The Lighting Lounge https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge Mon, 18 Mar 2024 20:36:02 -0700 en hourly 1 https://gcwebstudio.com/ https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/infocomm-2023-recap InfoComm 2023 Recap https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2023/06/27/infocomm-2023-recap Tue, 27 Jun 2023 00:00:00 -0700 Events https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f649b6212b4c66.jpg Today we are joined in the lounge by 4Wall Account Executive Mark Consiglio. Mark joined 4Wall earlier this year and has helped shape the event technology industry for over 20 years. He has extensive experience in all aspects of the Audio/Visual industry.... Today we are joined in the lounge by 4Wall Account Executive Mark Consiglio. Mark joined 4Wall earlier this year and has helped shape the event technology industry for over 20 years. He has extensive experience in all aspects of the Audio/Visual industry. He began studying electronic engineering and troubleshooting as a student and worked his way up from an entry-level technician to a Global Product Manager. Mark has extensive event production experience working across many verticals such as hotel AV, systems integration, television broadcast and most recently sports and entertainment partnerships. Check out his recap of the 2023 InfoComm show below.

This past week, Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association (AVIXA) held its annual Infocomm event in Orlando, FL. InfoComm is the largest professional audiovisual trade show in North America, with thousands of products for audio, unified communications and collaboration, display, video, control, digital signage, home automation, security, VR, and live events. The event had been a shadow of its former self the past few years due to pandemic restrictions, however, 2023 felt like a return to form, and everyone in attendance appeared to have the same sentiment.

4Wall had a presence with a few of our partners on the floor, particularly in the Absen booth with some of our thought leaders discussing topics like "xR in Broadcast" and "The World of Color in LED". We also had a chance to take a look at some new products and solutions for all sorts of needs and here are just a few.

Before we jump into the products, let's take a look at InfoComm's 📊 from AVIXA:
📈 - 29,325 verified attendees from 115 countries.
🌎 - International attendance made up 20%. (37% were first-time attendees)
📝 - More than 2,000 unique individuals participated in continuing education.

Yamaha DM7 Series Digital Mixers
The next step in the digital mixer evolution for Yamaha gives us the DM7 series of digital mixers.

DM7 Compact with DM7 Control 



DM7 with DM7 Control



DM7 Compact



"From broadcasting, streaming, and music production, to live hybrid events and concert performances, the advanced capabilities of the DM7 series set a new standard in operability and workflow while simultaneously staying true to Yamaha's sonic tradition of "natural sound". As the times continue to change, your DM7 will keep you ahead of the curve with a user experience that's a
cut above anything in its class, and sonic performance well beyond the expectations of audiences and engineers alike." - Yamaha 

Obsidian Control Systems - NS8IP
A rugged, IP65 chassis packed with an 8-port giga-bit switch for managing data intensive entertainment applications. Designed to work with Artnet, sACN, X-Net, HogNet, MA-Net and more. Configurable by an internal webpage and all 8 ports can be set to POE with POE+ support. It all lives in a powder coated housing designed to be mounted to truss with the M12 mounting hole, or it can also be wall mounted with the included adapter.

NS8IP



RFVenue - Wireless System Builder

The geniuses over at RFVenue have created a tool for system designers and live event technicians to use when designing a system in difficult RF spaces. The Wireless System Builder is FREE and helps you design a system either based on the location and equipment you already have. You can also go through the process and select "no equipment" to have it tell you the different skus you can use across many brands. You can even compare the information you receive with scan data that you export from
software like Shure Wireless Workbench (Which also released V7 this past week).



MUXWAVE Holographic LED Screens

Muxwave out of Shenzhen China, has a product on the market that gives one of the best representations of "transparent" LED. By utilizing a system of mesh LEDs with no infrastructure behind it, you get a holographic effect when video is displayed. When video is turned off or removed, the mesh is so thin that it appears to be a form of diffusion rather than the skeleton of a large LED wall system. It gives a great effect in person and appears very clean and tidy. This type of technology seems like a no-brainer for systems and installs where you want to utilize window space that also acts as window and isn;t covered up by a bunch of skeletal design and cables. I'm not sure yet how this could apply to live events where the set/strike nature of building the system may need to be flushed out a bit more, but for something semi-permanent, it could be game-changing.



AudioPressBox - Dante Enabled Press Box with USB-C
AudioPressBox has been making a name for themselves with Dante enabled audio interfaces, which distribute audio signal from microphones authentically and securely to all journalists, cameramen and broadcasters. One new product at the show was the AudioPressBox APB-320 C-USB. A Professional portable, active, pressbox with 2 Analog Line/Mic inputs, 1 Digital USB-C input and and 16 Analog Line/Mic and Digital USB-C outputs. It is suitable for both indoor and outdoor press conferences due to built-in rechargeable accu pack and heavy duty Nanuk case. The USB-C also allows a video conference in and connection for a hybrid press conference.





We look forward to attending many more shows and events this year where we can get a sense of upcoming trends in the event technology market. If you have any questions or feedback, please reach out to Mark Consiglio at mconsiglio@4wall.com




 

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2023-nab-show-recap 2023 NAB Show Recap https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2023/04/28/2023-nab-show-recap Fri, 28 Apr 2023 00:00:00 -0700 Events https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f644c20b81704c.jpg Joining us in the Lighting Lounge today is Jay Agamao, Brand Manager at 4Wall Entertainment. As a newcomer to the NAB Show, Jay brings a fresh perspective on the latest trends and technologies in the industry. He will be sharing his experiences from the 2... Joining us in the Lighting Lounge today is Jay Agamao, Brand Manager at 4Wall Entertainment. As a newcomer to the NAB Show, Jay brings a fresh perspective on the latest trends and technologies in the industry. He will be sharing his experiences from the 2023 NAB Show, highlighting the newproducts that caught his attention.

The NAB Show is the premier event for broadcasting and electronic media professionals, showcasing the latest technology and trends. The 2023 NAB Show did not disappoint, featuring a wide range of innovative and exciting products that left attendees buzzing with excitement. We will be taking a closer look at some of the top items that stood out at the 2023 NAB Show.



1. Kino Flo: Mimik
This portable LED light panel mimics the color and intensity of natural sunlight, making it an ideal tool for photographers, videographers, and filmmakers. Its ultra-thin and lightweight design makes it easy to transport and set up in various locations. Its intuitive user interface allows users to easily adjust the color temperature and intensity of the light to achieve the perfect shot. With the Mimik, users can capture stunning images and videos with natural-looking lighting, regardless of the shooting location.



2. Brompton: TrueLight
The Brompton TrueLight is a revolutionary LED panel that produces unparalleled color accuracy and consistency. TrueLight features advanced calibration technology that allows it to display colors with extreme precision, making it an ideal tool for color-critical applications such as film and TV production. The panel can achieve a color gamut 50% wider than standard LED panels, producing vibrant and lifelike colors. TrueLight offers excellent brightness and uniformity, ensuring consistent lighting across the entire panel. With the Brompton TrueLight, professionals can trust that their colors will appear exactly as intended, resulting in stunning visuals that truly capture the essence of the scene.



3. Exalux: ExaTile Pixel
The Exalux ExaTile Pixel is a modular LED panel system designed for a variety of applications, from large-scale installations to small-scale projects. The ExaTile Pixel features a snap-together design allowing users to easily create custom configurations and designs. The system can be controlled via DMX, allowing for precise control of individual panels and the overall display. The ExaTile Pixel also features an advanced mapping system that will enable it to be used for video content playback, creating stunning visual effects that can be synchronized with music or other audio sources. With its flexible design and powerful capabilities, the Exalux ExaTile Pixel is a must-have tool for creating engaging and dynamic visual displays.



4. Kinoflo: Freestyle 4
The Kinoflo Freestyle 4 is a portable LED light kit designed for use in a variety of settings, from on-location shoots to studio setups. The Freestyle 4 kit includes a light fixture, ballast, and mounting hardware, making it easy to set up and adjust. The light fixture features a high-quality LED panel that renders excellent color and produces soft, even lighting. The ballast can be mounted on the fixture or used remotely, giving users greater flexibility in their setup. Additionally, the Freestyle 4 includes a range of accessories, such as diffusers and grids, allowing users to create custom lighting effects. With its powerful output, color accuracy, and ease of use, the Kinoflo Freestyle 4 is an ideal tool for photographers, videographers, and filmmakers alike.

The 2023 NAB Show presented diverse groundbreaking and forward-thinking products that could transform the broadcasting and electronic media industries. From cutting-edge LED lighting panels to high-performance cameras, these tools offer an array of capabilities and functionalities that can elevate the work of those in the TV and film indutry. As we eagerly anticipate the next NAB Show, it's thrilling to anticipate the new products and technologies that will be unveiled and how they will influence the industry's future direction.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/light-humor-episode-6-the-load-in- Light Humor Episode 6: "The Load In" https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2023/01/04/light-humor-episode-6-the-load-in- Wed, 04 Jan 2023 00:00:00 -0800 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f63b5f8fcece0c.jpg 4Wall Entertainment has released episode 6 of the animated series, Light Humor, now available for streaming on their Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram channels. Episode 6: "The Load-In" After being out of the touring game for years and enjoying his...

4Wall Entertainment has released episode 6 of the animated series, Light Humor, now available for streaming on their Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram channels.


Episode 6: "The Load-In"

After being out of the touring game for years and enjoying his retired life, Jerry gets a call from his old pal Max to join his crew. Jerry quickly realizes a lot has changed since he was on the road. Will his years of experience allow him to jump back in or will he be overwhelmed by the new technology of modern roadie life? Find out on this Light Humor episode, 'The Load-In.'

Light Humor Episode 6 stars Chris Barron, Farah Alvin, and ; Jonny "Tosar" Tosarello.

4Wall Entertainment dedicated this episode to the memory of Richard "Nook" Schoenfeld.

Written by: Cory Pattak
Animated by: Skylar Smith
Graphics by: Aaron Cannon
Executive Producers: Jeff Croiter, Drew Quinones, and ; Cory Pattak
Cast: Chris Barron, Farah Alvin, Jonny "Tosar" Tosarello, and ; Hector Martinez

Lighting Humor is an animated series presented by 4Wall Entertainment that takes a humorous look inside the world of lighting design and aims to bring some brightness into your day. From an overly-confident talking lighting console to how a theater's Ghost Light has been dealing with the pandemic to the depiction of the often bizarre and chaotic days spent at work.

To catch up on past episodes of Light Humor, click the following linkhttps://bit.ly/Light-Humor-Playlist

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/highlights-from-the-2022-ldi-show Highlights From the 2022 LDI Show https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2022/12/07/highlights-from-the-2022-ldi-show Wed, 07 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0800 Events https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f6390fbef6e29a.jpg "It feels good to be back" was the talk throughout the 2022 LDI Show. Let's take a look at highlights from this year's event. CHAUVET PROFESSIONAL Chauvet Professional showcased all their IP-65-rated light fixtures and LED video panels. Their boot... "It feels good to be back" was the talk throughout the 2022 LDI Show. Let's take a look at highlights from this year's event.

CHAUVET PROFESSIONAL
Chauvet Professional showcased all their IP-65-rated light fixtures and LED video panels. Their booth featured a unique outdoor woods/jungle feel. The new Maverick Storm 2 BeamWash was a prominent fixture on the booth's rig. The Maverick Storm 2 BeamWash features a 12-zone pixel-mappable RGB LED outer ring under a stealth filter for added effect possibilities. With nearly 10,000 lumens of output, this light is bright enough for any size or type of live event.





ROBE LIGHTING

ROBE Lighting showcased its IP-65 fixtures as well. Their live demo that ran hourly during the show featured a waterfall that was centered on the stage, surrounded by their moving lights. The all-new Robe iFORTE was part of the show and was getting drenched by the waterfall above. IP65-rated iFORTE combines great output and feature-rich effects in a fully protected package, capable of handling all the challenges of being outdoors.



AYRTON
The Zonda 9 FX was one of the main attractions at Ayrton's booth and their demo. It's a high-performance 40W LED fixture and is perfect for stage lighting. The demo highlighted the fixtures proprietary optical system consisting of a wide dial of 37 lenses in PMMA, 384 mm in diameter, combined with 37 glass light guides with an output surface made of an optical micro-structure.



Clay Paky
Clay Paky showed up with a handful of new moving light fixtures this year. One of the new movers was the Volero Wave. This new light includes eight separate heads at your disposal, each independently capable of moving on a 220° TILT and giving rise to three-dimensional and volumetric projections that have never been seen before.



Clay Paky also displayed a new family of moving light fixtures called the Xtylos. The Mini Xtylos HPE,Xtylos Aqua, and Xtylos make up this unique family of laser-source moving lights.



Elation Professional
The Elation Professional booth was one of the more popular booths at the show. Speaking with Elation about the inspiration for their booth, they went for a more intimate route. Elation aimed to create a hands-on environment so attendees could interact with all their equipment.



MOD SCENES
Mod Scenes had a booth set up with their new light fixture, the DMX Hoist and some backdrops. These hoists allow for a large range of variable speed movement to serve your most detailed design concept. Luminaries can be provided as either tubes or orbs.



PORTMAN LIGHTS
Portman Lights had a fantastic display. Portman showcased most of their fixtures, but the one that was their main display was the S-Tribe lights. These strip lights are perfect for concerts, theatre, or even a backdrop design possibility is endless.



That about wraps up the 2022 LDI Show. Check out our 2022 LDI Show recap video to see even more: LDI 2022 Recap


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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/healthy-eating-while-traveling Eating Right On The Road https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2022/10/20/healthy-eating-while-traveling Thu, 20 Oct 2022 17:00:00 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f6352e8b242c78.jpg In an ideal world, we'd all have time to cook all our meals from scratch! But that's not the way the world works these days. Fortunately, thanks to emerging healthier, convenient foods and some general rules of thumb to keep in your back pocket while eati...

In an ideal world, we'd all have time to cook all our meals from scratch! But that's not the way the world works these days. Fortunately, thanks to emerging healthier, convenient foods and some general rules of thumb to keep in your back pocket while eating out, it's possible to stick to your healthy eating habits while traveling. In this webinar, we will cover how to build a healthy plate, what to look out for on restaurant menus, tips, and tricks you can ask of your server, the most nutritious convenient foods to grab, and how to read a nutrition label, plus more to keep you covered on the road!

Jennifer Sweenie is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and Health-Supportive Chef. She speaks on the importance of eating healthy on the road and everyday life. She owns Heart and ; Belly Functional Nutrition (www.heartandbelly.com) and works one-on-one with clients to help them meet their health and wellness goals through dietary and lifestyle modifications. She specializes in Paleo and Keto cooking and helps clients detox from sugar through her five-week RESTART group program. Jennifer developed and launched the vegetarian lunch program for Linkedln, and her recipes can be found on MindBodyGreen and The Today Show.


In this webinar overview, I will cover some topics discussed in Jennifer's webinar. Sweenie begins the webinar by speaking on the foundations of nutrition: Digestion, Blood Sugar, Dietary Fats, Vitamins and ; Minerals, and Hydration. She explains how important each foundation is and how we can hit each one daily by eating "real food." Sweenie describes "real food" as fruits, vegetables, meats, grains, etc., nothing that is processed. She also let us know the right amount of water to intake, the rule of thumb is half your body weight in ounces.



Sweenie moves on to "How to Build a Healthy Plate," starting with macronutrients which are your proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. We also need essential micronutrients, vitamins, and minerals. Our plate should consist of 30% protein, 30% fats, and 40% carbs. She gives many examples of macronutrient and micronutrient sources and how they turn into energy.

"It is tough to get us to look at the label, but it is extremely important." She explains how tough it is to keep up these habits on the road, yet it's not impossible. She gave tips on packaged food since many of us grab something fast and go. A simple way to know if a snack is healthy is the 5x5 rule, five grams of sugar or less per serving and five ingredients or less. She says, "It is tough to get us to look at the label, but this helps us see what companies label healthy and what indeed is in their products."

This leads us to our next topic, "Hidden Sugars." Companies use sugar in many products. Rather than using the word sugar, they will call it something else. These words include glucose, lactose, maltodextrin, stevia, dextrose, and many more. "These are all still sugar," said Sweenie. "Stay away from them if you can. They are not horrible, but they are still sugar.



Sweenie moved on and showed how to read a nutrition label and what to look out for. It is very straightforward, she says. Look at the serving size; this is most important. Many don't look at the label or think one package is one serving when it's not. Look out for the ingredients as well. Remember the 5x5 rule and Google anything you're unsure of. She brings up added sugars, such as corn syrup, stevia, etc. You'll want to be as close to zero for added sugars.



Sweenie transitions to fast food and restaurants. She explains that we are bound to eat it while on the road, which is completely fine. Franchises are required to listwhat ingredients are in their food and have nutrition facts. Even while dining at a restaurant, be sure to look at the menu. Most have nutrition facts on the back of them now. You can even ask your server what's in your dish. She gave a tip to look up the menu online ahead of time. That way, you know what to order ahead of time and are prepared.



Lastly, she brings up convenience foods/planned meals. Sweenie expresses to prepare your meals/snacks before your trip, so you stay on track to eating healthy. She gives examples of foods, such as apple sauce, tuna, oatmeal, raw nuts, etc. She even mentions taking a cooler to pack carrots, fruit, and yogurt. Many snacks can be planned and packed ahead of time.

She ends the presentation by saying, "It's all about balance and not being so hard on yourself. Have a healthy and happy lifestyle, relax, and slow life down. Social connections, quality sleep, stress management, and sensible sun exposure are what we need to lead a healthy life. Strive for great and be okay with good. Not every day do you see savings like this!"

Check out the entire webinar here:
Healthy Eating Webinar

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/got-rain-newly-released-ip65-rated-live-entertainment-equipment- Got Rain? Newly Released IP65 Rated Live Entertainment Equipment https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2022/08/01/got-rain-newly-released-ip65-rated-live-entertainment-equipment- Mon, 01 Aug 2022 17:00:00 -0700 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f62f1599272808.jpg Over the last few years, live entertainment equipment manufacturers have been pumping out IP65-rated products faster than new Marvel and Star Wars content on Disney+. With the popularity of music festivals at an all-time high and outdoor events becoming a...

Over the last few years, live entertainment equipment manufacturers have been pumping out IP65-rated products faster than new Marvel and Star Wars content on Disney+. With the popularity of music festivals at an all-time high and outdoor events becoming a safer option coming out of the pandemic, IP65-rated equipment has been a hot commodity for rental houses to acquire. In this article, we look at some recently released gear that has been used on some of the largest music festival stages and outdoor events across the globe. For those who want to learn more or brush up on IP ratings, check out our article IP RATINGS EXPLAINED.


Chauvet Professional COLORado PXL Bar 16

The Chauvet Professional COLORado PXL Bar 16 is a motorized,
outdoor-ready tilting batten with capabilities to zoom for tight
and wide pixel-mappable looks. This moving pixel bar also
features seamless edge-to-edge mounting and includes
virtual gobo and movement macros with separate
foreground and background color control for more
design options than ever before.


Ayrton Perseo Beam

The Ayrton Perseo Beam is compact, waterproof
multi-function beam effect LED moving
light. This fixture is well-suited for use indoors
as well as outdoors. The Perseo Beam was designed
and developed to operate in the most extreme
conditions and resist hot or cold
temperatures, rain, sand, dust.


Chauvet Professional COLORado 1QS

The Chauvet Professional COLORado 1QS is an indoor/outdoor
wash light that delivers fully homogenized output from a single,
high-power RGBW LED source. A 17° beam angle offers versatile
control and 16 bit-dimming facilitates smooth fades. The unit's IP65 housing makes it ideal for touring, festivals, outdoor events, and more.



Chauvet Professional COLORado Solo Batten

The COLORado Solo Batten projects a single homogenizedwash with smooth color-mixing, giving it the appearance of a bright single bar of light. It complements the COLORado Solo pars perfectly. This very versatile fixture is also engineered with 12 square sections that can be controlled individually,appear seamlessly together without separation andcreate an endless variety of color control and pixelmapping effects. The unit is IP65 rated and equipped with DMX and RDM protocols.


Elation Proteus Hybrid

Elation Proteus Hybrid is an IP65 rated 3-in-1
hybrid moving head beam, spot, and wash
luminaire that produces over 23,000 lumens.
The Proteus Hybrid's IP65 dust and water
protection mean this compact and versatile
arc-source can be used indoors or out.Features include an advanced optical system with motorized zoom from 2° in beam mode to 38° in spot mode or 40° in wash mode and more.



Elation Proteus Maximus

The Elation Proteus Maximus is an IP65 rated LED Profile fixture offering great projection, beam, and wash qualitiesin any environment. Providing up to 50,000 lumens from its custom-designed 950W 6,500K LED engine the Proteus Maximus is the ideal fixture for any outdoor application.Proteus Maximus provides the designer a comprehensive FX package with 6 rotating and 7 fixed glass gobos, full animation wheel, dual prisms, dual frost and a high-speed Iris. Its indexable framing system provides full blackout shutter cuts for precise beam shape control.



Elation Proteus Lucius

The Elation Proteus Lucius is a LED profile fixture offering outstanding projection and beam qualities in any environment. Providing up to 33,500 lumens output from its custom-designedhotspot 580W 6,500K LED engine, the Proteus Lucius is the ideal fixture for any outdoor or indoor an application requiring superior output, bright and powerful beams, and quiet operation, as well as precise gobos and colors.



Chauvet Professional Rogue Outcast 1 Hybrid

The Chauvet Professional Rogue Outcast 1 Hybrid is an outdoor-ready, IP65 spot/beam/wash moving head ideal for small to medium festivals and events. Powered by an intense 400W lamp, Rogue Outcast 1 Hybrid delivers a 6500 K output with tight beam anglesof 1° to 5° in Beam Mode and a zoom range of 2.2° to 29.1° in Spot Mode and 4.9° to 28.3° in Wash Mode formaximum visual impact.



Chauvet Professional onAir IP Panel 2

The onAir Panel 2 is an IP65 rated, LED soft-lightbuilt for rugged, on-location conditions. The fixture is suitable for any broadcast setting witha high CRI/TLC white light, silent operation, plus-minus green adjustment, smooth dimming, and the ability to produce color with built-in, customizable effects. The unit also features an onboard control menu where you can switch between preset effects.




Chauvet Professional F5IP

F5IP is an IP65-rated 5.9MM pixel pitch LED video panel equipped with a 1920 Hz refresh rate and 6,000 NITS andcan be used both indoors and outdoors. Quick and easysetup is optimized by its advanced lightweight diecast magnesium housing and magnetic assisted hanging features. This magnetic LED module also simplifies maintenance and installation since it is both front and rear serviceable.


Ayrton Cobra

The Ayrton Cobra is the first factory standard Ayrton phosphor laser source luminaire based on the concept of DREAMSPOT 18K. The Cobra offers a next generation speckle-free laser source, designed for rendering a D65 white point that allows perfect colour reproduction. COBRA pushes all the limits when it comes to beam definition, with native contrast never before achieved by a digital light source, an incredible beam angle of 0.6°, and an extreme range of focus which permits the beam shape to be adjusted according to the operating distance XT-Focus.



GLP Impression X5 IP Bar

The GLP impression X5 IP Bar is an IP65 rated, linear LED batten with 18 powerful 40 W RGBL LEDs, a wide zoom range, and the new GLP iQ.Gamut color calibration algorithm that creates perfect white spectrums with excellent color rendering. The new squared lens design ensures maximum lumen efficiency and gives an unprecedented curtain of light at its narrowest angle of just 5°, and delivering smooth and homogenous washes all the way out to its widest 60° wash.


Astera HydraPanel

Beam shaping with six included light modifiersand a large range of mounting options make HydraPanel more flexible than any otherproduct in its class. The full-spectrum Titan LED Enginegenerates an impressive 1300 Lumen outputwhile running on battery power.Get creative and display pixelated effects on your HydraPanel. For filming, the HydraPanel haspreinstalled effects such as Police, Fire, Welding etc. which can be customized to your needs. When several panels are connected, effects can stretch over multiple units.



Absen Venus Series LED Video Tiles

The Absen Venus (VN) Series is an innovative LED display that has been specifically designed for concerts and festivals due to its ability to create super-sized screens at speed. The product features a highlyunique integrated 'module-on-frame' design.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/in-the-walls-of-4wall In The Walls of 4Wall https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2022/03/13/in-the-walls-of-4wall Sun, 13 Mar 2022 17:00:00 -0700 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f623b6db22ee79.jpg LEDs, Lamps, Moving Lights are just a few lights we carry at 4Wall. My name is Jay, and I was recently brought on to 4Wall as the Brand Manager. Being the new guy with little to no experience in this industry, I was surprised to see what goes on in the wa... LEDs, Lamps, Moving Lights are just a few lights we carry at 4Wall. My name is Jay, and I was recently brought on to 4Wall as the Brand Manager. Being the new guy with little to no experience in this industry, I was surprised to see what goes on in the walls of 4Wall. As a Brand Manager for the company, the last thing on my mind was working in the warehouse; well, that was my first week—getting to know a few of our departments and putting in some hard labor in the warehouse.

Day 1 LEDs and Lamps.

When I first heard about this department, like most people, the first thing I thought of was energy-efficient lights and lamps for your house. In the lighting industry, that's not the case at all. LEDs and Lamps are industrial light fixtures used on stage for concert venues, broadway, TV sets, etc. When I was working in this department, I learned how heavy they are. I worked on Lekos, LED Uplights, and more. Some of the lights were about 15lbs, which doesn't sound too heavy, but when you're pulling them in and out of cases, cleaning, and disassembling them for 8 hours, it becomes tiring.

The interesting part about these lights was learning there are two parts to them. You have the lamp, which is the top part of the fixture, and the lens, which is the bottom part of it. The lamp is where the light and all the power come from. The lens is the attachment you use to make the light brighter or a thinner or broader beam, depending on the lens size. Before learning about these lights, I thought a ring light was good lighting, but boy, I was wrong.

Now on to Day 2.

I was scheduled to work in the most talked about and most popular department. "Moving Lights." I dreaded this day not because I didn't want to work in the warehouse, but because of all the stories I heard from the marketing team.

"They're so heavy," "Lift with your legs," You're going to be sore," "Good luck on moving lights day."

I mean, with all these comments, who wouldn't be a little nervous? Overall, it wasn't bad at all. I learned that moving lights are the lights you will find when you look up in concerts, stadiums, music festivals, etc. Working in this department was so much fun. I was taught how to clean, reset, and repair a variety of different fixtures. One of them is the ROBE MegaPointe, which is about 50lbs. That isn't bad, considering there are lights that can weigh up to 90-100lbs.

With moving lights, it almost seems like the possibilities are endless. This light is so advanced that it has built-in color wheels, strobe capability, and lenses to project shapes, patterns, colors, etc. At first, I was confused about why this department and these fixtures were called "moving lights." After a few seconds in the department, I understood exactly why, they literally move in every direction! You can program these to move up, down, side to side angled, etc. As I said, the possibilities are endless with these lights.

It was eye-opening what we do with lights, all the little details 4Wall does to be known as one of the best in the industry—taking them apart, dusting, cleaning them—wiping the lenses, resetting them, and packing them all back up to be used again.

It was very humbling to see what the warehouse workers do for 4Wall. Overall, it was a great first week, I'm glad I got to work in the warehouse and learn about how light fixtures work and what they are used for.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/watch-4wall-sunday-roundtable-and-thursday-discussions-tales-from-the-road WATCH: 4Wall Sunday Roundtable and Thursday Discussions: Tales From the Road https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2020/08/02/watch-4wall-sunday-roundtable-and-thursday-discussions-tales-from-the-road Sun, 02 Aug 2020 17:00:00 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5f29912f15036.jpg During the current state of the entire industry, we created 2 industry-related shows, the 4Wall Sunday Roundtable and Thursday Discussions: Tales From the Road.Each episodebrings an array of different folks together to talk about a variety of topics. From...

During the current state of the entire industry, we created 2 industry-related shows, the 4Wall Sunday Roundtable and Thursday Discussions: Tales From the Road.Each episodebrings an array of different folks together to talk about a variety of topics. From how they got started in the industry to what they have been doing during this down-time, each discussion provides great insight from a diverse group of people in the industry.

4Wall Sunday Roundtable

The 4WallSundayRoundtableis a live discussion hosted by 4Wall's Drew Quinones and Tony Award-Winning LD, Jeff Croiter. The guests have included: Bob Barnhart, Ken Billington, Al Crawford, Anne Militello, and more. The discussions are easy-going, and we talk about the state of the industry, what each person has been doing during this down-time, and some current events and how they relate to our industry. (ALL EPISODES ARE BELOW)

Episode 1

  • 11-time Emmy Award winner Bob Barnhart
  • Tony Award winner Ken Billington
  • Knight of Illumination Award Winner Al Crawford
  • Lighting Designer/Director Emmanuelle Gigi Pedron

Episode 2

Episode 2features some of the top design educators in the country.

  • Jane Cox (Princeton University)
  • Anne Militello (CalArts)
  • Brian Macdevitt (University of Maryland)
  • Clifton Taylor (University of North Carolina School of the Arts)

Episode 3

Episode 3invites entertainment industry publishers, editors, and writers for an in-depth discussion about the news we receive and how we receive it in this increasingly difficult time.

  • Robert Diamond (BroadwayWorld.com)
  • Nook Schoenfeld (PLSN)
  • Ellen Lampert-Greaux (Live Design)
  • Michael Eddy (Stage Directions

Episode 4

Episode 4invites a panel with over 100 years of combined experience in the event, corporate, and live tv industries.

  • Ken Farley (Illumination Production Services Inc.)
  • Paul Fine (Fine Design Associates, Inc.)
  • Otis Howard (Otis Howard Lighting Design)
  • Bill Kadra (Available Light)

Episode 5

  • Zak Al-Alami - Lighting Director (Jazz at Lincoln Center, Arc3design)
  • Sean Beach - Lighting Designer and ; Programmer
  • Cory Fitzgerald - Lighting and ; Production Designer (Silent House Productions)
  • Kelley Shih - Lighting Designer and ; Programmer

Episode 6

  • Allan Nathan - Lighting Designer
  • Ken Posner - Tony Award Winning Lighting Designer
  • Lisa Passamonte Green - Visual Terrain CEO, Lighting Designer
  • Sherrice Mojgani - Lighting Designer

Episode 7

  • Chuan-Chi Chan - Lighting Designer
  • Itohan Edoloyi - Lighting Designer
  • Brandon Stirling Baker - Lighting Designer

Episode 8

  • Vada Briceño - Lighting Designer
  • Alan Edwards - Lighting Designer
  • Jason Marin - Lighting Designer
  • Cory Pattak - Lighting Designer

Episode 9

Episode 9 of the 4Wall Sunday Roundtable features projection and ; motion graphic designers!

  • Bob Bonniol - Principal, MODE Architectural
  • Elaine McCarthy - Projection Designer
  • Rasean Davonte Johnson - Projection Designer and ; Video Artist
  • Olivia Sebesky - Projection and ; Motion Graphics Designer

Episode 10

Thursday Discussions: Tales From the Road

The Thursday Discussions: Tales From the Road Series brings an array of different folks together to talk about a variety of topics.We've had on everything from LD's to the entire 1984 Purple Rain Tour lighting crew. The discussions have provided some escape from the unfortunate realities our friends, family, and colleagues are facing.

Episode 1

This episode we'll hear some 'Tales from the Road' from current 4Wall team members and their roadie friends.

  • Larry Mikalishen, 4Wall LV/LA GM
  • Tommy Green, 4Wall National Assets Manger
  • Jonny "Tosar" Tosarello, Lynyrd Skynyrd's Lighting Director/Designer

Episode 2

Join the discussion with the entire lighting crew from the 1984 Purple Rain Tour, 4Wall VP of Business Development Jeff Mateer (Purple Rain Crew Member), and 4Wall VP of Client Services Stephen Llorens!

We expect some wild and fun stories from this group, who haven't been together in one place for decades.

Episode 3

Today's guests are 4Wall Detroit VP of Client Services Stephen Llorens and 4Wall LA VP of Client Services Tracy Royan!

Episode 4

We go live with Mickey and Tommy Berra! 4Wall's Scott Church and Mark Conners join the discussion as well.

Episode 5

The Swingin Johnsons took over the 4Wall Thursday Discussions: Tales From the Road with a special performance! After the song, the band stuck around to talk about their origins and history of playing at the 4Wall parties.

Episode 6

This episode of the Thursday Discussions we are joined by 4Wall Account Manager / Production Manager Dallas Gaspar and ; Insomniac Events Production and ; Stage Manager Braedy Benjamins!

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/4wall-virtual-vendor-showcase-recap 4Wall Virtual Vendor Showcase Recap https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2020/05/19/4wall-virtual-vendor-showcase-recap Tue, 19 May 2020 17:00:00 -0700 Events https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5ec629d707b8c.jpg Last month, 4Wallbroughtthe industry togetherby producing it's first Virtual Vendor Showcase. 4Wall's annual Vendor Showcases have become a staple in the industry as the go-to place to see new gear, network and celebrate together. 4Wall NY was preparing t...

