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    Monday Morning Zen – Zen in the Art of Lighting Vol. 1

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    This is a re-post from a few years ago.  We just re-read it and thought it was fitting for Monday Morning Zen

    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.

    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.

    Throwback Thursday – LIVE AID, 30 Years Ago This Week!

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    It was 30 years ago that the world experienced Live Aid.  Bob Geldof and Midge Ure organized this amazing event to promote the relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine.  This event was held simultaneously in London at Wembley Stadium and at Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia.  On the same day, events took place based on the same initiative in several other places all over the globe.  It reached an audience of over 1.9 billion people across 150 nations.  Pretty amazing for everyone who thinks you can’t possibly connect that many people without Facebook or Twitter!  Here are a few videos from the shows.  Enjoy!

    CHAUVET Professional Nexus Aw 7×7 Creates LED Guitar Cabinets On Chase Rice Tour

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    NASHVILLE, TN –  Lighting designers often like to talk about how they capture music in light, but Chris Lisle has taken this concept a step further on the Chase Rice tour. The well-known Nashville LD, who’s done standout work for the likes of Miranda Lambert, One Republic and Robert Plant, wove images of music and light together in dramatic fashion for the up-and-coming country star by converting faux guitar cabinets into lighting effects, courtesy of 16 Nexus Aw 7×7 LED panels from CHAUVET Professional provided by 4Wall Nashville.

    ChaseRice

    Lisle positioned the Nexus Aw 7×7 panels inside eight of the replica cabinets, which were arranged on top of set carts along a row that ran across the upstage deck. When the Chauvet fixtures were off, the set props looked like standard guitar cabinets. Then, when the show kicked into high gear, the “cabinets” came alive, shooting out intense beams of warm white light from the Nexus’ 49-watt LEDs. Pixel mapped sweeps created the sensation that the scenic element amps were actually responding to the hard-driving guitars riffs on stage.

    Like many startling ideas, Lisle’s creative use of the Nexus Aw 7×7 panels grew out of practical concerns. Rice’s recent Number One Billboard album Ignite The Night has transformed him into a hot commodity in country music. This led to his being selected to open for superstar Kenny Chesney on a tour that stopped at large arenas. From a design standpoint, this meant two things: Rice would be appearing on a much bigger stage than usual; and as the opening act setup and tear down time would be critical for his rig.

    “In a big arena setting like where Kenny Chesney plays, I always want to fill as much visual space with light as possible,” said Lisle. “This helps make the make the show look bigger without a gigantic budget. The faux guitar cabinets were an existing part of the set already. However, I knew that by adding the Nexus inside of them I” be able to pull out some cool fun tricks during Chase’s 25-minute set that engaged the audience and filled the stage. Of course once that set was over, we wanted a rig that could be moved off the stage promptly. Having the Nexus panels set in the cabinets really helped with this process.”

    Lisle mounted the panels flat facing outward inside the cabinets. Each of the cabinet/fixtures was linked to the next via DMX. The LD credits his programmer Mike Marcario for creating impactful pixel mapped images on the Nexus panels.

    “Mike did a great job of pixel mapping them and doing some great sweeps and motion with them for sure,” said Lisle. “He did more effects than anything – generic sweeps and use of geometrical patterns. It really created the look we wanted on stage.”

    The acclaimed LD also praised the Nexus panels and 4Wall Nashville. “I love the color temperature of the Aw 7×7,” he said. The fact that I get those nice CTO punchy beams out of the guitar cabinets makes for a great look. I am a big fan of the warmth of tungsten light, and this fixture does a good job at giving us that. The team at 4Wall Nashville was also great, helping me every step of the way. It’s always a good feeling when you come up with an offbeat idea and everyone says, ‘Hey! it actually worked.’”
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    For more information on 4Wall Nashville visit www.4wall.com/nashville

    Monday Morning Zen – NASA edition

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    This week is going to be historic for NASA as the New Horizons spacecraft passes by Pluto.  While you might think that this has little to do with the entertainment lighting industry, it actually does.  Advancements in lens design, glass manufacturing, and communications technology benefit us greatly as they will help to ensure that the way that we project light will improve over time.  We here at Chauvet Professional congratulate NASA on their upcoming mission apogee.  To keep up with the mission, check out http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/main/index.html

    pluto-annotated

    LD Drew Gnagey Uses Rogue RH1 Hybrid On Rascal Flatts RIOT! Tour

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    Rascal_Flatts-4

    NASHVILLE– LD Drew Gnagey of Magneto Live Design called on the Rogue RH1 Hybrid from CHAUVET Professional to fill a variety of roles in the Rascal Flatts RIOT! Tour. Gnagey is using the moving fixtures in a variety of situations, counting on them to perform as a beam type effect that can punch through its surroundings; as a wash for softer moments; and as a dynamite hybrid when bright and sharp morphing looks are needed.

