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    COLORado makes a ‘Splash’

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    Check out this awesome footage of a holiday light and video display inside Jordan’s Furniture in Rhode Island. A new store, the chain’s fifth, opened its doors with a two-story theater and a 15-minute synchronized waterworks show, entitled “Splash”, projected on a unique surface–a sheet of water shot from thousands of water nozzles. On deck are some COLORado Zoom Tour LED static wash lights and Legend 1200E Spot moving heads installed and programmed by JDM & Associates. Enjoy!

    Is There A Show Without Lights?

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    The lighting world is so poetic and inspiring we wanted to give you a quick reinforcement of that. Read the answers half dozen LDs gave when asked how they see a show without lights. Their comments were extracted from our LD profile series posted throughout the year.

    A show without lights is like…

    1. … the world without the Sun: dead, desolate, cold, unbearable; without growth and understanding.
    We totally agree with Xavier Pierce, lighting designer and owner of Xavier Pierce Design in New York. People breathe light, just like they breathe air – can’t live without!

    2. … an iPod without headphones.
    That sounds like a paradox! There is no point in having an iPod, if there are no headphones, right? So simple, yet so suggestive, coming from Eduardo “Wady” Rodriguez, lighting designer well known throughout Latin America with more than 20 years experience in the industry.

    3. … a cup of tea and no biscuits!
    Has this made you think of 5 o’clock tea? For musician Paul Wyse, of U.K., this is serious business. One simply cannot offer a British person tea and no biscuits!

    4. … a snail without a shell… SLIMY!!
    This sounds like a mutilated snail! Just like a show would be without lighting. Great analogy given by Thomas Aratanha Fonseca, lighting designer and account manager for Kor Media & Lighting in Miami.

    5. … a show without lights is like a ski slope without snow. Lighting sets the mood for the entire show, and without light, nobody would be able to see it. When I run a light show, I like to set the mood and tell a story with the fixtures. No comment! Inspiring thoughts from Paul McElroy, lighting/audio/video technician for Caven Enterprises, Inc. in Dallas.

    6. … just another day listening to the radio.
    The Radio Ga Ga ages are long gone, and the 21st century is all about lights. But not just any lights: LEDs! Camron Ware, founder of Visual Worshiper, VJ, light and projection designer, definitely keeps up with his time.

    7. …nothing, can’t see them, can’t see facial expressions, can’t see anything, a show doesn’t work without lighting. It’s like watching a shadow move around.
    What Austin Grundberg of Illinois describes sounds really sad! We don’t associate the sun and its light with happiness for nothing. Light means life and joy!

    8. … And CHAUVET says…a show without lights is like…a show without an LD! Lacks creativity and that touch of genius. Thank you to all LDs out there for making lights speak.

    This is a show with lights!

    LD Profile: Austin Grundberg

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    Six questions with Austin Grundberg
    At just 14 years of age, Grundberg has already started his own lighting company, AGLite Inc.His future goal is “to do concerts and touring.”

    1. How did you get into this field?
    I have always been fascinated with fire trucks and their lights. When I finally saw my first concert, I still could not stop looking at the lights. I then looked into lighting fixtures and it became more interesting. Finally, when I turned 14 I decided I wanted to start a lighting company.

    2. What do you think is the next big thing in the lighting industry?
    Personally I think its LEDs. But, I also think there should be a line of high end but less expensive moving heads and other fixtures. This is especially important to me due to not having much money. Also, having a real controller, one with a display, maybe a trackball/joystick, faders, and momentary buttons, that’s also affordable.

    3. Do you have a favorite fixture (and why)?
    Yes, COLORpalette. I like it because it’s bright and very versatile. But my next buy is probably a COLORrail IRC IPbecause of its versatility and I can use it outdoors.

    “A shot with all my equipment on,” said Grundberg

    4. What has been your favorite design/project?
    My favorite design project would have to be the Oak Grove School Variety Show, probably because it was my first Independent show.

    5. What was the biggest unforeseen obstacle that you’ve faced in one of your designs, and how did you overcome it?
    My biggest obstacle was trying to do the Variety Show without enough equipment. It was my first show and I had to rent equipment and use the school’s equipment. Its hard getting enough equipment when your only 14. Fortunately, I got it done with the help of the sound tech, who gave me a couple of lighting shops around my area.

