. So in the world
of seating, for one example, that means
we build angle decks to interface with
our inventory and it’s a facetted system
— not really round, but straight-turn/
straight-turn. We’ve amassed quite a bit
of rental stock with these pieces.”
The company added a swing shift to
its manufacturing facility for two months
to fabricate nothing but rental equipment
in anticipation of further demand.
But that’s not to say that all this television
work is going to the company’s head. The
concert business remains the company’s
bread and butter. And concert tours, of
course, can be every bit as demanding as
a hit TV show. A recent case in point: the
wildly successful Hannah Montana/Miley
Cyrus Best of Both Worlds tour, which
Hughes described as “having gotten my
ass kicked by a 14-year-old girl.”
“We’ve adopted our concert industry
standard to the television
world, and it has been a good fit.”
— Bob Hughes,
vice president, All Access
The multi-level set for American Gladiators amounted to an arena within an arena.
Ad info:http:// www.plsn.com/instant-info
2008 JUNE PLSN
37

WIDE ANGLE
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
LDs Leif Dixon and Chad Peters on their Co-Headlining Tour
Photos & Text by SteveJennings
Chad Peters used the latest version of SharpieCAD for Paramore’s backdrops.
Leif Dixon gave Jimmy Eat World a different look with HES Showguns and tungsten specials.
A Résumé, of Sorts, for the Gig
Chad Peters (Paramore): “I would acts. Other than a handful of smaller
assume my career on the technical side
of showbiz started like most everyone’s
– a failed audition. The sweet drum gig
I should have gotten turned into an offer
to be the lighting guy instead. The
journey’s taken me along the way. I’ve
worked for Stagepro, CCE, Performance
Lighting, Windy City Music, PRG, and
tours, this tour is one of my first opportunities
to design on a real level. Luckily
its a perfect chance to grow as a designer
at the same time as the band is
growing in popularity.”
Leif Dixon (Jimmy Eat World): “My
resume? I’m tall and incredibly sarcastic.
The ‘tall’ part makes me hate European
Upstaging. The last four years I have (double decker) tour busses, and the ‘sarcastic’
been pretty consistently a touring tech,
which allowed me chances to gain experience
while running a lot of support
part has kept me single for most of
my life. I have a natural affinity for Nutter
Butter cookies and blackberry pie.”
Putting Together a Co-Headlining Rig
Leif Dixon: “I put together a very simple
design of three straight trusses and a
deck package and suggested to Chad that
we share those fixtures. The design for my
own show included an additional upstage
lighting truss and a soft goods truss, and
the overall layout allowed space for Chad
to add his own specials, backdrops, etc.
Chad and I did a few rounds of compromise
until we settled on an overall shared
design, with each band having their own
additional specials.
I tried to add a live goat to the design,
but the budget did not allow for a
handler, and the production manager refused
to allow hay on the bus, so we had
to leave the goat at a venue about two
weeks into the tour.”
Chad Peters: “Once the budget
came back and slapped me with reality,
it was much easier than I thought
it would be. We agreed on much of
the basics like fixture types and gobo
loads right away. The majority of what
followed was bouncing e -mails back
and forth about moving trusses or
adding a fixture here and there. For
budget reasons we tried to share as
many lights as possible so we talked
about having different trim heights
for each show. In the Paramore show
I toned the truss to make the different
truss heights really stand out. One of
the most noticeable differences to me
was the floor package for each band
changed drastically.”
Peters lit Paramore’s backdrop and truss with LEDs.
Leif Dixon: “We use a series of backdrops
– four in total – to give us a few different
looks throughout the show. Ultimately,
however, I think the biggest contrast between
the shows came simply from the
respective styles of the two designers. We
did have some significantly different fixture
types in our extras packages – Paramore
with a ton of LED fixtures, and Jimmy Eat
World with some HES Showguns and tungsten
specials – that helped keep the two
shows a bit different. Also, the goat liked to
chew on the soft goods, so my show looked
a little different every day.”
Two Bands, Two Looks
Chad Peters: “Ah, yes, the old ‘lights
in the guitar’ cabs gag... It was actually
something the band really wanted
from the beginning. The biggest thing
I thought stood out in my show were
the Color Kinetics ColorBlaze that lit the
backdrop and the Coemar LED PARs that
toned the truss. It was actually a pretty
big part of my show and something Leif
didn’t use in his. One of my favorite differences
was actually Leif’s show. He had
100-watt bulbs that hung throughout
the rig. I would make it out to FOH most
nights just to see that.”
Dixon used VectorWorks to draw his plots for Jimmy Eat World, shown here.
Programming and Control
Leif Dixon: “I use a MA Lighting
GrandMA Light and programmed a large
Chad Peters: “I used the Flying Pig
Systems Hog iPC running Hog3 mode with
portion of the show at home using the a mini wing. The previz was done using
Light and MA’s 3D Visualizer software. I
use VectorWorks to draw my plots, while
Chad uses SharpieCAD. I think my plots
were a bit easier to read, though he definitely
won the efficiency contest; it would
take me an hour every time I needed to
draft a revision, while he could have a
new plot in under two minutes.”
ESP Vision.” I am still learning VectorWorks
and am incredibly slow, so I found SharpieCAD
and a digital camera was the best
way to keep up with the changes in the
plot. In my defense though, the symbol
for the goat in my plot looked way better
than the VectorWorks one Leif had. Mine
had some grass to eat!”
38 PLSN JUNE 2008

CREW
Lighting Designer/Director: Leif Dixon
(Jimmy Eat World)
Lighting Designer/Director: Chad Peters
(Paramore)
Crew Chiefs: Mark Weil, Kevin Tyler
Lighting Techs: Blake Rodgers, Jerry Smith
Rigger/Carpenter: The Amazing Dave Johnson
Production Manager: Marc Immerman
Tour Manager: Mark Haworth (Jimmy Eat
World)
Tour Manager: Andrew Weiss (Paramore)
Lighting Company: Ed & Ted’s Excellent
Lighting (Kevin Forster, account rep)
GEAR
Lighting Consoles: MA Lighting grandMA
(main), MA Lighting GrandMA Full-size
(backup), Flying Pig Systems Hog iPC console
23 Martin MAC 2000 Profiles
14 Martin MAC 2000 Wash fixtures
8 Martin MAC 700 Profiles
8 High End Systems Showguns
18 DWE 4-Liter
13 Martin Atomic 3000 Strobes
9 Color Kinetics ColorBlaze 72 LED
Strip Lights
18 Coemar LED PARs
8 ETC Source Four PARs
1 goat
The two LDs compromised on a rig that allowed for each designer to add a few specials. Shown here, a moment from Paramore’s show.
The Band Had Ideas
Leif Dixon: “The band take a significant
interest in the overall presentation of their
show. Before I joined the tour, they worked
with another designer (Dan Hadley) to conceive
the soft goods they’d use on this tour.
During the design and budgeting process
they frequently will check in on the status
and ask lots of questions and offer up ideas,
especially about ideas for gags or other ways
to make the show unique. Once the rig design
is finalized and a show-flow has been established
for the soft goods, all lighting and
cueing is left up to me.”
Chad Peters: “Paramore are really into
lighting. They give me freedom to do what
I think looks good, but sometimes they will
have requests for a certain color, or more
strobe, etc. I would like to add a huge
‘thank you’ to our crew, and working with
Leif. Speaking of our crew, we have fun on
this tour. Just ask our sound monitor guy
who we taped into his bunk.”
Band members from Paramore and Jimmy Eat World took an active interest in the lighting design for their tours. Shown here, Jimmy Eat World.
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2008 JUNE PLSN 39

INTERVIEW
Taking Risks, Taking Breath Away
By RobLudwig
Lukasz DrapaLa
Ballet Deviare is known for dance performances set to heavy metal music. Here is a moment from Forged.
In this month’s PLSN Interview, we get acquainted
with Diana Kesselschmidt. The
multi-talented lighting designer with a
clever and sharp sense of humor tells about
how she gained real-life experience in high
school and college, why her professor thought
she had gone off the deep-end and her most
intimate design to date.
PLSN: So how did you get involved in the
industry and how long have you been doing
it?
DK: The first set I worked on was at day
camp. I was six. In hindsight it was completely
inappropriate for children to be wielding saws
and paint — nevertheless, they let us. It was
Bye Bye Birdie and we were supposed to be
the chorus. They didn’t know what else to do
with us while the bigger kids were rehearsing,
so they put us to work.
I don’t know if anyone knows what a coping
saw is anymore. They just let us play with them.
It was a horrible idea but no one was injured.
Is that what led you to scenic construction?
From that point on, when a show was
happening, I was there, but not on stage. I
liked being a part of the cooperative effort. By
14 I was a really competitive carpenter. I had
worked on two gigantic two-story sets, with
huge turntables and double-swing doors.
What got you interested in lighting and
how did you make that transition?
One day, the T.D. at Usdan Center for
the Creative and Performing Arts, Howard
Rhorbach — he’s IATSE Local 1 and my first
mentor — came over and said, “The lighting
guy doesn’t want to do it anymore.” I
said, “What does that mean?” “That means
you go up that spiral staircase and figure
out how to use the board.” I was meeting
with the director the next day and the show
was the day after.
You mean you had two days to get up to
speed and you had never touched a lighting
console before?
Yeah. I went back the next year and spent
the entire summer making cable, off the
spool, and never went back to carpentry.
“I served mini meat pies in fillo
dough at intermission. The professors
looked at me like I was crazy.”
40 PLSN JUNE 2008
You started doing what a lot of people learn
in theatrical houses at a very young age.
I got into theatre because the shows at
school and summer camps had plenty of volunteer
actors, no one to do anything else, and
I was qualified. I was a part of the Student Television
Arts Company with Ron DeMaio. It is a
program wherein high school kids learn film
study, theatre study, cooperative creativity,
arts, dance, drama, music and writing. That’s
where I began learning about visual arts and
where I could use all the creative tools I had
picked up to produce something.
Was that offered at your school as an extracurricular
activity?
It was offered in school and was sort of a
fringe program. It was an extended class.
Did it take place in your school?
Yes. Sometimes we had outside workshops
with the program’s alumni. They were
producers, directors, designers and writers
— some of them were published or had
done pretty high profile work — so we had
industry mentors through the company.
That sounds like a great experience.
It was wonderful.
How old were you at this point?
Fifteen through 18.
That must have been a very impressionable
time.
Yes. When you are doing film workshops
at that age on the magic of Hitchcock, it can
really direct a person’s life. I was very lucky.
So you were sold on it at that point. Where
did it take you from there?
I did try to get away from theatre and keep
it as a hobby. I went into archeology because it
was so much more interesting at the time, but
that didn’t last long. A lot of people talk about
the theatre addiction — they can’t get away
from it, no matter what they do. That’s what
happened to me. I was trying to find something
that I could really study in college. It didn’t occur
to me at all that you could actually study theatre
until I was already a sophomore. I realized there
were other people doing something that I’d
rather do and I wanted to get in on that.
Where did this occur?
I went to Boston University and it was
just an accident that they happened to
have a nice theatre program. The first year
ended, and I told my parents, “I don’t think
you’re going to like what I have to say, but,
I’m pretty certain that I want to do this.”
They were both supportive.
You’ve had some success early on in your
career. When did you graduate?
I graduated from grad school in 2004.
Did you do shows while attending BU?
I spent all my spare time interning and
traveling to New York to work, which I thought
was the best way to learn.
I think a lot of people started in the industry
straight out of high school and worked
their way up. Or they studied in college and
worked their way up from a different starting
point. It seems you got the best of both.
I did try really hard to arrange what they
called in school “real life experience,” which is
Lighting Designer Diana Kesselschmidt
actually an absurd title. It’s hard to go back
and forth between school and work because
the rules don’t match up.
How many hours would you spend in the
theatre at that point?
In Boston, I spent whatever hours were
required to help everybody with their shows
and the time I took to work on my thesis. It
culminated in a PowerPoint cue-to-cue of
Sweeney Todd with soundtrack clips that
runs by itself, as a Sweeney abridged. I
served mini meat pies in fillo dough at intermission.
The professors looked at me
like I was crazy. Seeing that look was the
best moment of my entire school career. I
had gone into isolation for three and a half
months to work on my thesis, and I looked
like an eccentric by the time I crawled out
of that hole.
I’d also take two or three weeks off here
and there and go to New York and work with
anybody that would have me. Once I was
there, I’d work up to 16-hour days. I showed
up first just to be there — and do anything I
possibly could — and then stay until the very
end to close up, so everyone knew I’d heard
every last piece of information and I’d have
answers in the morning.
That’s great advice for people in school
and doing internships.
I hope so. I’ve spent a lot of my time
guest teaching. I taught students in the
theatre departments at Bergen Community
College, Fitchburg State College
and I’ve been emailing back-andforth
with a few of the kids from BU. I
do everything I can to help clarify the
difference between rhetoric and useful
information that will help them become
comfortable with themselves in time to
do their job successfully.

PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
With Caged Visions, at the HB Theater in New York, Kesselschmidt, director Rasa Allen Kazlas and the cast
and crew made the most of a minimal set and rig.
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On the shows you’ve worked on since
graduating, what have you found most
challenging?
I think challenges and pride go hand-
in-hand for me. I love solving challenges
and I’m really proud when I do. I think my
greatest challenge is Ballet Deviare. Their
first show was Lightening the Dark. It was in
a theatre that had 34 working 1.2k dimmers,
75-watt bulbs and a ETC Microvision. They
had a wonderful choreographer and a good
managing director who had experience in
just about everything except theatre. My
job over the last five years with them has
been to help turn their dream into a reality
— in the most clichéd sense, but also in
he most in-depth sense — because I introduced
them to production management
and stage management. Why you would
want to put money into a light plot, how
big the plot could get, how they could make
scenery useful without being impossible to
design, manufacture and transport and
how lighting and scenery can work together
with a specific piece. Now, five years later,
Ballet Deviare’s Memento Mori is a full blown
ballet — 180 circuits, scenery, effects, piece
specific lighting designed in detail, custom
costumes — ready to perform this summer
and tour this fall.
Memento Mori is a perfect example of
building magic from nothing. I pushed the
company heavily to add a more personal
element this time around, as we have de-
veloped a fan base that has known us long
enough to have an interest in us person-
continued on page 42
Do you think feeling comfortable with
oneself is a prerequisite for being a
good designer?
I find that with most students that I
work with, and with the work I did as a
student, the difference between getting
things right and wrong is almost purely
confidence. Most often, people aren’t
asked to do more than they know; and if
they are, confidence helps them to know
when to ask questions.
Do you mean confidence in their existing
abilities?
Yes. The catch-22 is that confidence
isn’t something you can make up — you
do have to earn it with practice.
You’ve done a lot of work since then —
do you prefer to work in New York?
I’ve done a season or two in East
Hampton and Cortland Rep and a few
other places. I did a couple of seasons of
an ice show in Boston. I love to travel for
fun. I end up sticking to New York for work
because I’m a New Yorker, born and bred.
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INTERVIEW
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
Mark Lanks
Kesselschmidt turns up the visual heat for a scene with Maggie and Brick for a Boston
University production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
Another scene from Ballet Deviare’s Forged, at
the Abrons Art Center in New York.
“I showed up first just to be there —
and do anything I possibly could — and
then stay until the very end to close
up, so everyone knew I’d heard every
last piece of information and I’d have
answers in the morning.”
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continued from 41
ally. This show was delayed six months from
our usual yearly schedule because so many
company members were dealing with death
and disease within their families. The pieces
in Memento Mori were taken from our rep, or
created fresh, to present the full gamut of living,
the strength, the weakness and the hope
that we have to continually choose in order
to keep living.
This may be the first truly personal
piece I have ever worked on. Each number
is designed with dance, death metal/
traditional rock and film editing style in
mind. In the plot and use of angles, you
can see the dance. In the impact and fast
cueing, you can see the metal and rock. In
the length of the cue times, the dynamic
contrasts and risky use of space, you can
see my film study background. The unusual
color choices of R50, R370, L088
and this time R32, you can see me, my vision.
Only a combination of these three
loves in me could warrant such an unusual
palette. It helps that I was able to
control the unity of the design elements
by designing and building the scenery to
interact specifically with the lighting.
I’ve found that no matter how hard I try
to stick to lighting design — because of all
of my training with carpentry, sewing, organization,
management — I just can’t shut my
mouth when people ask me, “How do we do
X, Y and Z?”
That’s a good quality to have.
But it gets me into a lot of trouble. I don’t
now how many times I’ve had to do absurd
things because someone figured out I happen
to know how to do X, Y or Z.
But that’s puts you in a unique position. A
lot of designers say their most gratifying
moments occur when they pull something
off, even though they don’t have much to
work with.
Absolutely. One of my proudest productions
was Caged Visions, at HB Playwrights.
We walked in and the most exciting things in
the theatre were their new striplights, which
were beautiful, but we still had to spend half
the evening attaching the plugs ourselves.
They had some benches and sticks and that
was the show. But, with a very skilled director,
a very talented cast and a crew that loved
each other, we came up with something that
was absolutely breathtaking.
42
PLSN JUNE 2008