    Rascal_Flatts-2

    A key part of Gnagey’s production design is to wrap the lighting rig around the band. This forms a closer connection between the music and the lightshow. However, it also makes it critical to have a lighting fixtures that can change looks quickly and cover a range of moods.

    Rascal_Flatts-3

    The tower Rogues have also played a key role in helping Gnagey adapt his lighting to the widely varied venues on the RIOT! Tour, which will notch stops at everything from a cruise ship and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to State Fairs and giant amphitheaters before its conclusion. “Having to deal with a number of types of venues on this tour, we’ve had to make the rig very flexible,” he said. “By using the Rogues on towers, we’re able to scale the rig based on the trim height of the day.”

    Rascal_Flatts-1

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    For more information on Magneto Live Design visit: www.magneto-live.com

    Throwback Thursday – Dimming and Electricity

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    There is a really cool website that deals with the beginnings of filament lighting in theatres. Everyone should check it out as it speaks to the beginnings of our present era in the history of lighting. Check out CASSSTUDIO6 for some amazing behind the scenes shots and history of our industry.

    2_Electric-i

    The above photo is of the electrical room in the Paris Opera House in 1887

    While LEDs are becoming more and more prevelant in the theatrical world, there are still plenty of places where standard dimming is still being used and installed.  This is why CHAUVET Professional came up with the Ovation ED 190-WW and Ovation FD 165-WW.  These are LED fixtures that are designed to work with both DMX control and dimming systems.  A true bridge between the old and the new.

    Brothers Gow Adds Rogue R1 Spots From Chauvet To Its Well-Traveled Rig

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    Brothers Gow 3

    FLAGSTAFF, AZ The 15-passenger van that Brothers Gow rolls with has logged a lot of miles of late, as the much-in-demand jam band has been playing to packed houses from San Diego to Seattle on its current “Bring The Heat” tour in support of its fourth studio album, Reflections. Fans aren’t flocking just to hear the quintet’s captivating blend of rock, funk, jazz and reggae, they’re coming to see it too, thanks to a quick moving light show that reflects the improvisational spirit of the music.

     

    Lighting is so much a part of the Brothers Gow experience that their website refers to their LD Matt Collier as the sixth member of the band. Collier, who traverses the country with the well-traveled band (it’s been averaging over 80 shows a year), shares the group’s passion for taking the audience’s experience to the next level. This commitment led him to expand his lighting rig for the current tour by adding Rogue R1 Spot LEDs from CHAUVET Professional.

     

    “I’ve been wanting to add Rogues to the rig for some time,” said Collier. “Their brightness and speed drew me to them, and they have a lot of special gobo features that I could use to create unique looks. This is important to us. We don’t want a Brothers Gow show to look like any other concert that you see at whatever club you find us at. That’s why we don’t rely on house lights for our rig.”

     

    Collier is using four Rogue R1 Spots on the “Bring The Heat” tour. He’s hanging the moving fixtures evenly spaced on 20’ upstage truss flown 15’ in the air by stands. “I make the Rogues the focal point of my rig because they are so bright and have very crisp, good looking gobos. The band covers a very wide range of musical styles and is very improvisational, so they can veer off in a lot of different directions. My Rogues are great for this environment, because they can keep up.

    Brothers Gow 4

    “The Rogue’s color wheel and gobo wheel are very fast; so is the pan/tilt movement, which is great for the intense high impact songs,” continued the LD. “But the fixture is also very smooth on slow pan/tilt movements for the softer songs. Touring a lot, we also play in a variety of places with different size stages. In the short time since I added them to our rig, the Rogues have been excellent in every kind of venue.”

     

    Joining the Rogues on the upstage truss are eight CHAUVET DJ SlimPAR 64 RGB LED color mixing fixtures. “I hang the Rogues from the truss and put the SlimPARs on top,” said Collier. “This creates some nice depth over the stage.”

