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    Blog Series: Lighting Education

    Zen and the Art of Entertainment Lighting, Part 1

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    Mike Graham looking pensive in front of MVP panels.

    Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET Professional

    “I know nothing, but you know less. Together, we will learn and become Masters.” ~ Michael Thomas, Bartender and friend 1995

    When you start working on a show, you walk in a blank slate. You know nothing of what the show will be. Often times, the people who hired you don’t know either. When I started as a bar-back in 1995 at Elwood’s Dixie BBQ in Delray Beach Fla., I didn’t know the difference between a Corona and Cuervo.  By the end of my first night I did, right into the nearest garbage can.

    By the time I got to work with Mike Thomas, I was already a good bar-back, but I really wanted to be a bartender. I convinced Mike that I would work as hard as I could to prove to him that I could do it.  One night after a particularly long shift, he let me in on a little secret. The above quote is one of the most profound things I had ever heard at that time. Keep in mind that I was 21 and was about to become the youngest bartender in town. Mike explained to me that the trick was to become part of the environment over time. I had to let go of any pre-conceived notions that would interfere with what was going on around me—to open up my senses and to anticipate the next action. Eventually, as we worked together, we became Masters of our world. At the end, the key was he hid nothing from me, or I from him.

    Entertainment lighting is not that much different. We walk in, as supposed Masters of our craft, to build something from nothing and start from scratch. We must open ourselves up to the harsh cold reality that we know nothing of the pending plan or the outcome. We must also shed any pre-conceived notions that we do. We must not hide anything from others just as nothing is hidden from us. We must know this completely.

    During the first production meeting, we must formulate a plan of action. What is the intent of our show? What do we want people to take away from their experience? This must be our guide from start to finish. The show must be an extension of the people who put it together. If it is not, then the show will fail. We have a responsibility to connect with the experience that will become our driving force for the show.

    For example, in 2011, CHAUVET as a company embraced a theme of INfected. For our tradeshow booths at LDI, we showed that not only did we come up with a great set of booths we knew and understood our message so purely and so strongly that we produced a phenomenal show. By virtue of the fact that we made conscious and sub-conscious decisions—completely embrace this theme—we were successful in driving the message. (See below.)

    The key is that one must know, not think, that they have put down the best ideas they have for the show. Then nothing is held back. The designer must have clear vision of what the producer wants to see even if the producer does not. The designer must start to visualize from the first meeting what the outcome will be.

    Often times when working with musical acts, I can hear colors for songs. I see melodies as lights moving and patterns shifting from spot to spot on a stage. I start to create visuals in my head that become cues in the show. From these images, I see structures that become the lighting rig.  I can see the gobos and prisms interacting with washes of various colors. I can see it all so clearly in my head that laying it out onto a controller becomes a necessity as much as the songwriter must get the words onto paper.

    Free from Imagining
    “One should not imagine oneself to be one with the eye or independent of it or the owner of it. The same with ear and all the other senses, including the mind. Nor should one imagine oneself to be identical with the world or contained in it or independent of it or the owner of it. In this way, free from imaging, one no longer clings to the things of the world. When one no longer clings, there is no more agitation, insecurity, and worry. Being no longer worried, one can reach into the depth of oneself and understand that where there has been lost there is now fulfillment.” ~ “Samyutta Nikaya” of the Buddha

    The point is you must free your mind enough to imagine not what your vision is, but rather to know what your vision is. You must see your vision clearly in your mind to open up and let it become reality. When you know your vision doubt, worry, and stress float away because you have the security of knowing.

    Now that you know your direction, the next step is to create something.

    Award-winning CHAUVET Professional 2011 LDI booth :

    Read Zen and the Art of Entertainment Lighting, Part 2
    Read Zen and the Art of Entertainment Lighting, Part 3

    My (Way) New Year’s Resolution

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    Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET Professional

    I have seen The Matrix a ton of times. Not only do I like the story, but the effects were really cool. The problem with cool effects is that you start to see them over and over again. The effect known as “bullet time” was developed so that the viewer would be able to see an action sequence in a scene move around in 360 degrees like it was a still frame.  Unfortunately, there have been about a million films shot since then that have killed this effect.