Last month, 4Wallbroughtthe industry togetherby producing it's first Virtual Vendor Showcase. 4Wall's annual Vendor Showcases have become a staple in the industry as the go-to place to see new gear, network and celebrate together. 4Wall NY was preparing to celebrate 15 years of hosting its Vendor Showcase, but decided to postpone the event at a date yet to be determined.

As an alternative, the 4Wall Virtual Vendor Showcase was created and and featured over 45 manufacturers whosigned on to participate in this first-ever endeavor.

For a 5 days,4Wall premiered pre-recorded videos on their Facebook page, live for a little over 2 hours.The concept and creative direction were left in the hands of each manufacturer, which produced numerous engaging and informational videos.

Check out all the vidoes broken down by day below:

DAY 1 (GLP, Avolites, ETC, Tomcat Truss, ACT Lighting, Vectorworks, Motion Labs, Canto USA)

DAY 2-5 Coming Soon

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/lumens-laughs-a-q-a-with-social-media-page-limelight-wired Lumens and : A Q and With Social Media Page LimeLight Wired https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2020/02/27/lumens-laughs-a-q-a-with-social-media-page-limelight-wired Thu, 27 Feb 2020 16:00:00 -0800 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5e5d5ea8a734c.jpg Let's face it, memes and animated GIFs are a form of day to day communication nowadays. I literally just sent my boss a Michelle Tanner "You got itdude" GIF while writing this article. It was only a matter of time until somebody started generating an endl... Let's face it, memes and animated GIFs are a form of day to day communication nowadays. I literally just sent my boss a Michelle Tanner "You got itdude" GIF while writing this article. It was only a matter of time until somebody started generating an endless amount of memes and content geared towards the lighting and entertainment industry in a totally different way than your run of the mill press releases in the industry magazines.

I first saw a LimeLight Wired meme in the Everything Stage Lighting Facebook group and I was immediatelyintrigued.

Then, after we posted our 'Banana Taped to a Wall'post on 4Wall's Instagram, and ProTapes posted there's a day later, LimeLight started a challenge with a simple question - Who did it best? This gained a lot of traction on social media and that's when I knew, they were on to something. So I sat down with the creators of LimeLight Wired and asked themsome questions.

When did you start LimeLight Wired? Why did you start it?
LimeLight Wired began last summer, and the growth has been incredible over the past months! A few colleagues and I agreed that daily tidbits and updates, much like you would get from ESPN or CNN, would be an excellent way to stay sharp about what goes on in our industry. Combining that with the relatability of internet humor has created a positive online community for designers, programmers, and technicians at any point in their career.

What's the most popular meme that you created? How many memes do you have on deck?
HAHA! Any meme about haze is so relatable to everyone in the field. Our post with the most interaction would be the classic "Arthur the Aardvark" clinched fist about being told "no haze." We have made over 1000 memes at this point. It's a fun exercise, and we all truly encounter the same problems - which helps us connect with everyone in the field on a really relatable level. Of course, what we post is (hopefully) the cream of the crop. You can submit your own meme to us at admin@limelightwired.com.



You also provide information about the industry. Who do you have in mind when you put this information together?
The idea is the same sort of person who can relate to the jokes could also gain a nugget of knowledge from the content we are making. Whether the topic is a review or brand new information, staying fresh is important going gig to gig.



Where do you see LimeLight Wired in 2021?
We hope to continue to create relatable, insightful content that builds a community for designers, programmers, and technicians alike. Designers and manufacturers have used social media to develop their brands and share their work for several years now. LimeLight Wired hopes to evolve into a platform that helps everyone extend their reach while staying connected.



What value do you think social media has to offer compared to a traditional magazine ad or article?
The advantage of social media is how you can engage with an audience. If there is a particular topic that someone is interested in, they can message us, and we listen! Social media also gives us the ability to deliver content immediately as it is happening. We can be at a show, inside a FOH, watching a load in, or even witnessing a production meeting.

How fast has LLW grown in the past 3 months?
We hit 3000 followers last November and are approaching 5000 right now! You can follow us on Instagram and Facebook at @LimeLightWired, or subscribe to our newsletter at www.limelightwired.com.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/top-10-items-sold-in-2019-by-usedlighting-com Top 10 Items Sold in 2019 by UsedLighting.com https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2020/01/05/top-10-items-sold-in-2019-by-usedlighting-com Sun, 05 Jan 2020 16:00:00 -0800 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5e14b4126623a.jpg 2019 where did you go? The whole decade for that matter. One of the parts of my job I get most excited for at 4Wall and ; UsedLighting is combing through really long spreadsheets of data, especially when it's a years' worth of data! I realize this ma...

2019 where did you go? The whole decade for that matter.

One of the parts of my job I get most excited for at 4Wall and ; UsedLighting is combing through really long spreadsheets of data, especially when it's a years' worth of data! I realize this may not excite many of you as much as me.. Now that 2019 is dead, gone and almost forgotten it was time to pull a list of everything we sold in 2019.

Now let's dive into the data! There are a couple of ways we could approach and interpret this list. The first would be to simply sort it by the total quantity of what we sold. Doing it that way shows you that we sold a TON of truss bolts, safety cables, c-clamps, powercon cables and other low-dollar items. That's a pretty boring list. The other way would be to sort by the total price of the items sold. Doing it that way gives a lot more weight to higher dollar items like grandMA consoles and large moving lights, but that doesn't really show the whole picture either.

For this list, I create a weighted system that takes both quantity and price into account. This way you can see some current trends of the most popular items in the entertainment equipment world.

You may ask, why would we even pull lists like this besides the fact that data is very exciting and interesting? Well, since most of the gear that's sold on UsedLighting.com is part of 4Wall's rental inventory, it's important to know exactly what we sold, how many of each item, which locations it came from, etc. This is done monthly, quarterly and ; yearly to make sure we are replacing the sold equipment with new equipment, thus ensuring our rental inventory is still healthy and available for you to rent. Also.. data is really cool!

Without further ado, here's the list!

#10: Chauvet Rogue R1 Wash - Current Price: $795
The R1 Wash has been in demand for rentals and sales ever since we added them back in 2015. Their small size, ability to zoom, and quick speed, all at a good price point, make these attractive for our customers with small-medium size productions. These will most likely make the top 10 list for items sold in 2020.

#9: StageMaker 1 Ton and ; ½ Ton Hoists - Current Price: $2,095 and ; $,1795
Like Tomcat Truss, Stagemaker hoists are solid and ; reliable. CM hoists would also have been high on the list, but there weren't as many available to sell in 2019 vs. the Stagemaker hoists.

#8: Epson Pro 12K Laser Projector
It was both surprising and exciting to see a projector on this list! Something about our name gives people the sense that we only sell lighting (RIP sister-site UsedAV.com..), so it was great to see a projector break the top 10. The 12K must have the right amount of power and ; brightness at the right price point, since it beat out the 7K, 8K and ; 15K versions.

#7: Tomcat Truss 12"x12" 10' Silver
What is there to say about Tomcat Truss? It's solid, reliable, shiny and has been a staple of 4Wall for longer than I have been with the company (11+ years). 12" black truss also sold well but not enough to crack the top 10. 20"x20" truss was also popular but not as much as 12".

#6: Chauvet Colorado 1 Solo - Current Price: $425
The Solo 1 is popular due to its IP65 (outdoor/wet) rating, color temperature presets, zoom and ; RGBW LEDs in one color source. Also, the fact that they fit in 12" truss makes them that more attractive. Orders for this fixture were usually for 8+ units at a time and went as far as Saudi Arabia. I predict the Solo 2 will break the top 10 list in 2020!

#5: ETC Source Four LED Series 2 Lustr - Current Price: $1,795
The continued success of the traditional Source 4 has done little to damper the success of it's younger, slightly more attractive and ; versatile younger brother, the Lustr. In addition to the tungsten and ; Lustr Source 4, the ETC ColorSource Spot Blue and ; Daylight versions also sold well but couldn't crack the top 10.

#4: Martin MAC Viper (Profile and ; Performance) - Current Price: $3,995 for both
I combined these two since having them on the same list would be redundant and adding their totals together only bumped them up 1. These have been workhorses for our rental inventory and have sold well every year. Their durability and reliability combined with their brightness and feature set make them an attractive buy for many people.

#3: Chroma-Q Color Force II 72" - Current Price: $2,995

When the first version of the Color Force came out 10 years ago, we were so impressed with it that we invested in hundreds of them on the spot. The addition of the homogenized lens and added brightness of version 2 only added to our infatuation with this useful wash fixture. Apparently, we aren't the only ones who love the Color Force fixtures.

#2: Martin MAC Aura XB - Current Price: $2,495

Ah, the Aura with its beautiful eye-candy look. Such a great fixture produced by Martin. Since it's release in 2011, the Aura has also been a staple in productions and on venues of all sizes. Ever since we sold off all our non-XB Aura's in 2018 to standardize our rental inventory, the Aura XB has filled the void to be the top-selling moving light of 2019.

#1: ETC Source Four Ellipsoidal (All Lens Tube Types) - Current Price: $289

The Source 4 continues to be a staple of almost every production, large and small! With thousands sold in 2019, the Source 4 gets the top trophy! The good thing for all of you is that we sold and replaced over half of our rental inventory, so if you rent or buy them from us, you're getting a fixture that is almost like new.

Honorable Mentions:

  • MA Lighting grandMA 2 Full and ; Light Console - We had them as sold out a lot of the year due to rental demand and uncertainty on the MA3. They would have broken the top 10 if those issues weren't the case.

  • Arri Skypanel LED S60-C (this one would definitely break the top 10 if we had more to sell as it has sold out quickly every time they are available)

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/guide-to-moving-lights A GUIDE TO MOVING LIGHTS https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2019/07/28/guide-to-moving-lights Sun, 28 Jul 2019 17:00:00 -0700 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5d432f4c28d76.jpg Today, 4Wall Summer Interns Brittney Price and Madison Dahl join us in the Lighting Lounge! This summer, they were givenaccess to 4Wall's entiremoving light inventory.We tasked them withcreating afundamental guide to moving lights for those wanting more i... Today, 4Wall Summer Interns Brittney Price and Madison Dahl join us in the Lighting Lounge! This summer, they were givenaccess to 4Wall's entiremoving light inventory.We tasked them withcreating afundamental guide to moving lights for those wanting more information on the many different movers that are available. They researched each fixture that was available to them and broke them down into 5 categories: EFX, Spot/Profile, Wash, Beam, and Hybrid. At the end of the article, you can check out detailed comparison charts for each category. From lumen output to price, the charts give you an easy way to determine which moving lightwill work best for your event or show.

WHAT IS IT BEING USED FOR?

So, you're looking into renting or buying a moving light fixture, but don't know where to start. We know there are lots of different types, brands and price points of moving lights but before looking at that let's get down to the basics of it all: What you are using it for and where?

LIVE EVENTS

Moving lights are standard in the live event industry, including concerts, music festivals, night clubs, and even in churches. To start off, you'll want to look at the size of your venue, which will have a direct impact on the throw distance. Therefore, the light output that you will need from the fixture will vary depending on venue size. Next, it's important to look at what level of durability you need from your fixtures, paying special attention to the length of the production and how often it changes venues. Finally, effects are important when creating looks for your events. Do you want looks that are very flashy or something a little simpler? All things to think about when looking into renting or buying moving lights for live events.(Photo: Dispatch Tour 2018- LDMarc Janowitz)

THEATRE

Theatre companies like to own and use movers for their ability to be diverse. This presents different challenges and expectations when using a moving light. Different features can give you a variety of tools to create the perfect moment on stage. For example, gobo wheels and animation wheels can give you a variety of textures for your stage wash or scenic elements. Framing shutters give the ability to design with precision. Also, looking at the Color Rending Index (CRI) value is important when using with incandescent and other intelligent fixtures. (Photo: Prince of Egypt - LD Mike Billings)

TELEVISION

In the world of film and television, an important thing to give special attention to is the CRI. Your main priority is making the people on camera look good and the color temperature directly affects the way skin tones look on camera. When you consider that your audience is looking at your design through the lens of a camera, the color temperature is important when trying to balance white. (Photo: 2019 Democratic Debate - LDsSteve Brill, Niel Galen, and Anna Jones)

INDOOR/OUTDOOR INSTALLATIONS

Lastly, we wanted to look at the use of moving lights in indoor and outdoor installations. A few important factors to consider are will it be an indoor or outdoor installation? If the fixtures will be used outdoors or in wet environments, you will at the very leastneed to have IP65rated fixtures. Also, when installing fixtures in a building you need to consider how much power you have. LED fixtures pull less power than lamped fixtures, but they may not be as bright. These are all questions that need to be considered for architectural installations. (Photo: NightGarden at the Fairchild Garden - LDChris Werner)

Of course, there are so many ways and places that you could use moving lights, but these were just a few to get you thinking about what you want from your light.

CLASSIFYING MOVING LIGHTS

Some ways to narrow down your search is to look at fixture type, manufacturer, lamp vs. LED and price point.

There are three main categories of moving lights that manufactures make, they are wash, beam, and spot/profile. Of the three, beam fixtures have the narrowest beam angle, while the spot/profile and the wash are generally the same. The spot/profile fixtures are able to have a sharp edge while wash fixtures will always have a soft edge.

Spot: Normally has a sharper edge than a wash and will come with 1 or 2 gobo wheels, an iris, and most will have an animation wheel. Typical uses include: highlighting specific objects, follow-spots, or general texture over spaces.

Profile: The difference between a spot and a profile is usually based on the manufacturer's naming convention. Generally, the profile has the same qualities and uses as a spot but will give up the extra gobo wheel in favor of framing shutters.

Beam: Produces a laser-like thin beam of light through the air. Typically used in live events for their non-tapered, unique beam.

Wash: Has a soft edge and do not come with the precise beam control options that your spot or beam have. They typically are used when needing to light a large area.

Hybrid: This light includes a mix of different styles of beam, wash, and spot/profile. With its design to be a multipurpose light, it won't be the strongest spot, wash, or beam fixture when compared to a fixture that has one primary function.

Effects: There are many different types of effect lighting fixtures, but for the purposes of this article, we categorized them by their ability to have individual pixel control, 360° pan and/or tilt, or unique built-in effects. They are usually used when you want to see the fixture itself as opposed to its output.

In ourcomparison charts below, we breakdownfeature and specs of moving lights from the following manufacturers:Ayrton, Chauvet, Clay Paky, Elation, GLP, High End, Martin, ROBE, and ; Vari*Lite.There will be a mix of both lamped fixtures and LEDs as well as a variety of price points. Click each photo to open a PDF version of our comparison charts.

EFX Comparison

Spot and Profile Comparison

Wash Comparison

Beam Comparison

Hybrid Comparison

GLOSSARY

  • CMY: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
  • CTO: Color Temp Orange
  • CTB: Color Temp Blue
  • RGB: Red, Green Blue
  • RGBW: Red, Green, Blue, White
  • RGBA: Red, Green, Blue, Amber
  • CRI: Color Rendering Index, a scale of 0 to 100 indicating how accurate a given light source is at rendering color when compared to a reference light source
  • EMS: Electronic Motion Stabilizer system
  • IP RATING: Ingress Protection, an international code used to define the levels of sealing effectiveness of electrical enclosures against the intrusion of foreign bodies such as dirt and water (for more information visit Lighting Lounge's IP Rating Explained)
  • PIXEL MAPPING: the use of software to map and replay media such as bitmaps or video on an array of lighting fixtures or on pixels within the fixtures themselves

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Brittney Price was an intern with 4Wall in the summer of 2019. She is original from Radford, Virginia where she obtained her undergraduate degree in Theatre from Radford University. She is currently a graduate student at UNLV getting her master's degree in Theatre with a contention in Lighting Design and Technology. In the future, she is looking forward to continuing in the lighting industry in whatever way it may lead her.

Madison Dahl was an intern at 4Wall Entertainment in Las Vegas, NV for the summer of 2019. She is currently attending Emerson College in Boston, MA where she will receive her BFA in Theatre Design/Technology in 2020.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/the-differences-between-an-etc-colorsource-spot-source-four-led-series-2-lustr The Differences Between an ETC ColorSource Spot and Four LED Series 2 Lustr https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2019/04/17/the-differences-between-an-etc-colorsource-spot-source-four-led-series-2-lustr Wed, 17 Apr 2019 17:00:00 -0700 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5cb90e932c902.jpg One question we getasked often inthe rentalsand sales world is,"What's the difference between a ColorSource Spot and a Source Four Series 2 Lustr?" So we wentdirectly to the SOURCE (see what we did there) to get ETC's perspective on these common questions...

One question we getasked often inthe rentalsand sales world is,"What's the difference between a ColorSource Spot and a Source Four Series 2 Lustr?" So we wentdirectly to the SOURCE (see what we did there) to get ETC's perspective on these common questions. Below is what ETC had to say. We feel this has some great information for new and seasoned veterans in the industry. If you're looking to upgrade your out-of-dateconventional lighting system to LED, these answers will be a tremendous help for you.Enjoy!

What was the thought process of developing the ColorSource Spot since the Lustr and Lustr 2 had been so well received?
ETC is known for quality products, and while we want our fixtures to be accessible to everyone, we understand they are often priced out of reach for many venues. The ColorSource Spot is a high-quality fixture that falls to a lower price point.

ETC ColorSource Family

(ETC ColorSource Family)

ColorSource Spot is part of a suite of ColorSource products designed for venues looking for a budget-conscious system of ETC products while still maintaining build quality, support, and dimming quality. We've placed an emphasis on ease of use with all ColorSource products and want the fixtures to be ready out of the box with minimal setup and programming.

Tell us about the differences in color mixing between the two?

Series 2 Lustr has a seven-color mix while ColorSource Spot has a four-color mix. We've removed the amber and cyan LEDs in the ColorSource fixture and give you the choice of blue or indigo. For ColorSource Spot you can choose the array that fits your venue. If you're looking for more of the deep saturated colors, you'll purchase the Deep Blue option.

While ColorSource Spot is the best four-color mix on the market, Lustr is the best overall mix on the market with a much fuller spectrum and the highest quality of light output.

How does the brightness compare between the two in various color mixing modes and white light modes?
When it comes to total lumens, the two fixtures are very similar. Both use a total of 60 LEDs, but Lustr uses seven colors to create a more-complete spectral color mix. While saturated colors are brighter with ColorSource Spot, some colors are unreachable because of the four color mix.

View a full photometric comparison in the MyETC: Photometrics app.

What functionality and ; feature differences are there between the two?
ColorSource is designed to be simplistic and offers basic systems as a default. It's easy to use out of the box. With Lustr, you can change everything from the LED refresh rate to dimming curves. Lustr was designed for advanced users looking for a high level of customization as well as more simple applications.

ColorSource Spot retains the features that are key for a theatrical entertainment fixture including a high-quality dimming curve. All ETC LED fixtures use Color Integrity - technology that includes droop compensation, fixture calibration, array selection, mode selection, and array balance options.

How does the white light differ between the two?
The Lustr fixture excels in quality when it comes to white light. Because of the seven color system and high level of customization, white light is significantly better.

What applications would you recommend for each?
Because of the full-color spectrum, we recommend Lustr fixtures are used for front light or anywhere there is light on skin tones.
ColorSource Spot fixtures perform well as fill light - back light, side light or anywhere where you need a splash of color.

What is the difference in:
Heat output:
minimal difference BTUs = watts x3.41

Sound output:
Lustr: 22.5 DBA | ColorSource Spot: 21.2 DBA

Power draw:
Lustr: 171W | ColorSource Spot: 147W

Channels:
Lustr: 6, 7, 10, or 15 | ColorSource Spot: 1,3,5,or 6

LED Lifetime:
54,000 hrs L70 for both

Weight: (with barrel)
Lustr: 18.3 lb | ColorSource Spot: 17 lb

Size:
Depends on options purchased. Reference datasheet
https://www.etcconnect.com/Product-Portfolio.aspx

CRI:(at 3200K)
Lustr: CRI of 94 | ColorSource Spot: CRI of 77

Both the Lustr and ColorSource Spot light engines accept CYC and Fresnel adapters and all Source Four lens tubes and barrels.

We have both available to purchase used or new here.

Additional resources:

MyETC: Photometrics and other lighting apps

https://www.etcconnect.com/Support/Apps/Lighting-Fixtures.aspx
L70 testing information

https://www.etcconnect.com/About/News/ETC-Fixture-Ratings-and-Warranties-Extended.aspx

Product portfolio - all technical documentation in one easy-to-access location

https://www.etcconnect.com/Product-Portfolio.aspx

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/5-highlights-from-the-2019-namm-show 5 Highlights from the 2019 NAMM Show https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2019/02/03/5-highlights-from-the-2019-namm-show Sun, 03 Feb 2019 16:00:00 -0800 Events https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5c58c6d039b0a.jpg The 2019 NAMM Show last month saw over 100,000 attendees walk through the doors to see the latest in the intersection of music instruments and technology. This was my first time at the show and 4Wall's first time having a booth on the showroom floor. We a...

The 2019 NAMM Show last month saw over 100,000 attendees walk through the doors to see the latest in the intersection of music instruments and technology. This was my first time at the show and 4Wall's first time having a booth on the showroom floor. We also were commissioned by Yamaha to build theGrand Plaza Stage for their All-Star Concert and provided a significant amount of lighting and video gear.

The event lighting and stage equipment manufacturers make up a small portion of the showroom floor inside the AnaheimConvention Center. There were maybe five or six lighting manufacturers at the show showcasing some of their newest fixtures which wasn't a bad thing at all. Usuallyat shows like LDI, the lightingbooths are so packed you don't get to have 1 on 1 interaction with the gear and experts who are there to answerall your questions.

While manning the 4Wall both for several days, I met a ton of people who were unfamiliar with 4Wall and UsedLighting.com but had a hand in lighting their church, small local bands, stages, and events. It was a great show to meet music enthusiasts who werenot as exposed to our part of the industry and don't attend the industry-specifictrade shows we normally attend. Below are 5highlights from the show. If you've never been to the show before, I highly recommend checking it out.

CHAUVET PROFESSIONAL MAVERICK STORM 1 WASH

Chauvet's IP65-rated wash light was taking a shower the entire 4 days of NAMM showing it canwithstand the harshest elements. The Storm 1 Wash features a compact and rugged die-cast aluminum housing built withmarine gradestainless steel screws and produces an output of over 6,000 lumens.

ELATION PROFESSIONAL PROTEUS HYBRID

Sticking the IP65-Rated fixtures, Elation had their 3-in-1 hybrid moving light at the show. This beam, spot, and wash luminaire produces over 23,000 lumens and is perfect for any outdoor events or installations.

ELATION PROFESSIONAL RAYZOR 760

Elation's new RAZOR 760 was on display and this is an impressive little light that producers over 8,000 lumens andoffers precise, continuous pan and ; tilt rotation. The fixture made its live event debut this past weekend during the Super Bowl's halftime show.

ETC GIO @5

Our ETC Gio @5 console was a highlight for me becauseI was surprised so many people at this show knew their way around a console! Dozens of people stopped at the console and played LD for a few minutes controlling the lighting we had set up at our booth. It was a great way to talk with people unfamiliar with 4Wall who told me they were at the show to check solely for musical instruments.

YAMAHAGRAND PLAZA STAGE

The Yamaha Grand PlazaStage exemplifiedwhat can happen when you bring all the elements at the NAMM Show can create. The50' x 60' stage was hosted by Sinbad and saw memorable performances by Jon McLaughlin, Loren Allred, Jonathan Butler, Sarah McLachlan, James "J.T." Taylor. Everything from audio to video equipment to production and lighting design was exhibited at this stage.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/when-s-the-best-time-to-start-designing-your-holiday-service- When's the Best Time to Start Designing Your Holiday Service? https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2018/10/01/when-s-the-best-time-to-start-designing-your-holiday-service- Mon, 01 Oct 2018 17:00:00 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5bb4e4aad0c25.jpg Lighting Designer Cole Pierce returns to the lounge to talk about how he prepares for the holiday season at Fresh Life Church in Montana. Cole's first article,THIS IS NOT YOUR GRANDMA'S CHURCH: HOW ONE LD IS CHANGING THE WORSHIP EXPERIENCE, was a success ... Lighting Designer Cole Pierce returns to the lounge to talk about how he prepares for the holiday season at Fresh Life Church in Montana. Cole's first article,THIS IS NOT YOUR GRANDMA'S CHURCH: HOW ONE LD IS CHANGING THE WORSHIP EXPERIENCE, was a success and a lot of you really seemed to enjoy it. So we asked him to put anotherinformative and helpful article together for everyone. Enjoy!

Christmas is almost upon us—that in the church world is a phrase that is usually used too late.The fact is for me, Christmas starts approaching in late summer and early fall. The church world is full of (mostly good) critique when it comes to Christmas designs, sets, and intentions which usually take months to hammer through until you reach your final design. Unfortunately, those above you usually don't realize what it takes to just "swap that light for that one" at the last minute—especially when rentals are involved.

Many critique churches for putting on a "show" for Christmas when in reality Christmas and Easter are the two biggest times of the year for church services—the two times of the year are when most people "go to church"—even if it's just those two weekends each year. At Fresh Life, we usually experience more than twice the normal volume of people over Christmas weekend and the most important part are the weeks following when you notice a steady increase in the number of people attending an average weekend worship experience. Although we don't put on a "Christmas show" at Fresh Life or Saddleback, we do make things more exciting and different for our Christmas services to change the environment in the room to be something a little more special that isn't normally there on a week-to-week basis.

Like I mentioned before, when it comes to personal preparation for the Christmas season, I start preparing a design in late summer or early fall. At the beginning points of designing, I try to figure out a big picture idea that can be easily molded into what the theme or intentions are for each Christmas season—since those usually don't get figured out until later on by the creative team. This point in the design usually consists of what equipment to use and what specific fixtures I'd like to add in. For both Fresh Life and Saddleback, Christmas and Easter usually consist of an additional rental package that adds onto our existing platforms. This usually gets the most utilization out of rental fixtures and current fixtures in your inventory. These rental packages mostly have special effect lighting or fixtures that I think are really great effects or looks, but not necessarily worth purchasing and having long-term. Our main campus at Fresh Life, for example, consists of mostly Quantum Washes and Profiles currently so I try to add in additional Quantums as well as one specific element the creative team would like to try and a fun effect fixture for myself. Last year, our creative element was based on projection mapping and my special FX light was the Ayrton MagicBlade-R. I chose the MagicBlades because it's one of those fixtures that have a cool look to them—but I'm not sure if it's worth the cost to purchase as it's almost a one trick pony. Some other fixtures I have loved playing with lately include the Chroma-Q ColorForce II, GLP Impression X4 Bars and of course the Martin MAC Viper—which has always been my go-to since it came out!

In the last few years at Fresh Life, we started playing more with projection mapping and atmospheric projection. Our backdrop is a mostly white grid structure that's great for uplighting as well as projecting onto from the front. We even mapped out projection onto certain moving objects and people on the stage which was pretty awesome. The key to good projection mapping is using a high enough powered projector that can punch through your lighting fixtures. One look that has been really fun to play with is atmospheric projection where the projector is actually pointed out from the stage and depending on the video content being played on it, we can make it look like a crazy lighting fixture coming through the haze—it's one of those effects where the sky is really the limit on where you can take it if you put enough time into it!

I think the last 5 years have really projected (pun intended) the future of integration between lighting and video teams. It's been great to work with videographers on the way videos and lighting can work together and get the most out of the vision everyone wants to portray. This is especially true when it comes to projection mapping or atmospheric projecting.

Overall, Christmas is definitely the busiest and most stressful times of the year—especially for us "church lighting guys", but it's definitely one of the most fun times as well. There's nothing quite like seeing a design that has morphed its way through hundreds of people over months of hard work all coming together for that one week of the year!

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/a-breakdown-of-usedlighting-com-s-largest-sale-ever A Breakdown of UsedLighting.com's Largest Sale Ever https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2018/09/03/a-breakdown-of-usedlighting-com-s-largest-sale-ever Mon, 03 Sep 2018 17:00:00 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5b8f1d9c188df.jpg This month UsedLighting.com announced their 'Largest Sale Ever' campaign that featured over 100 items that would remain on salethroughout the month of September. Majority of the gearis 'UsedLighting.com Owned', which means thesehave beenprofessionally mai...

This month UsedLighting.com announced their 'Largest Sale Ever' campaign that featured over 100 items that would remain on salethroughout the month of September. Majority of the gearis 'UsedLighting.com Owned', which means thesehave beenprofessionally maintainedin one of4Wall's nationwide locations and is backed by no-hassle warranties. These items are constantly tested, cleaned, and updated to ensure the best performance on productions across the country!

Below, I've broken down the sale into five categories (LEDs, Moving Lights, Truss, TV/Film, Cable,) that will make navigating and shopping the sale easier for you. Many of the items are starting to sell out fast. View all the items here.

LEDs

Chauvet ProfessionalWELL 2.0- $295

The WELL2.0 (Wireless Event Light Luminaire) is a battery powered, portable upward wash light. It consists of a single unit that contains the 12V gel battery, the LEDs, the LED drivers, and the main control. The battery provides up to 12 hours of runtime.

Altman Spectra Cyc UV 100 Watt LED Cyclorama Wash- $395

The Spectra Cyc UV is a 100 Watt cyclorama/wall wash luminaire utilizing high output 365nm UV LED emitters. Designed for theatrical and architectural applications, the Spectra Cyc UV blends the output via a reflector providing smooth and even distribution. The onboard power supply allows for direct power and ; data input which can be daisy-chained through up to 20 units.

Chauvet COLORado 3 Solo- $750

TheCOLORado 3 Solo uses advanced zooming optics and three 60 W RGBW engines to project an intense and fully homogenized beam. IP rated power and data connectors, and full convection cooling ensures a reliable and silent performance indoors and out, in a wide range of applications, from theatrical to outdoor festival productions.

Elation VOLT Q3 - $250

These units are Elation B-Stock and come with a 1-year manufacturer warranty. All fixtures are cleaned and tested before leaving the building. The IP65 ratedVolt Q3features (3) 15W QUAD color RGBW LEDs, 7° beam 13° field angles, 180°+ manual LED head positioning, variable color correction (2,700K - 7,200K), magnetic frost filter gel frame, electronic strobe and dimming, flicker-free operation for TV and FILM, rugged die-cast aluminum exterior, rubber padded base, retractable carrying handle, an internal wireless EWDMX receiver, and powered by a rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery.

Moving Lights

Elation Platinum SBX - $1,495

The Platinum SBXis a full-featured patent pending design 3-in-1 luminaire which can be utilized as a beam, spot, or wash fixture, featuring thePhillips MSD Platinum 17 RA 350W, 6,900K, 85CRI lamp, 15,000 total lumens delivering comparable output to 700W fixtures, 3° to 18° zoom in beam mode and 5° to 30° zoom in spot mode, 10 dichroic colors including UV, CTO, CTB, plus white (open), 8 rotating-interchangeable and 12 static-stamped gobos, rotating 8-facet prism, frost filter, and more.

Ayrton MagicDot-R - $995

The MagicDot-Ris a professional moving head LED luminaire with a single optical collimator.With its minimalist cylindrical design, the innovative MagicDot-R, capable of continuous double rotation on the pan and ; tilt axes, allows the user to create groups of luminaires and control each light emitter individually in all directions.

Elation ACL 360i - $450

TheACL 360iis asingle beam moving effect luminaire featuring a single 60W RGBW 4-in-1 LED and the new advanced collimator optic lens, which produces a laser-like homogenized 4° color-changing beam. It features 10 and 45-degree frost lens options (included), fast and precise 16-bit continuous full 360° pan and tilt rotation, strobe, and selectable dimming curve effects, and more.These units are Elation B-Stock and come with a 1-year manufacturer warranty. All fixtures are cleaned and tested before leaving the building.

Vari*Lite VL2500 Wash, White- $695

The VARI*LITE VL2500 Wash luminaire is small, lightweight, and fast with a 700-watt short-arc lamp, impressive lumen output, and a zoom range from 14 to 55. Of course, the VL2500 Wash luminaire still provides three-wheel CYM color mixing. When combined with 11 standard colors on a fixed wheel, the color options are practically limitless. These fixtures were painted white, not powdercoated.

Truss

Show Solutions Silver and ; Black Truss - $175-$533

We have various lengths of Show Solutions truss available in silver and black.The Show Solutions truss is a standard used by concert tours, production houses, and large-scale stage set-up companies. The main chord is made of 2" OD x 1/8" 6061-T6 aluminum tube and is compatible with industry standard plated truss bolt pattern.

TV/Film

Barger Lite 3x4 20-Lite LED - $7,995

The Barger Lite 3x4 20-Lite LED with DMX control is ideal for TV and Film production. It has a Kelvin range of 2700K-6000K with a CRI of 95+. Other features include onboard dimming and a tilt angle of +/- 90 degrees.