     

    Above the upstage truss, Collier positions two CHAUVET Professional Q-Spot 560-LED moving fixtures. He also flies two additional Q-Spots on downstage truss. Collier uses the upstage Q-Spots to “fill some negative space up top,” while the two downstage units are earmarked for front lighting. “They give me a cool look when viewing the rig from the audience’s perspective,” said the LD.

    Brothers Gow

    Also contributing to the eye searing look on the downstage truss are eight additional SlimPAR 64s and four Intimidator Wash Zoom 350 IRCs. “I really enjoy using the Wash Zoom 350 as front lighting because it allows me a large range of colors, and with seven LED’s at 20W apiece, it’s a very bright wash light,” said Collier. “Plus the zoom function lets me position and cover large areas very easily. Gotta light the money, and this fixtures does that very well!”

     

    Rounding out Collier’s Brothers Gow rig are four CHAUVET Professional Q-Spot 260 LED moving fixtures positioned evenly apart on the drum riser and on cases that flank it on either side. The low perspective of these Q-Spots creates opportunities for Collier to mix their beams with those of the Rogues on the downstage truss to create a dynamic multi-dimensional look.

    Brothers Gow 2

    Outside his rig, Collier has positioned four Intimidator Beam LED 350 fixtures. This gives him a crisp border for his design. “Having these fixtures outside the rig kind of frames what is going on in the middle and directs attention to band,” he said. “Also the beams are very bright, so cutting through wash or spot lights is easily done and allows a wider array of design options. This is good for the creative flow.” And as anyone who has seen this jam band play knows, going with the creative flow is what the Brothers Gow experience is all about, whether it’s on a musical instrument or a console controlling an ever expanding and ever more versatile lighting rig.

     

    Monday Morning Zen

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    Fireworks as seen from a drone.  You have got to check this out!

    [youtube_sc url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9KZ3jgbbmI#action=share”]

    Emotion and Motivation for Lighting Design

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    By Michael Graham

    Believe it or not, designing lighting to music is a lot like acting in a play. There has to be motivation relative to an emotion for action to take place. If you ever have a chance to speak with a stage actor, ask them if they memorize their lines or if they learn their lines, develop a character, and then, in working with the other actors in the play, create the motivation and emotional connection necessary to make the dialogue more natural. The better actors will tell you that they do they work a process like the one I described rather than just memorize lines. By working the process, the actor can convince the audience that they are that character and involve them in the show. Go watch Dustin Hoffman and John Malkovich in “Death of a Salesman” or Alec Baldwin in “Glengary Glenn Ross” and you will see exactly what I am talking about. These actors preformed these rolls flawlessly, in my opinion, because they not only understood their characters, but understood the motivation and emotion behind their actions.

     

    Creating cues and looks in lighting design is really no different. The lighting should reinforce the mood or action on the stage. This means that no cue should ever happen without the motivation for it to occur and it should help to evoke the emotion that the song is trying to create.   If you think about the character development process while you are listening to music, you will start to see the colors that the song should be, and the movements (or lack there of) that should accompany the music you are programming to. Take Marc Brickman’s interpretation of Pink Floyd’s “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” from the Pulse tour.Every cue and color makes sense. Not only did he know the music, but it was apparent that he was emotionally attached to it. He may not have had the same attachment as the band, but the design of the song was very personal, and to the audience, it draws them in past just the music.

     

    Not everyone gets to design music they can get deeply emotionally involved in. That is a fact in our industry. This is where the character development process can help you out. I cut my teeth running lights for cover acts on cruise ships. Trust me, I did not love all of the songs that I had to design for. I started out fighting the music and not getting any personal enjoyment out of most of the songs I was designing lights and it was apparent in how the shows looked. Eventually, I figured out that something had to change, and it was me. I had to work out a way to be able to listen to the music and find elements in every song to work cues into. This is where I can honestly say I started to enjoy styles of music past just rock. I found that getting emotionally involved got easier because I was making myself part of the process of character development in so as much as the lighting was a character in of itself. To me this is a big part of the difference between designing a show and just programming a show. You have to listen to the music and not just hear it.

     

    So, give it a try. Listen to the music you are being asked to program to and try to make it your own. Find your meaning and let the lighting design become a dialogue between the lights and the music.