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.
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.
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 theCHAUVETProfessional 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.
After last year’s Sony Ericsson Open, an annual tennis match held on Key Biscayne in Miami, 12 LED COLORado 1 Tour wash lights made one of the after parties. Below are a few photos of the scene to be seen before the party started. The lights were specified by Karim Atash of New Image Productions, based in Miami.
Six questions with Bob L.
Lighting designer, playwright and director. He started experimenting with lighting when he wrote Visions, a theatrical drama, in 1991.
1. How did you get into this field? While traveling on the road of life, I encountered some bumps in the road. I decided to join a small community theater and took part in their script writing workshops. While I was there, I wrote the script for Visions and tried to present it. I was told it was too real and too harsh. I decided to produce it myself with the aid of friends and churches who donated space. Now, I operate Visions Lighting and Sound and provide lighting and equipment for weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, corporate events and any other special event.
2. What do you think is the next big thing in the lighting industry?
I feel that the next big thing in the lighting industry is video lighting projection.
3. Do you have a favorite fixture?
I like the CHAUVET COLORsplash 200B wash lights because they have a wide angle and provide great uplighting. Also, electrical juice can be an issue in some locations and these fixtures work great with the Satellite D-Fi.
4. What has been your favorite design/project?
My favorite lighting project was for the Halloween Fest event that takes place at the Pleasantdale Chateau in West Orange, N.J.
5. What was the biggest unforeseen obstacle that you’ve faced in one of your designs, and how did you overcome it?
It’s challenging to try and depict a spiritual awakening scene in a play. We ended up using a tremendous amount of lighting as the actors ‘froze” in the light to capture the moment.
6. Complete this thought: A show without light is like…
A show without lights is like a shadow in the dark.
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 :
Our distributor from France, Algam, visited CHAUVET HQ after The NAMM Show 2012. While they were here, we had a little fun while shooting a video short starring Algam President, Gerard Garnier. Our top question: “Parlez-vous CHAUVET?” (translated to ‘Do you speak CHAUVET?’) While we await its completion, here are a few behind the scenes photos to enjoy.
Team Algam visits CHAUVET HQ (shown here with Stephane Gressier of CHAUVET)
Algam President Gerard Garnier acts for the camera
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”.
Six questions with Cody Stoltz. The New Orleans-based lighting designer’s goal is to step in the shoes of famous LDs like Nook Schoenfeld, Bryan Hartley or Howard Ungerleider.
1. How did you get into this field?
I’ve always been fascinated by lights, even since I was a baby. One time I was with my family at a four-star restaurant and we had been waiting to be served for a while, so I looked at my dad – I was 3 or 4 – and said, “Let’s go to Rally’s, at least they have the pretty lights there.” Once I turned 6 or 7 I started buying the cheap Wal-Mart novelty lights and did little light shows in my room. For like three years, since I was 8 I designed the color scheme for the float den for the Krewe of Saturn in New Orleans. The Pink Floyd videos from the Pulse Tour really spoke to me, and while going to my first indoor concert for Eric Clapton, I was around 10, and seeing the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, I knew that’s what I wanted to do. So, I started researching and saving my pennies and bought eight PAR 38 lights and a console in one package, plus 16 CHAUVET PAR 38, 10 LED Pinspot fixtures, a CHAUVET Arena Hazer and a Followspot 1200, plus four Diversitronics DMX 3000 linear strobes. I also got three smaller fader consoles, a MQ PC Wing, two MQ PC Extra Wing controllers, a MQ PC Maxi Wing, and a two-universe Widget from ChamSyS. In 2007 Rush came into town on the Snakes & Arrows Tour, and my stepfather – who’s a rigger– and my mom–who handles audio– were both working on the show. My stepfather met LD Howard Ungerleider and told him about me buying my own lighting package, so Ungerleider suggested I talk to High End Systems about training me on the hog. From there on I started working for RZI Lighting, where I have learned most of what I know.
2. What do you think is the next big thing in the lighting industry?
LEDs are the big thing right now, but there’s still a lot of improvement that I’m waiting to see, like LED spot profiles. The GLP Impression Spot One is a really great light, almost as bright as a MAC 700. However, I don’t think it would hold up in an arena or stadium environment. So definitely waiting to see some 1500-watt equivalent LED profiles. I still think that the plasma lamp technology has a lot of potential too; it just doesn’t seem to be picking up that much attraction yet. I think we will see more lights like the CHAUVET Legend 412 with the LEDs controllable in quadrants. Also, we will probably see more shows where the light will be pixel-mapped with the video, which will be pretty cool.
3. Do you have a favorite fixture (and why)?
I think the CHAUVET COLORado 1-Tri Tour lights are great! Moving-head wise probably the GLP Impression Spot One or the Clay Paky Sharpy depending on the use. Also, I like the Pixelsmart LED PAR from PixelLine.
4. What has been your favorite design/project?
A favorite project I’ve worked on/designed was a fundraiser for the Big Buddy Program at the LSU basketball arena for Stage Right Productions. Originally I was supposed to just program the console and someone else to call the looks for me. But when I got there I started building my pallets on the console and they liked it, and the next thing I knew I was lighting all 25-30 pieces in the show! Granted I didn’t design the rig, the rest was my concept.
5. What was the biggest unforeseen obstacle that you’ve faced in one of your designs, and how did you overcome it?
A week and a half before Mardi Gras last year I came down with severe bronchitis and I had scheduled five nights of raves back-to-back in three different venues. While hardly able to breathe, I honored my schedule and did my job. Also, while working on my first arena show for Lil Wayne, we ran into some issues. The company I work for, RZI Lighting, got the call for the show only two days in advance; they needed 60-70 moving lights, five trusses, moles and strobes. We had everything in our shop plus some already pulled for a massive convention center show, which also just so happened to be pretty close to what we needed. So we all tried to get this show flipped to go to Lil Wayne, and we managed to do that after a very long two days. At 6 a.m. we arrive at the arena and from there till about 6 p.m. it was nonstop. The lighting designer didn’t show up for the three opening acts. Freaking out, the production manager begged us to try and get something on. When we got to the front of house no one in the crew knew anything about a grandMA, except for me. And I just barely knew enough to navigate through the windows and bring fixtures up. I ended up designed the lighting for them, the one look for three bands. It wasn’t pretty when the LD finally came and I could hear him from 30 feet away during the show screaming about why “his” lights were on…
6. Complete this thought: A show without light is like…
…Boring? A waste of time? I might as well just sit at home listening to music…
Added to the rig, designed by Lighting Designer Gigi Pedron, on the last few stops of Jimmy Eat World‘s recent tour were 24 CHAUVET Professional Q-Wash 260-LED moving heads. Dwight Slamp, business development manager for production / contractor for CHAUVET, caught one of the shows in California and brought back these great shots of the moving aerial wash lights in action.
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.