Kino Flo Celeb 200 LED - $995

The Celeb boasts technical innovations that make it an ideal professional imaging tool: a dial-in variable color temperature control, full-range dimming and programmable 2700K to 5500K presets. Light levels do not change when selecting Kelvin settings.

Kino Flo Diva-Lite 401 Kit- $495

The PortableDiva-Liteseries has become the industry's most popular professional cool lighting fixtures for video location work. The Diva-Lite 401 portable soft lights boast the company's trademark modular fixture designs with full-range dimming, switching and remote control features.All Diva-Lites can go from nighttime to daytime interiors by switching True Matchtungsten for daylight quality lamps. It's like having two set-ups in one!

Mole Richardson 10K Baby Tener Solarspot - $595

The 10000W Baby Tener Solarspot has a compact and lightweight aluminum housing with high performance. It features a front opening door, a crank handle on the rear for focusing, and alocking knob on the yoke.

Cable

Looking for a 5' or 50'Edison cable? Or a 75' L6-20 cable? You can save up to 20% on this high quality, economical cable that is designed for use in high-temperature equipment for entertainment industry applications.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/lighting-design-in-depth-magic-sheets Lighting Design In Depth: Magic Sheets https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2018/08/26/lighting-design-in-depth-magic-sheets Sun, 26 Aug 2018 17:00:00 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5b859baa0f0ec.jpg This week, award-winningtheatrical Lighting Designer Mike Wood returns to the Lighting Lounge to talk about the importance of Magic Sheets and how they can be extremely helpful on-site. (The article was originallyposted on Mike's website here.) INTRODU...

This week, award-winningtheatrical Lighting Designer Mike Wood returns to the Lighting Lounge to talk about the importance of Magic Sheets and how they can be extremely helpful on-site. (The article was originallyposted on Mike's website here.)

INTRODUCTION

One of the most important pieces of paperwork in theatrical lighting is the magic sheet. It's a single document that simplifies the entire lighting rig down to a page or two, allowing the designer to quickly find and recall channels and groups during programming and tech.

This article is about the paper versions of magic sheets - not the EOS versions.

There are many different ways to make a magic sheet and many different visual styles - the thing about magic sheets is that there really are no "standard" layouts or rules like there are with some other lighting documentation. The magic sheet really just has to be useful to the designer.

Throughout this post, I'll be referring to my process and my way of doing things - remember that this is just my approach and that everyone you talk to will have a different method or opinion - and that's okay! Take the things that work for you, and leave the things that don't.

WHAT IS A MAGIC SHEET?

Simply put, a magic sheet is a document containing a simplified visual representation of the lighting rig as a whole, typically divided by systems of light.

(Left)The magic sheet for a production ofSide Showat HWB School of the Arts in Tampa Florida, which my team and I lit in 2017.

Each little box is an individual lighting system with a top-down view of the stage. The channel numbers are superimposed over the part of the stage that the beams will hit. I also include a color bar with a rough approximation of the gel color, as well as direction arrows.

The direction arrows and the color bars help with finding systems of light quickly during tech. I also arrange similar systems in the same row or column of the sheet. For instance, in theSide Showexample on the left, all of the top systems are across the very top of the page. The front and high side systems below that, then box booms, then side lights.

WHY NOT USE THE LIGHTING PLOT?

When I teach about magic sheets, this is typically the first question that gets asked. "Why not just use the light plot? All of the lights are already on it, why create this extra document?"

Well, a few reasons. First, typically light plots are very large pieces of paper. The smallest ones I typically print are still 24″ x 36″ - manipulating a page that large at the tech table would be distracting for everyone in the room - and I'd spend more time fumbling with the paper just to find the channels I wanted.

Even with a digital light plot, I'd be zooming all around and trying to find the information I need in between a whole bunch of information that I don't.

Let's useSide Showas an example again - pictured above is a couple of pages from thelighting plot. The show was large enough that the data needed to be separated into multiple drawings; One for overhead, one for FOH, one for booms and deck instruments… and another for all of the scenic practicals. Imagine trying to quickly find something when hunting through all of those pages at once…

For instance - let's try to quickly find the top blue par fills in the overhead plot. (They're highlighted in the image right) Now that we've found them, find their channel numbers. How long would that take? Too long, when you're trying to write 500 cues.

Now, multiply that frustration for each system of light that you use in your show. See why it might be beneficial to simplify?

See? Much easier to read. I know by looking at this that if I wanted a center pool of R3220 blue light, I would choose channel #47.

CREATING THE MAGIC SHEET

My magic sheets are typically the last piece of paperwork that is generated before I focus a show. They're also exclusively the one piece of paperwork that I always make myself and never outsource to an associate or an assistant. I typically make them a few days before focus. Creating them myself allows me to become very familiar with the rig and helps me visualize what I'll do at the focus call. Sometimes, the plot and other paperwork have been done for a month or more and I've done other shows in the meantime - taking time to make the magic sheet gets me in the zone for that particular show. Every once and a while, it also exposes problems - but that's another story.

The first thing I do is print a cheat sheet from the Paperwork Management Portal, which shows me the bare amount of information needed to create the sheet. Channel, color, gobo, and purpose.

The cheat sheet doesn't really help me know what light is going where, but it does give me a checklist of instruments in channel order that I can reference to make sure I've included every instrument. I typically print this document out and have a highlighter at the ready to check them off as I go. (Click the photo to view the cheat sheet PDF.)

I then make a handwritten version of the magic sheet so that I can get an idea of how many systems I have, as well as how they will lay out on a page. Here's a sample of the hand-drawn version for a recent production ofThe Producersat American Stage in the Park.

Now it's time to start to turn the handwritten magic sheet into a digital one. The first step is gathering the various graphic assets that I'll need to create the sheet. There's nothing worse than starting and then having to go back and forth to get things. I like being "in the zone" and knocking it all out in one go.

This means that I'll gather images for all of the gobos I'm using, as well as show logos, company logos, and most importantly, a blank image of the ground plan that I can use as a backing image for each system box.

I capture a quick screenshot using the built-in screen grab functions of MacOS.

ADOBE INDESIGN

As some of you are probably aware, Ilovesharing the work that I'm doing with people. I frequently post not just pictures of my shows and pictures from backstage, but entire paperwork packages for shows. I do this because I love sharing, especially with students, the really cool stuff that I get to do.

Without fail, I always get the same comment onInstagramwhenever I post an image of one of my magic sheets - "What do you use to make these?"

The answer isAdobe InDesign. InDesign is used to layout everything from books to newspapers and more. It's designed as a publishing tool, which makes it way more powerful than a word processing program, spreadsheet program, and yes, even Vectorworks. There is a pretty steep learning curve (as there is with any professional software) but once you use it, I promise you won't go back. Especially to Vectorworks… seriously, how do you guys use Vectorworks to create magic sheets?!

Each box is made up of several layers of items - the base layer is the ground plan image of the set. Sometimes I'll give that some opacity to fade it out a bit, but that really depends on what it looks like. On top of that, there are text boxes for each channel number so that I can move them all around as needed.

I use a few conventions throughout my magic sheets - group numbersare always indicated by an underlined number within the system. Subgroups are formatted to be in italics.

In the example on the left fromThe Producers in the Park, we see that group 1 refers to all of the top LEDs (Channels 1 through 13.) Group 5 would only pull up the DS fixtures. Group 8 the MS.

I've been using the same base InDesign file for the past few years, and with each show, I add more color swatches to the library based on the colors that I'm using in the show. These are close approximations, not exact - the goal is to quickly find systems, not to pick colors.

I need to put these in order… I know.

For template systems, I add one more layer to the system box. Many years ago I stumbled across a library of gobo images and saved them to my Dropbox - I don't remember where I found it, but it means that I can quickly find a JPG of the gobo by searching with spotlight on my computer.

I take the image, change the opacity, and drop it in the square.

COLOR SCROLLS and ; MOVING LIGHTS

The moving lights themselves get put on the sheet like any other light, only I put the channel numbers where the physical fixtures are hung vs where they will be pointing - because, well, they move.

If there's room, I'll add some basic position palettes and the gobo wheels.

For scrollers, I do two different things depending on how many different scrolls are being used. If there's only one type in the show, I"ll usually just put the scroll image across the page. If there are multiple, I'll sometimes put them in the color bar of the individual system boxes, sometimes on their own sheet. It really depends on the show.

PRACTICAL LAMPS

Have a lot of practicals in your set? No problem! Take the renderings from your scenic designer and use them as a visual magic sheet!

(Below:The Piano Lesson, American Stage Theatre Company -Frank Chavez, scenic design.)

PRINTING THE MAGIC SHEET

After all this is done, I'll export the sheet to PDF and then print a few copies of it. I typically wait a day or two to go over it for errors. I almost ALWAYS forget to change some channel numbers (I copy paste.)

Then, it's off to FedEx Office to laminate at least one of them. I print them on 11×17 Tabloid sized paper, which costs about $4 to laminate. I first did this when working out an outdoor production, but then kept doing it. It makes them really durable for tech and also allows me to have a really cool collection of laminated magic sheets.

OTHER STYLES

Sometimes, I need a very simple and easy to read magic sheet. One that anyone could sit down with and create a show. For this, I rely less on the graphics and colors and more on just the raw data. This typically is only for rep plots.

To the right is a sample of a magic sheet for the HWB School of the Arts house plot.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/live-design-announces-2017-18-lighting-products-of-the-year Live Design Announces 2017-18 Lighting Products Of The Year https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2018/07/30/live-design-announces-2017-18-lighting-products-of-the-year Mon, 30 Jul 2018 17:00:00 -0700 Manufacturers https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5b60d446480ac.jpg Live Design has named its 2017-18 Lighting Products of the Year, chosen by panels of prestigious lighting designers and programmers. The 'Lighting' category this year is broken up into four categories: Luminaire (Discharge Source) Luminaire (LE...

Live Design has named its 2017-18 Lighting Products of the Year, chosen by panels of prestigious lighting designers and programmers.

The 'Lighting' category this year is broken up into four categories:

  • Luminaire (Discharge Source)
  • Luminaire (LED Source)
  • Effect
  • Accessory

4Wall has three of the award-winning fixtures in its inventory.

And the winners are...

RobeMegaPointe-Luminaire of the Year (Discharge Source)

The Robe MegaPointe offers bright sharp parallel beams,gobo projection, precise movement, smooth CMY color mixing and dimming plus a multitude of beam splitting, wash and shaping effects.The newly designed effects engine can produce 12 varying beam and 'flower' effects. The beam can also be shaped using innovative shutter emulation, further creating a whole new blend of content and ; creativity. Check out the demo video we made last year below.


High EndSystems SolaFrame 750-Luminaire of the Year (LED Source)

The High EndSystems SolaFrame 750 LED fixtureis a perfect fit for smaller to medium-sized venues, and its 11,300 lumens can create some great looks for lighting designers.The SolaFrame 750 features include: 6 - 50-degree zoom, fixed and indexing gobo wheels, animation effects, and full-frame, four-plane shutters engineered for accuracy and speed. The demo video we created earlier this year is below.


GLP JDC1- Effect of the Year

The JDC1 contains a traditional single tube element with a clear, bright white output and combines that with a surrounding full face of RGB LED power, utilizing 1,440 high-quality LEDs. These two elements have independent control and can be used as separate pieces, or combined to make othereffects.The JDC1 also features dynamic movement with a 16 bit, 190° tilt range.


Lumu Power Light Meter - Accessory of the Year

Lumu Powertransforms your iOS device into a professionallight meter. Measure Color Temperature, Illuminance, Spot, Ambient and Flash Exposure.This device attaches to iOS devices running iOS 8.0 and up through the Lightning port. It has two sides: The dome side measures ambient and flash exposure up to 750,000 times per second with a range of -4 to 20 EV, and the flat side measures illuminance, color temperature, and chromaticity using a True Color sensor based on the CIE 1931/DIN 5033 color standard. Illuminance can be measured in a range of 0.15-250,000 lux and color temperature from 1500-20,000K. The Chromaticity Mode displays coordinates in the CIE 1931 color space.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/highlights-from-infocomm-2018 InfoComm 2018 Highlights https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2018/06/12/highlights-from-infocomm-2018 Tue, 12 Jun 2018 17:00:00 -0700 Events https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5b21a5a6799df.jpg Las Vegas, NV- InfoComm returned to Las Vegas this year so I headed to the Las Vegas Convention Center to see all the new products making their debut at the show. InfoComm's focus is the pro-AV industry and with 4Wall now involved in the video equipment m...

Las Vegas, NV- InfoComm returned to Las Vegas this year so I headed to the Las Vegas Convention Center to see all the new products making their debut at the show. InfoComm's focus is the pro-AV industry and with 4Wall now involved in the video equipment market, checking out the new projectors and LED panels was completely justified. I made my way to the Event Production area as well, where a handful of lighting manufacturers were set up.

This year's show set an InfoComm attendance record with 42,811 attendees,shy of the overall InfoComm attendance record set at InfoComm 2017 in Orlando with 44,077.

Below are highlights from the show for those unable to attend. I hope you enjoy my list and look forward to next year's show in Florida.

The ROE Visual Sapphire made its debut at InfoComm and is the first Narrow Pixel Pitch (NPP) LED panel platform. The unique concept of separating the frames from the LED panels saves valuable production time as you can see in the demo video below. The Sapphire also Sapphire offers seamless assembly through its system of intersecting layers, an improvement over traditional rows and columns, removing vertical break lines creating a single solid assembly that uses less hardware and applies less force to the individual panels.

Chauvet Professional debuted their all-new IP65 rated Maverick Storm 1 Wash. They wanted to show you this fixture was capable of withstanding the harshest elements so they showered it with water for the entire show, literally (See below video). With an output of over 6,000 lumens, its customized optics are well-suited for audience and aerial washing even at large venues.

Epson debuted new laser projectors, the Pro L1200Q, Pro L20000U, and LightScene. Check out photos and descriptions for each below.

Epson Pro L12000Q

The Pro L12000Q is the world's first 12,000 lumen native 4K 3LCD laser projector.

These large venue laser projectors are ideal for rental and staging events, lecture halls, churches, and digital signage installations.

EpsonPro L20000U

The Epson Pro L20000Uboasts 20,000 lumens of color and white brightness2and WUXGA resolution.Featuring support for HDR, 360-degree installation flexibility, backward lens compatibility, swappable interface boards, tile assist, and a sealed optical and laser engine to protect from dust and smoke.

LightScene

The Epson LightSceneis designed to simultaneously illuminate and project dynamic content on virtually any surface or material to engage audiences and provide an immersive experience for commercial signage applications in markets such as retail, hospitality, showrooms, and museums.

With two models available in a spotlight form factor—LightScene EV-100 in white and LightScene EV-105 in black—the laser projectors are designed to blend discreetly with surroundings and offer an array of configuration, mounting, and programming options.

Chroma-Q recently releasedtheir new Studio Force II LED batten so I stopped by their booth to check it out. The Studio Force IIis specifically designed for TV Broadcast and film applications but also performs particularly well in other situations demanding high quality tuneable white light such as touring key lights, exhibitions, corporate events and theatre lighting.

Digital Projection launched a total of 4new projectors across three ranges at InfoComm 2018:TITAN Laser 37000, M-Vision Laser 21000, E-Vision 13000, and E-Vision Laser 11000 4K-UHD.

I stopped by Elation's booth to check out theArtiste Picasso.The theatrical-grade Artiste Picasso is one of the brightest (22,000 lumens) and LED lighting fixtures on the market. Features include zoom, framing, CMY, CTO, gobo wheels, animation, prisms, frost and more. It also houses a600W Cool White LED engine.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/project-yourself-before-you-wreck-yourself-part-2-projector-screen-basics Project Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself - Part 2: Projector Screen Basics https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2018/05/31/project-yourself-before-you-wreck-yourself-part-2-projector-screen-basics Thu, 31 May 2018 17:00:00 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5b05bdce2189d.jpg A screen or projection surface is the usual target for a projector. Screens come in many sizes but normally come as a specific aspect ratio (width:height ratio), the most common being 16:9 (HD, UHD) or formerly 4:3 (SD). 4Wall also carries a large and var...

A screen or projection surface is the usual target for a projector. Screens come in many sizes but normally come as a specific aspect ratio (width:height ratio), the most common being 16:9 (HD, UHD) or formerly 4:3 (SD). 4Wall also carries a large and varied inventory of custom sized screens such as 45'x15' (3:1), 72'x12' (6:1), and even 80'x20' (4:1) which require multiple blended projectors.

Other projection targets can include building walls, mountains, spherical domes, or three-dimensional objects with projection mapping.

One important consideration when changing a specified screen's size - if you double the width dimension, it's now 4x the square footage and you must have 4x the projected light to maintain the same brightness level. Another way to think about this is that a 5K lumen projector on a 10ft wide screen has the same light per area as 20K lumens on a 20ft wide screen. As you can see, as the screen gets larger we will need a lot more power from our projector.

Surface Basics and Terms

Front/Rear

A rear screen is a transmissive material that allows light through with some amount of diffusion or refraction. A front screen reflects light back to the audience. Some screens may be specified for both front and rear projection with one fabric; on these screens, the front projection performance is often lacking compared to a purpose-built front surface.

Gain

Screen gain is given as a rating or factor comparing its light performance to a plain matte white surface. A gain above 1 will focus more light to the audience when viewed on-axis but may have other optical traits like hot spots with short lenses, or a small viewing cone (normally given as half-gain angle). A gain below 1 will have less light to the eye but may also reduce hot spots with short lenses and help projector blends look good from a wide viewing angle.

A good rule of thumb for large rear projection blended screens is that you should not use lens throw ratio that is less than screen gain. Using a 0.67 lens on a 1.2 gain rear screen will show hot spots, and on a blended screen these hot spots will stand out.

Contrast

Contrast is simply the difference between the darkest (black) and the brightest (white) on the screen expressed in a ratio. In context or projection screens, higher ambient light reduces contrast by elevating the blacks. Poor contrast shows up as a washed out looking image. A gray colored screen may mute the total/max brightness but increase contrast (through reducing the impact of ambient light).

Rear Ultra-Wide

In our screen inventory, we have a rear surface type referred to as RUW - Rear Ultra-Wide. These surfaces use a Da-Lite 0.65 gain "Ultra Wide" surface material, often built into a Draper StageScreen border. This material is excellent at reducing hot-spots when using short lensing and allows seamless screens up to 15.75ft in height. Our RUW screens are in high demand as they help create a seamless blended screen with high viewing angles. Combining this material with Draper's modular StageScreen system allows us to carry a large inventory of custom screen sizes at reasonable rental rates. Draper's XT700V screen material offers similar performance (0.7 gain) in seamless screens less than 12' tall and may also have been referred to as "dual vision" or "dual view" with a 0.5 front projection gain.

Portable Screen Systems

Fast Folding Screen

Da-lite (Fast Fold), Draper (Ultimate Folding Screen), and AV Stumpfl (Monoblox) each produce a frame system designed for setup speed and lightweight portability. These "collapsible" frames feature a folding design with few separate pieces making the screens fast and straightforward setupand break down. This type of screen is likely the most common found in use in rental and ; staging. Usually, these screens are sized 24ft wide and smaller and often are completed with legs and a dress or drape kit.

Modular Screen Systems

Draper StageScreen

This large-format modular screen system is targeted at the rental and ; staging market. The primary construction is like a flat truss - an aluminum square tube with supporting cross members. The screen surface (or fabric) attaches with bungee loops, creating positive tension. Due to the modular nature of the frame, we can create any size out of existing parts and a frame failure does not remove a screen from use. Common sizes are 16ft wide and larger and many wide-format sizes are available such as 30x10, 36x12, 50x15. Given a proper lead time, any size screen could be added to inventory at a reasonable rental rate.

Draper FocalPoint

This medium-format screen system is targeted at the rental and ; staging market. The primary construction is an aluminum U-channel. The screen surface (or fabric) attaches with bungee loops, creating positive tension. We carry sizes in our inventory from 8ft wide to 14ft wide. Drape (or dress) kit and ground-support leg kits are commonly added.

AllFocalPointandStageScreenframes are sent with assembly maps, and the parts are color coded for easy assembly. A frame map generator can be found on the Draper website. We may also provide frame maps that have been customized to improve stability, structure, and longevity of the product.

Stewart Filmscreen Model AT-3

Excellent screen - handcrafted. This projection screen is manufactured seamlessly in very large sizes with a lace and grommet border. The material is very particular and can only be rolled. Because of the size and not being able to fold the screen, it can only be transported in a custom large rolling case which may exceed 20 feet long. To help prevent damage or tearing of these expensive screens, we must insist that a member of our team accompany them for setup/breakdown, or the client must have prior training and experience with the product.

How Powerful of a Projector Do I Need?

This is a common question. There is an ANSI/InfoComm 3M-2011 standard called PISCR (Projected Image System Contrast Ratio) that details various use cases. In short - for well saturated, good contrast projection with strong impact in live events you should aim for 50:1 contrast ratio (the "Analytical Decision Making" target).

This means that projection brightness and screen technology are not the only pieces of this puzzle - you must know about your ambient light. Let's put it together in an example.

We must decide between a 12k or 25k lumen 16:10 projector for an 11.25'x20' screen (1.0 gain).

The 20' wide screen is 16:9, but our projectors are all 16:10. The projector will create a 20'x12.5' image, which is 250 ft².

At this image size and full brightness, the 12k projector will have approximately 48-foot candles, and the 25k projector will have 100 foot candles on screen.

If ambient light on the screen is below 1 foot candle (highly controlled room lighting, dark or dim audience) the 12k projector gives us a good result, a well-saturated image with good contrast.

If stepping up to the 25k projector we will still need to control the ambient lighting on the screen to around ~2 foot candles for greatest impact, but we have double brightness versus ambient lighting; perhaps enough to light the room with house lights to take notes.

Greg Parker is the Video Product Strategy Manager at 4Wall Entertainment.Greg joined 4Wall almost a year ago when 4Wall acquired video equipment provider Wagner Media, Inc. He is a manufacturer certified instructor for Barco Projection and Image Processing products.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/4wall-supports-campaign-to-savestagelighting 4Wall Supports Campaign to #SaveStageLighting https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2018/05/08/4wall-supports-campaign-to-savestagelighting Tue, 08 May 2018 17:00:00 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5af3842f81072.jpg We at 4Wall have been closely following theSave Stage Lighting Campaignimplemented by the Association of Lighting Designers. Proposed regulations in the EU pose a significant threat to the livelihoods of thousands of stagehands, lighting designers, techni...

We at 4Wall have been closely following theSave Stage Lighting Campaignimplemented by the Association of Lighting Designers. Proposed regulations in the EU pose a significant threat to the livelihoods of thousands of stagehands, lighting designers, technicians, and other careers in the stage and ; theatrical lighting industry.

This in-depth primer will get you up-to-date on the proposed 2020 EU Lighting Regulations.

We stand with the supporters of the petition to keep stage lighting exempt from the proposed legislation changes. Even though these regulations are only for Europe, if passed, they could become a standard that other countries implement in the future. As many others have already done, we call on everyone to sign the petition on change.orghere.

We support the efforts of manufacturers that are speaking out about the issue such as ETC, Robe, Chauvet, GLP, Phillips Entertainment, Ayrton, Clay Paky, and many others. We also support initiatives by these manufacturers to continue to research and ; develop sustainable, energy efficient technologies that will continue to lower power consumption and reduce emissions.

This issue affects all of us in the industry from manufacturers and ; rental companies to stagehands and ; lighting designers, and we need to support this important campaign.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/lighting-design-in-depth-the-producers-in-the-park-2018 Lighting Design In Depth: The Producers in the Park 2018 https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2018/04/29/lighting-design-in-depth-the-producers-in-the-park-2018 Sun, 29 Apr 2018 17:00:00 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5ae8d02ba0a6f.jpg This week, we are joined in the Lounge by award-winningtheatrical Lighting Designer Mike Wood. Mike put together this comprehensive article regarding the lighting design for The Producers performance at the American Stage in the Park. Mike fully documente...

This week, we are joined in the Lounge by award-winningtheatrical Lighting Designer Mike Wood. Mike put together this comprehensive article regarding the lighting design for The Producers performance at the American Stage in the Park. Mike fully documented the design process and shared lightplots, cue lists, behind-the-scenes photos, and more!

I first wrote this for my personal blog at www.mikewoodld.com/blog/ - and I was honored when 4Wall asked me if they could share it in the Lighting Lounge. It's been a while since I wrote anything for the Lounge - my last post was almost 4 years ago (5 Things Student Designers Should Know). Hopefully, it won't be another 4 years in between posts this time!

I've always enjoyed sharing my work with other people - I do it mostly through photos on my Instagram page, though in the last few months I've decided that I want to spend some time writing about my work and focus on the design process. I recently finished working on an outdoor production of The Producers down in St. Petersburg, Florida and decided that this would be a good first test for this new venture. What follows is mostly an overview of the entire process that doesn't get overly specific about any one particular area, though my goal in 2018 is to write one post for each show that I do, focused on one particular part of the design process.

I hope you enjoy the article and hopefully get something from it. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or comments!

A very special thanks to my friend, Steve Kraack, who wrote the section on our show control systems.

Step 1: Assemble The Team

It's impossible to do such a complex production alone. ForThe Producers, I assembled a team of lighting professionals to join me in creating the show. Everyone has unique responsibilities and everyone is integral to bringing the production to life.

Abby May -Associate Lighting Designer

Anthony LeFebvre-Assistant Lighting Designer

Ryan Finzelber -Lighting Programmer

Ben Phillips -Lighting Intern

Abby and Anthony are both former students of mine from Howard W. Blake School of the Arts in Tampa, Florida.

Abby since went on to major in lighting design at UNCSA, graduating last year. She's currently the lighting supervisor for Ailey II in New York.

Anthony is currently a senior at the University of Central Florida in Orlando - this summer he will spend his time in Sag Harbor, NY at The Bay Street Theatre.

Ben Phillips is a current student at HWB School of the Arts in Tampa, where he is a technical theatre major with an emphasis in Lighting Design.

Ryan Finzelberis a Sarasota based freelance lighting and scenic designer and lighting programmer who has been working with me in a variety of roles since 2015.

Our production electrician for the show is Chris Baldwin, who is the house production electrician for American Stage. In addition to his work there, he has designed several shows in the area.

Step 2: The Design Process

The most complicated part of any park show is designing the complete system from the ground up. Literally the ground. We start with an empty field and end up with a full proscenium theatre, complete with lighting positions, dimming, circuitry, and fixtures.

The design process forThe Producersstarted several months before any scaffolding was placed in the field and before any lights were ordered. Scenic designer and production manager Jerid Fox and director Rye Mullis met to discuss the needs of the show. From those meetings and conversations over the course of many weeks, Jerid began to create drawings and Sketchup models of the scenery.

The original drafts of the set are very similar to what we ended up with. Here's a look at the Sketchup model:

Once the scenic designs were finalized, it was the lighting team's turn to get to work.

The first design decision that I made was a complete accident. I was trying to adjust the side trusses that Jerid had in his Sketchup model and accidentally mirrored them upstage to be 80′ long instead of the typical 40′ that we've used in the past. I said to myself "Hey, that actually looks kinda cool…" The new trusses created a bit of a perspective when viewed from the front, helping to create the feeling of depth that Jerid was trying to accomplish with his wings and US scenic unit. He liked the accident as well, and so we kept it.

FINDING A VENDOR

From here, it was time to start playing with lights. Unlike the traditional regional theatre shows that I do, the park doesn't have any kind of a fixture inventory to work from. This is good and bad at the same time. Good, because I can basically pick whatever kinds of fixtures I want to use. Bad, because the fixtures that I choose have to be waterproof since they'll be outside in Florida for over a month - this severely limits the selection of gear. Then you've gotta find vendors who have the IP rated fixtures in stock for rental, which narrows the list down even more.

I've been working extensively with 4Wall Entertainment in New Jersey for the last few years on a number of projects, including the system design and installation of two new theatres in an educational facility in Manhattan. When it came time to look for a vendor for this year's park show, I was pleased to find out that 4Wall was planning to open an office in Orlando, FL around the same time that this show would be happening.

Phil Foleen and I started talking about the possibility of doing the show together back in September of 2017. At the time, I figured it was a pipe dream - there'd be no way that that amount of gear (fixtures, truss, cable, dimmers, controls) would be in Orlando in time to get a local rental, and there'd be no way that we'd be able to afford shipping all of the gear in from another 4Wall location. Sure enough, the first quote came back at nearly 2x the entire lighting budget for the show.

Feeling a little discouraged, I reached out to Phil and said, "Alright, here's the bottom line. I have this much money to spend and honestly not a penny more - I will still probably be able to get some supplemental items, but I understand if this is not doable."

A day later I got a call from Phil, expecting to hear, "Yeah man, there's just no way." Much to my pleasant surprise, he opened the call with, "We're in!" And away we went.The Producerswas to be the first theatrical show to happen for 4Wall in Florida, and they were willing to help however they could to make it happen.

LET'S MAKE A LIGHT PLOT

When I design an indoor theatrical show, my primary concern is what the lighting looks like on the actors. While this isobviouslya priority in the park too, the limitations (and the scale) of the space make it so that I focus more on creating full-stage pictures rather than individual specific moments. The angles for front light kinda suck, so it's hard to get any real isolation unless it's a followspot.

For example - if I were doingThe Producersin a standard proscenium space, I would probably have masking that hid all of my lighting instruments. In the park, there is no masking. We're going to see every lens, every fixture, every position. I design the plot with this in mind. The lenses become little dots of color that everyone can see.

CHOOSING THE GEAR

Ultimately we decided on a mixture of two types of IP65 rated LEDs for the rig - theChauvet Professional COLORado 2 Solosand theElation SixPar 200s. The original plan was to use the SixPars for top/back light as well as side light, and then use the Solos for eye candy (They've got a zoom feature that looks sweet when you're seeing the lens (again, eye candy!) Due to some limitations in inventory, we ended up only using the SixPars as side light - and non IP ones at that. The Chauvets took care of everything else.

This change actually ended up being a blessing as it made it possible to run Powercon True1 all over except for the boom locations. Before that, we would have had to do all kinds of adapting and creative cabling.

The other big decision was on followspots - in previous years, we've had a pair of Lycian 1271 units on the FOH tower. While they've worked decently, we always had issues with ballasts going bad since they (the ballasts) had to be carried each night up the tower. They had to wrap the spots every night with tarps, it was a whole thing. Additionally, we wanted three followspots this year instead of the traditional two. (Seriously, half of the show is spent with Max/Leo +1 onstage.) We decided to go with 5° Source Fours withCity Theatrical Yokesthis year - a leap of faith that the brightness would work out, but cheaper overall and less maintenance required throughout the run. (EDIT: This choice turned out to be the wrong one. While the spots did work, they just weren't bright enough for me. Next year, it'll be back to regular spots!)

All of the conventional units are Source Fours lamped at 750w. No explanation really needed there. Plus, birds love landing on the 10° units.

CAPTURE MODEL

The second step in the plot process is the Capture Model. While I don't typically make full models of my shows, I almost always do in the park because of the strange angles and moving scenery. It allows me to see what things will do in space before I get out there and minimizes surprises. In addition, it allows the programmer extra time to create the showfile before we get onsite. "Dark" time in the park is controlled by this little thing called the sun, so the more work that can be done in advance, the better.

I useCapturebecause it's relatively user-friendly, works well with ArtNet/EOS, and is actually really affordable compared to some other visualizers out there. I can also then create an executable file to use for design presentations.

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VECTORWORKS

Next up is taking the decisions I made in Capture and drafting an actual plot in Vectorworks Spotlight. This might seem a little backward to some, as Capture now supports Vectorworks importing - but since I'm using Capture as a way to actually make some design decisions, this workflow makes sense.

There's a lot of information that has to go on the plot. Part of the fun is figuring out how to best display all of the appropriate information in a way that both makes sense and is aesthetically pleasing. We ended up with several pages showing all of the details.

(CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE)

LIGHTWRIGHT

There's a lot of it. Reports of every type sorted in different ways. I try to provide as much information as possible about the design and system so that there are no questions at load in.

This year, since all of the gear was coming in from New Jersey, we had to be very specific about cable so that we knew how much needed to be on the truck. I added some circuit and data line management features to the PMP, which allowed us to map out cable segments of all types and even generate a shop order list including additional spares.

Here are a few samples of some of the various reports that are created by the PMP. As you can see, literally every single circuit is detailed in advance with what cables and fixtures are on it.

LIGHTING PAPERWORK

There's a lot of it. Reports of every type, sorted in different ways. I try to provide as much information as possible about the design and system so that there are no questions at load in.

This year, since all of the gear was coming in from New Jersey, we had to be very specific about cable so that we knew how much needed to be on the truck. I added some circuit and data line management features to the PMP, which allowed us to map out cable segments of all types and even generate a shop order list including additional spares.

