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    MotionDrape LED Dresses Daddy Yankee

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    Reggaeton recording artist Daddy Yankee wore an eye-catching jacket made of MotionDrape LED backdrop drape (from our CHAUVET DJ line) during the opening musical performance for the Latin music awards show “Premio Lo Nuestro” held at the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami. Lighting Designer David Ayala created and programmed the captivating jacket. Daddy Yankee wore the MotionDrape LED controller on his lower back in a pocket made out of the material of the jacket. On the top part of his back another pocket was made to house one D-Fi 2.4GHz receiver, while the transmitter was controlled by Ayala from one of the sides of the stage.

    COLORdash Batten-Tri Colors Paris Trade Show

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    Spreading the prettiest deep pink, 22 COLORdash Batten Tri linear wash lights were the stars in Paris, France, at the popular SIEL trade show – the Professional Trade Show of Staging and Event Solutions. Rental company Stars installed the fixtures in the center of the trade show, where they also lit an awards ceremony and amazed visitor with their intense pink color. A diffuser was placed on each batten to produce homogeneous shades of color.





     

     

    CHAUVET Lights TV Show in Panama

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    CHAUVET made it all the way to Panama to the set of the TV show “Mi Papa Es Mejor Que Tu Papa” [“My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad”], which airs every Sunday on the popular TV station TVN Panamá. Specified by lighting designer Humberto Barrera, four LEDrain 64C narrow beam wash lights warm the upper truss. Barrera placed two COLORado 3p IP lights inside each of five small plastic wooden houses built for the set, while about 60 of the same powerful COLORado 3p IP fixtures light the set from behind in vertical rows. Barrera, who is sales manager for Distribuidora Musical (also called Compañia Alfaro) in Panama, sold the equipment to rental company Meeting and Show, which rented it to TVN Panama.





    CHAUVET visits SLS

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    Sound & Lighting Solutions (SLS) moved to a new Fort Lauderdale location with more space and a showroom dedicated to CHAUVET fixtures. The highly anticipated open house, which turned out to be a mobile DJ and club installers dream, gave attendees the chance to get hands-on with the latest CHAUVET lighting gear and atmospheric products. During the event, Jay Krause, owner of SLS Solutions, walked attendees around the showroom and gave live demos.

    Beams from Mega Trix flooded the main showroom as gobos from Q-Spot 560-LED spanned the walls and ceiling. SlimPAR PRO RGBA wash lights and the 100% TRUE wireless Freedom series saturated the room with blue and red hues. Krause gave a live demo of the powerful Nimbus dry-ice machine in the CHAUVET showroom as Intimidator  scanners and movers, Rotosphere LED, Cubix, Orb, Scorpion lasers, and numerous other fixtures created a light show.

    “This is our eighth year in business and we needed a more spacious showroom for all our architectural and DJ products, Krause said. “CHAUVET offers the best products and has the most versatile product line — there is a full spectrum DJ and Pro products at my disposal for any type of application and installation.”

    In the back of the building, a crowd of lighting enthusiasts gathered outside for a wash light demo. The lineup included PiXPar 12, PiXPar 24, COLORado 1 IP, Legend 412 VW, Q-Wash 560Z-LED, WELL, SlimPAR Pro Tri, SlimPAR Pro RGBA and COLORado Batten 144 Tour.  One open house attendee, Sean Paul Powell, found the performance of Q-Wash 560Z-LED particularly impressive.

    “The Q-Wash 560Z-LED is a very impressive light,” Powell said. “I can wash a stage or open the beam and double its size. I’m buying two!”

    LD Profile: Paul Efron

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    Six questions with Paul Efron. Owner and lighting designer of Seeing Eye Lighting Design.

    1. How did you get into this field?
    My dancer girlfriend asked me to run a spot for a show she was in. No seriously, I started acting in community theatre back in high school while living overseas, and then took an interest in technical theatre.
    I started working as an IA stagehand while attending college, and then went to work for FM Productions in San Francisco as a production electrician. Then I worked under several lighting designers doing corporate theatre in between working as an scenic automation motion control technician on several major rock & roll tours during the 80’s and mid 90’s. I founded Seeing Eye Lighting design in 1992.