    6. Complete this thought: A show without light is like…nothing, can’t see them, can’t see facial expressions, can’t see anything, a show doesn’t work without lighting. It’s like watching a shadow move around.

    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.

     

    Minnesota Trip: CHAUVET Demo Day

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    Central Territory/Key Accounts Manager, Jeremy Pace

    Central Territory/Key Accounts Manager Jeremy Pace was in Minneapolis at EMI Audio for a CHAUVET Demo Day to showcase these awesome effect lights: Fallout, Swarm, Circus, Orb, Sweeper LED, plus the new gobo projector, Gobo Zoom LED 2.0. For more on our awesome lights, stay INformed and check out these two LED drapes that are perfect for your DJ booths or for any back drop: SparkleDrape LED, MotionDrape LED. Find out more about the complete wash lighting solution 4BAR Tri or color-changer system 6SPOT. And if that’s not enough, feast your eyes and get INspired from these photos and by watching the amazing video we posted here for the COLORrail IRC linear wash (with optional remote!).

    LD Profile: Xavier Pierce

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    Six questions with Xavier Pierce
    Lighting designer and owner of Xavier Pierce Design in New York.

    1. How did you get into this field?
    I was a dancer for about eight years, since I was 7 years old with Florene Litthcut Nichols Inner City Children’s Touring Dance Company in Miami. She had a son who was 10 years older than I was, who started apprenticing with the Miami IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) Local 477, while he was practicing dancing. He took me around on local lighting jobs to hang and focus lights. That was my first encounter, so to speak. During my first year of high school I had a really hard time adjusting and one of the teachers threatened to kick me out of an artistic program. A senior student who did lighting and technical theatre was leaving and nobody knew how to run the console or the lighting. So I told myself, if I learned the console and learned how to set up lighting, it would be hard for her to kick me out. I remember doing my first design; it was in a black box theatre. The florescent lights went out and I slowly brought up the R26 backlight – the look, the moment, the feeling was perfect. It was so intense that the hairs stood up on my skin. Here I was communicating an emotion only with my heart and a push of a handle. From that point on I never looked back.

    2. What do you think is the next big thing in the lighting industry?
    On the tech side, I think bigger, brighter LEDs across a wider range of standard fixtures. I can see an LED ellipsoidal. On the design side, I think there is going to be a wave of talented lighting designers (some are out there already) who are also experienced in video design, and who can put out a great product in the time it would take one lighting designer and one video designer to do it.

    3. What is your favorite fixture?
    If you asked me six months ago, I would have said the VL3000 Spot from Vari-Lite. It’s bright, it’s durable and moves very well. My favorite now is the VL2500 Spot. It has a great punch, size and cost. I had to change 18 VL3000 Spot lights to VL2500 fixtures and I was really concerned, because the show had been on tour for two years. But I had little reprogramming to do and in the end I was amazed.

    4. What has been your favorite design/project?
    I have two favorite projects. The first one is Drumline LIVE!, an international and national tour celebrating the rich history and style of Historically Black Colleges and Universities Marching Band (HBCU). I obtained my undergraduate degree from Florida A&M University, part of HBCU. This show just brings back so many colorful memories of good music and outlandish theatricality. Putting 40 marching band members from across the country on one stage is thrilling and electrifying. The second project is the grand opening of the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center. The creative team came up with a show that reflected the cultural diversity of South Miami-Dade. We used the theme of Hurricane Andrew that ravaged South-Miami Dade as an emotional backdrop to the show. The team was on the phone for hours, for two and a half months cultivating what the show was going to look and feel like. We were always searching for the truth of human suffering, asking ourselves, “How can someone rebuild from nothing?” It was terribly emotional. I was a teenager living in Miami when Hurricane Andrew hit. It was an amazing experience working with talented artists and I was incredibly blessed to be a part of it.

    5. What was the biggest unforeseen obstacle that you’ve faced in one of your designs, and how did you overcome it?
    While I was working on the grand opening of the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, we had challenges coming up with the design concept. You could not tell where video started and where lighting ended. It was difficult trying to create a seamless fluid visual picture, with two minds. The solution was to work together with the video designer and to discuss during tech. The video designer put up an image and I layered in the lighting, making sure he agrees. We wanted to integrate both elements to see the difference between the lighting and the video. Video adds so much more to the composition, it’s like Chef Emeril Lagasse‘s famous tag line, “Let’s kick it up a notch.”