Video Cubes Add New
Dimension to Awards Show
Transparent LED
Maker Expands in U.S.
G-Lec’s transparent B:xel LED video system.
SUN CITY, South Africa — A variety of video effects
and moving lights jazzed up the 14 th annual
South African Music Awards (SAMAs), staged at the
Sun City Superbowl and broadcast live on SABC1.
The event celebrates South Africa’s diverse range of
music with 64 awards categories and was watched
by 3 million viewers.
Robe’s StageQube 324 LED panels, supplied by
Mark Gaylard of MGG, were a prominent visual feature
A nostalgic Elton John image gazes out over the Garden.
The SAMA awards show featured StageQubes that opened and closed, providing an entrance and backdrop for performers.
onstage, with 24 of the units adding a new dimension
to the show. The lighting design by Robert Hoey
also included Robe moving lights, and the stage design
featured additional low- and high-resolution LED
surfaces and plasma screen columns. The production
manager was David Hossey of Strike Productions.
The StageQubes were placed center stage,
mounted on two customized movable stage trucks
which split the panels down Continued on page 46
NEW YORK — Germany-based G-Lec, a manufacturer
of transparent LED video systems, is expanding its U.S.
operations with a new location in New York. The company’s
products are also on display at XL Video’s new XL LED
Lab in New York’s SoHo district.
The XL Lab is currently showcasing the Phantom 30,
Phantom 60 and B:xel system, giving G-Lec an opportunity
to extend its contact with designers in stage and architectural
environments. By seeing the installations at the lab, architects
and designers can learn more about the ways that
LED video products can be used.
The New York office is now at 75 Broad Street, 21st Floor,
New York, NY 10004. The phone number is 646.405.1023,
and the email address is info.usa@g-lec.com.
Screen Company Rep Gets Leed AP Certification
WARSAW, IN — Tim Shinners, CTS, a sales consultant
for Da-Lite Screen Co., has received Leed AP
certification from the nonprofit U.S. Green Building
Council (USGBC), which encourages businesses to
develop environmentally friendly practices and
programs. A Leed AP certificate documents knowledge
of the Leed rating system and its application
in practice.
Da-Lite has initiated several programs in 2008
including its Screen Green exchange program,
which makes it easier for customers to recycle old
projection screens instead of sending them to a
landfill. The company said that as more of its staff
becomes Leed AP accredited, Da-Lite will be better
positioned to respond to RFPs requiring Leed
APs. The certification will also help Da-Lite assist
architects and other clients working on Leed-rated
projects.
In addition to its Screen Green exchange program,
Da-Lite Screen Co. has attained multiple
levels of GreenGuard certification for its projection
screens and fabrics. The company has also obtained
ISO 14001:2004 registration for its Environmental
Management System.
44
48
Inside…
Busy Projectors
The Zee Cine Awards Show for India-based films
kept 24 projectors busy.
Video World
Digital technology makes it quick and easy to
produce video content — and easy to lose it as
well.
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NEWS
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
Zee Cine Awards Show Keeps 24 Projectors Busy
LONDON — The Zee Cine Awards, an
international awards show for India-based
films, got busy this year with a dizzying array
of projected imagery. To create more than 90
stage projection looks, E/T/C London supplied
24 Christie 20K projectors and 16 Only-
View servers for control. The 2008 event was
staged at London’s ExCel Centre, produced
by Cineyug and broadcast on Zee TV.
The starting point was an original set
design by scenic designer Bart Clement. The
widescreen feel of the set was enhanced
with its deceptive angles and shrinking
points, which amplified the visual depth of
the space.
E/T/C projected onto the proscenium
arch, the ceiling, both walls and the floor of
the set, and each projection area was a different
size and shape, creating a series of interlocking
visual backdrops.
The default projection look for the
Awards presentations featured an old cinema
style tromp-l’oeil treatment, complete
with red swagged curtains. The fast-paced
show included 37 Award presentations and
live performances ranging from Bhangra
rap artists to big carnival troupes. Along
with more than 90 stage projection looks,
each award presentation used four or five
different projection cues.
Andy Joyes managed the project for E/T/C
London. Paul Chatfield was commissioned
to produce all of the artwork, on which he
worked closely with scenic artist, Omung Kumar,
and E/T/C’s OnlyView programmer and
The Zee Cine Awards program was staged in London, broadcast on Zee TV and included a dizzying array of projected imagery.
The wide-screen feel of the set design fit in well with the awards program, which honors those who make India-based films.
operator, Richard Porter. An international
team of technicians from E/T/C’s offices in
London and Paris crewed the event.
One of the many logistical challenges
facing Joyes was determining the projection
layout and where to rig the Christies.
Six were used to cover the pros arch — two
flown vertically and four horizontally. The
return surfaces of the shallow proscenium
construction were also covered in projection,
and OnlyView was used to re-map the
image so it stayed in perspective, lining up
on both surfaces simultaneously.
Onstage, right behind the proscenium
arch, a flown center-cluster of four machines
fitted with wide-angle lenses was concealed
in the roof, pointing downwards to cover
the floor. These projected onto a triangular
section, flanked by a custom staircase with
Barco OLite LED modules embedded into
its fascia, which was built by Stage One to
E/T/C’s requirements.
Eight more Christies — four per side —
projected across the stage onto the opposing
walls and vertically soft-edged in the middle
using OnlyView. Two projectors a side covered
the ceiling. Finding a position for these
was tricky — they had to be inside the proscenium,
above the heads of the dancers and
far apart enough to clear a car being wheeled
onstage towards the end of the show.
The focal point at the top of the stairs was a
16-foot-by-eight-foot OLite wall, which was center-split
and acted as a pair of doors for entrances
and exits. XL Video supplied all the OLite elements
used in the show to Joyes’ specification.
All the images were distortion-corrected
and fitted to the projection surfaces and the
OLite using OnlyView in an effort to give a
consistent look to the video, regardless of
the type of surface it was displayed on.
The challenge here was to work out a
template for all the differently sized and angled
surfaces. Chatfield and Porter attempted
to do this with an “exploded box” rendering
for the stage and the proscenium arch. The
idea was to map the direction and travel of
the imagery from one surface to another so
it became a seamless operation. The artwork
was then worked on as a flat piece with the
appropriate masks applied to make it fit the
assorted projection areas. The template was
then “refolded” together into 3D format.
Having received the majority of the artwork
from the client less than a week before
the show, Chatfield and Porter had their work
cut out for them. The mapping and programming
period was intense and constantly
evolving. On the night of the event, many elements
of the show were swapped from the
intended order at the last minute, rather than
running in the order in which it had been programmed.
The OnlyView system managed to
keep up with these last-minute changes.
A wide variety of image sources were
incorporated into the show, including Mpeg
files and PhotoShop images. The Awards playins
were all stored on five Doremi hard drives
and inserted into the mix via OnlyView.
“Twenty-four flown projectors for a
one-off live event is quite a challenge. Even
though there was very limited technical time
on site, the show went seamlessly and the
client is very happy,” said Joyes, adding “It’s a
great tribute to all our crew who worked very
hard under lots of pressure.”
Other crew members included Briony Margetts,
Fabrice Auchere, Robin Darraux, Mark
Hayes, Phil Pieridis, Fergus Noble and Michael
Barry. E/T/C London’s Steve Larkins helped
Chatfield and Porter produce the graphics,
and John Steel and Jack Middlebrook joined
them for the build. XL Video’s crew of Graham
Vinall, Chris Isaacson and Pete Egan worked
alongside the E/T/C team.
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44
PLSN JUNE 2008

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NEWS
LAS VEGAS — OSA International, Inc. was
tasked with the challenge of turning a concrete
convention hall into a working proscenium
theatre in less than 10 days when the Palazzo
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
Creating a Proscenium Theatre in 10 Days
OSA turned a bare convention hall into an event-ready space in less than 10 days.
Las Vegas casino opened earlier this year. As
the newly-appointed technical producer for
the first event to take place in the revamped
space, OSA needed to coordinate audio, lighting,
video, staging, scenic and drape elements
and audience risers.
The company’s new video fly pack also
made its debut, providing record and IMAG
functions on four screens — two 15-foot-by-
20-foot screens at the stage and two 7.5-footby-10-foot
screens mid-way back. As a group,
they provided a clear viewing experience for
an audience of 3,500.
Mike Patton of OSA notes that the real
test for a system’s capabilities is “its ability to
deal with on-site changes un-noticed.” The
system’s support gear allowed for ease of setup
and the flexibility to adapt to the needs of
these acts, Patton added.
The main component of OSA’s system was
a Ross Synergy 2 multi-definition SDI switcher
with 16 inputs and two mixer effects, Patton
says. “This switcher gives us the capability of mixing
two separate destinations simultaneously,
such as in this multi-screen event where we may
need to mix each screen independently.”
Another key piece of the fly pack was the
Evertz Xenon 64x64 MD router, which allows
for signal to flow internally through, and externally
from, the system. OSA used this piece
to externally route the inputs, which included
three Sony DXC-D55 cameras, for record, and
to internally route them to the multi-viewer.
OSA’s fly pack made its second appearance
in New Orleans at the 2008 NBA All-Star
Technology Summit. OSA’s three Sony DXC-
D55 camera packages brought the image
magnification of the event through the system.
Each camera had an ISO record, along
with a program overlap, on five Sony MSW-
M2000 record decks.
The system also was used for the Legends
Brunch at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
in New Orleans. Ken O’Connell, technical
director of OSA, said the 2008 event marked
the first year that “the NBA did not have to
bring a broadcast production truck.” With the
three Sony DXC D55 cameras shooting the
event, the system provided a direct broadcast
feed to the Turner Network’s NBATV.
Projection Company
Expands in Asia
SINGAPORE — Digital Projection
International (DPI), a manufacturer of
projection systems, opened a new sales
and distribution hub in Singapore. Gordon
Tay, vice president, will lead the staff
serving DPI customers in Singapore, Malaysia,
Brunei, Thailand, Indonesia, Korea,
the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia,
Taiwan and Vietnam. Called Digital Projection
Asia, the Singapore office will
also complement the company’s presence
in China.
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Video Cubes Add New
Dimension to Awards Show
Continued from Projection Connection cover
the middle so they could be moved on and
off stage for changeovers. With the ability to
open and close, they provided a stage entrance
and a dynamic backdrop for all the live
performers, beneath the main LED screen.
Eugene Naidoo, the TV director, wanted the
StageQubes run without their diffusion panels
on the fronts to produce a dotty LED effect on
camera. Graphics and content for all the screen
surfaces were custom-created for the event and
fed directly into the StageQube controller. They
were run at 60 percent brightness to stay balanced
with the rest of the lighting design.
Hoey operated the lighting using a Whole-
Hog3 console, with the Robe ColorSpot 700E
ATs and ColorSpot 250E ATs — also supplied
by Strike Productions — all focused on the
stage and set.
LD Mauritz Jacobs also used MGG’s
StageQubes on South Africa’s most recent
Idols series, another set of shows produced by
Strike Productions for independent TV channel
MNET.
For the Idols series, the StageQubes were
used to create four stepped pyramid shapes
positioned around the stage and flanking a
large projection screen, with their orientation
changing week to week. An ArKaos media
server supplied a wide selection of abstract
effects and wallpaper content.
“LED is definitely a technology of the future
for television visuals,” said Gaylard of MGG.
46
PLSN JUNE 2008

PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
NEW PRODUCTS
Barco NX-6
Barco is expanding the NX product line with the introduction
of NX-6 six millimeter indoor LED tile. Each
tile provides a 4200:1 contrast ratio and a calibrated
output of 2000 NIT, and each 3-in-1 SMD LED uses black
silicon resin instead of white epoxy for visual clarity. For
mounting, NX-6 tiles use the same Mag-frame as NX-4.
Mag-frame is Barco’s carbon fiber rental structure that
uses magnets instead of screws to secure the tiles. In
addition, a new “creative” option is being introduced
that enables customers to create concave or convex
curves with all NX tiles.
Barco • 877.992.2726 • www.barco.com
Chief Power Accessories
Chief Manufacturing now offers power
accessories integrated with Chief mounts.
These accessories improve the audio and
video performance of projectors and flat
panel displays by cleaning and purifying
the AC while also providing surge and spike
protection. The new range includes the CM-
S440P suspended ceiling kit with power outlet
conditioner, the CMS445P replacement
tilt suspended ceiling kit with power outlet
conditioner and the PAC521P in-wall box with power outlet conditioner. The accessories replace
the need for an outlet while providing lossless AC cleaning. They are not visible from below the
ceiling and can recess into an in-wall box for discreet, high-performance power conditioning.
Chief Manufacturing • 800.582.6480 • www.chiefmfg.com
Madrix LED Lighting Control Software
Madrix Windows-based lighting control software
that can be used with any console. Madrix
Basic includes16 DMX universes, DMX512 and
ArtNet II output, cuelist, two effect pipelines, 120
storage places with layer technology, unlimited
layers, graphical mapping function, and fixture
editor. Madrix Professional includes 64 DMX universes,
DVI output, and all the features of the Basic
package. The new 2.3b release features include:
load background images for preview windows,
monochrome mode for the equalizer effect, new
direction mode for the equalizer tubes effect, support for the GLP large DMX 1024 protocol,
cross and opacity fader, and more.
Madrix USA • 303.296.7778 • www.madrix.us
Sharp TL LCD Display Series
Sharp’s new TL Professional LCD Monitor line includes the
52-inch class (52.03 inches diagonal) TL-M5200 and the 46-inch
class (45.9 inches diagonal) TL-M4600. The series features a
new thin, lightweight cabinet design, RJ-45 LAN control, twomegapixel
1920 x 1080 HD resolution, pixel response time of less
than 6 ms, 176° viewing angles, 1500:1 (TL-M4600) and 2000:1
(TL-M5200) contrast ratio, and an array of input connectors to
show all types of content, from DVD to varying PC resolutions
from both analog and digital (DVI-D) sources for all types of presentations.
They include a three-year on-site parts and labor limited
warranty, including three-year warranty on the backlight.
Sharp Electronics Corporation • 866.484.7825 • www.SharpLCD.com
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2008 JUNE PLSN 47