Here are a few samples of some of the various reports that are created by the PMP. As you can see, literally every single circuit is detailed in advance with what cables and fixtures are on it.

(CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE)

MAGIC SHEET BEFORE/AFTER

THE CONTROL SYSTEM

Haven't you ever set up a tech table and thought "gee, I wish I could set this up and strike it every single night!" If you did, please call me. Because I'd love to have you come do it.

While the actual run of the show has a FOH booth, it's very far from the stage and doesn't really have room for more than the Stage Manager and the FOH audio mixer (Steve Kraack, who is fantastic.) We set up and strike our tech tables every night. By the final dress rehearsal, it goes pretty quickly.

(CLICK TO ENLARGE SYSTEM DIAGRAM)

The show is programmed on an ETC Ion console but is ran on a small Minix PC with an ETC Nomad Dongle because we don't like the idea of leaving the Ion outside for over a month.

In years past, we've had a handful of RVIs for everyone to see data. With the introduction and expansion of Nomad in the last few years, everyone now just uses their laptops which has saved money and setup time.

I have nomad running on my Mac, which allows me to see command lines and a PSD - the only two things I really care about on this project. Abby designed the followspots for the show, which are 5° Source Fours, so her Nomad is partitioned to be able to only work with those instruments and program on list 2. Anthony runs Nomad so that he can label cues and help Chris check on work notes. Even Ryan, the programmer, uses nomad on his computer set to the same user ID as the console. He puts the PSD on that screen so that the ion screen real estate isn't eaten up by it.

All of these control units are networked together into the larger control network which consists of an ETC 4-Port DMX Gateway, an ETC Show Control Gateway, CEM III, and Sensor + Racks. There are wireless APs at FOH and backstage, which allow for iRFR access to the system as well as access to the locally hosted PMP database for the show. The whole system is network based until it gets to the DMX Gateway - this allows us to run one network cable to the tech table instead of several DMX lines.

The Show Control Gateway interfaces SMPTE and MIDI with the audio department. Unfortunately, we cut SMPTE during tech because there wasn't enough time to coordinate tracks with the orchestra, but we still make extensive use of MSC commands to integrate lighting and sound.

Step 3: Shop Prep

Shop prep can make or break a show. There are nearly 80 LEDs in this show that need DMX addresses and modes set on them. Trying to do that when they're already in the air would take an entire day in itself. Instead, we spent two days prepping and labeling every piece of equipment for the show.

Our friends at freeFall Theatre in St. Pete have a massive warehouse space a few miles from the park. They were kind enough to let us use the space for two days to do our work.

The Paperwork Management Portal creates all of the labels that we need for the show - everything from fixtures to dimmers to cable to truss. Each fixture yoke gets a label and a color code, and each connector gets a label detailing circuit and dimmer numbers.

We patch the dimmer rack, set the IP addresses on all of the networked equipment, test each light, and pack it by position back on the truck. It was a busy two days.

Step 4: Load In

Load in takes place about a week or so from tech starting, which gives Chris plenty of time to get everything working. There was a crew of 6 working hard throughout the day to get everything in the air. Since we did extensive prep work, they were able to use the color codes to quickly sort and hang fixtures and truss as it came off the truck.

The crane arrives at 1:00 pm to lift the trusses into the air. Landing them properly requires a great deal of planning and precision. Since there are three levels to the trussing, they have to go up in a specific order and the locations need to be accurate within a few inches of the drawings in order for the lights to make their shots.

Step 5: Focus

Focus was led by Abby and Anthony on a very rainy Tuesday night. There were intense thunderstorms all day long and we were worried that we'd have to reschedule focus, which would have been a disaster as there was no extra time built into the schedule - again, we're at the mercy of the sun.

Luckily, the clouds parted just in time and focus was able to be accomplished on time.

Step 6: Programming

"AND WE'RE HOLDING FOR THE SUN"

We spend a lot of time in the park just waiting for the sun to go down so that we can work. This means that our work day doesn't really get started until 8:00 pm, sometimes 8:15 pm. While we can work late into the night, there's a city noise ordinance that begins at 11 pm which means that we can't have amplified sound past that time. That means that we get 3 hours of dark time to actually work with the actors onstage. 2:30 if you factor in breaks and such. 2:00 if we hold for other departments. The show run is nearly 3 hours long. You can see where I'm going here.

In addition to needing to wait for the sun to go down to program, we also have to keep it in mind when creating the show itself. As the run progresses, sunset gets progressively later. By the final week of the show, it might not be completely dark outside until halfway through act 1! Still, we cue the show as if it was going to always be completely dark from the top of the show. (Last year during Hairspray, the curtain was held for nearly an hour due to rain - but ultimately the show started and finished! That might have been the only audience to truly see the opening number with the actual cues instead of the sunset (which is a killer CYC, I'll admit.)

We ended up with about 400 called lighting cues in the show - over 100 of which are in "Springtime for Hitler" alone. (And 40 or so in "Betrayed") There are about 140 spot cues which are all programmed in a second list that is triggered from the main cue list. One of the handy features of my Paperwork Management Portal is the auto-insertion of executes into the main cue stack.

(CLICK EACH CUE LIST TO ENLARGE)

(CLICK TO SEE THE MAGIC THAT HELPED CREATE CHASES FOR THE SIGNS)

Step 7: Technical Rehearsals

The park show schedule typically looks like this:

Wednesday Night - Cueing (Actors work onstage on other things)
Thursday Night - Act 1 Q2Q
Friday Night - Act 2 Q2Q
Saturday Night - Full Tech Run
Sunday Night - Full Tech Run
Monday Night - Day Off
Tuesday Night - Dress Rehearsal
Wednesday Night - Preview #1
Thursday Night - Preview #2
Friday Night - Gala Opening
Saturday Night - Press Opening

This doesn't leave much time for rain delays or cancellations, which often happen. On Sunday, bad storms rolled in around 1 pm and didn't leave the area until almost 7. Everything wassoakedwith rain. The crew spent the first hour and a half of rehearsal drying everything off enough to make it safe to rehearse. (Since most of the rig was LED, we could be little help in the drying process…) We also didn't want to do a full tech table setup in case the rain came back.

During the technical rehearsals, cues are changed, deleted, added, refined, cursed at, and more. The associate LD, Abby May, spends most of the time working with followspot cues and operators, ensuring that they learn the show by the time it opens. More paperwork is generated (see image right) for the followspots.

Worknotes get added every night. In a typical show, the crew would come in before the next day's rehearsal to get work and focus notes done before the rehearsal starts. In the park, we have to get them done the same night because, once again, of the sun.

SHOW CONTROL / SYSTEM INTEGRATION

Here's a guest spot from Steve Kraack, our brilliant sound designer and engineer for the show:

Creating a professional-looking and sounding production is the end goal for all producers, directors and designers. And doing this on a limited budget is an ever-growing requirement. Reducing staff through technology is one goal, but the more important goal for me, as a designer, is the incredible precision and consistency a production can maintain using integration and automation of multiple production systems. As the Sound Designer and Engineer for American Stage's 2018 production of THE PRODUCERS in the park, I needed to increase my capabilities by using automation to simplify my workflow and allow my simple, one-track mind to focus on the mix each and every night. This frees me from the script, the sound effect playback, and from navigating the many deep layers of the sound board to make theatre magic happen.

Allow me to list a few stats before I explain how it works. 52 Audio inputs, 20 Wireless Mics, 16 Audio Outputs, 11 different mixes, 6-piece live orchestra, 3 effect channels, 35 Sound Effects, 575 Individual Sound Board actions grouped into 97 grouped and scripted cues. All completed in a 2 hour and 45 minute show, 5 nights a week for 4 weeks. The ability to complete and manage all of those tasks with quality and consistency requires automation.

In this diagram, we can see a simple layout of how systems are connected. But how does information flow to make this work? Well, we start with the execution of a GO command from the EOS Lighting Console. With GO, an MSC (MIDI Show Control) command is sent via ethernet to the Show Control Gateway. The Gateway is setup to broadcast that signal via the MIDI Out port. I use Figure53's QLab to automate my sound board commands. I use QLab for many reasons, but mostly because it allows me to send OSC or MIDI commands to almost any digital sound board out there today. QLab also allows me to listen for MIDI commands and perform actions when I receive that signal. QLab will listen for the MSC command on the MIDI IN port of an Audio Interface connected via USB to my MacBook Pro running QLab. All that is required is for the QLab cue numbers to match the MSC cue number sent from the EOS Console… and like magic, it will trigger QLab cues as well. It is almost too simple not to do it all of the time.

This setup does require some planning from technically capable designers, but in the end, it is doable by anyone on a minimal budget. I have used similar setups for small community theatre, educational youth theatre, high school performances, and professional theatre. My experience shows that it has always worked very well and is clearly ready for professional quality work in any production environment. In previous shows, If my sound console was in close proximity to the EOS Lighting Console, I can plug directly into the MIDI OUT on the Console. In that case, the Show Control Gateway is not required.

The final component to make theatre magic happen is a lot of programming in QLab and on the Sound Console. When light cues are triggering sound cues, it requires clear communication of when cues happen and what is expected to happen, for both lights and sound. Timing is everything. My best example is a Blackout Cue at the end of Act 1 before Intermission. When the Stage Manager calls the Blackout cue, the GO button is pressed on the EOS Light Console, an MSC command is sent, QLab responds at the exact same time with a series of commands to the sound board. Big Finish before Intermission, right! I want that final sound to resonate and linger after the blackout, with no distractions. Lights go black. QLab instructs the sound board to bring all 20 wireless mics out, the orchestra mics on a different sound board layer to go out, hold for 7 seconds for the ring and applause, then automatically trigger another cue to fade up intermission house music synced to fade up with the house lights. This all happens with no interaction by the engineer. As the designer, I can control the timing of each action and make sure cues happen in the same manner each and every night. It also simplifies the role of the sound engineer by reducing the workload to a manageable level allowing them to focus only on the mix. Cueing is controlled from a master source and triggered by the Stage Manager. Theatre magic!

Contribution by Stephen Kraack, Sound Designer

Technical Director at Theatre Arts and ; Dance Alliance, Lithia, Florida

Contact atSteve@kraack.us

Step 8: Dress Rehearsals

Dress rehearsals are the time when everything happens just as it will in a real performance. Or so we hope. We only really got one dress rehearsal for the show since the rain kept us from working on Sunday night, and we spent most of that dress rehearsal furiously scribbling down notes and fixing them as quickly as we could.

Step 9: Previews

I spent the majority of the two preview performances moving around in front of the stage taking photos of the show. We didn't have wireless comm out there, so I was on the phone with Anthony back at the tech table trying to yell whatever notes I saw over top of the speakers 10′ from my face.

The previews give the cast a chance to work with the audience for the first time. We learn what is funny, where we need to add pauses, where something isn't quite working. The goal is to never stop the show, but as we tell the audience when they sit down, it's still a rehearsal.

The first preview went off without a show-stopping incident. There were a few prop mishaps - the stack of scripts for Max and Leo was nowhere to be found… when Max opens the safe to show Leo an empty void where they will one day put their money… there was already a million dollars in it. Fun stuff like that.

The second preview was going along just swimmingly when all of the sudden, the major scenic unit spins around duringSpringtime for Hitlerand the door doesn't open. A temporary latch had been installed that day and it had gotten stuck. Our PSM, Rachel, got on the god mic and called a hold and the problem was reset. I think it's kinda fun to be in a preview audience when something goes wrong like that.

Step 10: Opening Night

American Stage opens their park show every year with its annual Gala Under the Stars event, where the theatre raises money for their production and educational programs. The field is filled with tables, there's a live and a silent auction, and everyone has an amazing time.

Pictured from Left to Right:
(Front Row) Chris Baldwin,Ryan E. Finzelber
(Back Row) Phil Foleen (4Wall), Ben Phillips, Mike Wood, Abby May, Anthony LeFebvre

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/project-yourself-before-you-wreck-yourself-part-1-the-basics-of-projection Project Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself - Part 1: The Basics of Projection for Live Events https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2018/02/25/project-yourself-before-you-wreck-yourself-part-1-the-basics-of-projection Sun, 25 Feb 2018 16:00:00 -0800 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5aa6c8f9a3ebf.jpg Today we are joined in the lounge by 4Wall's Video Product Strategy Manager Greg Parker. Greg joined 4Wall almost a year ago when 4Wall acquired video equipment provider Wagner Media, Inc.He is a manufacturer certified instructor for Barco Projection and ...

Today we are joined in the lounge by 4Wall's Video Product Strategy Manager Greg Parker. Greg joined 4Wall almost a year ago when 4Wall acquired video equipment provider Wagner Media, Inc.He is a manufacturer certified instructor for Barco Projection and Image Processing products.

Last summer, we created a Lighting 101 video series explaining fundamental stage lighting principles for the incoming Wagner employees and those not familiar with the lighting industry. Greg had created something similar except his pertained to video. He's put together an outline of video basics that is a great learning tool for 4Wall employees who have little, to no experience in the video world. The content gathered is extremely informative and we wantto share it with you in a 4-part blog series dubbed 'Project Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself.'

Part 1: The Basics of Projection for Live Events

Projection

Lumens are a measurement of light energy, and projectors are primarily rated according to how many lumens they produce. We carry projectors of varying brightness ratings from 2k to 30k+ lumens. When a projector with too few lumens is used, the image will appear washed out by any other available light that is hitting the same projection surface.This 'ambient light' has a large impact of the perceived contrast of the image.

Projectors and lighting may be referenced in different ways. With lighting gear, you will see 2k Fresnel - where 2k is referring to the wattage of the lamp. Projectors are most often referenced by their lumen output; a 2k projector is a 2,000 lumen output projector.

If you think of total lumens in a volumetric sense (like a bucket of water), these lumens are spread out over the area of a screen. In this sense, you can think of these lumens per square foot or foot candles, which is how we measure, record, and track projector light output.

Most clients will ask for a certain lumen projector vs what model or type it is. They are mostly concerned with getting the correct amount of light in the area to be projected. If they have a small screen in a dark room they will need a small lumen projector. If they need to fill a larger surface area outside or with ambient light it may require many large projectors to illuminate the area with a good image.

(See the image below) the left side has a lot of ambient light on the screen while the right side does not. To make the image on the left look like the image on the right you would need brighter or additional projectors.

Light Source Technologies

The light source for a projector comes from various technologies. Classic technologies include UHP or similar type conventional short-arc lamps, and multiple lamps may be used for a single unit (2 or 4 is common). These lamps are based on the same technologies as those found in many moving lights. High-power projectors may use a single xenon arc lamp, like those in a spotlight. Newer technologies include LED, LED/laser hybrid, and laser light sources. All light sources have trade-offs including price, required power, heat, light color/light quality, and longevity. Conventional lamps are inexpensive, xenon lamps have a natural color closest to video white (6500K), laser and LED light sources have insanely long lifetimes and usually lower power draw. No matter the light technology is used, this light is concentrated and focused into the light engine of a given projector.

Light Engine Technologies

Once light is created and concentrated, it must be modified by some system to create an image on screen. These technologies include DLP, LCD, and LCoS. Because they are the main technologies available for events projectors, we will focus on DLP and LCD.

DLP

3-chip DLP (Digital Light Processing) is the premier technology in our industry. White light is divided into 3 primary colors (RGB), which is reflected by the tiny mirrors of the DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) and brought together onto the screen to make an image. 3-chip DLP is more expensive and often results in larger, heavier projectors compared with other technologies.

1-chip DLP is less expensive to implement than 3-chip DLP. White light is passed through a rotating color wheel to produce individual colors in order. The single DMD works with these colors one at a time and the result is an image on the screen. This happens so fast that most people do not notice; however, some people are more sensitive to a "rainbow effect" from 1-chip DLP projectors. Also, because the DMD time is shared between the segments of the color wheel, a trade off must be made between brightness and color accuracy. Most 1-chip DLP projectors in the events market have a white or yellow color segment to increase their max brightness. This results in RGB combined brightness of 70% or lower than white brightness. 1-chip DLP usually competes in price and size with LCD.

LCD

Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) projectors use 3 LCD panels to modify the 3 colors of light. As light passes through the panels, the pixels are darkened to block light that is not wanted on screen, and the 3 colors are combined into an image. Because of this "blocking" nature of LCD, these projectors classically have worse contrast ratio compared to DLP - that is that black portions of an image suffer light bleed, and will appear grey or elevated. Newer LCD projectors are much better in this regard, and the deficit to DLP has been minimized.

Greg Parker is the Video Product Strategy Manager at 4Wall Entertainment.Greg joined 4Wall almost a year ago when 4Wall acquired video equipment provider Wagner Media, Inc. He is a manufacturer certified instructor for Barco Projection and Image Processing products.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/hazed-and-confused-the-differences-between-fog-haze UPDATED: Hazed and Confused - The Differences Between Fog, Haze and Ice https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2018/02/12/hazed-and-confused-the-differences-between-fog-haze Mon, 12 Feb 2018 16:00:00 -0800 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5707dfee8138f.jpg Haze, fog and dry ice are commonly used effects in video, theater, and concerts. Many novice users have an image of what they want to achieve, but lack the knowledge of how to use the machines necessary to create the desired result. A basic understandin...

Ultratec Radiance Hazer

Haze and fog are two of the most commonly used effects in video, theater, and concerts. Many novice users have an image of what they want to achievebut lack the knowledge of how to use the machines necessary to create the desired result. A basic understanding of hazers and foggers can greatly improve the quality of the effects.

Type of Output

Haze and fog have very distinctive outputs. Generally, haze machines output a slow stream of the effect that is not dramatic or intense unless left on to build constantly into the space. Fog behaves quite differently. Usually it is an intense burst of effect- similar to a steam engines smoke stack. If left on over time, the effect becomes concentrated, creating a thick overwhelming feel. However, fog does dissipate more quickly than haze, so it takes additional fluid and time to fill the room.

Oil Based vs. Water Based

Haze and fog machines use oil or water based fluid. Oil bases linger in the air much longer and have a slightly denser effect. Because of the oil, the output can cause a problem with fire and smoke alarms from time to time. Water based fluid is much better around fire and smoke alarms, and when sensitive items such as hanging fixtures are present. The fluid will not linger as long or be quite as dense, but it will not leave near the residue the oil base does. Overall both bases produce a relatively similar effect, so typically the situation will determine which base is preferable.

High End Systems FQ-100

Low Lying Fog

One of the most common effects people struggle to create is low line fog. The best way to make the fog over water or "creepy cemetery" effect is to use something to cool the fog from a fog machine. The concept behind this is very simple, hot air rises. So if the effect is cooler than the air temperature outside the machine, then the effect will stay lower to the ground. There are several different ways to achieve this with a fogger. A couple ways the machines create this is with a refrigeration system or with using dry ice.

Dry Ice Machines

Unlike other styles of fog and haze machines, dry ice machines use a much simpler method—and it's just what one would expect. A heating element warms up the water, and once it's hot enough, the dry ice is inserted into the holding area. The process of the dry ice and water meeting varies on the machine. This creates an extreme temperature difference, which creates the fog. Since the fog that is produced is very cool, it stays low to the ground. This is the alternative to other devices which use heavy compressors to cool down the fog. So this means that unlike most compressor-style low-line fog machines, dry ice machines are much more basic. However, this means they do not have as long of a run time as their complicated counterparts.

LED Fog and ; Haze Machines

If you want to create a pyro effect, but need to avoid using actual fire, there are beginning to be some goodoptions out there. The effect is generally created by having a ring of high powered LEDs around the nozzle of a fog or haze machine. This creates a colored, towering column that can simulate pyro, as well as creating new and interesting effects. Taking this effect up a notch,CITC introducedThe Maniac, a moving light led fog machine.

Fluid Usage

Fluid usage varies from unit to unit. A general rule of thumb is that, with intense usage, hazers can last around eight hours and foggers can last around four hours. So a hazer could be a used heavily for the run of a show or a very long video shoot day. While foggers often take more fluid, they will generally last the same length of time as hazers since foggers are not usually used as continuously. Larger machines often take much more fluid depending on output. This is truly a case-by-case basis and greatly depends on the unit itself.

These are just a few hazer and fogger basics. The manufactures' suggested fluid for each unit should be used for the best result.There are many different brands and styles of hazers and foggers, and while they all output differently, they have the same general concepts behind them.

Clint Zaayer is an Account Manager at 4Wall Los Angeles. While earning his degree
atBall State University, he collaborated on the Lower Great Lake Regional Emmy
Awardwinning documentary
Increasing the Odds: How to Start a Business. In 2010,
aftergraduating with a B.A. in telecommunications, he relocated to Los Angeles

wherehe began his career with 4Wall Entertainment.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/10-highlights-from-the-2017-ldi-show 10 Highlights from the 2017 LDI Show https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2017/11/20/10-highlights-from-the-2017-ldi-show Mon, 20 Nov 2017 16:00:00 -0800 Events https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5a14ae8d831e6.jpg And just like that, one of the busiest weeks for us is over, and we didn't even have a booth this year! Dozens of 4Wall/UsedLighting employees flew in for the week-long adventure filled with meetings, training, and of course the parties. As we prepare to ...

And just like that, one of the busiest weeks for us is over, and we didn't even have a booth this year! Dozens of 4Wall/UsedLighting employees flew in for the week-long adventure filled with meetings, training, and of course the parties. As we prepare to embark on a week of turkey, shopping, and family conversation that may or may not get uncomfortable, let's take a look back to last week's LDI Show.

I put together 10 highlights for those who weren't able to attend and for some of you who just bee-lined to Green Hippo's open bar. I'm also aware that I left out the world record for the largest laser show, but I didn't take any pictures of it so it didn't make the list. There's also a recap video at the end of this for those of you who make it that far. See you next year!

ARRI

ARRI's new S360-C SkyPanel was on display at this year's show. You can't really tell from this photo, but this light was pretty massive.Features include full-color control, lighting effects on a huge aperture, wireless DMX built in, a unique carbon fiber yoke, and much more.

AYRTON

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show! Ayrton's demo was awesome. Any opportunity attendees have to get off their feet will definitely attract a crowd. They ended up winning the "Most Creative Use of Light" award.

BLIZZARD LIGHTING

Last year was Rock'em Sock'em Robots, this year was the life-size classic video game, Q*bert.Blizzard Lighting and ModTruss made sure you could see their booth from virtually anywhere on the show floor. They took home the "Best Large Booth"award.

CHAUVET PROFESSIONAL

Chauvet Professional's lighting demo focused on their all-newMaverick MK Pyxis fixture.

CLAY PAKY

Clay Paky's new Axcor300 family of LED moving lights made their debut at LDI. The new AxcorSpot 300, Wash 300, and Beam 300 are all driven by a white LED engine with a rated power of up to 180 Watts.

ELATION PROFESSIONAL

Elation's lighting demo consistedof over 200 moving lights. They highlightedtheir newDARTZ 360 fixture, utilizing91 of them at their booth.

ETC

ETC's hands-on demos kept their booth packed throughout the show. I stopped by to check out their all-new ColorSource CYC fixture. This neat little LED light's sole purpose is to create smooth washes on a cyclorama or wall.

GLP

The booth hostess hands you a pair of sunglasses before you walk into their demo, so you already know it's going to be good! The narrator's script was just as good as the demo too. GLP didn't just tell you all the ways you can use their new JDC1 Strobe andForce 120, they showed you.

MARTIN PROFESSIONAL

Martin Professional made sure that no matterwhere you were inside their booth, one of their new MAC Encore Performance fixtures were an arm'slength away. They too had hands-on demos that allowed you to see the versatilityof the fixture.

ROBE LIGHTING

Robe has spent the past couple of months taking their new MegaPointefixture around the globe for live demos to show the world how incredible this fixture is. Instead of showing the attendees at LDI the same demo, they stepped it up witha dramatic, hi-impact live performance spectacle starring 42 x MegaPointes and a freestyle mirror-suit clad dancer.

Check out our video recap of the show below:

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/giveaway-contest-identify-all-the-lighting-video-gear UPDATE: Winner Announced! Giveaway Contest - Identify All the Lighting and Gear https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2017/10/19/giveaway-contest-identify-all-the-lighting-video-gear Thu, 19 Oct 2017 17:00:00 -0700 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f59ea64b419c3b.jpg UPDATE: First, I would like to thank everyonefor participating in this contest. We received way more entries than I had anticipated, which is awesome! Many of you were one fixture or projector away from being 100% correct. I received a lot of "BMFL"...

UPDATE:

First, I would like to thank everyonefor participating in this contest. We received way more entries than I had anticipated, which is awesome!

Many of you were one fixture or projector away from being 100% correct. I received a lot of "BMFL" answers but many didn't identify if it was the WashBeam or Blade.

Also, the Barco HDF-W30 and FLM-R22 projectors look identical, so that was another common mistake.

The correct answers are:

Lights: Martin MAC Quantum Wash, Chroma-Q Color Force II, Clay Paky Sharpy, and ROBE BMFL WashBeam

Projectors: Barco UDX-4K32, Barco HDF-W30, Barco HDX-W20, and Epson Pro L25000U.

Finally, we had a few people get 100% of the answers correct….and the randomly selected winner is……Ethan Neuway!

Like we said in the post, everyone is a winner. We will be sending all participants who emailed us a gear lista 4Wall Road Case 16GB Flash Drive.

With 4Wall recently adding video gear to their rental inventory, I put together a team that would be able to pull off a photoshoot for somemarketing content. At first, I figured a few fixtures, a couple projectors, and some haze would be fine. After talking with Cross-Rental Manager Collin Barnes,who was going to program the lights for me, we ended up building a rig with over 25 fixtures and 6 projectors. Was it overkill for some photos?Probably. But when you have some of the best lighting and video equipmentat your fingertips, you have to go big!

What gear did weuse you ask? Well, let's have some fun with those answersand win some swag while we're at it.

All you have to do is identify the 8 lights and 6 projectors to win a 4Wall backpack, 4Wall mechanics gloves, 4Wall t-shirt, Used Lighting t-shirt, and more!

Each item in the photo below is available on 4Wall.com. Here's a breakdown of the gear:

We used 28 fixtures total(4 not pictured).

Light Fixtures: 24 (4 different fixtures)

Projectors: 6 (4 different projectors)

Email your gear list tocontest@usedlighting.comwith all 8 items. The person to send in the most correct answers will win the grand prize. In the event of a tie, one winner will be randomly selected.All participants will not be left empty handed either,so you might as well giveit a shot. Good Luck! Contest ends Friday,October 27.

You must be in the U.S.to be eligible to win.

(CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE)

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/live-design-presents-masters-of-live-design-webcast-with-al-crawford Live Design Presents: Masters of Live Design Webcast with Al Crawford https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2017/09/20/live-design-presents-masters-of-live-design-webcast-with-al-crawford Wed, 20 Sep 2017 17:00:00 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f59c3e82fb5697.jpg Join Live Design for a Masters of Live Design Webcast featuring one of today's leading lighting designers, Al Crawford. Sponsored by ETC, the webcast will take you behind the light plots to see the design process, gear choices, andartistic process the des...

Join Live Design for a Masters of Live Design Webcast featuring one of today's leading lighting designers, Al Crawford. Sponsored by ETC, the webcast will take you behind the light plots to see the design process, gear choices, andartistic process the designer turns to when lighting the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. Crawford has been the lighting director for the company since 1998.

He has had the opportunity to work directly with many important choreographers in the dance world including Judith Jamison, Robert Battle, Garth Fagan, Matthew Rushing, Ron Brown, George Faison, Mark Dendy, Trey McIntyre,Christopher Huggins, Hope Boykin, Osnel Delgado, Jeanguy Saintus and many others.He has designed 18 new works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and 12 for Ailey II.Additionally, he has been responsible for maintaining the lighting for the significant Ailey repertory designed by many of the top lighting designers in the industry.

He founded Arc3design, a lighting design group dedicated to merging his theatrical aesthetic into all areas of art, architecture, dance, live music, theater, broadcast, and live event production. Arc3design creates the lighting for over 100 projects annually. Crawfordis also a guest faculty member of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

During this webcast, Crawford will discuss his lighting history with Alvin Ailey for the past two decades, how the design informs the storytelling or abstract nature of the dances, and the choice of lighting fixtures and their use. You'll also get a look at selected lighting plots.

To listen to this free webcast, click here.

Moderator: Ellen Lampert-Gréaux - Creative Director, Live Design and

Read more about Al Crawford and the Live Design webcast series here.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/lighting-101-video-series-part-5-basic-rigging Lighting 101 Video Series - Part 5: Basic Rigging https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2017/08/30/lighting-101-video-series-part-5-basic-rigging Wed, 30 Aug 2017 02:51:29 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f59a6ed077e6a9.jpg Well, we finally reached the conclusion of our Lighting 101 video series with Part 5: Basic Rigging. We would like to thank everyone for tuning in every week to watch our videos. We will definitely look into adding more videos to our series in the future....

Well, we finally reached the conclusion of our Lighting 101 video series with Part 5: Basic Rigging. We would like to thank everyone for tuning in every week to watch our videos. We will definitely look into adding more videos to our series in the future. Please comment with topicsuggestions and we will try our best to make new animated tutorial videos.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/lighting-101-video-series-part-4-moving-lights Lighting 101 Video Series - Part 4: Moving Lights https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2017/08/20/lighting-101-video-series-part-4-moving-lights Sun, 20 Aug 2017 17:00:00 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f599b2acd6ac70.jpg We hope everyone enjoyed Part 2 and 3 of our Lighting 101 video series.We've receiveda lot of positivefeedback and many of you asked about a video about moving lights. Well, the wait is over! Watch Part 4: Moving Lights below. Tune in nex...

We hope everyone enjoyed Part 2 and 3 of our Lighting 101 video series.We've receiveda lot of positivefeedback and many of you asked about a video about moving lights. Well, the wait is over! Watch Part 4: Moving Lights below.

Tune in next week for the conclusion of our Lighting 101 series with Part 5: Basic Rigging.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/lighting-101-video-series-part-2-3-lighting-components-the-history-of-dmx Lighting 101 Video Series - Part 2 and : Lighting Components and History of DMX https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2017/08/13/lighting-101-video-series-part-2-3-lighting-components-the-history-of-dmx Sun, 13 Aug 2017 17:00:00 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5991e9115adde.jpg We hope everyone enjoyed our Part 1: Basic Lighting System video!Now we can dive a little deeper into how each of the components in a lighting system work together in Part 2: Lighting Components. In Part 3: The History of DMX, we take you back to t...

We hope everyone enjoyed our Part 1: Basic Lighting System video!Now we can dive a little deeper into how each of the components in a lighting system work together in Part 2: Lighting Components.

In Part 3: The History of DMX, we take you back to the analog days before DMX and describe a few different ways DMXisutilized today.

Tune in next week for Part 4: Moving Lights.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/lighting-101-video-series-part-1-basic-lighting-system Lighting 101 Video Series - Part 1: Basic Lighting System https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2017/08/06/lighting-101-video-series-part-1-basic-lighting-system Sun, 06 Aug 2017 17:00:00 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5988e14fb0575.jpg As the Content Manager at 4Wall, I'm constantly asked for various video content to help with presentations, training videos or to explain a certain concept. One such request came through the General Manager of 4Wall Las Vegas, Larry Mikalishen.Through the...

As the Content Manager at 4Wall, I'm constantly asked for various video content to help with presentations, training videos or to explain a certain concept. One such request came through the General Manager of 4Wall Las Vegas, Larry Mikalishen.Through the years Larry has been asked to present the basics of stage lighting to those not familiar with the industry. Since Larry has been in the industry for longer than I've been living (he approved this statement), he's seen the industry progress over the past few decades and was the perfect person to make such a presentation.

With 4Wall's recent purchase of Wagner Media, a video equipment company, there was an immediate need to mass produce Larry's physical presentation in video format. This would allow 4Wall to present the "Basics of Lighting" presentation to all the new video employees without Larry having to rack up his frequent flyer miles. So, we went to work producing a series of videos explaining fundamental stage lighting principles. Larry's daughter Skyler, who is our summer intern, was the talented artist behind the animations.

We realizethere's plenty of articles, books, and brains to pick on the subject, but our goalwas to make a video series that was not only fun to watch, but informational as well. We feel this5-part video animation series is beneficialfor all our current and new employees to watch as part of their training. We will be posting 1 video a week here in the Lighting Lounge.This can also be a great way to introduce somebody to the lighting industry and make themappreciate the work that goes into lighting a concert, play, or any other show that involves lighting.

We are aware that thereare numerous ways to explain the concepts mentioned in the videos. This was our way to make things easier to understand. We feel these animations make it easierto remember some of the concepts explained in the videos. Whether you are a lighting expert or a beginner, we hope you enjoy the videos as much as we do. Thanks for watching!

