The Strike Nineteens hail from Scotland and recently shot this video using four iPhones and one COLORado™ Batten 72 TOUR (which makes a cameo appearance!). Thanks to their sound engineer, Ian Green, for sharing this with us.
Six Questions with Thomas Aratanha Fonseca
Lighting Designer and Account Manager for Kor Media & Lighting
1. How did you get into this field?
I started as an actor studying at Uni-Rio in Brazil. When it came time for everyone to leave the theater so the stagehands could have the stage, I just wanted to stay. I loved being in the theater and ended up doing a little bit of everything. I started designing small productions for friends and before I knew it I had completely shifted my focus towards lighting.
2. What do you think is the next big thing in the lighting industry?
Because my focus is more in theatrical lighting, I would have to say an LED that could replace the ETC Source4. A fixture that is equivalent to a 575-watt or a 750-watt lamp and is quiet. Color temperature of LEDs is getting better and better. I think every theater, church, or production company would buy a fixture like it in a heartbeat.
3. Do you have a favorite fixture (and why)?
I’ve worked quite a bit with the Colorado™ 1-Tri Tour. It’s great for backwash because of its tri-lensing as well as for incredible color mixing. Although it’s only a one-watt LED, it has great output and works perfectly for the theaters (where I mostly work) that have a trim of 21′ or less. Also, I’ve been truly impressed by the Clay Paky Sharpy. It has an incredible output and it looks great.
4. What has been your favorite design/project?
One of my favorite designs would have to be working for YoungArts and being part of the alumni show. We had to put together a show that included artists from all different backgrounds. There were performers such as, a ballet dancer and a visual artist, a classical cellist and a pop singer, or a film maker and a jazz sax player. If that wasn’t enough, we only had a week to create it from scratch, tech it, and perform it. It was a great experience.
5. What was the biggest unforeseen obstacle that you’ve faced in one of your designs, and how did you overcome it?
I suffered every lighting designer’s nightmare. After finishing lighting and teching a full performance, I came back the next day for a dress rehearsal and was told the board lost ALL my cues. I went crazy of course and almost killed my programmer, but the end everyone said that the cues looked better the second time around.
6. Complete this thought: A show without light is like…A snail without a shell… SLIMY!!
We believe this to be true. Admittedly, we have a love affair with light—light fixtures, light design and lighting in general. Lighting has infected us.
Light breathes life into any design: concert stages, theater, interior spaces and skylines. For us, it has added life to our booth at LDI, which will embody our current expression of loving light and its infectious nature. We have created a small wondrous world filled with the many ways light can be articulated, as well as a visual platform to show case our new and exciting products.
Imagine interlocked video walls made from our modular MVP™ Series surrounding a space especially created for our Q-Wash™ 560Z LED moving heads and Epix™ Series of pixel mapping fixtures. Overhead creeps a spidery truss design where our COLORado™ Zoom Tour static wash lights will hang alongside the awesome quad-colored Legend™ 412 moving yoke.
The look will ensnare you. Our infectious new products will captivate you. Get infected by light at booth 183.
The last leg of Miranda Lambert’s tour, “The Revolution Continues“, has begun and with it a revved up light show from Chris Lisle. We were able to get some behind-the-scenes photos of the new stage design. On deck are COLORado™ Batten 72 TOUR linear wash lights and Legend™ 300E Beam moving heads.
Our Global Sales Director, Stéphane Gressier, shared this gorgeous photograph of a building in the European city of Batumi, Georgia on the square called Era Square. It features, 121 COLORado™ 3p IP and 33 COLORado™ 1 IP. The fixtures were specified by Sound Design Studio LLC.
Dwight Slamp, Business Development Manager for Production/Touring, is on the road. He stopped at the Grand Ole Opry and took a couple of photos of our COLORado™ Series in action. Check them out.
The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville is equipped with 72 COLORado™ 1 Tour fixtures as down lights.
Here is a shot of Tyler Bryan (Opry LD) controlling 400+ COLORado™ fixtures from his GrandMA console.
Another shot of the Opry stage with some awesome color combinations.
Mike Graham looking pensive in front of MVP™ video panels
Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET® Professional
After a very successful PLASA, I would like to thank a few people. First, I want to thank Sam from our CHAUVET® Europe office for being the consummate professional during the buildup, the show, and tear down, as well as programming a great booth. I know I can count on you. Great job!
Secondly, I want to thank the crew from VME for bringing it all together at the end and getting us all of the kit we needed to build up the booth (and for all of the good humor). P.S. I am going to work out the comfortable rigging harness for you guys for next year.
Last, but not least, I need to thank the tireless efforts of our CHAUVET® Europe and international sales team, along with our U.S.-based tradeshow coordinators, for bringing all of the marketing, sales, and general good attitudes that I know I can depend on.
Great job everyone! Looking forward to next year. (Last year at Earls Court, I think.)
UPDATE 9/29/11: Photos from the show. (Thanks to Stéphane Gressier!)
"Sleeper hit" fixture the LFS-5
LFS-5 and COLORado™ Zoom Tour
Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET® Professional
I was in Mexico for the day to show our Legend™ Series to TV Azteca. I trained them on three fixtures from this series: Legend™ 1200E Wash, Legend™ 1200E Spot and Legend™ 300E Beam. Take a look at some of the behind-the-scenes shots Stéphane Gressier, global sales director for CHAUVET®, took below.
Me between two Legend™ roadcases.
On set.
On set. (I'm at the end of the Legend™ line.)
TV Azteca exterior shot.
Six questions with Camron Ware
Founder of Visual Worshiper, VJ, Light and Projection Designer
1. How did you get into this field?
Started at a church actually where we had no budget and I had to get resourceful and creative with lighting and environment design. I would also travel and do one-off show where I learned the touring industry and now I have my own company that provides lighting and environment design.
2. What do you think is the next big thing in the lighting industry?
Brighter LEDs and more of them and the continual blurring between lighting and video. While those might be the obvious answers, it’s the reality. More efficient light and lamps that do more for less money.
3. Do you have a favorite fixture (and why)?
I would have to say my 10,000 watt fresnel out of an old Disney studio – it’s amazing what you can do with one light.
4. What has been your favorite design/project?
Last year I lit Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for a local private school that puts on big, quality productions. It was in the round and had about 300 students in the cast and crew. Aside from 96 ETC PARs, 40 moving lights and about 100 LED fixtures, my favorite piece was the LED light-up coat I built for Joseph to wear during the final bow. [Video below.]
5. What was the biggest unforeseen obstacle that you’ve faced in one of your designs, and how did you overcome it?
It’s less about technical obstacles and more about lack of budget or passion from the people in charge. Getting people to realize the power and dynamics of lighting can be tough when following creative dreams.
6. Complete this thought: A show without light is like…just another day listening to the radio.
Read Camron’s review of the COLORado™ Batten 144 Tour linear wash light here.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat video:
Hot band of the moment, LMFAO, performed a recent concert at Chapman University in Orange, Calif. Nearly 50 CHAUVET® COLORado™ 1-Tri TOUR tri-colored wash lights were used as audience blinders for the show.
CHAUVET® Professional 