VIDEO WORLD
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
Oh, Brave New Workflow
If you’d like the full surround sound version
of this column, I’d recommend playing Bob
Dylan’s “The Times They are A-Changin’ ” as
you read along. I recently had the opportunity
to shoot with a Sony XDCAM-EX, a new
full-featured professional camcorder that offers
HD resolution up to 1080i, at a very economical
price point. The differentiating factor,
though, is that the model EX records on high
speed, high capacity “SxS” memory cards, and
this presents a few workflow surprises to the
shooter.
This month’s video installment isn’t intended
to review the XDCAM-EX, and I’m not
going to read the spec sheet to you. Instead,
the intention is to provide a few words to the
wise for the shooter who’s making the transition
from media-based recording to memorybased
(solid state) recording. Things indeed
are a-changing.
A Box of Tapes
PLSN
From a quality and flexibility standpoint,
Sony’s XDCAM-EX is absolutely superb at its
price point, and it sports many features typically
found on high-end cameras. Of course,
with any new compact camcorder, every
square millimeter of the camera surface is
covered with buttons and switches. So for
my first tip, you better know (blindly) where
Ad info:http:// www.plsn.com/instant-info
By PaulBerliner
gain, white balance, iris, peaking, and zebras
are — before you head out on a shoot.
But given these wonders of miniaturization
and quality, there are hidden costs in the
workflow. As an editor who learned his trade
back in the 1980s, I’m rooted in a workflow
that involves physical media — specifically,
tape. I write the script, produce the graphics,
hire the talent, shoot the footage, index
the original tapes, edit in non-linear fashion
on the PC, and then deliver the edited master
to the client. At the end of the day, I’ve got a
box of original tapes that I can pull from the
archive when the client wants to re-edit.
Today’s modern memory-based workflow
changes the entire dynamic. With cameras
such as the Sony XDCAM-EX and the Panasonic
HVX series, recording is solid state.
The camera’s record path has no moving
parts, and unlike tape-based methods, there
are no spinning heads moving across magnetic
tape. Instead, the recording medium is
a tiny flash memory card, optimized for the
high bandwidth and high capacity data rates
required for HD. Typically, these cameras
have slots for two memory cards.
Dollars, Cents and Gigs
PLSN
For today’s lesson in economics, a 16 gigabyte
(GB) “P2” card for the Panasonic HVX-200
costs around $899.00, while
a 16 GB Sony SxS card costs
around $875. Record capacities
are similar (around
60 minutes), but recording
times can vary based on the
quality and compression ratio
at which you record. Regardless,
the media is by no
means inexpensive.
Weigh these factors
against a traditional tapebased
workflow in the DV format.
You can go down to Best Buy and pick
up a five-pack of mini-DV tapes for about 30
bucks. If you shoot at a 20:1 ratio for your
hour-long documentary, you’ve spent about
120 bucks for tape stock. No biggie.
But in the memory-based workflow,
there’s no way that I’m gonna stock up on
a six-pack of flash memory cards at over
$800.00 a pop. You could make a sizable
down-payment on a new HD camera for that
price. Instead, these puppies are intended
to be re-used — again and again.
Panasonic P2 Card, 16 GB
The Need to Re-Use Media PLSN
This little financial and operational quirk
— the need to re-use your original recording
media — presents an interesting dilemma to
the paranoid producer/director (me). Let’s
say you go out on location with only one
flash memory card. In order to record hour
number two, you have to delete your original
footage and make a safety backup — in
the same way that you backup the memory
card from your digital SLR after your Grand
Canyon vacation. After the backup, you delete
all the pix to free up space, and the wise
photographer probably makes a backup of
the backup — in case your primary PC decides
to toast its hard drive.
If you’re shooting in HD for a client, however,
with a major production budget, some
serious planning is required — as I learned
first-hand on last week’s shoot. First of all, for
field recording, you must include a laptop in
your production inventory, plus lots of batteries,
and a stack of portable USB hard drives.
As another prerequisite, the laptop requires a
high speed flash card reader compatible with
the Sony SxS or Panasonic P2 format. You
might also want to hire a PA to handle the
backup tasks and logistics — yet another line
item on the bid.
Brave New Workflow
PLSN
Even with the luxury of a dual flash card
setup, the workflow now goes like this:
Shoot the first hour.
On the camera, switch over to memory
card slot B — and continue shooting.
Eject the first card and back up all of your
footage to the PC, and/or the external USB
drive. Ensure that you account for the backup
time, which can take upwards of 20 minutes,
depending on the resolution at which
you recorded.
Now, Mr. Trustworthy, here comes the
fun part . With your first hour
of camera original footage backed up, insert
the card back into the camera, delete
all the clips from the card, and continue
shooting. It makes an old media-based
shooter like me turn gray. (Wait — I already
am turning gray).
So, what could go wrong in this workflow?
Drop the PC or one of the external USB drives,
and your footage is toast. The Earth passes
through a high-gauss magnetic intergalactic
Sony SxS PRO Card, 16 GB
storm cloud, and your footage is toast (along
with all the Earth’s data, but that’s a topic for
another column). Your hairy-eared PA can’t remember
any instruction beyond “Here, dude,
back this up” … and your footage is toast. You
invited Murphy to the shoot. Toast!
Me? Concerned? I’m only trying to protect
my client’s footage, because I don’t have
a box of camera original tapes in the vault at
the end of the day. On this particular shoot,
my caution paid off, and there’s a beautiful
edited master to show.
But Wait, There’s More
PLSN
Yesterday’s archive solution was a tape
vault, with all of your masters waiting patiently
on the shelves. Today’s archive
solution is one (or more) terabyte raid arrays,
capable of storing all the footage that
you’ve shot. Editors typically call this “nearline”
storage, because the footage can be
brought back online fairly quickly if a reedit
is required. For true long term storage,
editors are turning to ultra-high capacity
tape-based solutions, such as those made
by Quantum. As an alternative, you could
cut Blu-Ray disks of the footage, but this introduces
additional compression.
In this digital age, the question of longterm
archiving actually poses some interesting
questions. When a big film studio archives
a movie, a sprocket hole still resembles
a sprocket hole — year after year. And film
projectors will still be film projectors, in spite
of the migration to digital cinema.
The question is … will the digital devices,
codecs and drivers with which you
archive your digital video masters still be
in use — five or ten years from now? And
if not, what expenses would be required to
keep those archives current with the changing
state of storage? My computer junkyard
at home (if it’s anything like yours), is full of
obsolete devices, some of which no longer
work. The power supply has failed, the drivers
have been lost, the OS has changed —
and those archives are harder and harder
(if not impossible) to access. Consider the
floppy disk (RIP).
Yes, we embrace the new technology,
and for the shooter, it puts wondrous capabilities
at our fingertips — as simple and
elegant as solid state recording. Yet it can’t
be overlooked that this technology is delivered
with a price, in terms of workflow,
compatibility and complexity. The underlying
message is — adapt, but be fully aware
of the ramifications.
During a shoot, I used to say “roll tape”
to the crew. Now, I can’t say “roll” — because
nothing inside the camera is rolling, and I
can’t say “tape,” because it’s a lump of silicon.
I know — how about just “action!”
Paul Berliner is President of Berliner Productions
in Davis, Calif. He can be reached at
pberliner@plsn.com
48
PLSN JUNE 2008