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/subtle-changes-made-to-usedlighting-com Subtle Changes Made to UsedLighting.com https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2017/06/13/subtle-changes-made-to-usedlighting-com Tue, 13 Jun 2017 17:00:00 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5941cee199d5e.jpg This month UsedLighting.com made subtle changes to the site that enhance the browsing and experience. This write-up includes details on those changes and is also a great way to get familiar with UsedLighting.com for those who have never shopped with us ... This month UsedLighting.com made subtle changes to the site that enhance the browsing and experience. This write-up includes details on those changes and is also a great way to get familiar with UsedLighting.com for those who have never shopped with us before. We hope the recent improvements to the site make your shopping experience with us better than ever!

UL OWNED:

BTW, these Martin MAC Auras sell like hotcakes!

If you have browsed our website within the past couple of days you probably noticed the "UL Owned" icon next to some of the gear. Items marked as such have been professionally maintained in one of 4Wall's nationwide locations. These items are constantly tested, cleaned, and updated to ensure the best performance on productions across the country. If you've ever rented gear from 4Wall, you are aware of the high standard their gear is held to. This allows our customers to upgrade their lighting equipment with quality gear at a discounted price and with a full warranty.

SELL OR BUY BROKERED GEAR:

Wecarry items from our global community of site members. We broker quality items from production houses, churches, theatres and more. These items are listed as 'Sold by: Site Member'. Purchasing a brokered item is a great way to save, and we guarantee your purchase with a 48-hour inspection window.

You can also sell your used gear on our site and use your earnings towards upgraded gear. We try to make sure all listings get approved in 2-5 business days. Why the long wait? We go through each listing carefully adding any info we can find from the original manufacturer, as well as cleaning up any spelling mistakes (we've got your back non-English majors!) We do this to make sure your item is presented in the best light to any potential buyers. When we post your listing, we will add a small 10-20%commission to your asking price. If your item doesn't sell, you pay NOTHING!

FACEBOOK SHOP:

Our Used Lighting Facebook Store gives you access to all ofour "UL Owned" inventory of moving lights, consoles, LEDs, lekos, pars, dimmers, hoists, fog/haze, TV/film lighting, EFX, followspots and more in one convenient location. You can click on any of the products in our shop to get more information or post a question about an item in the comment section. We usually respond to Facebook messages and comments within 24 hours.

Now you have a better understanding of UsedLighting.com, and we hope you enjoy the recent updates. If you have any questions, please email us at info@usedlighting.com.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2017-nab-recap 2017 NAB Recap https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2017/05/07/2017-nab-recap Sun, 07 May 2017 17:00:00 -0700 Events https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f59109790f3d63.jpg Today we are joined in the Lighting Lounge by Andrew Quinones, Content Manager at 4Wall and This was his first time attending the NAB Show. He's going to talk about some of the booths he visited and the products the different manufacturers had on displa...

Today we are joined in the Lighting Lounge by Andrew Quinones, Content Manager at 4Wall and This was his first time attending the NAB Show. He's going to talk about some of the booths he visited and the products the different manufacturers had on display for NAB 2017.

Las Vegas- After spending a few days manning the 4Wall both, I finally got a chance to walk around the show. As an avid photographer and videographer, I was compelled to stop by all the camera booths first. 4Wall provided most of the lighting for those booths so I felt like I was observing our gear at work while I indulged in cameras, lenses, camera rigs and tripod heads.

Once my wish list was complete, it was back to work checking out the lighting manufacturers for this article. Below are some of my favorite booths and fixtures I was able to check out at NAB 2017. Enjoy!

CINEO LIGHTING

Cineo debuted their new Quantum c80 and MavX light panel at the show so I made sure to stop by the booth and check out these lights.

For the Quantum c80, Cineo combined their award-winning white-light quality with their innovative saturated-color technology to create the ultimate creative lighting tool. With its 2' x 4' diffused illuminating surface, the Qc80 delivers up to 50,000 lumens of beautiful, easily controllable, full-gamut light. The Qc80 was awarded the 2017 Best in Show Award by TV Technology Magazine and the ProductionHUB.com Excellence Award at the show.

The MavX is a color-tunable mid-power soft light and provides all the color rendering and output benefits of Remote Phosphor Technology (RPT), while offering the ability to dynamically color tune from 2700K to 6500K, with accurate presets at 3200K, 4300K and 5600K. It is designed for small studio and portable applications and features the optimized output needed for film, video and still photography.

Cineo's HS2 Wave and HSX fixtures were also on display.

ARRI

Everyone was excited to see the ARRI SkyPanel's new firmware update in action. Anybody using the SkyPanel can install this free firmware update, but it's always nice to get a demo directly from the source. The new update includes 12 lighting effects and 9 other updates. Let's take a quick look at some of the updates.

Lighting Effects

This feature permits users to choose and manipulate 12 effects without the need for a lighting console or hours of programming. The 12 lighting effects include candles, clouds passing, club lights, color chase, cop car, fire, fireworks, light strobe, lightning, paparazzi, pulsing, and television glow. Each effect has several parameters that allow for customization of the effect to fit your needs.

High Speed Mode

A solution to flicker and roll bar due to changes in shutter speed, the new "High Speed Mode" has been tested up to 25,000 fps and as low as a two-degree shutter angle. This long-awaited update should help anybody shooting in super slow-motion.

Click here for the complete breakdown of the the new firmware or watch the full demo below:

HIVE

Hive Lighting had their new Wasp 100-C on display. The WASP 100-C is a constant 100w LED light, aimed at a wide market of users from photography and cinematography to sound stage lighting. Hive uses the acronym S.H.O.T control system to highlight its unique features, which include adjustments for: saturation, hue, output, and color.

These were just several highlights from my NAB experience. I had a blast talking with everyone who visited the 4Wall booth as well as walking the show floor. Below are some more photos from other booths I visited at NAB 2017! Thanks for stopping by the Lighting Lounge to check out my first experience at this awesome show! See you next year. -Drew

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2017-prolight-sound-recap 2017 Prolight + Sound Recap https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2017/04/13/2017-prolight-sound-recap Thu, 13 Apr 2017 17:00:00 -0700 Events https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f58f148be8f70d.jpg Today we are joined in the Lounge by Luke Lytle, the Director of Marketing at 4Wall and This was his first experience at Prolight and and we asked him to share his experience at the show with us. First off I want to say this was not only my first t...

Today we are joined in the Lounge by Luke Lytle, the Director of Marketing at 4Wall and This was his first experience at Prolight and and we asked him to share his experience at the show with us.

First off I want to say this was not only my first time at Prolight and but it was also my first time in Europe! Due to some scheduling conflicts, I was invited 4 days before my plane left to go to the show. To keep a long story short, I found out the hard way you can get a Passport within a day and a half if you are willing to fly to Los Angeles to do it.

After a long flight to Frankfurt, Germany and some serious adjusting to a 9 hour time difference (PST) I arrived at Prolight and I've been to quite a few industry shows such as LDI, NAB, Infocomm, and among others. The main thing that immediately struck me after checking in to the show was how big and spread out the show halls were. One of the halls is about the size of LDI, and there are 3 different halls dedicated to lighting! The " and " part of the show name is definitely not an afterthought. There were just as many halls dedicated to professional audio and then there were at least 5 more halls dedicated to musical instruments (pianos, drums, guitars, etc.). In the middle of all the halls is a very large open outdoor area with a sound stage in the middle and food booths scattered around.

Halls 3 and were dedicated to professional lighting such as Martin, Robe, ETC, GLP, Vari-Lite, Chauvet, Elation, Clay Paky, MA Lighting and many more. Something that I noticed immediately in these halls was the amount of manufacturers dedicated to trussing, motors and compared to shows I've been to in the US. There were companies I was familiar with such as Tomcat, StageMaker, and others, but then there were many more that I had never heard of. Hall 5 was dedicated to DJ and lighting filled with lasers, pyrotechnics and other effect lights.

There were two lighting demos I would like to give a shout out to, Clay Paky & Robe. Each built a large, enclosed area with shows every 30 minutes to an hour. Both shows were impossible to get a seat unless you immediately grabbed a seat after the previous show ended. There were also great demos by GLP, Elation and Ayrton. (Watch the video to see highlights from the demos and more!)

Clay Paky's demo used video projectors to go through each of the new products they have such as the Axcor Profile 900, Scenius Unico, K-Eye HCR and the Mythos 2. The first 10 minutes went through each product highlighting features and effects. The show then took it up a notch by switching to a programmed light show to the music of dub-stepping, violinist Lindsey Stirling.

Robe's demo focused on the theatrical side of lighting and how some of their new products (including LEDs) are made for the theatre market. Robe's show featured live dancers every hour set to the music of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Some of their new products include the DL7 and Spikies, Spiiders, and others.

There were too many new and impressive products to go through all of them. If there was something I found interesting, I took photos of it which you can view below. Overall the show was exciting and had a fun vibe to it that I hadn't felt at other shows. The manufacturer reps seemed to be less stressed even though the show was constantly packed. Maybe it was due to the show being in Europe or more likely it had to do with the seemingly endless supply of alcohol in the booths..

2017 Prolight + Sound Photo Recap. Click on each thumbnail for a larger image.

Altman Booth at LDI 2015.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/new-product-review-city-theatrical-dmxcat UPDATED: Product Review: City Theatrical- DMXcat https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2017/03/13/new-product-review-city-theatrical-dmxcat Mon, 13 Mar 2017 17:00:00 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f58c845de6f476.jpg After almost 2 year of using the DMXcat, we still love this useful tool.City Theatrical recently stopped by 4Wall Las Vegas to demo some new products, and I was able to ask them if there were going to be any enhancements or updates to the tool. They don't... After almost 2 year of using the DMXcat, we still love this useful tool.City Theatrical recently stopped by 4Wall Las Vegas to demo some new products, and I was able to ask them if there were going to be any enhancements or updates to the tool. They don'tcurrrently have any plans to release a new version of the tool since the App for the tool is constantly updated, including the fixture library. If you're unable to find a fixture in the library (unlikely), you can easily add one manually, or send City Theatrical an email and they will get it added. The app is now available for Android, iPhone and ; Amazon Fire.

If you haven't had a chance to get one yet, you can use the code 'DMXCAT10' on NewLighting.com for 10% off the tool through January 31st.

Also, when City stopped by, they showed their new Multiverse Show Baby, which is going to be very useful for those already using City's wireless products. In City Theatrical's words: "In its default mode, it works like all other SHoW Baby Transceivers with six user selectable SHoW IDs. By connecting an RDM controller, like DMXcatMulti Function Test Tool, all of the revolutionary new 2.4GHz Multiverse SHoW IDs are accessible. Users can add to their existing SHoW Baby systems, build new single universe Multiverse systems, or use Multiverse SHoW Baby as a receiver on multiple universe systems with a Multiverse Transmitter."You can see features of that producthere.

Original Review

We recently addedCity Theatrical's DMXcat to NewLighting.comand were excited to test it out!

The DMXcat isdesigned forthe lighting professionalwho is involved with the planning, installation, operation, or maintenance of theatrical and studio lighting equipment. The system consists of a small hardware interface device and a suite of mobile applications. Together, they combine to bring DMX/RDM control plus several other functionalities to the user's smartphone. The DMXcat operates onboth Android and iPhones.

We used 4 ChauvetRogue R1 Wash fixtures and an iPhone 6 to make a quick demo video of the DMXcat.

NOTE: Since we used an iPhone to demo the DMXcat, we couldn't test the Light Meter andRF Spectrum Analyzer features.

Hardware

The DMXcat's interface device is a compact battery powered unit which fits easily in a pocket or tool pouch or may be worn on a belt. It uses Bluetooth LE technology for communication with the smartphone/applications (up to 35' range). Without the limitations of being physically connected, the user can move about the workspace as needed with his/her smartphone and run the various apps while still using the phone for on-the-job communication. The device's 5 pin XLRF connector/cable asembly allows it to be connected to a point in a DMX data chain to allow testing and or control of the various DMX/RDM channel functions. It is charged using a standard USB to Micro-USB cable and charger.

Applications

The DMX Controller app allows youto control512 channels of DMX data. Two different user interfaces are included. The first emulates a conventional slider control arrangement such as is found on many simple manual lighting controllers. Touch and swipe gestures control the various level adjustments. Users can work with and easily switch between screens displaying 8, 64, or 512 (Live View) channels of information. For those who prefer a numeric based interface similar to what is found on a full sized lighting console, command line instructions can be input using familiar keypad and thumbwheel controls. An active 16 channel display provides current channel status. With either interface, users can adjust/work with indivdual, groups, or ranges of channels, record and play presets, customize names, and display levels as %, decimal, or hex values.

The Fixture Controller app has been designed to serve as a setup and test tool for the vast selection of lighting fixtures in use today. Many of today's moving light fixtures use over 40 channels of DMX control data, and can be configured to operate in a dozen or more modes (profiles). This can make it difficult to identify a particular channel's function when setting up or testing a fixture with a small DMX controller. Using an extensive built in database of manufacturers, fixtures, and operational profiles, users can easily select and assign the fixture's attributes and starting address, and a control interface specific to the fixture is displayed for testing its features. The various fixtures/personalities may be saved as "favorites" for future reference. When connected to an RDM enabled fixture, DMXcat identifies the fixture's address and attributes and loads its control interface automatically.

DMX Tester - Connect the DMXcat to a point in a DMX data chain and view DMX information and levels. Parameters of the controller's transmitted DMX signals may be adjusted and parameters of received DMX signals may be viewed including: Break Time, Mark After Break, Inter-slot, Mark Before Break, Number Of Slots, and Refresh Rates. A Flicker-Finder function is included for identifying intermittent problems within the data network.

The RDM Controller is an application designed to control RDM enabled fixtures. Features include:

•Control and ; monitoring of RDM devices

•Full discovery- detects and generates a list of all RDM devices.

•Detects all sub devices for a selected device

•Shows all supported parameters

•Shows descriptions for all PIDs •GET and SET for all PIDs (even user defined)

•Monitors fixtures for any sensors with easy to view info

The DIP Switch Calculator app is an indispensable tool used in the conversion of numeric values to their binary equivalents. Used when configuring DIP switches for setting DMX channels and other fixture parameters, users simply enter a three digit numeric value and its corresponding DIP setting is displayed. Both the numbering order and reading direction can be reversed to match the switch orientation as needed.

All-in-all this is a great tool to have in your toolbox. We let our 4Wall moving light techs play with it,and they were really impressed with the responsiveness of the DMXcat. There was little to no lag time when using the fixture controller app, and the app was simple to use and has a wealth of useful features.This tool will be an indispensable resource for people in the lighting industry.

For more information on this new tool or to purchase your own, visit NewLighting.com.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/lighting-lounge-contest-identify-the-3-fixtures UPDATED: LIGHTING LOUNGE CONTEST - IDENTIFY THE 3 FIXTURES https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2017/03/03/lighting-lounge-contest-identify-the-3-fixtures Fri, 03 Mar 2017 03:10:24 -0800 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f58b9bfeb65372.jpg The 3 fixtures were: Color Kinetics iW Blast TR Martin MAC Aura Martin MAC Quantum Wash Congratulations to the three winners! 1st Place) Dan Kinda 2ndPlace) Brandon Ball 3rd Place) John Strycharz Thanks to everyone for pa...

The 3 fixtures were:

  1. Color Kinetics iW Blast TR
  2. Martin MAC Aura
  3. Martin MAC Quantum Wash

Congratulations to the three winners!

  • 1st Place) Dan Kinda
  • 2ndPlace) Brandon Ball
  • 3rd Place) John Strycharz

Thanks to everyone for participating!

It's contest time! Identify the 3 fixtures in the picture below. HINT: All three are in 4Wall's rental inventory.

Comment below or e-mail your answer to contest@usedlighting.com. (One submission each)

Contest ends Monday March 13 at4pm PST.

PRIZES:

1st Place) $50 Amazon Gift Card, 4Wall gloves, and a UsedLighting t-shirt.

2nd Place) 4Wall gloves and a UsedLighting t-shirt

3rd Place) UsedLighting t-shirt

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/this-is-not-your-grandmas-church-how-one-ld-is-changing-the-worship-experience This is Not Your Grandma's Church: How One LD is Changing the Worship Experience https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2017/01/23/this-is-not-your-grandmas-church-how-one-ld-is-changing-the-worship-experience Mon, 23 Jan 2017 16:00:00 -0800 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5887f6da682d2.jpg Cole Pierce, Lighting Designer of Fresh Life Church, breaks down his experiences in church lighting.

Today we're joined in the lounge by Cole Pierce, lighting director of Fresh Life Church. Cole is going to break down the ins and outs of church lighting. Without further ado here's Cole!

My name is Cole Pierce. I'm the lighting director for Fresh Life Church—a multi-site church in Montana and Utah. We currently have 8 campuses and are planning on opening 2 more in Montana and one in Wyoming later this year. Our church has about 5,000 people attending in person every weekend and twice that watching online through our website, app and television broadcasts. With more people watching online than in person, we focus heavily on the production quality in order to send out exciting content on a weekly basis.

We believe faith comes by hearing, and our Pastor Levi Lusko preaches a message on Saturday night in our main broadcast location in Kalispell, MT which is then sent out to every campus for Sunday's message. Each satellite campus has live worship, a campus pastor and then a video teaching. We also tour a few events throughout the year that are focused on the younger generation, which brings the need for exciting new gear.

I often get asked how exactly I handle 8 (soon to be 11) totally different locations being the only full-time LD. We typically have volunteers running every location except our main broadcast location, and part of my job throughout the week is to program each location remotely in my office using a visualizer and console. This then lets me send out the show file to each location which they can load onto their consoles on the weekend and run them via their volunteers.

Fresh Life is a very "young" church relatively speaking and a lot of it is due to our commitment to production quality and making our church services more "worship experiences". We often say, "We are not your grandma's church, but she is more than welcome to come!" We create an atmosphere of expectation and worship through the use of professional lighting, video and sound systems.

Recently, I've been traveling all over the country upgrading, tweaking, and training other church's lighting rigs and volunteers in order to adapt to a more modern worship setting. The point of lighting is not to create a "show" and take away from the worship setting, but instead to enhance the worship by setting a tone.

I often explain to a lot of traditional church's that ask what they should do in terms of lighting that they can dramatically change the look and feel of their room just by adding some color. One instance in particular happened a few years ago when I went on tour for a college-aged show in Europe. It was a church-based event that held shows in theatres and churches around the UK and Hungary. One stop in particular was held in an old church with stained glass windows and huge arches. I decided to change the design up for this stop to focus on the beauty that was already present in the building. I took the stage LED bricks we were using and focused them up the edges of the arches, and re-focused my positon pallets to focus certain soft-edged breakup gobos on the focal points of the room. This was by far my favorite stop of the tour even though it took a little extra work. There are certain times on tours when you get opportunities like running a million-dollar lighting rig in a venue built 500 years ago that you just can't handle like another show!

Along with church lighting, I have done a ton of concert, club and theatre lighting as well through the years and to me, nothing is more exciting than bringing what you learn from each form of lighting into each other in new and exciting ways. There's nothing wrong with taking dramatic theatre style lighting into a concert design when you're intentional about it just as there have been times when I have worked with churches who meet in clubs and bars where they have to work with what the club has. It's always fun stretching your creative juices and making a great atmosphere for church by using only 120 moving lights that are hung on a grid 15' above a dance floor!

I love what I get to do and the fact that every job, tour and day is totally different and new. Yes, there are certainly hard days and those days you fly to an "almost done building" to install rigs when in reality there aren't even studs for the walls yet (different story for a different day); or that late load in from a long bus ride through the night; but there's not anything in the world I would trade it for as I'm sure most of you reading this can agree!

Cole Pierce is the Lighting Director at Fresh Life Church. He started off early in theatre lighting throughout middle school where he quickly fell in love with the art. In high school, Cole received opportunities to help with bigger concert productions where he learned the true potential of a career in lighting. He then received a business degree through Montana State University and started his own lighting company. He became the Lighting Director for Fresh Life in 2011.
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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/new-year-new-contest New Year, New Contest! (Winners Announced) https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2017/01/04/new-year-new-contest Wed, 04 Jan 2017 09:07:01 -0800 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f58752409cf952.jpg AND THE WINNERS ARE... Thanks to everybody who submitted their answers! The correct number of sticks of truss is...85! (SEE PHOTO ABOVE) 1st Place: Drake Kelch - 86 sticks of truss 2nd Place: Wyatt Mailloux - 83 sticks of truss 3rd Place Tie: ...

AND THE WINNERS ARE...

Thanks to everybody who submitted their answers! The correct number of sticks of truss is...85! (SEE PHOTO ABOVE)

1st Place: Drake Kelch - 86 sticks of truss

2nd Place: Wyatt Mailloux - 83 sticks of truss

3rd Place Tie: Piix Media and Jacob Throwbridge - 82 sticks of truss


To kickstart the New Year, we are going to do our first photo contest of 2017!

Examine the photos above and belowand come up with the correct number of sticks of truss stacked on top of each other.

Comment below or e-mail your answer to contest@usedlighting.com. (One submission each)

Contest ends Monday January 9 at4pm PST.

Here are the prizes:

1st Place) $50 Amazon Gift Card, 4Wall gloves, and a UsedLighting t-shirt

2nd Place) 4Wall gloves and a UsedLighting t-shirt

3rd Place) UsedLighting t-shirt

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/chroma-q-color-force-ii-added-to-4wall-s-inventory Chroma-Q Color Force II Added to 4Wall’s Inventory https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2016/12/15/chroma-q-color-force-ii-added-to-4wall-s-inventory Thu, 15 Dec 2016 08:10:50 -0800 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f58541dff3e925.jpg When Chroma-Q unveiled the Color Force II earlier this year, 4Wall Entertainment was the first company to offer the latest lighting technology to their customers to rent. The first generation Color Force has been a very popular fixture the last six years ...

When Chroma-Q unveiled the Color Force II earlier this year, 4Wall Entertainment was the first company to offer the latest lighting technology to their customers to rent. The first generation Color Force has been a very popular fixture the last six years and is regularly added to most lighting designer and ;s gear lists.

The Color Force II is being called a and ;game changer and ; in the lighting world, and for good reason. At PLASA 2016, the product received a special commendation at the show and ;s Awards for Innovation and ; with the judges praising the fixtures and ; notable evolution from the original Color Force range.

So how is the Color Force II different from its predecessor you ask? Well, the Color Force II utilizes the latest fully homogenized optics to deliver a superior single color blend with no unsightly color mixing shadows, higher quality saturates and pastels, a purer white, and at least 50% more output. Check out the video below for 4Wall and ;s demo which highlights all the features we mentioned.

Pixel mapping control is also another great feature. The Color Force II has twice the resolution/granularity as the original Color Force I. The homogenized lens of the Color Force II shows the true color of the Pixel Mapped image vs a combination of colored LEDs mixing a color.

The Color Force II is perfect for a wide range of cyclorama, flood, and wall washing applications where a powerful throw is needed. The fixtures workexcellent in any theatre, TV, concert tour, exhibitions, or corporate event. It was also built with a touchscreen interface.

Check out some photos of the fixture below. For more specs and to request a rental quote, visit 4Wall.com or Chroma-Q.com.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/black-friday-cyber-monday-free-shipping-on-all-used-10-off-all-new-items Black Friday - Cyber Monday: Free Shipping On All Used + 10% Off All New Items! https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2016/11/22/black-friday-cyber-monday-free-shipping-on-all-used-10-off-all-new-items Tue, 22 Nov 2016 03:11:49 -0800 Events https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5834987429adc.png For Black Friday & Cyber Monday everything on UsedLighting.com will ship for free! In addition, everything on NewLighting.com will be 10% OFF as well as ship for free. For Black Friday and Cyber MondayUsedLighting.comis offeringthe same incredible deal as the last few years...

FREE SHIPPING starting Nov 25and running through the end of the month. Every item, no matter how large or small, ships absolutely free.* Truss, hoists, consoles, moving lights, lekos...take your pick! All orders must be placed online.

The free shipping discount will be applied automatically at checkout to all orders received between 12:01 AM EST November 25th and 11:59 PM PST November 30th.

In additionto Free Shipping, everything onNewLighting.comwill be 10% OFF!Stock up on brand newLekos, LED Pars, Lamps, Gel, Tape and much more with free shipping and 10% OFF.

Start building your wishlistnow!

Please note that Free Shipping applies to all used and new items, but10% OFF only applies to NEW items.

Free shipping is only within the Continental United States and applies to standard, ground shipping.*

All items are subject to availability.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/ldi-2016-recap LDI 2016 Recap https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2016/10/26/ldi-2016-recap Wed, 26 Oct 2016 07:24:27 -0700 Events https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f58111f0b4060a.jpg Check out our LDI 2016 recap video along with some photos from the show! Check out our recap video from this year's LDI show in Las Vegas, NV. We spent three days walking around the convention floor checking out the awesome booths from some of the top lighting manufacturers in the world!

Chauvet Professional's 2016 LDI Booth

The new Chauvet Rogue R3 Wash

Elation Professional's 2016 LDI Booth.

High End Systems' 2016 LDI Booth.

High End Systems' unveiled their new fixture at LDI, the Hex.

GLP's 2016 LDI Booth

GLP GT-1 and the Cosmic Truss skull.

impression X4 Bar 20 - impression X1 - creation II - 1024

The new Chroma-Q Color Force IIwas a hit at this year's LDI show.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/in-defense-of-plug-play-visual-productions In Defense of Plug and Visual Productions https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2016/09/08/in-defense-of-plug-play-visual-productions Thu, 08 Sep 2016 06:09:57 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f57d6cd3cf3062.jpg It's an exciting time in the live event visual production world. Controllers keep getting better & cheaper, software is maturing and embracing more powerful features, and every day another ship load of ever cheaper and unique color changing lighting fixtu...

I the Mighty performing as support for Cohered and in 2016 using a plug and lighting setup.

Today we are joined in the Loungeby Lee Duck, Owner of Duck Lights, and Adam De Witt.

It's an exciting time in the live event visual production world. Controllers keep getting better and software is maturing and embracing more powerful features, and every day another ship load of ever cheaper and unique color changing lighting fixtures are delivered to our shores. It's more affordable and easier than ever to create a visual production to accompany a live performance. This ease of access has given birth to a relatively new form of visual production design and implementation, the "Plug and Visual Production."

New Form of Production Implementation

What is a and ;Plug and and ; visual production and ;? In its most basic form, a pre-programmed and automatically triggered visual production synchronized to an act's performance timeline, such as Ableton, Pro Tools, Logic Pro, or Reaper. What sets it apart from the traditional timecode show is an intent to be regularly deployed and performed without the presence of a visual production professional.

They Took Our Jerbs!

"Hold on there, chief" I hear you road-haggard LDs cry, "you're takin' our jerbs!" At first glance it would seem that way. Enabling your average bedroom producer to perform without a visual production professional sounds like giving away our gigs. We've found the reality to be quite the opposite. It's important to note that the majority of these productions simply would not exist without such an approach. Most of these productions are being applied to emerging acts, often taking an opening or direct support position on a tour. They couldn't afford a "real" LD if they wanted one, much less a bunk space. We're talking about a different class of production here, creating a lower "Entry Level" of visual production.

DIY to Professional

Whether a Plug and visual production is developed by a hobbyist or professional, there are some pretty significant limitations compared to a traditional operated approach. These shows are inherently smaller and less flexible than what a pro can pull off from night to night. As/if the act grows, they will inevitably reach a point where a traditional LD is both a financial possibility and an implementation necessity. Once they've reached that point, they've typically gained an appreciation of the role. At the very least they've acknowledged the importance of what a visual production can contribute to their show. They also know it and ;s no simple task, and are likely more understanding of the complexity and difficulty of the work they will be paying for. If the Plug and solution was provided by established professionals, they often get an early introduction to the process while learning good habits at a level where the stakes are much smaller.

Andy Black Performing with a plug and lighting system on a UK tour. Lighting Design and by Duck Lights

Why it's Possible Now

Why now? What has changed to make such productions possible in the last decade? There are three key elements that have come together to usher in this new lower-level production.

  1. The proliferation of incredibly affordable, power efficient, and low maintenance fixtures.
  • Thanks to the aforementioned ship loads of mostly LED fixtures being cranked out of China lately, the options for lighting rigs at a sub $2k/wk rate are staggering. Not only are they affordable, but many of them require far less maintenance than our 'ole arc-lamp sources. The rise in popularity of pixel mapping opens a whole new world of visual styling that can be executed with merely a hand full of fixtures.

  1. Tracked musical performances are now the norm.?
  • The Digital Audio Workstation (DAW for short) has completely revolutionized the music industry. Whatever your opinions on backing tracks, the fact of the matter is they're here to stay. Modern music artists of all genres are using software like Ableton, Logic, Pro Tools, and Reaper to produce their music. This usually results in the inclusion of sonic elements that are non-trivial or flat out impossible to perform live. From backing vocals to orchestral hits, drum machines to complex synths, most shows already have backing tracks. The drummer (if human at all,) probably uses a click and is likely pressing Play in some form at the start of every single song. The timecode is already there.

  1. Modern visual production controllers are flexible and more capable.
  • Thanks to the largest productions utilizing tracked automation for decades and the more recent PC+node options of powerful control systems, it's possible to design and remarkably complex shows to later be automatically executed on budget friendly and portable hardware. A capable LD can design and program in the comfort of their own home/office with previsualization, record the performance to rehearsal tracks, offload the showfile to a laptop and tweak and the show in rehearsals, train a day operator, and see the tour off, freeing them up to start another show.

Challenges

There are, of course, challenges to this approach. Before addressing them, it's important to once again note that we're talking about a generally lower level of visual production here. By not involving a professional in the day to day operation, you're inherently introducing the possibility of things going awry with no one on site to resolve them. With careful planning and execution by an experienced lighting professional, most issues can be made easier to resolve or avoid altogether. While one could just take their trusty core show file and add a few automation macros, these productions warrant rather significant considerations and alterations to the normal workflow. Any automation obsessed or lazy-yet-clever LD can tell you that reliable automation is no simple goal to achieve. Programming a show to playback in the face of fluctuating set lists and song re-starts can be hard enough. While you can hopefully rely on a local LD to cover a new track or unexpected blackout, it and ;s not their job to make your wackadoodle show setup function when something goes awry, and it will. Good documentation can reduce or eliminate any frantic phone calls during sound-check. Ultimately, good planning, experience, and standardization should keep the show flashing fine every night.

The concept of a Plug and show is not a cure-all: instead of replacing what and ;s already working for our industry, it allows smaller artists to have visuals early in their career while their identity is still being defined. So, the next time you see an artist running their own lighting package, be rest-assured that as they grow, they will understand the importance of a good visual design.

Editor's Comment:

Duck Lights is a visual production company out of Los Angeles which has been servicing touring bands with both traditional and plug and productions since 2007.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/ip-ratings-explained UPDATED: IP Ratings Explained https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2016/08/22/ip-ratings-explained Mon, 22 Aug 2016 17:00:00 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5a8320d4dd833.jpg What does the "IP" in a fixture's IP rating mean? IP stands for Ingress Protection. Basically, this is a way of being more specific than saying "water resistant" when describing the degree of protection against intrusion into a fixture by foreign bodie... What does the "IP" in a fixture's IP rating mean?

IP stands for Ingress Protection. Basically, this is a way of being more specific than saying "water resistant" when describing the degree of protection against intrusion into a fixture by foreign bodies. Foreign bodies can be anything from fingers and toes, to dust, and even can include water or other liquids. When you see a lighting fixture with an IP rating, you will see the letter IP followed by a two digit number. As an example, an electrical outlet may have an IP rating of IP21. This means it is protected from you being able to put your fingers into it, and a slight drip of water from directly above should not damage it. Whereas the COLORado 1 SOLO is rated IP66, and would be safe to use outdoors during a heavy rainstorm. The actual code is dictated in IEC standard 60529, which is published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

What does the number after the IP mean?

Actually, the numbers have 2 meanings. The first digit (0-6) corresponds to direct access to the mechanical or electronic parts by a solid (like your hand, a bird building a nest, or even tiny particles like sand or dust). The higher the number, the more protection is offered. For instance, if you have worked at a summer theater, and had to clean a bee hive out of your fixtures or PA, it's because the first digit of the fixture's IP rating was too low (0-).

Similarly, the 2nd digit (0-9) is the protection level against liquid intrusion. This varies from no protection (0), to water dripping from above, all the way up to protection against high power jets from all angles and even immersion. One important note… Unlike the physical barrier in the first digit, the ratings of the 2nd digit beyond 6 are not cumulative. This means that a fixture that can be immersed in shallow water (IPx7) may not stand up to the water jets specified in IPx5 or 6.

It's important to note that these Ratings are specific to the tests that are done… But they may not exactly correspond to real-world conditions. For instance, a lot of people assume that if a fixture has an IP65 rating, they can install it on the outside of a building, in Minnesota. I mean, if it's sealed against dust, can stand up to water jets it sounds like it should be able to hold up under pretty much any weather conditions… NOT SO FAST. An IP rating has nothing to do with weather conditions. Nowhere does it specify freezing, or extreme heat, or resistance to mechanical impacts (like an angry stagehand). An IP65 rating means that dust can't enter, and that water from a spray nozzle hitting the fixture at 4.5 psi for 3 minutes won't harm the fixture. That's it… for the type of environment that you can expect the fixture to survive in, you need to read the manual.