    6. Complete this thought: A show without light is like…the world without the Sun: dead, desolate, cold, unbearable; without growth and understanding.

    Tech Talk: Learn How to Properly Pack for the Road

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    Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET Professional

    Mike Graham looking pensive in front of MVP panels.

    You just picked up a rental package of lights from CHAUVET. But do you know how to get them out for rental, and more importantly, back again in one piece? Can you just keep them in the box and hope for the best? How about cables? How do you keep track of cables, how do you wrap and pack them?

    As part of being organized, I always keep a list of what is in each box. I always know how many 10-feet 5-pin DMX cables I have and I pack a few in plus, just in case. Also, I pack some extra power cables, a few plugs and 3- to 5-pin turn arounds? I like to make note of anything that did not work on the show site so that when I get back to the shop, I can easily find it and get it fixed. These are just some quick tips; read below and get organized like a pro:

    1. Packing products. Let’s use the COLORado series of products for our examples. While they are completely road worthy, they still need a little protection from the rigors of road travel and from riggers. These fixtures are – with the exception of the COLORado Ridge IP and COLORado Range IP – fairly small in size, so you can pack multiples in one case. If you have PAR-style units, a case of six or eight is the way to go. With the batten-style units, you may be able to do many more depending on the style of case. Casing the units keeps them safe and helps you keep track of your inventory. This applies to moving heads as well. The lighter and smaller the fixtures, the easier it gets to pack more into the same case. The Legend 412 is a great example for this – it can be cased easily into an eight-pack.

    2. All about cables. Nothing is worse than getting to a show and seeing that the cable trunk looks similar to a steaming hot colander of cooked spaghetti. Keeping them organized is not as hard as you think. CHAUVET DMX cables come with color-coded shrink tube on both ends of the cables for easy sizing. Check the picture at right for CHAUVET’s color coding.

    • Handling new cables. When you buy a new set of cables, it is really important to take them out of the package, roll the cables out and get the wind memory out of them. When DMX cables are built at the factory, typically they are rolled off a big spool, have the ends soldered on, and then get wound back up on the packaging card. That is why when you buy new cables they unroll like a big spring. To release the memory, I grab the head of the cable in my left hand and pull it through my right hand tight enough to let the cable pass, but at the same time spin out the twists in the cable. Once you are done, the cable should lay flat on the floor. This will let you roll the cable back up and not have it look like a figure 8.
    •     Tying up cables.
      Zip Tie. This works very quickly, but they burn up fast and that can get expensive. Also if you don’t have a set of cutters handy, getting the Zip Tie off is going to be a challenge for your teeth.
      Electrical or Gaffers tape.       This is quick again, but you might end up with tape on your shoes, and I personally hate tape on my shoes.
      Trick line or Velcro tie.       This can be attached to the cable permanently and allows you to use the tie again for cleaning cable on the truss
      Fold over and tie the cable back on itself.       Cheep and dirty way to have your cables not last too long. Tying a not in the cable is not a good plan.
    • How to roll cables. So pick a method and roll up the cable. I am really picky about how people roll cable, and this is my advice: never roll over your elbow. It creates memory in the cable and will eventually break the stands of copper in the cables. Since I am right handed I grab the head of the cable in my left hand and make loops that are about 1 foot across. There are two schools of thought on wrapping cable: over-under or all-over. Over-under means that you alternate the loops so that one loop is over the top, and the next loop is wrapped underneath. All-over means that you are wrapping the cable all over each other. Both methods are acceptable. However, if you unwrap the over under method the wrong way, you will see that every loop is now a knot in the cable.
    • Stacking cables. Once you have all of your cables wrapped up and color coded, you can start stacking them up in the case. One case for data, one for power extensions, one for motors, and one for power distribution. You want to keep these all separate as they are typically used at different times of the load in. You also want to make sure that you pack in order. For example, make sure that your feeder cable for your power distribution system is on top the rest of your power distribution cables. You are going to need them first and there is nothing worse than having to dig to the bottom of a case full of heavy cable only to have to put it back in once you have your feeder cables.

    So now you have your cases packed and you’re ready for your show. (For a list of tools, click here and follow the advice I gave in a different blog.) You know how to be in charge of your equipment and how to stay organized.  There’s one thing left to do: enjoy what you do and have fun!