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ROAD TEST
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
High End Systems Showpix By RichardCadena
You can throw away the spec sheet
for this fixture — or at least put it
away until you’ve seen the video.
Sure, it’s great to read the specs, especially
for a brand new fixture like the
High End Systems Showpix. But until
you’ve seen the video at www.highend.
com/showpix/videoqt.html, you ain’t
seen nothing yet.
Differences At a Glance
RT
Of course, watching the video is only
second best to seeing the product itself;
the Showpix speaks for itself. It is a moving
yoke fixture that looks an awful lot
like the Showgun — same housing, same
LEDs — except it has a lot more of them.
Instead of a 2000-watt MSR lamp ringed
by 36 3-watt RGB LEDs, it has an array of
127 3-watt LEDs without the MSR lamp.
Did I say it speaks for itself? It
screams, really. Especially when all 127
LEDs pan into your face. I measured 46
footcandles at 16 feet in white with a Minolta
T-10 Illuminance Meter, and considering
the size of the field — 45º beam
angle and 80º field angle; almost 27 feet
in diameter at 16 feet throw distance —
it’s a lot of light any way you measure it.
High End’s official spec is 24,000 “RGB lumens.”
This is their way of quantifying a
discontinuous spectrum like RGB LEDs.
Devising a New Metric
RT
It’s a common issue in the industry;
you can’t take a conventional handheld
illuminance meter made for measuring
incandescent or natural sunlight and
expect it to yield an accurate reading
for a narrow band source like LEDs. So
High End devised a way of comparing
the light output with a conventional automated
light.
They measured the Showpix in seven
different colors — white, red, blue,
green, cyan, magenta, and yellow —
and did the same with a Studio Color
575. Comparing the results, they found
the ratio of light from the Showpix to
the light from the Studio Color for each
color. For example, the white light
might be .5X, the red 3X, etc. Then they
averaged them out and multiplied by
the number of lumens in a Studio Color,
which is 12,000.
Innocuous to Interesting
RT
But the crowning feature is the
graphics capability. If a picture is worth
a thousand words, then this low-res,
high-brightness moving yoke digital luminaire
speaks volumes. One-hundred
and twenty-seven color-changing LED
pixels arranged in a concentric circle array
can paint quite an impressive picture,
particularly when it’s aided by the onboard
media server and pixel-mapping
application software they call Echo. By
dragging and dropping graphics — any
graphics — into the application, it automatically
performs an algorithm that
maps animated graphics or still graphics
into the LED array. The built-in visualizer
allows you to view the results on
the computer display. It can take a video
clip of every day ordinary life and turn
it into something extraordinary. Just by
adjusting the sensitivity, some of the
most innocuous video turns out to be
very interesting.
You can load the content via a USB
port or by DMX512 (using RDM-like protocol)
into the on-board media server.
It comes with 255 factory files and it
holds up to 255 user files with up to
256 frames per file. The media server
allows you to “scratch” via DMX, adjust
the playback rate, rotate globally or by
layer and use a number of crossfades
and transitions. There is a lot more to
the media server, including the ability
to use standard “lenses” or masks that
change the look and feel of the graphics
coming from the fixture.
There are several DMX512 modes,
from 451 channels in enhanced mode to
12 channels in big wash mode that allow
you to tailor your rig to your needs.
In standard mode it uses 70 DMX512
channels.
Physically Similar
RT
From a physical point of view, the fixture
is identical to the Showgun except
for the LEDs. By removing four screws on
the snoot of the fixture you can access
the LEDs. Each LED pie-shaped segment
is held in place by three screws and they
have a snap-on connector, so they are
easily replaced. Even the drive boards for
the LEDs have retained fasteners and the
circuit boards snap into place.
The road to hell is paved with bad
inventions. This is not one of them. The
Showpix is a refreshing change in a sea of
mediocre automated lights and LED wash
fixtures. It can provide a big color changing
wash or it can entertain with animated
color-changing graphics. Or it can do
both at the same time.
It also packs 127 color-changing LEDs in a concentric circle array.
The Showpix from High End Systems comes with a built-in
media server.
What it is: Homogeneous RGB color mixing
wash fixture with animation and graphics
capability
Who it’s for: Color wash and/or graphics
playback
Pros: Very bright, very wide field, dynamic
low-res graphics, modular, easy to service,
built-in media server, versatile pixel-mapping
application software
Cons: Very large, heavy
Retail Price: $16,500
Scenic Alternatives
Ad info:http:// www.plsn.com/instant-info
There are an increasing number of
options for incorporating video
into today’s sets.
LED tubes typically contain a row of
pixels composed of red, green and blue
LEDs. Some work by mapping pixels from
a computer image directly to the pixels
in the tube. Some can do color changes
within a single tube. Others only offer
solid color changes. LED strips are pixel
strips that can be mounted and arranged
in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.
Transparent LED displays are lightweight
and modular for indoor use, and
add a creative element to any designers’
tool bag. LED backdrops are modular
panels that provide creative low-resolution
graphics. And a few manufacturers
are taking the LED concept into the 3D
world with 3D LED.
— Vickie Claiborne, from Video Digerati,
PLSN, May 2008
50
PLSN MAY 2008

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TECHNOPOLIS
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
Stealth Programming The Art of Moving Your Lights Under the Radar
By PhilGilbert
Several years ago I made an amazing
discovery about automated
lights — they actually make noise
when they’re on. I know, I know — I was
as shocked to learn this as you are. Up
until that point, all of my experience
had led me to believe that those babies
were silently operating behind the 115
dB wall of sound produced by whatever
band happened to be on stage at the
moment.
The moment of elucidation came
when I was trying to place several automated
lights on a major television
show and the light director informed
me that there was a problem. The audio
engineers were complaining about the
noise emanating from the general direction
of the eight automated fixtures. No
problem, I thought; just make sure they
weren’t moving when the band wasn’t
playing and no one would be the wiser.
But I was surprised to find out that
it wasn’t the panning and tilting that
the audio engineers were picking up,
but the fan noise. They said something
about the frequency being in the vocal
range and they weren’t happy.
Baffling Technology
TECH
In the early days of automated lighting,
there was no such thing as a quiet
version of moving lights. They either
made noise or they weren’t on. But due
to the popularity of the technology,
manufacturers began addressing the
issue by offering specially engineered
versions of automated lights designed
to reduce the noise rating factor by using
noise absorbing foam and baffles.
The first version that I recall was the Cyberlight
SV — “SV” for “Studio Version.”
Years ago, there was no such thing as
a quiet version of moving lights. They
either made noise or they weren’t on.
It had an acoustic baffle that was tuned
to the frequency of the fan and was supposed
to cut the noise in half. There are
now many other automated lights with
similar designs, such as the Vari*Lite VL
3000 Series Q — “Q” for “Quiet” version.
Of course, there are also several
automated lights without any fans
at all. These fixtures have incandescent
lamps with convection cooling.
Among them are Martin’s MAC TW1,
High End Systems’ Studio Command
Halogen, Robe’s ColorWash 750 AT
Tungsten, ETC’s Revolution, and Vari-
Lite’s VL1000 Tungsten.
But the absence of forced air cooling
doesn’t necessarily translate to completely
silent operation. There are other
moving parts, and moving parts can
be noisy parts, particularly fast moving
parts. When a fixture pans or tilts, the
stepper motors, gears, and belts produce
varying amounts of noise, depending
on their speed of movement. Stepper
motors also have a resonant frequency
and when they hit that certain speed
they whir the loudest. Most luminaire
manufacturers are well aware of those
resonances and they write acceleration
curves that avoid those motor speeds
that produce resonance, thus reducing
the whirring sound. And there are also
yokes such as City Theatrical’s AutoYoke
and Apollo Design’s Right Arm that are
designed to reduce pan and tilt noise by
using a high gear ratios.
The Masked Mix
TECH
Still, there’s nothing like theatre silence
to bring out even the slightest
noise in your gear. Therefore, it’s a good
idea to take precautionary measures to
prevent, minimize and mask as much
noise as possible.
Precautionary measures to reduce
noise include gear selection, soft goods
masking and proper programming.
We’ve already discussed options for gear
selection, and if you have the budget to
rent or buy silent versions of automated
lighting, then you’re starting out on
the right foot. But you can also use soft
goods to help mask not only the line of
sight from the house, but also the line of
sound. Borders and legs made of heavy
velour are great noise sponges. As for
programming, common sense tells us
to avoid fast pans and tilts during quiet
passages.
Minimizing noise is a matter of reducing
the speed of panning and tilting as
much as possible. Even though the software
engineers work hard to avoid those
resonant stepper motor speeds, nothing
quiets a stepper motor like a very slow
movement. One trick that works very
well is to create a mark cue to move the
fixtures without being seen. A mark cue
is a preparatory cue that moves in black
out to the new focus position before fading
up. For example, if you have a fixture
on an actor downstage center and the
next cue is upstage center, you can keep
a second fixture in black and move it
into position before fading fixture one to
black and fading fixture two to full. The
cue to move fixture two upstage in black
is a mark cue. It doesn’t matter how fast
a mark cue is executed because it’s not
seen. So make your mark cues as slow as
possible but don’t miss your next cue.
Turn it Up
TECH
Lastly, mask as much noise as possible
by making judicious choices about
when to move your lights — during
scene changes, during loud passages,
There’s nothing like theatre
silence to bring out even
the slightest noise in your gear.
and between the action on stage are
logical places to refocus lights when
necessary. Remember, just because they
can move doesn’t mean that automated
lights have to move.
If none of this seems to work well
enough, then the only logical thing to
do is to get a really loud band on stage.
Phil Gilbert is a lighting designer and programmer.
He’s currently looking for an
amplifier that goes to 11. You can reach
him at pgilbert@ plsn.com.
Ad info:http:// www.plsn.com/instant-info
Big, Shiny Dump Trucks and a Long
Line of Sand
Suppose you owned big shiny dump
trucks. The dump trucks are filled with 100
tons of sand. But it turns out that those trucks
have a leak and only about 3.5 percent of the
sand makes it to the construction site. It’s
enough to drive you to the sanditorium.
This scenario may sound ridiculous
to you, but you witness it every day. Except
it’s not sand we’re talking about, but
electricity. Every time you turn on an incandescent
lamp you’re seeing about 3.5
percent of the energy you’re paying for to
power it up. The other 96.5 percent is the
long, thin line going back to the power
plant. You can’t see the lost power, but
you can feel it — in the form of heat.
…Look closely and you’ll find that the
line of sand leading back to the electric plant
also trails back to the designer. We can’t completely
plug the energy leaks, but in many
instances we can make them smaller.
— Richard Cadena, from Focus on
Fundamentals, PLSN, May 2008
52
PLSN JUNE 2008