A good example is our Iluminarc line. The Ilumipod 18g2 IP have a rating of IP67. Beyond that, we specify that the fixtures are intended for permanent outdoor installations, and we list "wet location" under the environment. So, a customer can fully expect these units will survive all sorts of weather and can be installed on bridges, and building exteriors safely as long as they are properly installed.

How are IP ratings determined?

The manufacturer specifies the IP rating. When Chauvet Professional develops a fixture that may be used outdoors, we do IP testing both at the factory and have it done by the independent labs where we get our product certifications, like MET, CE, UL, CSA, etc. In fact, we do far more extensive testing than is required by the IEC, as we know that we are the ones that are going to be held accountable by our customers.

Why is the IP rating important?

An IP rating gives the end user the knowledge of what environment a fixture is intended to be used in. For instance, a media server may have an IP20 rating… that tells the operator that they had better have cover at their FOH position, or else trigger the media server remotely, even if the video panels that the server is feeding content to are IP65, like our PVPX6IP.

The IP65 rating is used as a benchmark for outdoor usage. Why is that?

IP65 is the minimum level of protection for water jets being sprayed from all sides. Many people consider it safe to assume that if a fixture is protected against water jets, that is will do fine in an outdoor environment. Others have just been exposed to marketing that says "Outdoor rated IP65 connections". It is important to note that IP65 may be sufficient for a fixture to tour in an environment where it is exposed to weather, but taken down periodically, but may not be suitable for a fixture intended to be installed, and not touched for the next few years.

Are there other important numbers in an IP rating that we should be aware of?

In terms of ingress protection, there are additional letters that may appear after the two-digit rating that may be used in some instances. However, these are not typically used in the lighting industry. These include further letter designations relating to the first digit: A-D for hand, finger, tool, and wire respectively. And the letters K, f H, M, S, and W to denote protection against High Pressure or High Temperature water jets (K), Oil resistance (f), a High voltage device, a device that was Moving during water testing, and a device that was Still during the water test.

If I buy used gear, how can I tell what it's IP rating is?

Read the manual, and check the specification sticker.

Does the IP rating cover just the lamp or LED light source or does it also cover other parts of the fixture?

It depends on the fixture. For most LED lighting fixtures, the whole fixture is covered. However, read the manual closely. There are some video wall products from other manufacturers that are "IP65 from the front, and IP54 from the rear". Make sure to read the product specifications closely.

Do IP ratings apply to video panels and controllers as well as light fixtures?

Yes and no. Each of these components will have its own IP rating, and they may not necessarily be the same. For instance, as referenced above, a video panel may have an IP rating of IP65, but the controller may only be rated IP 20. This means that the controller will need to be located indoors. Also, there are a number of fixtures on the market which have IP ratings dependent on the cables plugged into them. For instance, the COLORado 3 SOLO is IP65 rated when IP rated DMX cables are used. If non-rated cables are used, the IP rating would decrease accordingly.

Are more fixtures being made with IP 65 ratings?

Again, yes and no. Many end users like having the ability to use their fixtures outdoors, without worrying about the weather. However, making a fixture IP65 has costs. The housings are more expensive, special seals are used, the power and data connectors are more expensive, and there are even pressure equalizing valves used in most IP fixtures from Chauvet Professional. In the case of Video Walls, the brightness needed for an indoor application is approximately 1/5 the brightness required for the video to look good under direct sunlight. All of these things come at a cost. Customers don't want to pay for a feature that they are unlikely to use. So, you will still see products rated for both indoor and outdoor use manufactured by Chauvet Professional, and other manufacturers.

Click here oron the image below for a full size image of our IP Rating Chart

Ford Sellers is the senior product manager of CHAUVET Professional. The upstate New York native joined Chauvet early in 2010. Prior to becoming part of the Florida-based lighting company, he spent nine years as the master electrician for the Department of Theatre, Film, and Dance at Cornell University. Previously, he was assistant lighting director at MGM Grand Productions.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/color-temperature-101 Color Temperature 101 for Lighting https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2016/08/10/color-temperature-101 Wed, 10 Aug 2016 04:31:16 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f57aba9b5d7e26.jpg It's all about the color. If we saw everything in black and white, the world would be a very boring place and without light, there is no color. It and ;s all about the color. If we saw everything in black and white, the world would be a very boring place and without light, there is no color.

The majority of the folks reading this will understand, but just in case this is your first day in lighting, I and ;m going to explain it the way it was explained to me. If it was dummied down enough for ME to understand, then you will have no problem either.

Let and ;s start by asking, what exactly is color? Think back to when you were in your grammar school science class and talked about Sir Isaac Newton and ;s experiments using a prism to refract white light, separating it into all of its component colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, andviolet. Those are all the colors of the rainbow. Everything we see, all the colors in nature, come from that natural white light.

​

Artificial lighting generally uses the three primary colors (red, green and blue) to make white light. While it and ;s not exactly the same as sunlight, it and ;s close enough for our eyes because the human brain can take that visual information and fill in the gaps so we perceive white light. Digital imaging devices like cameras, while quite sophisticated, are nothing like our eyes.

Visible light is just a piece of the total electromagnetic spectrum, with shorter wavelengths at the blue end of the spectrum and longer ones at the other end making reds. Wavelengths beyond these, such as ultraviolet and infrared are not visible to the human eye, but can be picked up by devices manufactured to and ;see and ; those wavelengths. For the imaging devices we use every day, we must provide a reference from which the visible spectrum can be resolved and appear natural. This is what we are doing when we white balance.

Since most light sources do not emit a pure white light. The different wavelengths in the visible spectrum of these sources, from the sun, to incandescent lamps to fluorescent lamps, to discharge lamps, to LEDs, to a flame, is what we refer to when we say and ;color temperature and ;. The color temperature of a light source is a numerical representation of the appearance of its color, expressed in degrees Kelvin. The lower the number, the further toward the red end of the spectrum, such as tungsten light at 3200K. The higher the number, the further we go toward the blue end of the spectrum, such as daylight at 5600K.

Remember when I said that our brain fills in the gaps? It is, pretty much, adjusting color temperature so we see things correctly. That and ;s why a piece of white paper looks very similar, whether we look at it outside in the daylight or inside under an incandescent light bulb. But, there is a big difference in color temperature between the two sources of light. A camera needs a little help. White balancing a camera with a white card reflecting a particular color temperature of light allows it to resolve images so they look close to the way we perceive it. Cameras can, in effect and ;guess and ; based on the ambient light, but it and ;s not always going to get it right.

So, it is up to us to help the camera correct for shifts in color. When we balance to the correct color temperature, we are basically telling the camera to take a picture under tungsten lighting, for instance, but before it and ;s saved, reduce the red and boost the blue, or vice versa when shooting in daylight, to produce more neutral colors.

There are numerous sources that run the full gamut of color temperatures and current camera technology will allow you to balance to them effectively. For imaging purposes, the following are the primary sources being used:

TUNGSTEN & FLUORESCENT

The old standard source is the incandescent/tungsten halogen lamp, which will produce warmer, more and ;red and ; light from 3000-3200K. Tungsten lighting instruments are available in sizes ranging from as little as 20 watts all the way up to 20,000 watts. Unlike what we typically see in office buildings, fluorescent lamps are now available from manufacturers like Kino Flo, Osram/Sylvania, GE, and others, which produce beautiful light for the camera. The Tru Match lamps, from Kino, are available in 2900, 3200 and 5600K.

HMI and

The HMI is a highly efficient source of daylight-balanced light from approximately 5600 and ; 6,000K and are a staple of the motion picture and photographic markets. HMI and ;s typically range from small camera mounted units all the way up to 18,000 and 24,000 watt giants. A relatively new source is the Plasma emitter. Like HMI and ;s, Plasma sources have no filament. They have a tiny glass vial filled with inert gases which, when bombarded by RF, spin as such a high rate of speed, that it creates the fourth state of matter, or plasma. The result is beautiful daylight balanced light with much less heat and a much lower power requirement. Because of the incredibly high frequency of the and ;spinning and ; and the lower heat, plasma is a great choice for slow motion work. In theory, one can shoot up to 1.2 billion frames/sec without any flicker.

LED

The most exciting development over the past few years has been the advances in LED technology. An LED fixture equivalent is now available for just about any studio or theatrical conventional fixture. LED quality, as well as popularity, has grown immensely over the past few years. LEDs use only a fraction of the power of their conventional equivalents and range from camera-top models which will run for hours on AA batteries, all the way up to a 10K equivalent daylight or tungsten color temp source which only requires 1600 watts of power. LED sources are available that will mix cool and warm elements, allowing you to dial up any color temperature you desire.

When it comes to choosing your light source, this is truly a subjective matter. Some will say that they prefer the warmer look of tungsten color lighting for skin tones. Others will say that they prefer the higher contrast they feel is the result of daylight. Just remember that color is not a property of an object, it is a perception of it. What we see is the reflection of a light source off of an object. Therefore, the colors we see are greatly dependent on the color of the light source. Think about how different your car looks in broad daylight, at dusk or dawn, or at night under a street or parking lot light. So when choosing your source, consider how you want your images to look, select a suitable color, then white balance your camera for that light in order to capture the images the way you perceive them.

Paul Distefano is in Systems Sales at 4Wall New York. A 32-year veteran of the broadcast and professional video industry, Paul spent 20 years designing and systems of all types and all levels. In 2004, he moved into TV and lighting systems sales for Shadowstone, where he became the Vice President of Business Development. In April of this year, 4Wall acquired Shadowstone and we inherited Paul, along with the rest of Shadowstone and ;s assets.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/infocomm-2016-recap InfoComm 2016 Recap https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2016/06/14/infocomm-2016-recap Tue, 14 Jun 2016 09:58:52 -0700 Events https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f57609a595a963.jpg On June 8-10 the Las Vegas Convention Center was filled with more than 1,000 exhibitors, thousands of products, and just under 40,000 attendees for InfoComm 2016. InfoComms focus is the pro-AV industry so there was a variety of interesting booths to check... On June 8-10 the Las Vegas Convention Center was filled with more than 1,000 exhibitors, thousands of products, and just under 40,000 attendees for InfoComm 2016. InfoComm and ;s focus is the pro-AV industry so there was a variety of interesting booths to check out from Chauvet to Samsung. We spent the majority of our time in the Lighting and Staging Pavilion to see what exciting new products were going to be hitting the market soon.

Our first stop was at the Elation Professional booth, which featured an enclosed demo room. We got to see their new plug and play digital projector moving head lighting fixture, the eMotion. With over 250 video images and Elation and ;s gobo catalog, the booth and ;s walls were changing constantly!

Elation performed a quick demo for us of their new and improved hybrid effects projector, scanner, and laser simulator, the Sniper PRO.

Our next stop was at Chauvet Professional and ;s booth.

We finally got a chance to check out their entire Maverick series of fixtures.They will be a great option for tours and professional venues.

We then made our way to the Chroma-Qbooth and interacted with familiar fixtures we and ;ve seen before, the Color One 100 and the Color Charge Plus.

Prolyte Group was also setup at the Chroma-Q booth. The Verto Truss was on display and it was very impressive. It and ;s a new revolutionary truss system that makes putting truss together fast, silent, and safe. Tested general assembly times are up to 5 times faster than those for truss with conical coupling systems and 10 times faster than any bolted systems. Check out the video below.

Right across from Chroma-Q was Ayrton. They had an awesome setup with over 20 of their hybrid luminaire fixtures, the Dreampanel Twin, rigged up above their booth. We could have stood at their booth for hours watching the Dreampanel Twin in action! The all new MagicDot-XT was also on display. You need to check out this new fixture.

We then made our way to GLP and ;s booth. They gave us a quick demo of their new GT-1 Hybrid fixture. The GT-1 works as a spot, beam, and a wash fixture.

Lastly, we stopped by Blizzard Lighting and ;s booth. Their all new Snake Eyes Mini fixture was on display. Itwill be a great effects fixture for small enclosed spaces such as clubs.

InfoComm has stated that this year and ;s show was their largest on record. We think that and ;s great for the industry and can and ;t wait to attend next year and ;s show! Let us know in the comments what you are excited to see from the products we reviewed.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/the-abcs-of-product-certification The ABCs of Product Certification https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2016/05/09/the-abcs-of-product-certification Mon, 09 May 2016 03:09:41 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5730f49fbf247.jpg What do UL, ETL, CE, CSA and IP mean and why are they important to me? This article will attempt to explain these markings. Today we are joined in the Lounge by Jeff Mateer, Senior Vice President of Business Development at 4Wall Los Angeles! Before joining 4Wall, Jeffsuccessfully guided over a dozen products through the ETL certification. We've asked Jeff to give us a rundown of common certifications you will encounter in the lighting industry and what they mean.

So you and ;re waiting backstage for your next cue when your eyes focus on the back of a piece of electrical equipment. Amidst the familiar warnings of and ;no user serviceable parts inside and ; and and ;do not use while in the bathtub and ; you see an array of unfamiliar letters.

What do and ;UL and ;, and ;ETL and ;, and ;CE and ;, and ;CSA and ; and "IP" mean, and why are they important to me? This article will attempt to explain these markings.

At the foundation of all product certification is the issue of safety. Several non-governmental agencies were created to accomplish this goal.


Description: https://www.wtstorey.com/WTS%20Website/Connectors/UL%20logo.JPGThe oldest agency is Underwriters Laboratories. UL, as it is commonly referred to, was founded in 1894 near Chicago. With the advent of electrical systems and lighting products, a need was identified to make sure that this new technology was useful and not harmful. The lab began to inspect products and define what was safe and acceptable. Testing procedures had to be developed and standards were written. Next, inspection methods and enforcement guidelines were created. For decadesUL was the only widely recognized standard of product safety.


Description: https://www.approvalsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/etl-logo.gifElectrical Testing Laboratories (ETL) has been around almost as long as UL but has only recently become an equal competitor through mergers and acquisitions. ETL is considered by many to be less stodgy and more nimble than UL. The biggest difference between the two is UL tests to its own standards. ETL also tests using UL and ;s standards, but it can also apply its own interpretation.


Are the two testing facilities equal? Yes and no. Yes, because both are nationally recognized testing agencies. From a consumer and ;s or professional and ;s point of view, products with either certification are safe. No, because where a UL mark is almost universally accepted, a product with an ETL mark may or may not be. The stringent UL certification process can take longer and cost more than an ETL mark.

How do products earn the right to mark with either of these emblems?

The first step is to determine which standards apply to the products under consideration. Most lighting fixtures in our industry are covered under UL Standard 1573 and ; Standard for Stage and Studio Lumininaires and Connector Strips. The standard defines construction parameters for mechanical, electrical and performance. Manufacturers of lighting fixtures must submit copious documents about the metal, wiring, lamps, glass and coatings intended to be used in their products.

The next step is to submit actual fixtures to the testing agency. This can be a challenge since before the certification process, products are often in the prototyping stage. Any changes between the prototype and actual final version must be re-submitted before approval. The lab usually requires several samples. One sample is disassembled to verify all components match the documents submitted. A second is often used for long term testing. Additional samples will be used for destructive testing. All samples are generally returned to the manufacturer after testing. Don and ;t expect that these samples will look anything like what you sent. Often only a box of parts that once comprised a working fixture is returned.

The lab will advise what warning labels must be included on the product and in operation manuals. The list can be extensive and strictly defines placement, font and languages for each warning. Any voltage and current information is included in this phase.

It isn and ;t unusual to have to submit several rounds of manuals, drawings, revisions and samples. Once the lab is satisfied that the product is electrically, thermally and mechanically safe, the manufacturer is given the right to mark with the labs emblem.

If it is the first product submitted by a manufacturer, the lab conducts what is called an initial factory inspection. This scheduled visit checks for inventory handling, record keeping and assembly methods. But it isn and ;t time to relax yet! Unannounced visits to the manufacturing facility occur quarterly to insure the product is still being produced according to the original documentation. If any anomalies are discovered, the right to mark is rescinded until the manufacturing process is corrected.

There are several other marks you might see on the back of lighting products.


Description: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/70/CSA_mark.svg/72px-CSA_mark.svg.pngThe Canadian Standards Association mark, CSA is occasionally required for products sold in Canada.


This mark is known as the Restriction of Hazardous Substances. Several years ago, agencies in Europe set out to regulate materials used in products. Manufacturers had to identify hazardous materials, such as lead solder, used in their products. Limits were placed on using these materials and manufacturers had to develop plans to recycle and reclaim the hazardous materials at the end of the product lifespan.


The CE mark is a symbol denoting manufacturing conformation for the European Community. Manufacturers around the world are required to meet several safety, radio frequency and low voltage initiatives in order to be permitted to sell products in Europe. It is important to note that this mark is self-certifying. This means that the manufacturers do not have to submit to an external agency for testing but must keep documents on file if asked for conformation proof.


Description: https://www.brennenstuhl.com/temp/explorer/files/products/en-DE/images/pictograms_150_dpi_icon-ip65-wolke.jpgThe last rating we and ;ll consider is known as Ingress Protection, or IP. In our industry, the IP rating is generally synonymous with water proofing. Products carrying an IP20 rating will keep fingers out but not moisture of any kind. IP54 products can be used in moist applications but not in direct rain. IP65 designates a product that can operate rain. Submersible products are rated IP68. This rating is also self-certifying. Manufacturers can perform tests in-house within specific guidelines but must be able to verify their product rating.


Overall, the systems for product certification work well. Seldom do outright unsafe products appear in our industry. Of course, common sense must still prevail. Operating safe devices in an unsafe manner are still possible. Drying ones hair while in the bathtub comes to mind.

Nowbe sure to be on time for that cue mentioned in the first sentence!

Jeff Mateer issenior vice president of business development at 4Wall Los Angeles.
After beginning his touring career in 1976, he took four years off to complete a degree
in Radio Television Management at Long Beach State. In 2010, he successfully
guided over a dozen products through ETL certification.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/the-definitive-guide-to-lighting-consoles The Definitive Guide to Lighting Consoles https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2016/05/06/the-definitive-guide-to-lighting-consoles Fri, 06 May 2016 08:07:29 -0700 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f578fca9278257.jpg It can be a daunting task choosing which console to invest precious time and money in for those starting out in the industry. There are hundreds of consoles to choose between from a wide variety of manufacturers. After reading this article you will 100%...

It can be a daunting task choosing which console to invest precious time and money in for those starting out in the lighting industry. There are hundreds of consoles to choose between from a wide variety of manufacturers. After reading this article you will 100% know exactly which console to invest in! Ok, that may be a slight stretch. This article will address some questions to ask yourself as you decide which console to choose, break down terminology you will run into and look at some consoles that are out there. It's always a good idea to talk to other people in the lighting industry for advice as well.

After picking the brains ofmany of the lighting designers, programmers and sales people in and out of 4Wall, these were the recurring questions that came up:

  • Who will be spending the most time with this console? Will you have one person who will program the console from start to finish and operate it for every show, or will there be multiple people who program and operate the console?
  • Does the lighting programmer/salready have experience programming and operating a console? If so, which family (manufacturer) of console is it?
  • What type of fixtures will your rig have and how many? Willthere bedimmers, LEDs, moving lights,media servers and/or other equipment?
  • What's your budget?
  • Will it be more practical to rent or buy a console based on how often you will be using it?

Once you have the answers to those questions, you can begin to research the many consoles out there. As you look at a console's specifications and features, you will run across terms that may or may not be familiar to you. Here'sa brief overview of some words you will encounter and what they mean to you:

  • Fixture/Channel: A single device. Thiscan refer to a dimmer (conventional fixtures) or a large moving head automated fixture.
  • Dimmer: A devicethat allows intensity adjustment for a single conventional lamp.
  • Conventional: This refers to simple lighting fixtures usually consisting of just a light bulb (Halogen, Tungsten, etc.) inside housing with a reflector to direct the light and lens to focus it.
  • Parameter: This is an MA Lighting term thatrefers to a single type of control (pan/tilt/dimmer/red/green/blue).
  • DMX Addresses: Each universe of DMX contains 512 addresses, allowing you to control up to 512 dimmers.
  • XLR: Connector type, usually 5 pin, sometimes 3pin that carries a DMX signal to dimmers and lighting fixtures.
  • Physical Output: Female XLRplug on a console thattransmits a DMX signal. (usually 5 pin, but itcan be 3 pin)
  • Digital Output:DMX transferred over Ethernet cable. There are many types of digital signals, the most common are ArtNET, KiNET, and sACN.
  • Scenes: Pre-programmed looks that you can transition smoothly between byusing a cross-fade.
  • Faders:Aslider on the console that is used to fadea dimmer, fixture, or group of fixturesdepending on how your console is set up.
  • Patch: How DMX addresses are assigned to dimmers and fixtures.
  • Ethernet: Network cable, standard across both consumer and professional.
  • Midi: Refers to both the cable and the signal and isused to trigger commands remotely.

Now let's take a look at some consoles. I chose these consoles based on what I have access to through4Wall's rental inventory.There are many additionalconsoles out there from othermanufacturers that you should also research.

Click here oron the image below for a full size image that you can zoom in and out on.


*Disclaimer* - I pulled the most accurate information I could find on each console from the manufacturers website and most recent manual.Always check a manufacturers website for the latest version of software and manual for each console. Software is constantly beingupdated and may make previous information outdated.


BCI Pocket Console Best Boy

The Baxter Controls Best Boy console is a basicand reliabledevice to setup or run a DMX-512controlled, single universesystem. The consolefeatures 8 faders so you can record up to 8submaster scenes.

DMX Outputs: 1
Faders: 8
DMX Addresses: 512
Scenes: 1
Downloadable Specs

Leprecon LP-624

TheLP624console isvery easy to use. You can have
two scenes and it can control up to96 dimmers. You
can also easily program chases tomake your lights
run on a continuous pattern. Thisconsole is good
for small theatres, churches, and

Total DMX Outputs: 1
Faders: 24
DMX Addresses: 96
Scenes: 2
Downloadable Specs

ETC SmartFade 2496

SmartFade offers a great feature range including
hands-onmanual control, memory driven operation,
and animpressivearray of features for systems
work.Simpleaccess to controlchannels via
individual faders makesthis board a greatchoice
forvenues that need two orsingle scene operation.

Total DMX Outputs: 1
Faders: 48
Fixtures (Channels): 96
DMX Addresses: 512
Scenes: 2
Downloadable Specs

Jands Stage CL

Designed specifically for LED fixtures but just as suitable
forconventional lights,the Stage CL gives you full control
of yourLEDs. The console has built in features that make
it easy to adjust the color of your LEDs simply and quickly.
It can also record sequences, scenes and chases.

Total DMX Outputs: 1
Faders: 12
Fixtures (Channels): 24
DMX Addresses: 512
Scenes: 72 (12 per page)
Downloadable Specs Demo Video

ETC Element 40, 500

Element is designed for mainly conventional lighting
rigs with some motorized accessories, LEDs and a
few moving lights. Elementconsoles offer built in
LTP channel and submaster faders that change
mode with the turn of a switch.

Total DMX Outputs: 2
Faders: 40
Fixtures (Channels): 500
DMX Addresses: 1,024
Downloadable Specs

High EndHedgeHog 4E

The HedgeHog 4 is compatible with the Hog line.
It can handle a large lighting rig with the ability to
build a large amount of cues and It has four
encoder wheels allowing you to adjust fixtures and
other parameters quickly and simply.

Physical DMX Outputs: 2 (Expandable with accessories)
Faders: 10
DMX Addresses: 2,048 (Expandable with accessories)
Accessories: Playback/Master Wings/DP-8000
Downloadable Specs

MA Lighting Dot2 Core

The Dot2 is a simple to use console that's good
for those familiar with the larger MA consoles,
but that want a simpler console. You can easily
set scenes and cues and it can use Art-Net and
sACN to run fixtures. This is a good fit for those
familiar with MA consoles and havea medium to
large sized rig of moving lights, LEDs and more.

Physical DMX Outputs: 4 (Expandable with accessories)
Faders: 6
DMX Addresses: 4,096 (Expandable with accessories)
Accessories: Fader and Wings, Node
Downloadable Specs Demo Video

ETC Ion 2000

TheIonpacksthe ease and operational
style of the Eos in asmaller, 19" wide package.
This console is theperfect solution for
space-challenged venues. It provides full
control of LEDs, conventional fixtures and

Physical DMX Outputs: 2(Expandable with accessories)
Faders: 1 Master Playback Pair
Fixtures (Channels): 16,000
DMX Addresses: 2,048(Expandable with accessories)
Accessories: Fader Wings, RPU, RVI
Downloadable Specs

MA Lighting grandMA2 Ultra-Light

The grandMA2 Ultra-Light console features the full
network performance of the grandMA2 series.
It can handle almost an infinite number of presets,
cues, pages, sequences and effects.
It is great for medium to larger size venues.

Physical DMX Outputs: 6(Expandable with accessories)
Faders: 15
DMX Addresses: 4,096 (Expandable with accessories)
Accessories: Node, Fader Wing, NPU, VPU
Downloadable Specs

ETC Gio 4000

Gio has a fast, accessible control surface and integrates
two articulating multi-touch displays. It gives complete
control of conventional and lights, LEDs, and
media servers. It features multiple playback faders &
cue lists, 12 discrete users and control channels.

Physical DMX Outputs: 2 (Expandable with accessories)
Motorized Faders: 10
Fixtures (Channels): 16,000
DMX Addresses: 4,096 (Expandable with accessories)
Accessories: Fader Wing, RPU, RVI
Downloadable Specs

High End Systems Full Boar 4

The Full Boar 4 has all the power of the Hog 4 ina
more compact package. It allows for total expansion
enabling you to create, manage, edit and playback all
types of shows. The Full Boar 4 features10 point multi
touch, motorized faders and state HDD to name a few.

Physical DMX Outputs: 4 (Expandable with accessories)
Motorized Faders: 10
DMX Addresses: 6,144 (Expandable with accessories)
Accessories: Playback and Wings, DP-8000, Widgets
Downloadable Specs

MA Lighting grandMA2 Light

ThegrandMA2 Light console is the perfecttool to
control multiple lighting fixtures- conventionals,
moving lights, LEDs, video, and media. It can
handle an almost infinitenumber ofpresets, cues,
pages, sequences, and effects. Its motorized faders
and internal monitors set it apart from the UltraLight.

Physical DMX Outputs: 6(Expandable with accessories)
Motorized Faders: 15
DMX Addresses: 4,096 (Expandable with accessories)
Accessories: Node, Fader Wing, NPU, VPU
Downloadable Specs

ETC Eos Titanium 8000

The Eos Titanium features large format, multi-touch
displayswith a large programming surface. It utilizes
the right tools torealize art with the tight timetable of
professional productions.The EOS was built for novices
and professionals alike bykeeping everything consistent
and predictable.

Physical DMX Outputs: 2 (Expandable with accessories)
Motorized Faders: 10
Fixtures (Channels): 16,000
DMX Addresses: 8,192 (Expandable with accessories)
Accessories: Fader Wing, RPU, RVI
Downloadable Specs

MA Lighting grandMA2Full

The grandMA2 fullofferscontrolof conventional lights,
moving lights, LED fixtures,and media.Equipped with
the most up to date technology andspecial features,
thegrandMA2 is suitable for alllighting segments
andsuppliesfast control of allconnected fixtures &
channels. Theconsoleoffers extremely flexible and
comfortablewaysof programming, including nearly
infinite numbersof presets,cues, pages, and

Physical DMX Outputs: 6(Expandable with accessories)
Motorized Faders: 30
DMX Addresses: 4,096 (Expandable with accessories)
Accessories: Node, Fader Wing, NPU, VPU
Downloadable Specs

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/exciting-lighting-products-at-nab-2016 Exciting Lighting Products At NAB 2016 https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2016/04/19/exciting-lighting-products-at-nab-2016 Tue, 19 Apr 2016 05:49:15 -0700 Events https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5728eca1ef583.jpg NAB is huge! This years show filled the Las Vegas Convention Center with equipment and technology from the Film, Broadcast, Entertainment and Media industries. As I walked the show floor, it was like looking into a window of the future. From highly advanc... NAB is huge! This years show filled the Las Vegas Convention Center with equipment and technology from the Film, Broadcast, Entertainment and Media industries. As I walked the show floor, it was like looking into a window of the future. From highly advanceddrones equipped with 4K ultra HD cameras to demonstrationsof"Super Hi-Vision" 8K displays, the latest technology was on full display. As I made my way to the central hall, I finally arrived at acluster of TV/Film Lightingexhibitssurrounded by booths oftheaforementioned industries. This is what I had come for.

There were many new and exciting products on display from manufacturers I was familiar with, as well as some I was not. New products withLED technology was a consistent theme I saw from booth to booth. The quality, color temperature and brightness of LEDs continue to improve and amaze. While the cost of LED products continues to be higher than their non-LEDcounterparts,thegap is not as wideas it used to be, and the long term cost benefits are significant.

One such item wasthe VisionSmith ReLamp. It'san LED retrofit that converts your old fresnels to an LED source! The light quality is consistent with a tungsten source, a 98 CRI,AC Dimming, Smart Cooling,and it only takes 20seconds to install! It isa very useful product that could be very beneficial for those looking to take advantage of the cost saving benefits of LEDs.

All in all there hasnever been as many goodoptions for designers to utilize. Trying to determinethe right technologyfor your applicationcan be overwhelming with how many products are out there, but in my experience too many options is not a bad thing!

Here is a recap of some of the other booths I visited:

AAdynTech:

Booth C1336
Featured Products: Punch Plus, Jab V2 Variable

aadyntech booth


A.C. Lighting:

Booth C11319
Featured Product: Chroma-Q Space Force LED

a.c. lighting booth


Arri:

Booth C6537
Featured Products: SkyPanel Series with new firmware,ALEXA SXT

arri booth


Cineo Lighting:

Booth C9147
Featured Products:HS2, Matchstix, Matchbox

cineo lighting booth


Coemar:

Booth C4346
Featured Products: Reflection LEDko EXT, Reflection LEDko Moving Light Series

coemar booth


Dedolight:

Booth C11435
Featured Product: Turbo Felloni

dedolight booth


Elation:

Booth C1333
Featured Product: Fuze Series

elation booth


ETC:

Booth C4742
Featured Products: ETC-MP Rolling Rack, Source 4WRD LED

etc booth


K5600:

Booth C7839
Featured Products: Joker-Zoom 800, Alpha Series(scroll down)

k5600 booth


Lumos:

Booth C9549
Featured Product: Lumos Hawk Series

lumos booth


Mole-Richardson Co.:

Booth C4342
Featured Product:LED Spacelight

mole richardson booth


Rosco:

Booth C5643
Featured Product: Silk 210

rosco booth


Visionsmith:

Booth C12035
Featured Product: ReLamp LED

visionsmith booth

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/product-video-demos-galore Product Video Demos Galore! https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2016/03/22/product-video-demos-galore Tue, 22 Mar 2016 06:26:37 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f56f1aa7d8dd93.jpg Over the years we have taken videos of many of the moving lights and LEDs in 4Wall Entertainment's rental inventory. We have compiled the best ones here for easy viewing! Over the yearswe have created productvideo demosof many of the moving lights, LEDs and other fixtures that arein 4Wall Entertainment's rental inventory. This gives us the chance to show off the capabilities of the fixtures in a real life setting.

Below you will find some of the most popular videos we have taken so far. Click each name to see a description, pull specs and to request a rental quote for them!

Be sure to take our poll to determine which fixture we should make a video of next!


Robe Robin Pointe


Martin MAC Quantum LED Profile and


Clay Paky Mythos


Vari-Lite VL4000 Spot and


GLP Impression X4S


Chauvet Nexus 4X4 LED Panel


Martin MAC Viper Profile and


Chauvet Rogue R2 Spot and Wash


Chroma-Q Color Force - 72", 48" and "


Clay Paky Sharpy and Wash


Martin MAC Aura

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/caption-this-picture-and-win Caption This Picture and ! https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2016/02/26/caption-this-picture-and-win Fri, 26 Feb 2016 02:09:51 -0800 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f56d887bf828d6.jpg Get your creative juices flowing and come up with an awesome caption for the picture we have provided below. To enter the contest, leave a comment with your best caption on our Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook post. We will then select the best three capti... UPDATE:

Here are the winners of the contest, chosen by the most laughs.

Third Place:Randy Sell

am i in the justin bieber concert yet?

Second Place:Chris Ballard

happy 40th birthd... wait

Grand Prize Winner:David Shoemaker

i've got friends in road cases

Please email your shirt size and address to contest@usedlighting.com. Thanks to everyone for participating!

Honorable Mentions:

Thomas Williamsonhere - "We see the crew in their natural habitat, the lighting box.."