    2. What do you think is the next big thing in the lighting industry?
    Quality and powerful LED spill-controllable lighting fixtures capable of delivering video broadcast acceptable color temperature (or LED spotlights with shutters). Real warm tungsten-like household LED bulbs that will revolutionize household lighting worldwide.

    3. Do you have a favorite fixture?
    Several. CHAUVET SlimPAR 38, of course. The full line of Chroma-Q Color Force LED fixtures. Martin Mac 101- 301, and now Aura, LED moving head family. Vari-Lite 3500 spot. Martin’s MAC 2000 wash XB series. [Edit: Perhaps CHAUVET COLORado 1-Tri Tour has made this list after Dreamforce event.]

    4. What has been your favorite design/project?
    Most recently, Apple Retails Sales meeting at the Chicago Theatre.

    5. What was the biggest unforeseen obstacle that you’ve faced in one of your designs, and how did you overcome it?
    Time, space, content and talent changes. Many of the clients I work with depend on keeping their launches and new products under wraps, which often includes not disclosing what their product is, or will look like or how it will be revealed until I get on-site. Many of these events also include surprise celebrity guest appearances that we are often not told about until right before the event. Added to these unforeseen challenges, come the others like limited trim heights and sets that tend to try to exceed them. These are some of my biggest challenges.

    One of Efron’s hand -picked crews.

    My most useful tool to help with this and compressed load in time—aside from hand picking the best crews available—is to use pre-visualization services like those provided by Prelite. Prelite provides systems that can be used on-site prior to or during load in that can model both scenic and lighting rigs into a virtual environment that the LD and programmers can then use to focus, isolate airspace challenges and preprogram much of the show before the actual rig is ever fired up.

    6. Complete this thought: A show without light is like…Is like a planet without water.


    COLORado a Dream and a Force

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    At a recent Salesforce event held at Moscone Center in San Francisco, entitled Dreamforce, 4Wall Entertainment specified 64 COLORado 1-Tri Tour static wash lights. Lighting Designer Paul Efron, of Seeing Eye Lighting Design, used them to tone the truss flown above the stage. The event went seamlessly from conference to a Metallica concert. Take a look at some of the great shots of the conference set below.

    Photos courtesy of Jakub Mosur

     

    Event Live Expo 2012

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    We participated in Event Live Expo 2012 in L.A. last week. A great show overall with interesting discussions, such as a festival panel featuring representatives of Coachella, Electric Daisy Carnival, Hangout, Voodoo, and Burning Man.

    CHAUVET Professional also had a booth where we showed off our MVP Series of modular video panels, COLORado Zoom Tour and COLORado 2 Zoom Tour static wash lights, Legend 412, Q-Spot 560 LED and Q-Wash 560Z LED moving heads. Our own Jamey Brock, director of sales for CHAUVET, took these shots below.

    Matrix of Legend 412 on left, MVP Series on right.

    Closer (albeit softer) view of above.

    Ahoy, Legend 412!

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    In Ahoy, Rotterdam was a trade show called CUE2012. Our distributor in The Netherlands, M Works Distribution, exhibited a few selected pieces of CHAUVET Professional gear in their stand. (And were kind enough to share some photos, too!) The stand showed Legend 412 moving heads, COLORdash Par Tri wash lights, COLORdash Batten and COLORdash Batten Tri linear wash lights and COLORdash Accent compact wash lights.

    M Works Distribution described the COLORdash Series as “energy-efficient, providing opportunities for permanent installation, corporate events and architectural solutions.”

    M Works Distribution also described the Legend 412 as “one of the most versatile moving yokes on the market.” Naturally, we agree.

     

     

     

    Tech Talk: Tooling Around

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    Mike Graham looking pensive in front of MVP panels.

    Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET Professional

    A universal theme among us in this industry is that we have to travel to do our jobs. Planes, trains, and automobiles, that’s us. I have to say; sometimes I really envy people who only go on planes for vacations. Since the unfortunate events of September 2001, airplane travel has become a bit of a challenge. I had a fit the first time I had to check my tools.  (Sorry, but a $5,000 Fluke Meter is not something I wanted to have in my checked baggage.) If my tools don’t show up, I might as well not show up either.

    As a work around, here is my suggestion: I check the probes for my meter in my baggage and I pack the meter itself in my computer bag, which I carry on. There is no way I am losing it. I have my tool bag that travels separately from my luggage, but I put a few backup tools (screwdrivers, C wrench, side cutters) in my luggage. I figure that this ensures a better chance of at least one bag showing up at my destination. If you are taking any kind of butane or battery operated soldering irons, make sure the fluid chamber is empty and that the batteries are taken out.

    When it comes to carry-on luggage, I have a backpack and tow-behind travel case that can be zipped together to become one unit—or a wheeled backpack. I put my laptop in the backpack and my meters, books, and a change of clothes into the tow-behind. This works great because if I am on a flight where the gate people are telling me there is only one carry-on and your laptop bag counts, then I zip them together. It still fits in the overhead. If I am in Europe and they are weighing my carry-on, I keep them separate. (Shameless Plug Alert: CHAUVET also has a line of VIP Gear Bags to consider, see below for more information.)

    This is the backpack / tow-behind combo that I use.

    This also comes in handy for taking tools and parts to and from shows. If I am going to a show, most of the time, I have already packed a road case full of whatever I need so I am not really traveling with tools anyway. The only tools I fly with are ones I will need before my case shows up. For example, I know for trade shows, I will need a good tape measure with at least 25’ of tape on it, a sharp knife, and chalk before anything else shows up. I make sure the chalk and tape measure are in my carry-on, and the knife is in my luggage. For international shows, I have no road case, so I have to pack tools. However, I don’t bring the kitchen sink when I travel internationally. I only take what I need so I do not have to pay an over-weight-limit luggage fee.  All I really need are:

    • 2x Phillips head screwdrivers ( a # 1 and #2 size is good)
    • 2x Flat-head screwdrivers (one big, one small)
    • 1x Complete set of Allen keys—this can be the style that folds down or a t-handle kit
    • 2x Crescent wrenches (8” and 6”)
    • 1x Medium-sized vice-grip
    • 1x Soldering iron*
    • 1x Solder
    • 2x Small cutters
    • 1x Set nut drivers (metric or imperial, depending on your need)
    • 1x True RMS multi-meter

    * Here is the catch: If you are going international, soldering irons are not auto-ranging, auto-sensing, or auto-anything in terms of power. You have to know what voltage you are going to need to make sure you have the right iron. Or, you can get a battery-powered one, which is what I choose. Chances are good you won’t have to do a lot of soldering. If you do, buy one on site.

    I also like to take a few parts kits for the lights I have on my show as well so in the case something breaks, I am ready to go.

    Keep in mind your friendly TSA gate agent is not going to be too happy with you if the above tools are in your carry-on. Make sure that if you are using your carry-on for a tool case while at your show, you take them back out and put them in your luggage or traveling tool kit bag. Here is a link for an up-to-date list of what you can and can’t bring on a flight.

    Oddly enough, according to this site, cattle prods and gel shoe inserts have to be checked in your luggage and not carried on the plane. I can see the gel shoe inserts, but I will need that cattle prod to get through the inspection lines.

    CHAUVET VIP Gear Bags
    CHAUVET created a series of soft-sided gear bags for some of the more lightweight fixtures (that don’t require a road case) found in both the CHAUVET Professional line and CHAUVET DJ line.

    These would also be great for tools and cables as there are built-in, movable interior dividers and side pockets to keep everything in their place. There are four sizes to choose from and worth checking out.