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THE BIZ
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
Projecting Into the Future
On the cusp of the concerttouring
season, projec tion
video finds itself coming to
terms with the LED. A quick survey
of some projection video systems
providers finds that the sector
is still robust, but that LEDs are
gaining ground with designers and
book keepers, thanks to their lower
cost, increasing flexibility and programmability
and how easily they
pack and transport.
A Shifting Balance
biz
John Wiseman, CEO and president of
XL Touring Video, says he noticed a shift
in demand between projection and LEDs
start to take place nearly a year ago. “It’s
gone from about 50-50 to about 80-20 in
favor of LEDs,” he estimates. “They’re easier
to use in many ways, and they are being
accepted more into a wider range of situations.
Projection is gorgeous and it can give
you great textures, but it comes with a lot
of pain — it has to be the perfect distance
from the screen. LEDs are more forgiving.
Also, a lot of venues, like sheds, don’t have
the space to allow for rear projection, and
that limits a designer’s options.”
Projection systems, however, have not
remained static. New projectors from Barco
and others have pushed the horsepower limits
of projection up to as much as 35K ANSI
lumens while also becoming high-def. That’s
also keeping projection a relatively expensive
proposition, but one that designers are finding
new uses for.
Paul Becher, co-CEO at projection provider
Nocturne Productions, says increased
brightness is allowing projection video
Increased brightness helps projection video
compete with LEDs. “They can cut through
the stage lighting better these days.” — Paul
Becher, co-CEO, Nocturne Productions
to compete well with LEDs. “They can cut
through the stage lighting better these
days,” he says, adding that some designers
seem to have found a new infatuation with
them. “I find we’re shaping the image more
lately, with circles and ovals and more edgeblending.
No one’s reinventing the wheel
but people are looking for what they haven’t
seen before, and projection can do that.”
User-Generated Content
biz
One of the more unique applications for
projection that Becher has spotted has been
on sponsored tours, like the current Honda
Civic tour featuring four bands headlined
by Panic at the Disco, for which Nocturne is
of shows, most recently Kenny Chesney,
where you have tons of LEDs, low- and
high-res, doing main-stage effects and
then using projectors for side screens,”
he says. “Projectors have caught up to a
degree in terms of brightness, but not
enough to match LEDs yet, unless you
use them in separate sequences. I have to
think someday in the future the technology
will catch up and allow this combination
to become a reality.”
New Effects Niches
biz
In today’s show environment, he sees
projection carving out new effects niches
for itself, such as the High End Systems D
series digital light with projection applications,
and more projection being used in
general as brightness increases, weight
decreases and prices come down — except
for high-definition, which Haney says
usually triples the cost. Haney, currently
out directing Eric Clapton, adds that projection
by itself can be a powerful tool at
any video event. “Hooking the projector
into a media server and creating huge
shapes and colors, or using it like a gobo -
I'm just seeing the projector being used as
part of the lighting design more and more.
Add to that new applications in high definition,
better file formats to display media,
“I’m seeing the projector being used as part
of the lighting design more and more.” — Mark
Haney, PlanetLive content designer and video
director
providing projection video services. “There’s
always a bit of advertising before the show,
which lends itself to projection,” he says. “But
we’ve recently been integrating incoming
texting from the audience into the images.
Someone backstage is managing the text
messages being sent by the audience and
deciding which of them to send to the projector.
It’s a great way to engage the audience
and get them up for the show. And it’s
only something that a projector can do.”
PlanetLive content designer and
director Mark Haney is another professional
who views projection and LED as
distinct from each other, and who sees
projection and lighting as increasingly in
the same camp. “I’ve done and seen tons
gear that better handles all these file formats
both for display during gigs and in
content creation, and you have new linear
technologies that are making what used
to be the impossible, possible.”
Wiseman agrees. He believes that as
projectors get smaller, brighter and more
innovative in their deployment (integrated
with moving yokes, for instance), they’ll begin
to merge with lighting itself. “And that’s
due to the influence of LEDs,” he says. “So
it’s all intertwined.” And, amplifies Becher
at Nocturne, “It’s going to require that the
lighting, projection and video crews have
more cross-learning between them. It’s all
going to require a much higher level of
technical proficiency.”
Tips
Tricks
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Q: Is it better to stick with one console, or learn many?
A: Yes.
For years I’ve been deeply allegiant to a single console. I’ve recently come around to
the fact that this just doesn’t make sense, and that I was walking around with blinders on
to some really great technology that could be in my programming tool kit…But now I’m
going to give you some reasons why you should forget everything I’ve said and spend
your every waking moment learning one console. By learning at least one console top to
bottom, you can give yourself some significant advantages:
• Become better and more efficient at your daily programming duties
• Exceed expectations of designers and clients
• Increase your chances of becoming a go-to programmer
Mastering a console is not dissimilar to learning improvisation on an instrument,
including pattern recognition, sense memory and working with the quirks.
— Phil Gilbert, from Technopolis, PLSN, April and May 2008
54
PLSN JUNE 2008

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• 22,167 Qualified Subscribers*
• 57.2% of PLSN subscribers are presidents/
owners or are in management.*
• 88.98% of PLSN subscribers recommend or
make final purchasing decisions.**
Vol. 8.3
USITT Heats Up the Desert, page 16
PROJECTION, LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
PR Parties for Plant
April 2007
In Like A Lion, Out Like
A Bigger Lion
Wave of consolidations
suggests a tumultuous year
By Dan Daley
PROJECTION
CONNECTION
Starts on page 37
Zoom In On
Projection Pros
• 41% of PLSN subscribers have — as a
direct result of viewing an ad — purchased a
product and 84% have visited an advertiser’s
Web site.**
On March 17, PR Lighting celebrated its 23rd anniversary and the opening of its new manufacturing facility
in Guangzhou, China. On hand were more than 500 guests, including international distributors, Chinese officials
and PLSN. Also attending was Roger Van Den Plas from Philips Lighting (standing, left) who made a formal
signing statement with PR Lighting Chairman Bill Liang (standing, right) and GM David Liang (standing, yellow
jacket), pledging the continued cooperation of both companies.
For a full run-down of the event, including details on the two new fixtures PR introduced, check out page 22.
HES Sells Catalyst Back to Inventor
AUSTIN, TX — High End Systems has entered into an
agreement to sell the Catalyst media server software
back to its developer, Richard Bleasdale of SAMSC Designs
in the UK.
Says High End Systems’ Bobby Hale, long-term Catalyst
product manager, “High End will continue to provide
direct customer support to its existing Catalyst customers
around the globe.”
A wave of consolidation swept
through the lighting and staging
industry in the first three months of
the year. In March, U.K.-based Cooper
Industries’ professional lighting subsidiary
Cooper Controls acquired 93
percent of the outstanding shares of
Polaron plc, a UK-based manufacturer
of intelligent lighting control products,
and announced that Cooper
will exercise its right to acquire the
remaining outstanding shares.
That same month, Canadian pyro
provider Le Maitre Special Effects
wholly acquired Huntsville, Ala.-based
pyro manufacturer Luna Tech, Inc.
Also in March, Total Event Production,
an event staging company in
Charlotte, N.C., and Paradigm Communications,
a video production
company that also does event staging
and is based in Charlotte, as well,
announced that the two companies
would merge under the Total Event
Production banner.
Finally, March saw leading Dutch
truss maker Prolyte Products Group
sell a majority stake to Halder Invest, a
subsidiary of Belgium’s largest private
equity company GIMV.
Taken together, the moves indicate
that the lighting industry is
06
Mary J. Blige in Concert
The work of the video director is
an increasingly important component
of the live music experience,
and the top directors in the business
share experience, creativity
and the sheer audacity and physical
stamina to stay on top of their
game. Mick Anger sums it up when
he says, “Lord knows you better like
it when you have done it as long as
I have.”
Inside, PLSN showcases four
video directors who really do like
it. They discuss the ins and outs of
their work, the state of their proverbial
tool box, and what they think it
takes to get into the business today.
For the full story, go to page 30.
BREAKING NEWS
Martin and High End bail on LDI
response to their needs and improve the time to market
for new software releases.”
SAMSC Designs will support future Catalyst customers
with product updates and bug fixes for v4 software via
its Catalyst support site at www.catvx.com
continuing a trend of consolidation
2007 — Vari-Lite drastically reduces
its presence.
• 38% of PLSN subscribers indicate a
future spending level on entertainment
technology for themselves or their
company in excess of $100k**
*Dec. 2007 BPA Audit Statement **Publisher’s Own Research
Richard Bleasdale, of SAMSC Designs, states, “Being
closer to my Catalyst customers will allow an improved
Ad info:http:// www.plsn.com/instant-info
HES launched Catalyst at the LDI show in 2001. The
latest software release, v4, includes cue lists and PixelMAD
and MIDI control; it is also the first version of Catalyst that
does not require the use of a DMX controller. Catalyst will
now be sold through SAMSC Designs Ltd.
that extends at least back to 2004,
when Production Resource Group
(PRG) and VLPS Lighting Services announced
their merger.
Like most industrial and technology
sectors, which professional lighting
straddles, lighting is experiencing
intramural pressures: as technologies
continued on page 8
26
34
What a Girl Wants
A girl wants what a girl wants,
and Christina Aguilera wants
production.
Hefty Price Tag,
Big Payoff
Miami’s Carnival Center cost a
hefty chunk of change, but you
get what you pay for.
100.0704.CVR.indd 1 3/31/07 12:39:37 PM
Look how our advertisers rate PLSN.
“PLSN’s reader response program is
an integral part of our marketing
operations and has proven to be
very beneficial. The comprehensive
reports arrive like clockwork,
sometimes with hundreds of
contacts! With each contact
representing a potential customer
for us, our dealers and reps . . . well,
you do the math.”
Bill Andersen,
Marketing Director, TMB
“We got one of our larger
projects as a direct result of a
PLSN ad. PLSN goes to a wide
range of potential clients inside
and outside of the mainstream
lighting business who use the
magazine as a resource for
solutions. PLSN has proven
value to us.”
Jack Calmes, CEO –Syncrolite LP
“Advertising in PLSN has been
key to CHAUVET’s branding
and successful crossover into
the production and rental
markets. PLSN is one of very few
publications in this industry with
editorial credibility. It attracts the
kind of potential buyers we seek:
discerning and educated readers,
savvy designers and installers.”
Berenice Chauvet,
Vice President – CHAUVET
Find out how PLSN can GROW your business at:
www.plsn.com/mediakit