Brian Leatherby -"This is why we can't have nice things."

Thom Erbentraut- "We're gonna need a bigger case."

Dan Schley- "Some assembly required."

John Vincent -"I'm with the Band."


Guess what time it is?

...

It's contest time!

Get your creative juices flowing and come up with an awesome caption for the picture below. To enter the contest, leave a comment with your best caption on ourInstagram, Twitter, or Facebook post. We will then select the best three captions as the winners!

The contest will end Monday at 12:00 pm PDT, and we will reveal the winner here at 4 pm.

Here's the picture to caption:

Caption This Picture

Second and Place Winners willreceive:

  • Bluetooth Wireless Headphones
  • T-Shirt

Grand Prize Winner willreceive (what's pictured):

  • Backpack
  • Bluetooth Wireless Headphones
  • Phone Charger (Powerbank)
  • T-Shirt

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/diaries-of-a-young-lighting-designer-part-2 Diaries of a Young Lighting Designer Part 2 https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2016/02/22/diaries-of-a-young-lighting-designer-part-2 Mon, 22 Feb 2016 01:21:12 -0800 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f56cb43885a7fc.jpg During the first week back we teched the world premier of Byhalia, Mississippi at Theatre Works. Theatre Works is a smaller black box space that uses an ETC Element. Its a very intimate space, which worked well with this piece. Byhalia was well received b... Joining us in the Lighting Lounge again is Zo Haynes, a recent college graduate who iskeeping us updated on her journey into the world of professional lighting design.Here and ;s Zo!

January was crazy! We came back from holiday break and I had three weeks of tech in a row. During the first week backwe teched the world premier of Byhalia, Mississippi at Theatre Works. Theatre Works is a smaller black box space that uses an ETC Element. It and ;s a very intimate space, which worked well with this piece. Byhalia was well received by its audiences and we were sold out almost every night.

American Idiot Musical

During the second week of January, I worked on John and ;s show, American Idiot. It and ;s based off of the Green Day album American Idiot and the whole show is this huge crazy rock concert. The set is a steel structure that goes 24 feet above the deck and 10 feet down into the trap through a hole in the floor. We had to bounce focus some of the fixtures before the set was brought in because they were impossible to reach once the structure was in. I had a lot of fun hanging the fixtureson this one. The set is basically a giant jungle gym, and John wanted strings of icolor flexs running down some of the taller pieces of steel. Because of how the platforms were set up, I had to get pretty creative on how I got to some of the locations. However, getting to high or small places is something I do well.

The third week was tech week for The Other Place, which went up at Circuit theatre. I think this has been one of my favorite designs so far, because I had an idea, found research for it, had an open dialogue with the director and other designers, and the final product turned out how I thought it would. I mean, my designs usually turn out pretty close to my research, but I made some bold choices with color and pattern. The result could have been distracting and unhelpful to the story telling process, but it turned out exactly as I planned and I and ;ve gotten a lot of praise over the end result. John actually said that he thinks it and ;s the best thing he and ;s seen at Circuit.

So, now that we have three shows open, you and ;d think that things would slow down a little, but this weekPlayhouse hosted UPTAS (Unified Professional Theatre Auditions). So, this weekI set up and helped out the convention wherever I could. I also had a few interviews as I looked into what I and ;d be doing next year. I and ;m proud of my results, but there is still more I and ;d like to work on. I actually set up my webpage this time. It just took me a year to finally get everything together.

Today, I got to look at an unhappy Robe 575 AT Spot that we have in inventory. It was supposed to be in American Idiot, but during the tech process, we ended up having to take it down. It wasn and ;t responding to any commands from the board, and the menu display on the fixture was wigging out. I won and ;t claim to be an expert on movinglights, but I like taking them apart to see what and ;s going on and try tofix whatever'sbugging the fixture. I was actually able to fix the problem! I and ;m thinking either one of the IC chips was loose or there was just a piece of fuzz in the wrong place at the wrong time. It and ;s very rewarding whenever I can troubleshoot a light and get it to start working again.

My next projects include two designs at Circuit: Pagent and Pinkalicious, and an electrician position for All the Way at Playhouse. I and ;ll be sure to keep you updated!

You can read Zo's first article here:Diaries of a Young Lighting Designer

Zo Haynes recently graduated from Georgia Southern University with a Bachelors of Arts in Theatre and a Bachelors of Science in Mathematics. She has received an award for her lighting design forThe Clean Houseat Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. The same design also received the Don Childs Award. Haynes is currently interning with Playhouse on the Square as a lighting intern to further her career.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/three-fixtures-to-use-in-2016 Three Fixtures I'm Dying to Use In 2016 https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2016/02/05/three-fixtures-to-use-in-2016 Fri, 05 Feb 2016 01:49:08 -0800 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f56b4edca9b06d.jpg As we close the books on 2015 and the amazing year that it was, it is time to start looking forward to 2016. The path ahead is paved with new products and technologies poised to help redefine our industry. Looking back at just the last half of 2015 and t... Today we are joined in the Lounge by Lighting Designer and ProgrammerJustin Lang! It can be difficult to sort through all the new lighting technologies and products coming out all the time. We've asked Justin to choose three new lighting products that he can't wait to use in 2016.

As we close the books on 2015 and the amazing year that it was, it is time to start looking forward to 2016. The path ahead is paved with new products and technologies poised to help redefine our industry. Looking back at just the last half of 2015 and the first month of 2016, new products brought to market give us a glimpse of what'sin store for us.

I and ;m asked on a regular bases, and ;what and ;s new and exciting out there, what haven and ;t I seen that I should see? and ; For me, it is game changing lighting fixtures and technologies. I and ;ve compiled a short list of three things that were introduced in the later months of 2015 that had me thinking about the possibilities.

I didn and ;t choose these devices to compare them against each other. Each one has it and ;s own unique qualities and features that will be sure to excite and ignite any lighting professional'screative juices.


Ayrton MagicDot-R

Ayrton Lighting has made a huge impact in the entertainment lighting industry. The company has been around for years. It was just four short years ago that Ayrton made a re-insurgence into the industry with the introduction of the MagicPanel 602, a moving head fixture with 36 individually controllable 15 watt RGBW LED array. The 6 x 6 LEDmay be impressive, but the continuous and unlimited pan and tilt of the fixture is what made the industry take note.

Fast forwarding to mid 2015, Aryton has since launched a number of moving head products with various LED arrays, sizes and more importantly, the continuous pan and tilt. The MagicDot-R, which is part of the Radical product line, continues with the pan and tilt feature that Aryton has become known for.

At first glance, the MagicDot-R may seem like a one-trick-pony. Don and ;t let the limited feature set throw you. It may not have zoom or focus control, but its other attributes make up for that. The MagicDot-R uses a single 60 watt RGBW multi-chip for its source. Combining the optical lens, the fixture puts out avery tight beam of light, which isunder 5 degrees.

The MagicDot-R is compact, lightweight, LED and FAST. The pan and tilt speed of the fixture is mesmerizing. When you start incorporating the unlimited pan and/or tilt, the effect is stunning. A handfulof MagicDot-R fixtures createsa nice effect andintense looks. It and ;s no wonder when Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters broke his leg and was confined to a motorized throne for the remainder of the Sonic Highways tour, LD Dan Hadley placed 12 of the MagicDot-R on top of the Iron Throne. When you start adding more, look out, the possibilities are seemingly unlimited. With a low price point, you and ;ll want to add as many as you can.

AYRTON - MagicDot-R - Hundred and Forty-four Unit Demo from Ayrton on Vimeo.


Robe LightingVIVA

In the past couple of years Robe Lighting has stepped up their R and in LEDs and hasreleased some fairly impressive LED based moving heads. The latest LED based moving head from the Czech company is the VIVA. It'sa lightweight moving head that uses a 270W white light LED engine.

The reason that the Robe VIVA stands out is that fact that rental houses and productions companies have been looking for an LED moving head that would replace aging 250W MSR heads. Some consider the 250W range of moving heads to be a staple in the regional rental market as it is perfect for mid range venues, affordable and offers a wide range of features.

The Robe VIVA meets those requirements and more with the LED engine. Some of the added benefits are features that are found in almost all of Robe and ;s products line. The Slot and glass gobo wheel and the same Slot and feature on the 2ndcolor wheel makes changing custom gobos or dichroic colors simple and quick. The fixture has the ability to be controlled by a number of protocols such as DMS, Art-Net, sACN, MA-Net2 or by the wireless option from Lumen Radio. One standout feature thatis shared amongst the Robe lineis the QVGA touch screen with a battery backup for easy configuration.

The VIVA is feature rich on its own with a 7 slot plus open rotating gobo wheel, a 9 slot static gobo wheel, 3-facet prism, 2 independent color wheels, iris, zoom and a variable frost filter. All of these features combined equals a fairly remarkable fixture that can offer a long life either in rental inventory, on tour or in a venues arsenal of equipment.

You can purchase the Vivahere.


ETC Source 4WRD LED

In mid-January, ETC released yet another bombshell onthe industry with the introduction of their latest LED product, the Source 4WRD. Professionals at every level of the business took notice of ETC and ;s latest offering as it has a large impact on a segment of the market that wants LEDs but maybe cannot afford new technologies.

The Source 4WRD is a replacement burner assembly for the original Source Four HPL that retrofits an LED source. The new source is not only AC line dimmable, but also controllable via DMX over an RJ45 connection with a constant power source.

This is HUGE. There are over 1.75 million Source Four units around the world. Now any venue that has the old reliable HPL Source Four can upgrade their inventory to LED at a fraction of the cost of buying new while still using their existing fixture inventory and dimming system.

While the Source 4WRD doesn and ;t offer some of the more advanced features found in their Source Four LED range, such as color mixing, the Source 4WRD does offer similar traits suchas energy savings, reduced HVAC cost, lamp replacement savings and possibly cutting crew time. The Source 4WRD uses 73% less power compared to an HPL 575 at just 155 watts and features a 80 CRI rating with another variant available soon with a rating of 90 CRI.

The first question on anyone and ;s mind when LED replacements are mentioned is comparable output. ETC compared the Source 4WRD to a Source Four with an HPL 575W long-life lamp and a 26 degree lens tube, and they are almost identical at 7,600 lumens and a color temperature of 3,000k. Replace the 26 degree lens tube with ETC and ;s Enhanced Definition Lens Tube, (EDLT) and you get 9,000 lumens of output.

You can purchase the Source 4WRD here.


Wrap Up

Three very different fixtures have been mentioned here. Each one has a unique quality that makes it a stand out instrumentin fixture and technology development withthe one constant between them beingLED sources. LEDs are quickly taking over the industry. In the not so distant past, they were considered novelties with very limited uses due to lack of output and availability in fixtures. As time went on, LEDs have made major advances and manufactures have embraced them and developed them into products that are slowly taking over the industry.

Will we ever see a total replacement across the board with LEDs? It is all based on the user. Some are still hesitant to use LEDs in certain applications while others have fallen in love and use them not only for the cost savings, but for their ability to provide endless color options depending on the type of fixture.

As we move deeper into 2016, it is a guarantee that brighter and more powerful LED products will be developed. It is the nature of the beast. LEDs are here to stay and they will only keep getting better, brighter and more affordable. I and ;m excited about these three products and countless others that have been introduced and look forward to incorporating them into designs based on their unique features and abilities.

Let us know in the comments below which fixture or fixtures you are most excited for this year!

About The Author

Justin Lang is a Lighting Designer and Programmer based in Washington, D.C. He is also the editor of iSquint.net, an industry technology blog that focuses on trends, technologies and products that shape the entertainment lighting industry.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/elation-s-new-generation-emulation-touch-lighting-controller Elation's New Generation Emulation Touch Lighting Controller https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2016/01/22/elation-s-new-generation-emulation-touch-lighting-controller Fri, 22 Jan 2016 03:25:33 -0800 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f56a2822cd5ac2.jpg Imagine being able to control lighting from the palm of your hand. Advertised as easy to use and budget-friendly, Emulation Touch allows users to take full advantage of the iPad's mobility and multi-touch display. From a simple touch of a screen you can h...

Imagine being able to control lighting from the palm of your hand. Advertised as easy to use and budget-friendly, Emulation Touch allows users to take full advantage of the iPad's mobility and multi-touch display. From a simple touch of a screen you can have full control of moving heads, LEDs, conventional lighting, and DMX controlled special effects. The Emulation Touchdevices contain the powerful engine that runs your show, calculates fade times and renders dynamic FXs. TheCuetyapplication is your user-interface that uses the mobility and multi-touch display of your iPad.

FEATURES:
64 Fixtures
64 Playbacks
48 Cues per playback
FX Generator
Designed for use withCuety Software and ; (Emulation Touch Programmer)Application
Transforms iPad and ; into Powerful Lighting Console
Powerful Engine Controls Shows, Fade Times, and FXs
Full DMX Support for LEDs and Conventional Lighting
Art-Net, sACN and optically isolated DMX-512 Ports
OSC, UDP, TCP, HTTP Support (Emulation Touch-2 and ;)

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/diaries-of-a-young-lighting-designer Diaries of a Young Lighting Designer https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2016/01/21/diaries-of-a-young-lighting-designer Thu, 21 Jan 2016 04:05:22 -0800 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f56a28d2e96840.jpg Joining us in the Lighting Lounge this week is Zo Haynes, a recent college graduate who will be keeping us updated on her journey into the world of professional lighting design. Without further ado, here and ;s Zo! My name is Zo Haynes. I am 22 yea... Joining us in the Lighting Lounge this week is Zo Haynes, a recent college graduate who will be keeping us updated on her journey into the world of professional lighting design. Without further ado, here and ;s Zo!

My name is Zo Haynes. I am 22 years old. I like to be outside. I like high places and I play the violin. I just graduated with a Bachelors of Arts degree in theatre and a Bachelor and ;s of Science in mathematics in June from Georgia Southern University. I and ;ve had some great opportunities in my life. As a junior, I received second place for my lighting design for The Clean House at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in region four. The design also received the Don Childs award, which allowed me to go and study at the Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas during the next summer. I would not be where I am today without those amazing people and amazing experiences, which included an internship at 4Wall. I and ;ve been working with theatrical lighting for four years now and my goal is to be a lighting designerwith the ability to program and electrician whatever shows come across my path.I and ;m just taking each challenge as it comes, and I and ;m learning from my mistakes and my triumphs.

Picture from one of Zo's recent shows

Right now, I live in Memphis, Tennessee. I moved here three days after my last exam in undergrad to work with Playhouse on the Square as their lighting intern. It and ;s been a wild ride so far, but I and ;m learning a lot and having a ton of fun. Granted, every day is not a picnic. It rains. I and ;ve been told it will snow, but most days are sunny, I love the jobs I and ;m doing, and the people I get to work with. My boss is John Horan, the resident lighting designer. He and ;s a goof ball, but I think we work well together and I have learned so incredibly much from him. Normally, my job consists of two parts: I am an electrician for John and ;s shows, and I design, electrician, and program my own shows. Playhouse on the Square or POTS has three main stages. We refer to the big one as Playhouse, the medium one as Circuit, and the small one as Theatre Works. John and ;s shows are staged at Playhouse, so I work there a lot as an electrician and do general maintenance on the fixtures there. My designs are mainly staged at Circuit, so I do pretty much everything in that space from maintenance to design work. Normally, I don and ;t have much to do with Theatre Works. They focus mainly on new works and work with new playwrights, BUT, about a month ago, I was asked to design for a show going up at Theatre Works in January, so I and ;m pretty excited to be working in a different space to see what new challenges this space brings.

A normal day for an intern here starts at 10:00 am. We have a morning shift till 1:00, then an hour for lunch. Then we have an afternoon shift from 2:00 to 8:00. If we and ;re working a show or need to work later, we can take a dinner break at 5:00 and work till 10:00. It and ;s a lot of hours, but there and ;s plenty to do, so it and ;s rarely boring. I check in every morning with John to see what he needs for the day. Whenever he has a new show loading in, we and ;ll usually work together, but if he and ;s programming for his show or the show is up, often times, he and ;ll let me work on my own projects. He doesn and ;t tell me how to do my job, so in a lot of ways, I have a lot more freedom than some of the other interns, but I also have a lot more responsibility, because if something doesn and ;t work for one of my shows, it and ;s absolutely my problem. If I and ;m behind schedule, I have to figure out how to get back on track. Not to say that John doesn and ;t help me out if I can and ;t figure something out or need an extra set of hands, but he treats me like a professional in a lot of ways. There and ;s an expectation that I make sure that everything at Circuit runs smoothly. I and ;m doing pretty well so far. There are a lot of new things for me, but I and ;m taking one challenge at a time.

Currently both John and I have our shows up and running. A Tuna Christmas is at Circuit and I Love You, You and ;re Perfect, Now Change (ILY) runs in the evenings at Playhouse, and Peter Pan flies in the mornings for school children who get bused in for field trips. So currently, a typical day for me looks like this: In the mornings, I run a spot for Peter Pan. We have to be at work an hour earlier than normal to get everything prepped and ready, which isn and ;t my favorite, but the kids are the best audiences, so they make up for the early hour. Then, after the show, we change the set over for ILY. Then I get an hour for lunch, which is either home and Netflix, or Burger King and working on my online portfolio, or going to the Zoo for an hour. Home is about a five-minute drive away or a twenty-minute walk. It and ;s the perfect distance and a good place to live.

I and ;m using my afternoons now to work on Byhalia and The Other Place, which will go up in January. I and ;m putting some final tweaks on my plot for Byhalia and working on some research for The Other Place. I and ;m pretty excited for The Other Place. The director is giving me a lot of leeways to try some things and the set designer has given me a pretty cool canvas.

I and ;m going to try to write down what and ;s happening regularly so that one day I can see how I got to wherever I and ;m going. Always busy, but it and ;s a good life; until next time.

Zo Haynes recently graduated from Georgia Southern University with a Bachelors of Arts in Theatre and a Bachelors of Science in Mathematics. She has received an award for her lighting design forThe Clean Houseat Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. The same design also received the Don Childs Award. Haynes is currently interning with Playhouse on the Square as a lighting intern to further her career.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/etc-source-4wrd-an-led-retrofit-for-the-traditional-source-four ETC Source 4WRD: An LED Retrofit for the Traditional Source Four https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2016/01/12/etc-source-4wrd-an-led-retrofit-for-the-traditional-source-four Tue, 12 Jan 2016 07:38:12 -0800 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f56959149638ba.jpg The Source 4WRD is an attachment that changes your current tungsten fixtures into white LED fixtures! Instead of having to worry about what to do with your current fixtures, the attachment simply replaces the existing HPL burner (cap) with the Source 4WRD...

When ETC released the Source Four LED and more recently the ColorSource Spot series of ellipsoidals, many of us gotexcited thinking about never having to change out a lamp again. How great it would be to not have to precariously climb a ladder (if you're lucky), burn your hands (who wears gloves?)or choke on dust (not always dust)while replacing your HPL lamps! Unfortunately for many people that reality did not come true. Annoying things like bosses, budgetsand reality got in the way of upgrading to alamp-free leko. So what does ETC go and do? They release the Source 4WRD.

Forged in a top secret facility located somewhere inMiddleton, Wisconsin (3031 Pleasant View Rd), the Source 4WRD is an attachment that changes your current tungsten fixtures intowhite-lightLED fixtures!Instead of having to worry about what to do with your current fixtures, the attachment simply replaces the existing HPL burner (cap) with the Source 4WRD attachment. According to ETC your new fixture willuse 155 watts, be as bright as a 575W HPL extended-life lampand would saveyou 70% in power usage and 73% in heat output. The 4WRD also accepts two types of dimming control, DMX or line-dimming.

Now forthe most important part, the numbers. How much is this going to cost me? Currently there is only a 120V version available with a 230V model coming later this year. The Source 4WRD will cost you $599 for the attachment or $899 for a full fixture through June 30th, 2016. After that timethe normal price will be $699 and $999. Compared to the ColorSource Spot at $1,495 and the Source Four LED Series 2 lekoat $2,395, the 4WRD could bean intriguing option for those not looking for a full color LED leko.

Let us know in the comments below if you would consider upgrading your current Source Fours to the Source 4WRD! They are available for purchase here.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/33rd-annual-hemsley-internship-program-announced 33rd Annual Hemsley Internship Program Announced https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/12/17/33rd-annual-hemsley-internship-program-announced Thu, 17 Dec 2015 04:51:36 -0800 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f56732058cd7f5.jpg In addition to winning a trip to USITT or Hemsley Portfolio Review contest, Hemsley is also offering an internship opportunity. Applications for the 33nd annual Hemsley Internship Program will be accepted from January 1, 2016 through January 15, 2016. Int...

In addition to winning a trip to USITT or Hemsley Portfolio Review contest, Hemsley is also offering an internship opportunity. Applications for the 33nd annual Hemsley Internship Program will be accepted from January 1, 2016 through January 15, 2016. Interviews for finalists will be held in New York mid-March or early April, 2016.

Candidates should submit a resume, a one-page statement of personal goals, and anticipated benefits from the internship, and three letters of recommendation. The selected intern will begin in June 2016 and continue until the end of February 2017. The internship provides the opportunity to work in a professional repertory situation with resident and guest designers. This year's companies include the Lincoln Center Festival, San Francisco Opera, New York City Ballet, and Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre. A monthly stipend of $2,000 is provided in addition to travel expenses. Digital or paper applications are accepted at the addresses below. Letters of reference may be emailed or supplied with the application by mail.

The Internship is offered to US Citizens only.

The Internship honors the legacy of Gilbert Hemsley by providing a unique experience to young designers as they begin their professional careers.

To submit an application of for further information, please contact:
Mr. Mark Stanley
Resident Lighting Designer
New York City Ballet
20 Lincoln Center
New York, NY 10023
(212) 870-4205
mstanley@nycballet.com
https://www.hemsleylightingprograms.com/

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/win-a-trip-to-usitt-or-hemsley-portfolio-review Win A Trip to USITT or Hemsley Portfolio Review https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/12/10/win-a-trip-to-usitt-or-hemsley-portfolio-review Thu, 10 Dec 2015 01:06:26 -0800 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5669b111aeabb.jpg Are you a college student majoring in theatre, design, or any other lighting discipline? If so, then this contest is for you! 4Wall & Stage Directions want to see 10 cues from a show you worked on this past season.
Students at the University of Indiana training on a grandMA 2 console.

Are you a college student majoring in theatre, design, orany other lighting discipline? If so, then this contest isfor you! 4Wall & Stage Directions want to see 10 cuesfrom a show you worked on this past season. Submit avideo of your cues and you may just win an amazingopportunity to rub shoulders with pros and peersalike at either the Hemsley Portfolio Review or USITT!

You can choose to work solo or team up with someone,one designer and one assistant designer.The show does not have to be real to be elligible for the contest, and you can choose which console and lighting instruments to work with. The deadline to enter the contest is February 26th, and the winners will be notified shortly after that. If you have any questions, feel free to send an email to contest@4wall.com.Good luck!

Contest Rules:

- Program 10 playback cues of a real or fictional show on a console of your choice
- Shoot a video going through each playback of your show - Post the video to YouTube
- Submit the video link via email to contest@4wall.com by February 26th
-
In the email include details of the showsuch asthe console and lighting equipmentused

- Two students can participate in a group - One Designer and Assistant Designer
- Must be a student currently enrolled in a college or theatre program
-Contestant must currently reside within the continental US

Grand Prizes:

- All expense paid trip to Hemsley Portfolio Review in New York - April 2-3, 2016:

Rub shoulders with leading theater professionals in an intimate setting! The Portfolio Review is designed to give students the chance to meet first-hand with professional lighting designers so they can get advice from those already working in the industry. This unique opportunity will allow you to ask questions, network with like minded peers and get feedback on your personal portfolio.

- All expense paid trip to USITT Show in Salt Lake City - March 16-19, 2016:

Generate new ideas while examining the newest products in the industry! Throughout the weekchoose between hundreds of workshops, presentations, technical displays and interview opportunities for designers and technicians. The conference gives you the opportunity to increase your knowledge of the industry all while networking with other professionals and students in the stage/theatricalfield.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/philips-strand-lighting-introduces-the-500ml-lighting-control-console Philips/Strand 500ML Console Overview https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/11/09/philips-strand-lighting-introduces-the-500ml-lighting-control-console Mon, 09 Nov 2015 06:48:18 -0800 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5660e5842bcf2.jpg At LDI 2015, Philips Strand Lighting announced they will be introducing new lighting and control products to the entertainment lighting industry. Of the many launches one of the main highlights was the 500ML Lighting Control Console. With its ability to ...
Philips/Strand 500ML Console Review

At LDI 2015, Philips Strand Lighting announced they will be introducing new lighting and control products to the entertainment lighting industry. Of the many launches one of the mainhighlights was the 500ML Lighting Control Console. With its ability to give lighting designers and technicians an intelligent way to create and play back exceptional lighting designs, the 500ML is now available through the Philips Strand Lighting Dealer and Factory Representativenetwork throughout North and South America.

Designed to easily control LEDs and moving lights, the Strand Lighting 500ML console has an 8-inch TFT color touchscreen. This allows for quick setup with backlit buttons that are easy to use. The console also has one external DVI port to add an additional monitor for even more control. In addition, the 500ML console has 24 faders, which can be used as a Master, Submaster, or Playback. Equipped with backlit Play, Pause/Reverse, and Bump buttons the console allows cue stacks to be triggered as required for busking operation, and the user interface is quick to understand for both the professional or casual lighting programmer alike. With a robust construction, the 500ML console provides a smart way to create and play back great lighting for all your important lighting events.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/4wall-usedlighting-com-at-wfx-nashville 4Wall and at WFX Nashville https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/11/04/4wall-usedlighting-com-at-wfx-nashville Wed, 04 Nov 2015 07:33:49 -0800 Events https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f563a95dd458a2.jpg WFX (Worship Facilities Conference and Expo) encourages churches of all sizes and backgrounds to think innovatively about how they can allow their staff, buildings and technology to reach more people for Christ with different tools.

WFX (Worship Facilities Conference and Expo) has been named "Fastest 50 Winners" by Tradeshow Week Magazine for the second consecutive year! How did they win this award? This prestigioushonor is awardedyearlyto tradeshows that have the largest increase in net square footage and growth over a three-year period.

Worship Facilities Conference and Expo is the leading event for church groups who are able to connect with the latest tools and technology to assist in enhancing a meaningful experience. The forthcoming WFX event will take place November 18, 2015 through November 19, 2015 in Nashville, TN. The event will bring thousands of church and industry leaders together. Alongside will be hundreds of exhibitors from all over the world who will be providing education and training on tools and technologies, meaningful networking, and exposure to innovative ideas for ministry and management.

During this event you don and ;t want to miss out on visiting the 4Wall and UsedLighting booths, #642 and #643 respectively. Stop by to discuss how we can enhance the current lighting systems at your church with the latest technology. Let us know you'll be visitng us at the show by RSVP'ing on our event page!

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/omez-lighting-sale-led-pars-moving-lights-led-panels-and-more Omez Lighting Sale: LED Pars, Moving Lights and https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/11/03/omez-lighting-sale-led-pars-moving-lights-led-panels-and-more Tue, 03 Nov 2015 00:59:33 -0800 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5638e8030d042.jpg Save up to 35% on slightly used LED Pars, Moving Lights, LED Panels and more from Omez Lighting! All of Omez products come with a 3 year manufacturer warranty! UsedLighting.com is having a sale on slightly used demo gear from Omez Lighting! Included in the sale is the TitanPar Tri 20 for $199, the TitanBeam 2R for $550 and much more. All Omez products come with a 3 year manufacturer warranty and excellent customer support.

Browse some of the products below or click here to see all Omez products.

Omez Lighting at LDI 2015

Omez Lighting is based out of El Monte, California and exhibited at LDI 2014 and

Click on each video below for a short demo of each fixture


TitanBeam 2R - Was $695 - Sale $550 TitanWash Matrix 2 - Was $550 - Sale $475
TitanWash Matrix5 - Was $1,095 - Sale $895 TitanWash Matrix 4 - Was $995 - Sale $895

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/ldi-2015-recap LDI 2015 Recap https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/10/27/ldi-2015-recap Tue, 27 Oct 2015 07:51:55 -0700 Manufacturers https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f562ff1fab79af.jpg We've put together a video and photo gallery featuring some of our favorite booths and products from the show! LDI 2015 is now in the rearview mirror, and if you check your mirror properly (as you always should while driving) you'll see a host of new products from top manufacturers.

While LED products (and a few, 'ahem' copycats) are literally everywhere, there is still enough innovation at the show to make it a worthwhile event for those in attendance. From Martin's Atomic 3000 LED Strobe, to CITC's Maniac, and other interesting debut products from Chauvet, Elation, Blizzard, High End, and many more, LDI 2015 delivered on the promise of showing the newest lighting technology in one place.

For those who didn't have a chance to attend, or simply want to see more of what they missed, we've put together a video and photo gallery below featuring some of our favorite booths and products from the show! For even more coverage, visit our video center where we'll be posting in depth booth videos and on-site product demos from the manufacturers themselves.

LDI 2015 Photo Recap. Click on each thumbnail for a larger image.

Altman Booth at LDI 2015. American DJ Booth at LDI 2015 Avolites Booth at LDI 2015
Ayrton Booth at LDI2015 Chauvet Professional Booth at LDI 2015 Chroma-Q Booth at LDI 2015
CITC The Maniac LED Fog Machine City Theatrical Show Baby 6 Clay Paky Booth at LDI 2015
Clay Paky Scenius at LDI 2015 CM Entertainment Booth at LDI 2015 Pathway Cognito 2 at LDI 2015
Color Kinetics Booth at LDI 2015 DTS Booth at LDI 2015 Elation Booth at LDI 2015
ETC Booth at LDI 2015 ETC Colorsource Family at LDI 2015 ETC Source Four LED Lustr 2 at LDI 2015
Global Truss Booth at LDI 2015 German Light Products Booth at LDI 2015
Harman Booth at LDI 2015 High End Systems Booth at LDI 2015 Hubbell Booth at LDI 2015
Le Maitre Booth at LDI 2015 Lex booth at LDI 2015 Look Solutions Booth at LDI 2015
Lycian Booth at LDI 2015 MA Lighting Booth at LDI 2015 Martin Atomic 3000 Strobe
Martin M1 Series Console MDG Booth at LDI 2015 Mod Truss Booth at LDI 2015
Omez Lighting Booth at LDI 2015 OmniSistem Booth at LDI 2015 Parasol Systems Booth at LDI 2015
Philips Booth at LDI 2015 Robe Booth at LDI 2015 Robert Juliat Merlin Followspot at LDI2015
Rosco Booth at LDI 2015 SeaChanger Booth at LDI 2015 SGM G-Spot at LDI 2015
SGM Booth at LDI 2015 Stage Maker Booth at LDI 2015 StageMaker Hoist at LDI 2015
Swisson Booth at LDI 2015 TMB Booth at LDI 2015 Tomcat Truss Booth at LDI 2015
Ultratec Booth at LDI 2015 Ushio Booth at LDI 2015 X-Laser Booth at LDI 2015

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/martin-lenses-around-the-world Martin Lenses From Around The World https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/10/14/martin-lenses-around-the-world Wed, 14 Oct 2015 08:52:15 -0700 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f561edccd8a478.jpg The best of Martin Professionals #LensView campaign from around the world!
A Martin MAC 101 Lens in front of 4Wall Entertainment Las Vegas.

What would you do if you had a team of highly trained individuals travellingto exotic places around the world? Obviously, you'dhave them stopandtake pictures with a lens!

Martin Professional recently launched a campaign highlighting theoptical lens system of their moving lights. The campaign's slogan, "Let's explore THE WORLD together", tells you everything you need to know. Martin's teamtravels the world while taking some pretty incredible pictures with their lenses- from Stonehenge and the Great Wall of China to Machu Picchu and the Great Pyramids.

Having had the chance to work with and around Martin's family of moving lights while working for4Wall Entertainment and UsedLighting.com, I'm alwaysimpressed with the output, quality, color and performance of their fixtures. Their campaign has been a fun, exciting way to see their lens system in a unique way.

Martin Professional Moving Lights in 4Wall Entertainment's Rental Inventory

We've compiled some of the best pictures from Martin's #LensView campaign below. Let us know your favorite one in the comments section. Personally, mine is the view from Machu Picchu!

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/the-gaffgun-automatic-floor-tape-dispenser In Stock Review: The GaffGun https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/09/08/the-gaffgun-automatic-floor-tape-dispenser Tue, 08 Sep 2015 04:13:59 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f55ef25674b68f.jpg The GaffGun uses a funneling system to easily straighten and center your cables as it lays tape over them. For those of you who've had to do this manually, I'm sure you can imagine the amount of time this can save you.

Have you ever thought to yourself that there simply must be an easier way to get cables taped down on the ground? The guys fromGaffGunapparently had the same thought! The GaffGun uses a funneling system to easily straighten and center your cables as it lays tape over them. For those of you who've hadto do this manually, it's not hard to imagine how much time this can save. We purchased a demo unit to test it out ourselves andsee if the GaffGun livesup to the hype.