    Designers face this problem every day. Having to keep it fresh and not fall into the trap of doing the same effect over and over again. I’m not going to point fingers, but you all know what I am talking about. So we have to keep on changing our bag of tricks out. We have to say “NO!!” when a producer asks us to create the look they saw on The X Factor last night. (Well, maybe not “NO!!”, but creatively say that would not be a good idea.)

    For me, when I was working on various cruise lines, it was especially difficult to keep fresh looks all of the time. It is the same room with no changes for six months at a time.  Honestly, how many ways can you design lights to “My Way”? It became a case of having to challenge myself to not do what I did last week. I had to go beyond conventional looks and start really working the controller for all it was worth, to build multilayer effects and work time fades a little differently.

    The other problem is just having a creative block. Creative block leads to overused looks. For me the best way to combat this to let my mind wander onto anything but lights. Clear my mind and not focus on anything in particular, then after a little while, I could start to visualize the music in colors. Then the colors get some shape. Soon, I’m sitting back behind the desk just moving lights around and creating looks again.

    This year, let’s all make a resolution…No stale, used-up looks for shows! Me, I’m still looking for another look for “My Way”.

    Tech Talk: The Quest for Knowledge

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    Mike Graham looking pensive in front of MVP panels.

    Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET Professional

    Back when I was in college–yep, I actually have a degree in theatrical technology–my professor told me that the learning would never end. I don’t think he realized how right he was. Given today’s world of ever-expanding technology and the co-mingling of different fields of the digital world, it is even more important to try to keep up with the changes in the industry. On the fly training is, now more than ever, absolutely critical. We have to keep apprised of not only the new products in the lighting world, but also keep up to date on new developments in the video and projection world. As these three things become seen as one by many show producers, we are expected to be experts in all of these fields. For me, this means a lot of reading, watching and surfing. I highly recommend these steps in your continuous quest to knowledge:

    Veteran of the industry Richard Cadena teaches an APT seminar at CHAUVET headquarters.

    1. Bookmark useful websites. Here are some examples of what I visit daily, but remember this is just the tip of the iceberg:

    • www.chauvetlighting.com – purely self-serving and shameless plug. But if you read our installation stories and product descriptions you will definitely be more knowledgeable.

    • www.plsn.com – PLSN (Projection, Lights and Staging News) is a great resource for what is going on with products.

    • www.lightingandsoundamerica.com – L&SA Online is another great resource for what is new in the world of not only lighting but sound as well.

    • www.livedesignonline.com – Live Design is the magazine of LDI. This website has articles from some of today’s top designers of lighting and video shows. It is a great way to get inside the heads of these people.

    • www.lightnetwork.com – if you want to find out what people really think about stuff, this is a great place to check out.

    • www.esta.org or www.plasa.org – It’s the same thing now. ESTA and PLASA are the leading international membership bodies for people who supply technologies and services to the event industry.

    • www.usitt.org – The United States Institute for Theatre Technology provides an effective environment for theatre professionals to meet and share information with each other about anything that deals with the industry.

    Veteran of the industry Richard Cadena teaches an APT seminar at CHAUVET headquarters.

    2. Get books and read them too: There are tons of books out there, but considering the speed at which this industry is moving, I really recommend using the above websites as launching pads and checking out the additional links that they provide.

    3. Attend events, trade shows, seminars and anything that gives you hands-on experience. As far as watching, I highly recommend attending as many events and tradeshows as you can. Talk to the people who are in the various booths and ask a lot of questions. Those of us who work the booths will be more than happy to share our knowledge. Shows like LDI, PLASA Focus, USITT, NAMM, Lightfair and Infocomm are great places to meet and get some valuable time with the people who influence and keep this industry running. I also recommend checking out the various reality talent shows out there. They offer some really cool lighting and video that is expertly programmed and executed.