FOCUS ON FUNDAMENTALS
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
Electricity and Water
By RichardCadena
— What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
In North America, getting an occasional
shock from a 120VAC household mains
supply is almost a way of life for some of us.
In Europe, getting shocked by their 230VAC
or 240VAC is a good way to lose your life.
Ohm’s law is ever vigilant. A higher voltage
across a given impedance produces
higher current, and if you happen to be the
impedance in question then you’d better
hope you have lots of it. It doesn’t take much
current to change your status from active to
“he was such a nice guy.” As little as 60 milliamps
(that’s six one-hundredths of an amp)
can cause your heart to go into fibrillation.
Multi-grounded vs. Uni-grounded
FOF
In Germany, the utility companies
ground the electrical service at the utility
pole and at the point of consumption. It’s a
multi-grounded system as opposed to a unigrounded
system such as we use in North
America. It saves the utility money because
they don’t have to run a grounding wire
back to the utility pole. Instead, the earth
becomes the return path for the current in
the event of a ground fault or an accidental
short from a live conductor to ground. What
could possibly go wrong with that?
If the soil conditions are such that the
impedance is too high then there might
not be enough ground fault current to trip
the circuit breaker. And circuit breakers are
inverse-time devices; the higher the current,
the faster they trip. So you want a low impedance
path back to the source to make
sure the grounding system does its job of
protecting people and equipment by tripping
the circuit breaker in the event of a
ground fault. In the United States, the National
Electrical Code calls for no more than
25 ohms to ground.
An Ingenieus Concept
FOF
But the Germans are an ingenious lot.
Their response was to figure out how to sense
a ground fault and shut down the circuit before
anything can go wrong. They came up
with the idea of running both the phase and
neutral conductors through a sensor that
picks up the magnetic fields produced by
the flow of current. Since the phase current
is flowing towards the load while the neutral
current is flowing in the opposite direction,
the magnetic fields oppose each other
and cancel — as long as they are balanced.
But if there was a ground fault, then some of
the current would “leak” through the grounding
wire and the magnetic fields of the phase
and neutral currents wouldn’t cancel. This socalled
residual current would cause the sensor
to pick up the difference in the currents
and trip the circuit breaker.
The sensor they used was a donut-shaped
current transformer that would generate a
voltage in the presence of a varying magnetic
field like that produced by alternating current.
The output is tied to a solenoid which would
in turn open two switches to interrupt the
phase and neutral conductors and stop the
ground fault before it could do much harm.
RCDs and GFCIs
FOF
They called this apparatus a residual circuit
device (RCD). The first RCDs were sensitive
enough to trip if there was a 500 milliamp
difference between the outgoing and incoming
currents. They eventually improved them
to trip at 100 milliamps and then again to 30
milliamps.
RCDs gained popularity in the mines of
South Africa in the 1950s because they had
problems with electrical safety. When University
of California Berkeley Professor Charles
Dalziel began his work in the area of electrical
safety, he learned about RCDs during a
meeting in Geneva, Switzerland in 1962. He
was impressed with the idea but he thought
they could be improved. When he returned
from Europe, he met with a manufacturer
and together they developed a version of an
RCD that tripped at 15 milliamps. They called
it a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI).
Eventually, the company started manufacturing
them in various forms. In 1968, the
National Electrical Code started requiring
their use in swimming pool lighting circuits
in the United States.
The popularity of GFCIs has grown tremendously.
Today, there is a harmonized
tri-nation standard among Canada, Mexico,
and the United States for Class A GFCIs,
which is intended to protect personnel. The
standard says that it must trip at a minimum
of 6mA and it must not trip below
4mA. Class B GFCIs were very early devices
with a trip value of 15mA. They are now
obsolete, but there are still many of them
around from the early days.
Good Servant, Cruel Master
FOF
To borrow from Dominique Bouhours,
electricity is a good servant but a cruel master.
There are many ways to protect equipment
and personnel from the hazards of
electricity, including insulation (insulate the
wires), isolation (keep unqualified personnel
away), grounding (to avoid energized metal
parts) and overcurrent protection (to avoid
overloading and burning up a system). But in
his book Undercurrents and Overcurrents: All
About GFCIs, AFCIs, and Similar Devices, (available
at www.plsnbookshelf.com), Earl Roberts
explains why GFCIs are superior to grounding
for the protection of personnel.
To paraphrase him, there are two at least
two things that can go wrong when you get
tangled up in a live circuit; you can come
in series contact with ground or in parallel
contact with ground. Grounding can only
protect you from the hazards of parallel contact
with a live circuit and ground. In fact, in
the series scenario — where current flows
from a live wire through a person and then
to ground — the grounding wire only makes
the situation worse. It helps complete the
circuit and you pay the price. In the parallel
scenario — where current flows from a live
wire in parallel with a person and a grounding
wire — the current will divide in inverse
proportion to the impedance. So what if you
happen to come in contact with an energized
metallic enclosure? If the equipment is
grounded and bonded properly, what could
possibly go wrong? Not much, unless you
are standing barefoot in a puddle of water.
Toward a GFCI Standard…
FOF
Unlike the grounding system, GFCIs will
protect you in either of these situations regardless
of the condition of the grounding
wire or the condition of your judgment. Up
until now, the live event production industry
has been left to its own devices to use or not
use GFCI protection in their power distribution
systems. But ESTA’s Technical Standards Program
has a new proposal regarding the use of
GFCIs. BSR E1.19, Recommended Practice for the
use of Class A Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupters
(GFCIs) intended for personnel protection in the
Entertainment Industry is in public review and
is expected to be approved soon. This standard
spells out the whats, wheres, whens and
hows of using GFCIs in our industry.
In brief, it recommends their use in outdoor
shows and/or in any situation that
might be wet or damp. It also describes various
types of GFCIs that are available including
those in duplex receptacles, portable
adapters, portable PDs, quad strings and
circuit breakers, all with GFCI protection.
And if you are wondering about putting
a GFCI on a dimming circuit, you can’t
— at least not your typical GFCI and dimming
circuit. The control circuitry in a GFCI
is solid-state and needs non-dim power for
the electronics to operate properly. Dimming
the control circuitry won’t do. But
there are specially-made GFCIs with a separate
power input for the electronics.
…And a Safer Future
FOF
Ad info:http:// www.plsn.com/instant-info
Had RCDs and GFCIs been more widely
used in the 1960s and 1970s, we might
not have lost Leslie Harvey of Stone the
Crows, John Rostill of the Shadows and
Keith Relf of the Yardbirds. Back then, little
was known about the potential dangers of
improper grounding and less was known
about RCDs. Today, we know better. Let’s
not let one more person be injured in an
accident that could have been prevented.
Thanks to Roger Lattin for recommending
Overcurrents and Undercurrents: All About
GFCIs, AFCIs, and Similar Devices.
You can reach Richard Cadena by e-mailing
rcadena@plsn.com.
56
PLSN JUNE 2008

PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
FEEDING THE MACHINES
By BradSchiller
Peeling Back the Layers
Each year it seems that new lighting fixtures
become more and more complex.
If you attend any lighting tradeshows
you will find that most manufacturers have
LED fixtures, media servers and digital lighting
products. These unique products are very
different in output and control from good old
“automated” lighting fixtures. Many of these
units require knowledge of their protocol as
well as a good understanding of how they interact
with a lighting desk.
Unfortunately the consoles of our industry
have not yet fully embraced the capabilities
and requirements of these newest products.
For this reason, it is imperative for automated
lighting programmers to be aware of the
complexities and requirements of the newest
offerings from lighting manufacturers.
The Console Problem
FTM
Automated lighting consoles are great
for programming “conventional automated
lights” that have a single set of parameters.
But when a fixture contains many layers or
cells of the same information, most consoles
have trouble.
For example, imagine a simple LED fixture
that has three cells, each of which have
red, green and blue parameters. An automated
lighting console has trouble with a
fixture like this because it expects a fixture
to have only one color system, not three. A
fixture of this type does not fit into the color
picker, fanning, spreads, copy functions and
other console features that are designed to
work between fixture types, but not within
a single fixture. So to get around this, users
will patch three identical fixtures into their
console to control one real world instrument.
In order to program this instrument the
programmer must select three unique fixtures
on the console, each controlling only
a part of the instrument. The downside is
that you must remember which fixture numbers
relate to which portion of a fixture and
some features such as Highlight or ID may
not function. The plus to this method is that
effects, fanning, copying and more are much
easier across multiple “fixtures” than within a
single “fixture.”
The problem can become even more
complex with media servers and digital
lights. Most of these units use multiple layers
that contain many of the same parameters
on each layer. For instance, if you are programming
a digital fixture you might have
one motion layer, one global layer and three
graphic layers, all of which control the same
instrument. To the lighting console these
will be setup as individual fixtures, each with
their own unique fixture number.
Again the benefits of this method far
outweigh the disadvantages of having all
parameters on one single fixture within the
console. In the example above, imagine
that each of the graphic layers contains 40
unique parameters. This means that if you
were to select the fixture as a single unit, you
would have well over 120 attributes to adjust
at once. Never mind the fact that many
of them repeat in name as they are applied
to each layer. That is a lot of data to have
to keep track of on the screen and with the
encoder wheels on your desk! I would much
rather select each layer one at a time and
work with “only” 40 parameters at a time.
Fixture Numbering
FTM
When you’re working with multi-cell
LED fixtures or digital lighting, it is essential
that you number your fixtures in a method
that helps you to quickly recall the various
The problem of multi-part fixtures
can become even more complex with
media servers and digital lights.
portions of each instrument. When I work
with digital lights for example, I will number
them using a three-digit system where
each digit helps me to remember the purpose
of that fixture selection. So again using
the above digital light example, I would
number the fixture as follows: 121 – motion,
122 – global, 123 – graphic 1, 124 – graphic
2 and 125 – graphic 3.
I can instantly remember and locate
each portion because I know that fixtures
in the one hundred range are digital lights
(the first digit). The second digit tells me
the “instrument” number; the example given
is for digital fixture number two. Then
the third digit defines which portion of the
Newer fixtures can be very different
in output and control than traditional
automated lighting fixtures. A single
LED may have three cells, each with
red, green and blue parameters.
instrument I am working with: 1 – motion,
2 – global, and so on.
Now I am sure you can quickly see that
if I select fixture 163 on my console that I
have selected graphic layer one on the sixth
digital light.
When I am working with more than nine
digital fixtures then I will apply the same
technique but start my numbering in the
thousands instead of hundreds. As I stated
before, this same principle can be applied
to LED batten type fixtures. Many of these
units must be patched as a number of cells
that correspond to the different sections
within a single instrument.
Patching the Parts
FTM
When you’re working with multi-part
fixtures, you must remember the structure
when patching. If you are working with
the above mentioned digital light, you
must patch each portion in the correct order
that matches the DMX protocol, while
ensuring the sequence starts at the DMX
start address for the fixture. So in the example,
you would patch the motion layer
first at the DMX start address, then each of
the other layers in the order that matches
the protocol at each successive DMX address.
If the layers are patched out of order,
then the fixture will not respond correctly.
Furthermore, care must be taken when
patching multiple instruments to ensure
that all the parts of each instrument are
patched before the next instrument is
patched. You cannot start another fixture
at an address that overlaps part of an existing
address.
The Missing Link
FTM
In the future automated lighting console
manufacturers need to confront the problem
of multi-part fixtures with new console
paradigms. Programmers now require methods
to quickly select fixture “parts,” yet also
have the ability to copy and fan within and
between each part. New color tools should
allow for quicker access to fixtures with multiple
identical color parameters and better
layer tools should assist with programming
routines. Other new concepts will ease the
patching by allowing each instrument to
be patched and addressed as a single unit.
When will these features be seen in modern
consoles? Soon, I suspect, as our industry
keeps creating more and more LED fixtures,
media servers, and digital lights. Until then,
it is imperative that programmers familiarize
themselves with the current methods
for working with these instruments and become
proficient at the routines mentioned
above.
Brad Schiller can be reached by e-mailing
brads@plsn.com.
2008 JuNE PLSN 57