    In conclusion, the rule of thumb is that you need to take time every day to learn about what is going on in the industry or you will be left in the dust. Clients these days have much higher expectations of what they want in their shows and are getting smarter when it comes to making requests for show designs. It is up to all of us in the chain to make sure that we know how to make it all happen.

     

    CHAUVET Teaches Professionals How to Use Lights

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    CHAUVET Business Development Manager for Latin America Paula Ortiz taught a class about the use of LED lights to more than 35 engineers, technical consultants and lighting consultants in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. Organized in collaboration with the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) Puerto Rico chapter, the class offered training in the basics of LEDs, optical solutions and more. Lighting professionals learned how to ask the right questions about lights and their applications, and what to take into consideration when specifying fixtures.

     

    Richard Cadena talks electrical safety at CHAUVET HQ

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    Academy of Production Technology: Electricity Safety 101

    When it comes to safety, you really can’t be too careful. But you can try. And it’s typically recommended because, simply put, electrical current can kill. Did you know as little as 10mA (or .01 amp) can stop a heart? Protect yourself by wearing hard hats, rubber soled shoes and insulated gloves. Do not wear polyester. (Which should go without saying!)

    Watch what could happen:

    George Ohm had the answer, which is known as Ohm’s Law. Check out these videos for more explanation:

    Richard Cadena talks high voltage at CHAUVET HQ

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    Academy of Production Technology: Day one. What is electricity?

    The scope of the first day was about entertainment electricity and electrical theory. For example, how to measure current, voltage, wattage, calculate phase angles, Ohm’s law and AC and DC power.

    There were quite a few ‘did you know?’ moments as well. Did you know you should look for a fixture with a power factor of one? Did you know that Thomas Edison made his own filament by baking bamboo until it was black? Did you know air is a good insulator? Did you know New York City’s Broadway earned the nickname “The Great White Way” because it was among the first electrically lighted streets in the United States. Did you know the band AC/DCgot it’s name from alternating current/direct current seen on a household appliance?

    Mike Graham and Ford Sellers (L to R)

    Naturally, this is only a fraction of what was discussed and does not begin to outline the detail and structure of this class. Nor does it remark upon how Cadena’s teaching style is equal parts thorough and easy-to-understand. Hopefully, it suggests that learning about electricity can be fun and that anyone will benefit from taking this class. Those new to the industry or more seasoned members like our own Ford Sellers, senior product development manager, and Mike Graham, product development manager for the professional line. Anyone.

    For more information about Academy of Production Technology three-day seminars, checkout their website for upcoming classes.

    Must see video show in class:

     

    Tech Talk: Order from Chaos

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    How to Design an Impeccable Show
    Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET Professional

    Mike Graham looking pensive in front of MVP video panels

    In my opinion, there is only one way to design a successful show: you should have the collaboration under control and should start from the beginning. It is really easy to make the mistake of starting from the middle and trying to work in two directions. Trust me, it is easy to fall into this trap, which will only result in a messy show. Read on and see how you can keep things under control and create a solid show:

    1. What’s the story? Every show needs a story, even if it’s just something you have drafted in your head to keep everything flowing. This also helps you to have some kind of symmetry in your design; it gives you a beginning, middle and an end. All of these things are important.
    • Meet with the client, the scenic designer, and anyone else who has a say in how the show is going to look like.
    • Ask for photos or images of what they are basing their ideas from. This will make all the rest of the design process much easier.
    • Pick a visualizer that will work for you. There are tons of them out there, everything from WISYWIG, to Vectorworks and our own CHAUVET ShowXpress has a visualizer onboard.

    2. Does it all fit together? Before you pick light no. 1 to hang, you have to have the set structure done. Again, go back to your story and ask yourself how do you want it to look. This will guide you in designing the structure or truss layout for the lights. If you are working with a scenic designer, make sure that you two are in complete sync. Most likely you have both been hired by the same client, so work together. Again, you want to stay in control of the lighting portion of what is going on. Make sure that the designer’s story does not crush yours or vice versa. Get the hanging structure approved before you move to the next step. Make sure you have some ideas on lighting positions, but don’t go too far ahead at this point. You are going to be really upset when you think you are all done only to find out that the client has some different ideas.

    3. Get the scenery ready. Truss is all done, now what? Before you choose your lighting positions, take scenery into account.
    • Plot out the video before you plot out your lights. I include video wall and video projection into scenery and the last thing I want to do is block the video panels with a bunch of lights. This will make for a very cluttered look and it won’t make good visual sense. I try to frame my video with lighting. This way, I have plenty of room to work with both. Video and lighting can play well together and it’s easy to see when someone forces the issue and has overdone one or the other. (I would like to point out how well Roger Waters’ The Wall Live tour looked. Everything was working together.)
    • There must be balance. Without a good balance between the two, we have serious issues. To keep the balance, it is important to make sure that all of your scenic elements are positioned in such a way that you can either light or not light them. You don’t want to throw light on something that should be in shadow and the other way around.

    4. Plot lights wisely. Keep in mind as you plot, that drawing a light onto a rig takes about a second, but hanging that same light on the rig can take much longer. My first, larger shows had well over 400 fixtures. I have learned how to have less lights, but be much more effective. It all goes back to the truss layout. How does the story start? We are in the middle of it now. How are we progressing? Does it all make sense?
    • Every light has to have a purpose. Think of them as characters in your story. There are leads and supporting roles. Movers are typically leads and statics are supporting characters. You don’t need a ton of leads, and your support cast should not upstage them, but are still really important in how they are placed. (If R5 D4 didn’t have a bad motivator, R2 D2 would have stayed with the Jawas. That would have made Star Wars really short.) Put your bigger movers towards the outside of the set.
    • Think in layers. Think about how a Legend 1200E Spot works with field of wash lights. Design from the back to the front or from the front to the back. Pick one. Don’t try to work in two directions. You can also work from the center out, but that does not work to well for me. Pick a good truss warmer. I like to use COLORado 1 TOUR and COLORado 1-Tri TOUR lights for truss warmers. COLORdash Par Tri is a great option for Euro- and DJ-style truss where the COLORado fixtures won’t fit.
    • Keep track of weight loads, data runs and power runs while plotting your lights. Also this is a good time to make sure you have the power requirements taken care of.

    5. Final approvals. Before you start ordering everything, get the final thumbs up from your client. The best way to do this is to turn on some lights in your rendering and give them an idea of what they are going to see. This is a visual business. You have to show your work.

    6. Build up. The key here is to run the show, not to let the show run you. As long as all of your paperwork is in order, this should not be too painful. There are always some bumps and changes, but if you are prepared, this is not a real problem. I have been in situations where I have had to cut lights, cut fabrics, cut truss, and even once or twice, had to cut steel pipe with a hack saw. All of this is not a problem as long as you can adjust to on-site demands. Communicate with the crew. Make sure that everyone knows his jobs and goals throughout the building process. If you are programming make sure you have a comfortable chair, plenty of snacks and a good solid hook-up for coffee.

    Start at the beginning with a bare stage and then work your way down. Don’t do a light plot before you have the hang structure, scenic design and most importantly, the approvals on everything in writing. All in all, you should be ready to rock by now. Send us some pics of your shows, you at the controls or of your load-ins. As long as they are all in good taste, they will find a place on our professional blog!

    CHAUVET and PLSN Student Reporter Search

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    We’re looking for a student reporter to go toe-to-toe with PLSN Editor Justin Lang at this year’s LDI in Orlando. Read the full story here.

    UPDATE. Check out this video from PLSN’s Justin Lang, taken at PLASA 2011. In it he, Berenice Chauvet (VP) and Ford Sellers (Senior Product Manager) demonstrate what they are looking for in a student reporter.
    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkZrSj8PO3A]