To Advertise in Marketplace, Contact: Leslie Rohrscheib • 702.932.5585 • lr@plsn.com
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58 PLSN JUNE 2008

COMPANY PG# PH URL
AC Lighting 13 416.255.9494 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-100
ACT Lighting 33 818.707.0884 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-101
Advanced Entertainment Services 42 702.364.1847 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-266
All Access Staging & Production 23 310.784.2464 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-102
Applied Electronics 10, 43 800.883.0008 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-105
Atlanta Rigging Systems 48 404.355.4370 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-107
Bulbtronics 23 800.227.2852 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-110
Chauvet Lighting 7, 53 800.762.1084 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-110
Checkers Industrial Prod. 32 800.438.9336 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-112
City Theatrical Inc. 54 800.230.9497 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-114
Clay Paky America 15 609.812.1564 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-115
Coolux International 42 818.597.1100 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-273
Creative Stage Lighting Co., Inc. 14 518.251.3302 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-118
Daktronics 37 800.843.5843 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-217
Doug Fleenor Design 16 888.436.9512 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-119
Ed & Ted’s Lighting 4 805.278.2400 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-257
Edirol by Roland 46 800.380.2580 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-155
Eilon Engineering 39 866.669.6122 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-258
Elation/American DJ 51, C4 866.245.6726 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-121
ESTA 47 212.244.1505 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-123
ETCP 9 212.244.1505 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-123
Full Sail 25 800.226.7625 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-124
James Thomas Engineering 52 865.692.3060 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-194
Johnson Systems Inc./ JSI 16 403.287.8003 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-268
Leprecon/ CAE 18 810.231.9373 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-130
Light Source, The 6 803.547.4765 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-305
Lightronics 1 757.486.3588 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-132
Littlite 17 810.231.9373 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-232
Local One IATSE 50 800.745.0045 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-233
Look Solutions 9 800.426.4189 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-133
Martin Professional C1, 21 954.858.1800 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-135
Mega Lite 16 210.684.2600 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-202
Milos Structural Systems 41 800.411.0065 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-186
Orion Software 39 877.755.2012 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-171
PAL 27 416.490.1871 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-270
ADVERTISER’S INDEX
COMPANY PG# PH URL
Philips Lighting 56 800.555.0050 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-187
PR Lighting/ Pearl River 31 253.395.9494 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-138
Precise Corporate Staging C3 480.759.9700 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-207
Pro-Tapes & Specialties 8 800.345.0234 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-237
R&M Materials 47 800.955.9967 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-140
Robe Lighting s.r.o. 5 954.615.9100 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-141
Roc-Off Productions 32 877.978.2437 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-142
Rosco Laboratories 44 800.767.8652 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-143
Sanyo 45 888.337.1215 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-197
SGM 2-3 +39.0721. 47 64 77 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-271
Shockwave Cargo 44 310.643.6024 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-240
Staging Dimensions 19 866.591.3471 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-145
Strong Entertainment 17 800.262.5016 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-146
Syncrolite 11 214.350.7696 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-176
Techni-Lux C2 407.857.8770 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-147
TMS 57 402.592.5522 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-177
Tyler Truss Systems 54 317.485.5465 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-148
VXCO 41 41 (0)32 621 88 80 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-247
Wireless Solutions 49 888.936.9512 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-248
Xtreme Structures & Fabrication 25 903.473.1100 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-159
ZFX Flying 17 502.637.2500 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-272
MARKET PLACE
Arena Drapery Rental 58 404.713.3742 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-221
City Theatrical Inc. 58 800.230.9497 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-114
DK Capital 59 517.347.7844 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-151
ELS, Entertainment Lighting Services 58 800.357.5444 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-152
Light Source Inc. 59 248.685.0102 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-180
Lightronics 58 757.486.3588 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-132
New York Case/Hybrid Case 59 800.346.4638 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-298
Production Toolbox 58 954.463.4820 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-269
RC4 Wireless Dimming/ Theatre Wireless 58 866.258.4577 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-153
Roadshow Services 58 800.861.3111 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-154
SuperScreen/ Fastlane 58 303.778.0045 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-211
Theatrical Lighting Systems, Inc./ TLS 58 866.254.7803 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-157
Upstaging, Inc. 59 815.899.9888 http://plsn.hotims.com/18507-158
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Call Leslie at
702.932.5585
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industry by having them read Projection,
Lights & Staging News every month. Send
your company an e-mail with our URL
www.plsn.com/subscribe
and encourage them to get their own
subscription. If they are serious about
your business, they should be seriously
reading PLSN.
2008 JUNE PLSN 59

LD-AT-LARGE
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
The BS Factor
By NookSchoenfeld
In every business, there is a lot
of scheming and plotting to
get accounts. Presentations
mean a lot. Not just the financial
charts or 8-inch-by-10-inch
glossy renderings of a stage, but
of the presenter himself. Whether
we like to admit it or not, lighting
and set designers are salesman.
And as we sell ourselves to any
potential client there is one thing
we must be able to deliver on
demand without any hesitation
whatsoever — BS.
I mean this in the best possible
way. You have to be very confident
of yourself in our world. If
you say you can do something,
you’d better be able to back it up.
But the best laid plans…
I programmed a series of
chases complete with movement,
strobing, white light
mixed with purple and a bunch
of other tricks. When the client
approached me I was on
my game. I explained that the
purple bricks were just plain
boring. With all the CEOs arriving
in a drizzle, who would even
notice this wall? I explained that
I thought we would be better
off dazzling them for a few brief
seconds than trying to get them
to notice a purple wall as they
exited their limos. The client
totally agreed at this point and
thanked me profusely for my design
integrity and my ability to
adapt and overcome.
Unforseen Obstacles
LD@L
On any show there are often
unforeseen obstacles. On many
gigs I do, there is no fudge factor.
I’ve used up every dime and
cannot obtain any more lighting
gear because the cash is gone. At
times like these, you must think
fast. While I’m tackling whatever
issue has come up, in the back of
my mind I’m formulating a backup
plan, thinking about the best
way to BS the client.
I know a few so called “designers”
who can talk a mean game
but can’t back it up. I’ve seen
enough of their work. They suck.
They make careers out of onetime
customers. They hire artists
to draw up beautiful pictures and
they sell such amazing BS that
they get the gig. But once they
start programming, it is evident
that they are lacking in talent. And then
the chain of real BS starts.
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He couldn’t light a candle on a menorah to save his soul.
But he gets some really good accounts — once.
You see, someone has hired this designer
for an exorbitant fee and they
can see that they have been lied to. This
show will not look anything like what was
promised to them but there is little they
can do because they are now in the hot
seat. Whoever hired them to find the right
person for the gig will now be breathing
down their neck. So they must explain that
the show actually looks fantastic by pointing
out whatever highlights they can and
steer clear of the actual lighting until after
the show. They are forced to be BS artists
themselves.
Smiling Faces
LD@L
I know a salesman in Los Angeles. He
specializes in selling himself as a lighting
designer. He couldn’t light a candle on a
menorah to save his soul. But he gets some
really good accounts — once. I sincerely
doubt he’s ever had a repeat customer.
No band has ever hired him twice and I’ve
known this guy for 20 years. He gets by because
his BS potential is unsurpassed by
anyone I’ve ever met. This guy thinks he’s
my friend, but I know better. What’s that old
adage? Oh yeah. You can’t BS a BS’er.
My friend Kid Rock was at a party in
Los Angeles recently. He called me on the
phone and started laughing. I said, “What’s
up?” I was surprised that he was calling
me when he wasn’t on tour. He asked me
if I knew this guy and if he’s my friend. I
told him that I do indeed know him, but
I think he’s a slimeball. Kid laughed and
goes on to explain that this guy was saying
that he’s known me forever and that
we are good buds. But he also said that I
suck as a lighting designer and he could
do Kid justice on his next tour and should
be hired immediately. The BS had now
crossed the line. Now, whenever I get a
chance, I will indeed explain to people
that this salesman is a joke in our industry.
What’s that saying? Oh yeah. Payback
is a mother…
Hitting the Wall
LD@L
Last year I got hired to light a brick
wall outside of a venue for a corporate
party. The client wanted the exterior of the
building to “glow in a bath of purple light.”
No problem. My buddy and I decided to
use some new high-dollar lighting fixtures
that are supposed to be the brightest light
available for this application. We fell for
the manufacturer’s BS about lumens and
rented a bunch of these fixtures.
But when the sun went down and I
started programming, I soon realized that
we had chosen the wrong fixture for this
application. The lights would not zoom
wide at all and were nowhere near as
bright as the Syncrolites we should have
rented. Instead of a big purple wall, I had
24 purple dots on a brick wall. It was time
to turn on the BS.
Brilliant Solutions
LD@L
Often enough, somewhere
between a salesman fielding a
call for a project and the crew
pulling the pieces together,
someone will screw up on their
count. And the tech crew will
get to the gig and soon realize
that someone has dropped the
ball, forgetting to relay some
pertinent info to them. With any
luck, the lighting vendor is in
the same town and a few calls
can rectify the situation. But
if that’s not the case, someone
must start the plan of attack
to fix this while another starts
thinking up BS.
A friend was doing an outdoor
show last year that required
him to illuminate 50
square panels of a building’s
exterior. There was one Leko
with a gobo image and one Leko with
the company’s color designated to light
each panel. When the crew got there
they realized the salesman had really
screwed up and there were actually 100
panels to light. They were missing half
the gear to do the job correctly and
there was no power available to double
the amount of fixtures.
The crew chief quickly decided to
alternate panels and light one with the
corporate logo and every other one with
the corporate color. He was able to throw
light on all 100 panels this way. When the
client came over with a confused look on
her face, the LD was quick to point out
certain design issues. “You see, if I focus
the gobos right over the colored panels,
nothing will stand out. I decided that it
would look 100 times better if we simply
put big blocks of color on every other
panel and use just the patterns on the
others. See how those colored squares
just pop out at ya?” By maintaining a
serious face, he got the client to agree
with his line of BS. The gig was a huge
success.
Yes, there is a lot of BS in every business,
but maybe we have a disproportionate
share. No BS. After all, I wouldn’t BS
you, or would I?
Nook Schoenfeld is a freelance lighting designer.
He can be reached at nschoenfeld@plsn.com.

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