The GaffGun comes in a sleek, black box that has a slot for the gun as well as it's included attachments. The Gun comes with three separate attachments for 1", 2" and " tape, a floor guide for applications not involving cables and a long extension handle. The tape was easy to install to the Gun and the long extension handle was a good height for a normal,sub 7' tall person. (If you're over 7' tall and in the lighting industry, drop a line and let us know...because you may in fact also be a unicorn, and we would love to meet you.)

The Gun was simple to push andeasily straightened the cables. The tape was firmly attached to the floor after applying it, and the channeled GT Pro gaff tape included with the gun left our cables nice and clean upon removal.

All in all, we found the GaffGunit did everything it claimed to! It will definitely save you time, as well as stress onyour back and knees.

TAPE:

GT Pro Tapewas created specifically for the GaffGun andhas a small hole, which allowes it to attach seamlessly to the Gun. As far as we could tell, there was little difference in the quality and texture of this tape versus standard Gaff Tape. You can use Gaff Tape with the purchase ofspecial attachments. The attachments cost $18, and that includes an adapter for 1", 2" and 3" Gaff Tape.

The GaffGun Bundle costs $269. For those who have to tape a lot of cables to the floor, it willbe worth the investment!

You can purchase the GaffGun here.

The GaffGun Bundle includes a long extension handle, (3) Cable Guides and (1) Floor Guide.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/identify-the-picture-win-a-stagejunk-tool Identify the Picture and a StageJunk Tool! https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/09/01/identify-the-picture-win-a-stagejunk-tool Tue, 01 Sep 2015 02:40:22 -0700 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f55e5d4f610746.jpg Identify the stage lighting item in the picture to have a chance to win a StageJunk Ultimate Ratcheting Focus Tool + other prizes! Update:

The correct answer was an ETC Source Four LED Lustr 2!

Grand prize winner: Shane H. Fisher

Additional winners: Harrison Haug and Cameron Walkup

Please send an email to contest@usedlighting.com with your address and shirt size.

Thanks to everyone for participating!

____________________________________________________________________________________________

It's time for a contest! This time we will be giving away a StageJunk Ultimate Ratcheting Focus Tool as the grand prize! To enter the contest,comment on our recent Facebook Post that says "Contest time" with thename of the item in the first picturebelow.

Grand Prize Winner - StageJunk Ultimate Ratcheting Focus Tool and
(1) Winner will be randomlychosen from anyone who correctly identifies the item in the picture below.

Additional Winners - T-shirt, Flash Drive and Pointer
(2) Winners will be randomly chosen from anyone who enters the contest by commenting on our "Contest" Facebook Post.

The contest will end Friday, September 4th at 4pm PST, and the winners will be revealed on this post, as well as our Facebook Post.

The StageJunk Ultimate Ratcheting Focus Tool has been designed to fit the 3 main bolts on a standard C-clamp as well as most wingnuts, road case handlesand screws. It also has two sockets which fit the nut for most lamp bars and the 1/2 bolt on the yoke of most leko fixtures. Best of all the tool has a continuitychecker that can test Edison, Stage Pin, Twist, lamps, fuses and more!

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/maniac-moving-light-creates-pyro-effect Moving Light Creates Pyro Effect https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/08/18/maniac-moving-light-creates-pyro-effect Tue, 18 Aug 2015 04:33:44 -0700 Manufacturers https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f55d39b67bb0f6.jpg It may look like a clever video trick designed to go viral, but the Maniac from CITC is a real fixture!

If you've been waiting for an LED moving light that can create a pyrotechnic effect, the wait is over!

The recently released Maniac from CITC looks like something that would have fit right in with our coverage of April Fool's day around the industry. But this newly released fixture is not a joke...it's a fully functioning LED moving light with a nozzle in the middle to deliver outbursts of fog!

Featuring 10 8W LEDs and the ability to sit right side up or hang upside down, the fixture uses SmartFog to deliver a Co2 effect. The 1.3L fluid tank can deliver 10 minutes of fog at 100% output, leaving you plenty of time to deliver memorable 'pyrotechnics' in every show its used on.

To top it off, CITC throws in a wireless remote for the fog and 10 channels of DMX on the fixture.

Here are some more features of the fixture, and be sure to check out the official video from CITC up above showing the Maniac in action. Ready to add it to your next production? NewLighting.com has it available here.

Features:

  • Fog / Beam / Fog and LED Beam / Fog and Beam
  • Moving Head Degrees: X=540 Y=270
  • Can be hung upside down or right-side up
  • Co2 effect using SmartFog
  • Auto-fill included
  • Adjustable output and speed
  • Instant stop technology
  • Strobe, dim, mix colors
  • Wireless remote for fog
  • Operate one or sequence several
  • DMX control board necessary for operation
  • Weight: 39 lbs (17.5 kg)
  • Size: 19 x 18 x 22
  • (48.5cm x 44cm x 55.5cm)
  • Fog Output: 20,000 ft/min
  • Preheat Time: about 5 minutes
  • DMX Channels: 10
  • LED Lamps: 8W RGBA x 10
  • Fluid Type: CITC 15 Second SmartFog
  • Fluid Capacity: 1.37 qt. (1.3L)
  • CE Approved
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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/designers-take-vl4000-beamwash Designer's Take: VL4000 BeamWash https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/07/23/designers-take-vl4000-beamwash Thu, 23 Jul 2015 05:58:34 -0700 Manufacturers https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f55b1561451ad8.jpg Find out how top designers are using Vari-Lite's latest offering on their shows, and what they think of its features and capabilities!

The VL4000 BeamWash is the newest major moving light offering from our friends at Vari-Lite. While you may have heard of the fixture, you may not have used it yourself yet- as it arrived on rental house shelves just a few months ago.

Reading the specs, you can get a general idea about the fixture: it features a 1200W lamp, 43,000 lumens of output, and of course the versatility that its name implies. It can jump from beam, to columnated shaft, to full wash as needed, with all functions powered by an infinity color mix system promising smooth color changes and instantaneous snaps.

We've seen the fixture up close as our parent company 4Wall Entertainment has added these fixtures to rental inventory recently, and it's been nothing if not impressive. But why take our word for it? (I mean honestly, we're insulted that you don't trust us, but we won't let it affect our relationship going forward. We promise.)

Instead of hearing it from us, we thought we would gather some thoughts on the fixture from some of the people whose opinions really count - great LD's that have put the fixture to use since it debuted. Let's hear what they have to say and how they have been using the VL4000 BeamWash in their shows!

Al-Alami's Design for the JALC Spring Gala

LD: Zakaria Al-Alami, Lighting Director, Frederick P. Rose Hall / Jazz at Lincoln Center NYC

Show: Jazz at Lincoln Center Spring Gala 2015

"Having the VL4000 BeamWash as a late add to the Jazz at Lincoln Center Spring Gala, fresh of the assembly line, was a treat! It's broad feature set and raw power added much needed punch to the overall stage picture. With just four fixtures dropped in as floor units surrounding the band, they cut through everything, allowing me to layer in some great aerial texture and adding to some really powerful moments.

"They're a great add to the Vari-Lite line, complimenting the VL4000 Spot well, and continuing the tradition of the 3500 series as well."

Lurz Rocked the BeamWash at M3

LD: Mike Lurz

Show: M3 Rock Festival

and ;At a festival, every light really has to be able to do everything and once we got the VL4000 BeamWash fixtures on site, I was surprised that it was even brighter than I thought it would be. When you looked at the stage with all the various lights, the VL4000 BeamWash was noticeably brighter and they gave us so many different looks from the same lights in the same positions. I could use them for audience sweeps, spots, a wash of the stage, and everything in between.

The thing that really impressed me most about the VL4000 BeamWash was when we used them for Queensryche playing 'Silent Lucidity'. During this song, I brought in a gobo pattern with no color onto a stage that was saturated in LED blue and the optics of the VL4000 BeamWash punched right through it all. Then as the song played on, I quickly changed the optics from Shaft mode where the gobo was tiny, and moved into Wash mode for a large gobo spread, then we came back into Beam mode for a spot special. It was an extremely fluid movement and it and ;s so rare in lighting, that I really don and ;t even know how to explain it. You really just have to see it for yourself."

LD: Robert Cangemi

Show: Telemundo Upfront

"The VL BeamWash is incredibly bright. I found I could hang it in several locations for different purposes. It does everything: spot, beam, wash, gobos, and all of them very brightly."

That's three ringing endorsements from three very accomplished LDs! Our take is that the VL4000 BeamWash is here to stay! For those of you who prefer visual learning, here's a video of the fixtures in action inside the shop at 4Wall New York.

Tried out the BeamWash yourself? Let us know what you thought of it here in the comments or on our Facebook page. If you're looking to rent the BeamWash for an upcoming show, head to the 4Wall BeamWash quote request page.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/win-swag-a-coupon-for-gear-of-your-choice Win Swag and % OFF Two Items Of Your Choice! https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/07/08/win-swag-a-coupon-for-gear-of-your-choice Wed, 08 Jul 2015 07:08:17 -0700 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f559d9164cb2c8.jpg UPDATE: Koko Lee, John Berret and Adam Bronson are the winners! Thanks for participating. We will do another contest in August. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------... UPDATE:
Koko Lee, John Berret and Adam Bronson are the winners! Thanks for participating. We will do another contest in August.
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It's time for a contest!
Go to usedlighting.com and find two used or new items that you would be interested in purchasing this year. Post the followingin the comments here or on our latest Facebook post:
(1) The name of the items
(2) How much they coston the site
(3) Why you're interested in those items
Three people who comment will randomly be chosen as the winners and canchoose two swag items from this picture (listed below).
PLUS the winners will receive a 10% OFF coupon for the items they commented on!
The contest will end Monday (July 13) at 12:00 pm PDT.
Swag choices:
- Pen and
- T-shirt
- Tank Top
- Flash Drive
- Lanyard
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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/etc-introduces-the-colorsource-spot ETC Introduces the ColorSource Spot https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/06/30/etc-introduces-the-colorsource-spot Tue, 30 Jun 2015 08:39:31 -0700 Manufacturers https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f55931ac2308e9.jpg The industry giant has introduced an affordable alternative to their Series 2 Lustr LED. If you're looking for a quality LED Leko that can fit within your budget, you may have found your match.

Interested in adding LED Lekos to your stage, but your budget doesn't agree with you? If you're a smaller venue such as a local school or church, the new ColorSource Spot from ETC may be the option you're looking for. It works with every ETC lens barrel you already own, and can also be used with Source Four LED Cyc and Fresnel adapters. Huzzah, versatility!

So how is the ColorSource Spot different from the ETC Series 2 Lustr LED you ask? The Lustr packs a seven-color LED emitter mix (red, lime, amber, green, cyan, blue, and indigo) while the ColorSource Spot uses four colors (the standard red, green, blue, and ETC's secret weapon, lime). So while the Lustr may be the peak of LED Leko color rendering, ETC assures us that the ColorSource Spot should outperform typical 4-color LED fixtures without a problem. You'll also miss out on a few of the functions and features that the user interface of the Lustr provides.

Overall though, if you've been pining for Lustrs but have been unable to afford the price tag, the ColorSource Spot seems like a worthy substitute! Stay tuned for more on this fixture, and read more about it from the official ETC release below:

Developed by color experts, manufactured at ETC and ;s Wisconsin-based headquarters, and supported by an award-winning commitment to service, this cost-conscious spotlight can upgrade the inventories of small venues like schools, houses of worship, and local theaters without a large price tag.

Incorporating red, blue, green and lime emitters, ColorSource Spot delivers a color range that outshines other budget LEDs. and ;The color is what sets it apart, and ; explains ETC Fixtures Product Manager Jim Uphoff. and ;Compared to RGB fixtures or RGB with amber or white, ColorSource Spot establishes a new benchmark. We and ;re redefining the concept of and ;cheap LEDs and ; by offering brightness and color quality at a price point that others simply can and ;t match. and ;

ETC tests every luminaire to rigorous standards, ensuring color consistency from one fixture to the next. And while most LEDs see their color degrade over the course of a show due to heat, ColorSource Spot was designed to compensate for thermal droop, giving you color you can count on, from your first cue to curtain call.

And color is just the start. ColorSource Spot is also easy to use, with a simple user interface on the rear of the fixture that lets you set it up quickly and have it shining in seconds, with or without a control console. It is RDM capable and the rugged design ensures a long life in your inventory. ETC also added the ability to outfit these new profiles with existing accessories. and ;Versatility is always a plus, and ; explains ETC Entertainment Market Manager Matt Armendariz-Kerr, and ;so we designed ColorSource Spot to accept our Source Four LED Fresnel and CYC adapters, expanding its capabilities even more. and ;

Here's a video from ETC giving you a first-look at the ColorSource Spot:

These are available to purchase here.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/visit-us-at-infocomm-2015 Visit Us at InfoComm 2015! https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/06/09/visit-us-at-infocomm-2015 Tue, 09 Jun 2015 03:20:34 -0700 Events https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5577206242ee8.jpg Win great prizes and see our hot show specials at this month's InfoComm event in Orlando

Are you attending InfoComm Orlando this year? Or maybe taking a trip to Disneyworld that will land you in the neighborhood of the show? You won't want to miss out on visiting the UsedLighting.com staff at Booth 6471!

Our staff will have daily prize giveaways, including TSA approved laptop backpacks, t-shirts, flash drives, and more. You can register at the booth and you need not be present to win!

InfoComm is one of the fastest growing technology shows in the country, and as such we will once again be offering show specials on used moving lights, LEDs, consoles, truss, and more!

You can also find out how to easily list your equipment on our site if you're looking to sell. From lighting to audiovisual gear, UsedLighting.com is the place to buy and sell quality used gear safely and securely.

Looking to attend but need a free exhibits pass? Use code "USE302" when registering to attend.

Let us know you'll see us at the show by visiting our Facebook event page here!

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/chauvet-led-motionorb-demo Chauvet LED MotionOrb Demo https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/05/01/chauvet-led-motionorb-demo Fri, 01 May 2015 04:08:16 -0700 Manufacturers https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5543c10fb9736.jpg Chauvet stopped by to demo their new LED MotionOrb decor light. It's made up of 55 individual color-changing and strobing LED orbs in strings that can be hung like a curtain, drawn to one side, or draped across the ceiling. Chauvet stopped by to demo their new LED MotionOrb decor light. It's made up of 55individual color-changing and strobing LED orbs in strings that can be hung like a curtain, drawn to one side, or draped across the ceiling. The really cool feature of this is that it can be pixel mapped in DMX mode! You can daisy chain multiple fixtures together as well as add Orb attachments to make the setup longer. It also has a sound active mode, which you can see in the video below.

The MotionOrb will run you$300and that includes 55 orbs and a carrying case. Check out the 30 second video below as well as some pictures from the demo.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/contest-win-a-backpack Contest - Win A Backpack Full of Swag! https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/04/24/contest-win-a-backpack Fri, 24 Apr 2015 01:59:30 -0700 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f553a753f74e16.jpg Identify the fixture in the video to have a chance to win a backpack and other prizes! UPDATE: The correct answer was 12, Clay Paky Sharpy Wash Fixtures! Here is the full video.

An email will be sent out to the winners with directions on claiming your prizes. We will do another contest next month thanks to those who participated!

Winners:

1st Place: Joshua Tingle
2nd Place: Brian Leatherby, Nico Stone, and Joey Welden
3rd Place: Robin Lambert, Chris Cockrill, Mitch Smith


Who is up for a contest?! We're going to keep it simple. Watch the 10 second video and then send an email to contest@usedlighting.com (one submission only) with the answer to these two questions:

1) What fixture is in the video (Manufacturer and Name)
2) How many fixtures were used in the video (not a trick question)

The contest will end next monday (04/27/15) at noon PST,and the full video and winners will be released then on this page. The winners will also be notified via email.

Here are the prizes:

1st Place) TSA Checkpoint Friendly Backpack - Fits up to a 17" laptop. The backpack will be filled with a t-shirt, flash drives, laser pointer, and more. One person who gets both questions right will be randomly chosen to win this prize.

2nd Place) UsedLighting.com T-shirt, 4Wall Flash Drive and UsedLighting.com Flash Drive. Three people who answer one of the two questions correctly will be randomly chosen to win this prize.

3rd Place) A 10% off digitalcoupon for anything on NewLighting.com - That could be gel, tape, gobos, LEDs, Moving Lights, Consoles, etc. Three people who submit an email will randomly be chosen to win this prize.

(Hint: It's a moving light from 4Wall'srental inventory, which you can browseHERE.)

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/how-to-make-a-source-four-led How to Make a Source Four LED https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/04/21/how-to-make-a-source-four-led Tue, 21 Apr 2015 06:23:04 -0700 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5536b4e38b1c2.jpg The Science Channel takes a behind the scenes, in depth look at the creation of one of the industrys hottest new fixtures.

Ok, so we won't be showing you in this article how to build your own Source Four LED in your basement. (Honestly, what were you thinking? Do you really think you could pull that off?)

However, the Science Channel's popular tv series "How It's Made" recently took a peak inside of ETC's Wisconsin headquarters to showcase the manufacturing process of a Source Four LED fixture.

From start to finish, the production crew details each step of assembly leading up to testing phase of these awesome LED units.

ETC CEO Fred Foster commented on the segment right before it's airing earlier this month:

and ;One of the things we take the most pride in at ETC is our manufacturing process, and ; says ETC CEO Fred Foster, and ;and it and ;s about to get some major recognition. and ;How It and ;s Made and ; is going to showcase one part of what makes ETC such a special company. and ;

You can watch the entire process from start to finish here. If you're still thinking of attempting this in your basement after viewing the video...be sure to take copious amounts of notes!

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/lighting-industry-celebrates-april-fools-day Lighting Industry Celebrates April Fools' Day https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/04/01/lighting-industry-celebrates-april-fools-day Wed, 01 Apr 2015 08:41:06 -0700 Manufacturers https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f551c7e1bac72f.png Check out some chicanery from around the industry and vote for your favorite industry related April Fools Day joke! If you and all those you're around today are completely humorless (or you've been on a gig lasting 17 hours and forgot what day it is), you may have missed out on the fact that it was April 1st today, better known as "April Fools' Day".

As the hard hitting journalistic blog that we are, we scoured the internet for literally minutes looking up the origins of this special day. Our sources (Wikipedia, mostly, and one random blog clicked on by accident), informed us that while Chaucer's Canterbury Tales of 1392 is the earliest recorded association between foolishness and April 1st, no one really seems to know why on earth we participate in this ritual of misdirection. But when one of your friends falls for something obviously fake and you get to enjoy their embarrassment, does it really matter why? We don't think so either.

With that said, let's move on to the best pranks and lies from around the industry today!

PBG to XLR-5 Adapter: Coming to a Confused Rental house Near You

To kick things off, Dr. DMX Doug Fleenor made his annual new product announcement. This year's addition to his lineup? The "PBG to XLR-5 Adapter"

Here's our favorite excerpt from the Data Sheet:

Doug Fleenor Design has done extensive testing on the use of PBG cords for DMX512 signals. The longest test was of twenty (20) 100' 16 gauge orange extension cords with molded ends, strung end to end, to form a 2000' DMX512 run. Not only did the DMX signal accurately control a dimmer at the end of the cable, the signal looked surprisingly good when viewed on an oscilloscope1. Doug Fleenor Design has also attempted to run DMX512 on barbed fence wire with mixed results. Preliminary supposition is that the electric fence charger, also connected to the barbed wire, may have interfered with the signal.

The Robe Darkener: Can this save people from seeing Justin Bieber?

Next up, Robe previewed a new product with an ability that literally no other product in the lighting industry is offering: darkness.

"The Darkener" produces black light which makes things...well, dark. We wish a few well placed testimonials of LDs using this fixture to remove annoying acts from the stage show were included.

Last but far from least, the folks at ETC not only delivered a new product as well, but a well-produced product video showcasing its features. The "ScentFourAromaEngine" is an add-on for any ETC fixture that produces an array of odors. The most exciting possibility here in our opinion would be mixing the smell of burnt gel with the smell of fear.

Which April Fools' product announcement was your favorite? Vote in our poll in the sidebar on the right!

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/clifton-taylor-thoughts-on-led-ellipsoidals-in-ballet-and-dance-productions Taylor: LED Ellipsoidals in Ballet and Dance https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/03/31/clifton-taylor-thoughts-on-led-ellipsoidals-in-ballet-and-dance-productions Tue, 31 Mar 2015 09:30:21 -0700 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f551b2f3e87ed2.jpg Noted LD Clifton Taylor gives his thoughts on LED ellipsoidal technology and its place in dance productions!

Ed. Note: We and ;re joined in the Lounge this week by Lighting Designer Clifton Taylor, whose innovative designs for Opera and Ballet have appeared on Broadway and around the world. On a recent production of and ;Sleepy Hollow and ; for the Washington Ballet, Taylor utilized ETC Source Four LED Series 2 Lustr luminaires. In doing so, he spent some time pondering what the change to LED means specifically for historical works of lighting design- and what the consequences and benefits may be. He was gracious enough to share those thoughts with us here!

I have been somewhat skeptical of the LED Ellipsoidal craze that has been going on for a couple of reasons. First, I felt that the series one Lustrs were not yet bright enough to be used as a replacement leko. Second, and this remains a huge issue for all LED based fixtures, I and ;m wary of replacing incandescent fixtures, especially in dance plots with LED and ;s because we don and ;t have enough information about their performance yet.

Let me give you an example: A Source 4 Ellipsoidal with no gel in it at 575 watts is still a bit brighter than Series 2 Lustr set to project a no-color equivalent mix.

However, if you put Roscolux 80 in front of the incandescent fixture, the same Series 2 Lustr will be much brighter when set to a mixed color equivalent.

This makes maintaining older works very difficult, because the level trackings from the incandescent equipment don and ;t make any sense when deep blue is brighter than clear!

Taylor's Sleepy Hollow Featuring Lustr Luminaires

Before we make this change fully, let us consider that at this moment in the theater, we can pretty successfully reproduce the design work of Jean Rosenthal or Tom Skelton by getting out the gels and setting the levels to the old paperwork. The stage might be relatively brighter, but the relationships remain comprehensible.

Even with the changes that have happened to brightness levels and efficiency of lenses and reflectors, the essence of the design would transfer through the years to anyone who faithfully followed the instructions of the original design paperwork.

This sort of faithful recreation becomes impossible with LEDsbecause thelevelsdon and ;t have the same relationship tocolorsthat existed in an entire class of incandescent fixtures from the past 100 years.

Of course not everyone is involved in re-creating older works, but I often am. The ballet and dance companies around the world are the best repository to see original lighting designs from the past, and these complex works of art were created with a technology, color filters and incandescent lights, that is not easily replaced by the new technology, light emitting diodes.

I don and ;t want to lose these great works of art that have been given to us by real pioneers of theatrical design and I think we should all be talking about this issue in greater depth before we rush into the latest shiny toys. So I bring these lights into a dance plot (such as Sleepy Hollow) with more than a little trepidation, because not everyone who is now or will be in the future maintaining these lighting designs will have considered these problems or have the tools to solve them.

That said, the LED light is here to stay and I believe it will eventually supplant incandescent lamps completely in the same way that incandescent lamps supplanted gas light.

Even now, on the cusp of this revolution, they are an extremely important tool for us, and there is much to love about them. The Series 2 Lustr especially is a beautiful light, and on a new production like this one it offers so much flexibility in color choices and also color transitions. Especially on an event like this, where we wrote this extremely complex show in basically one-and-a-half very pressured days, a tool like the Series 2 Lustr is really amazingly helpful.

In this show, I used them in two positions: the first was the high shin position (second from the bottom), which I often like to use for deeper color ideas. I didn and ;t want it for the lowest shin position because I was concerned about color rendering - especially in this schedule where I don and ;t have any time to really play with the level of each emitter like I would like to get the right color metamer at each moment of the show.

I also used them in a high boom position, which is so important to any large scale ballet because it allows one to get sidelight over the heads of the corps de ballet onto the middle of the stage where the principals are dancing. In this case also, because we had a relatively light grey floor, this high boom position was very useful to use to color the floor for each scene. In other productions and I have asked for a scroller or CXI system here and the Lustrs were a perfect and more versatile substitute.

I and ;m a little afraid of the possibility that when this particular production gets rented out and I might be asked to go back to having scrollers in these two positions, but we and ;ll deal with that problem when it comes up! The Series 2 Lustr is a wonderful tool and I will want them going forward on a lot of shows.

Clifton Taylor has created lighting, projection, and scenic designs for theater, dance, and opera companies around the world. His Broadway credits include "Frozen" and "Hot Feet", and his designs have been commissioned by repertories such as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and the Rambert Dance Company of London. More information can be found on his official site here.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/hog-factor-contest-offering-huge-prizes-for-students Hog Contest Offering Huge Prizes for Students https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/03/25/hog-factor-contest-offering-huge-prizes-for-students Wed, 25 Mar 2015 05:25:08 -0700 Manufacturers https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f55133ec2302b7.jpg Students across the nation will have a chance to compete for a $20,000 scholarship, a Hog 4 or Road Hog 4 Console, and more during High Ends show programming competition. If you're a lighting student here in America, chances are you could use a 20K scholarship. Or a new Hog 4 Console. Or a free trip to LDI. Or perhaps a chance to intern at a major lighting manufacturers home base.

With all that in mind, High End Systems is offering college students in the US a chance to win a huge variety of prizes through their first ever "Hog Factor" competition.

The premise seems pretty simple...you're already learning how to program lighting shows. You'll of course have to make use of the free to download Hog 4PC software, or an existing Hog desk to do the programming for this competition, but other than that it's just your team creating a performance lighting piece!

High End Systems Director of Sales Chris Ferrante commented, "We are very excited to launch the first national lighting programming competition ever held; it's a solid investment in the future of this industry. We believe Hog Factor is an excellent opportunity for students and their respective faculties to gain new skills and broaden their horizons."

Read below for more details about the contest, or you can head here to get started right away. Good luck to all those who choose to participate!

The top college lighting teams in the country will be invited to the 2015 LDI trade show in Las Vegas, where they will compete for prizes including a Hog 4 console (MSRP $44,000), a $20,000 scholarship for their school and an internship at High End Systems, with the opportunity to join the company full time following a successful trial period. In addition, there will be prizes for the runners up, and each member of the winning team will win a HedgeHog 4X console!

Participating universities are invited to enter teams of up to three students, with no limit on the number of teams submitted for the competition. The first phase of the contest is an open competition; each team must provide a performance lighting piece programmed with a special version of Light Converse visualization software. This software will be made available to all teams on either an existing Hog desk or via Hog 4 PC, which can be downloaded free of charge on our website.

Phase 1 submissions are due by June 30, 2015, and the top three teams to compete in Phase 2 will be selected by July 31st. The finalist teams will then program a performance lighting piece bed on the High End Systems LDI 2015 booth design. These teams will then be invited to perform their selections live on the High End booth at LDI 2015 (October 23-25, 2015), where the winners will be announced.

Looking for a Hog console to create your entry on? Browse our selection of used Hog consoles here.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/ma-announces-dot2-console-series MA Announces dot2 Console Series https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/03/16/ma-announces-dot2-console-series Mon, 16 Mar 2015 02:19:41 -0700 Manufacturers https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5507075ebc314.jpg Those wanting an MA Lighting software experience at a more affordable price point have finally found their console line!

You've probably heard the rumors for some time now, but the announcement is finally here: MA Lighting Consoles are no longer made just for the biggest and most elaborate productions on earth.

The new dot2 series is an entry-level console series from MA, and by entry-level we mean these come at a very affordable price point! The software system is completey new from the ground up, and it's designed specifically for smaller projects and venues.

Some of the software features already announced include: Minimal set-up time by Patch and an intuitive graphical user interface, direct fixture control, stored looks to capture you design, smart dialogue to access generic fixture functions, and automated playback page management.

There are a number of options available within the series, and all are lightweight and compact with no external devices needed. Every board comes with an integrated touchscreen.

Check out the console combinations below:

Below you can watch the trailer video introducing the series, or head to the MA Lighting Youtube Channel to watch discovery and training videos that will fill you in on the new software and its capabilities...it's enough to make you an expert before the consoles even ship!

Let us know in the comments if you're planning on adding a dot2 to your venue!

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/the-amazing-led-moving-strip-light GLP impression X4 Bar - Moving, Pixel-Mapping LED Strip Light https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/03/13/the-amazing-led-moving-strip-light Fri, 13 Mar 2015 02:39:47 -0700 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f550312d2e9fcf.jpg Katy Perry and Lenny Kravitz perform at the 2015 Super Bowl Halftime Show.12 impression X4 Bar 20's (bottom right) and 16 impression X4 XL's (bottom left) were used. From the manufacturer that brought you the impression X4seriescomes a new addition t...
Katy Perry and Lenny Kravitz perform at the 2015 Super Bowl Halftime Show.12 impression X4 Bar 20's (bottom right) and 16 impression X4 XL's (bottom left) were used.

From the manufacturer that brought you the impression X4seriescomes a new addition to the family: the impression X4 Bar LED strip. You may be thinking, "Haven't I seen that fixture somewhere recently?" If you were a member of the tiny demographic that watched that small production known as "The Super Bowl", then you got a first glimpse of the impression X4 Bar without even knowing it.

We've all seen LED strips by now. Most manufacturers have one, and they are pretty straight forward. I had similar thoughts when GLP (German Light Products) stopped by to demo their first ever LED strip. Like many of you, I'd briefly seen the X4 Bar at LDI, but hadn't had a chance to really see what makes it different from other battens.

I got my chance to see it up close and personal, grabbed my cameraand, well I'll let you see for yourself.

It's a moving,pixel-mapping LED strip light! You have the ability to program 3 layers of effects on each cell giving you unlimited effects and chases. I wish we had been able to get some fog in the room to see how the tilt and chases looked with a good cloud of smoke, but this picture from GLP's website will have to suffice for now.

The X4 Bar comes in two different sizes, 20" and 40",but either size can easily be daisy chained without the need for an external power supply. They are also designed to have consistent pixel spacing when daisy chained together to keep the visual flow between fixtures seemless. You can see full specs and pricing on these fixtures on NewLighting.com here.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/elation-entertainment-electrics-course-offered-in-march Elation Entertainment Electrics Course Offered in March https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/02/24/elation-entertainment-electrics-course-offered-in-march Tue, 24 Feb 2015 08:48:54 -0800 Events https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f54ed1bf5c6ce9.jpg Elation is bringing Richard Cadena to Los Angeles for a one day seminar on power distribution, control systems, and more.

Elation, as part of their Elation Educational Experience Series, is offering a one day Entertainment Electrics course March 24th in Los Angeles.

You counted correctly, there were a whopping 6 E-words in that first sentence. Let it never be said that Elation doesn't stick with their branding! All alliteration aside though, the course should be one worth attending if you're an aspiring technician or programmer.

The always entertaining and knowledgeable Richard Cadena will be teaching the class. Here's more info on the seminar from the official release:

Richard Cadena

The one-day educational course, Entertainment Electrics: Intro to Electrics, Power Distribution, and Control Systems, will cover the essentials of planning, setting up, testing, and troubleshooting professional stage lighting and video systems.

Learn how to plan and set up power distribution and control systems safely and effectively. Learn about the latest networking technologies including DMX, RDM, wireless Art-Net, Ethernet, and more. Richard Cadena delivers a full day of essential skills and knowledge that no tech should be without in an information-packed course you will not soon forget. The course counts toward 7 renewal credits for ETCP Certified Electricians and ETCP Certified Riggers.

Richard Cadena is an ETCP Recognized Trainer, ETCP Certified Entertainment Electrician, and author of Electricity for Entertainment Electricians and Focus on Lighting Technology, Automated Lighting: The Art and Science of Moving Light, and Lighting for Modern Houses of Worship. His unique style and irreverent sense of humor make his classes entertaining as well as highly informative and educational.

Elation will host the event at their LA Headquarters, and the cost is $99 which includes a lunch and instructional materials. Those interested in attending can get registered here.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/utilizing-lasers-in-light-shows How to Use Lasers Properly https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/02/11/utilizing-lasers-in-light-shows Wed, 11 Feb 2015 00:39:26 -0800 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f54dba657a8104.jpg Before you add lasers to your next production, pick up a few tips from an expert! Dan Goldsmith of X-Laser joins us to talk safety, licensing, and more.

Ed. Note: We're joined in the Lounge this week by Dan Goldsmith, President of X-Laser! We've had more and more requests for lasers on UsedLighting.com, but the purchase of them always comes with questions - how do I use them, are they safe, etc. Dan was kind enough to take the time to break down for all of us how you can add lasers to your nightclub, event rentals, or any production safely and easily. After reading the article, if you're ready to give lasers a try, visit our selection of used or new X-laser products here on the site. They're certain to meet all of the requirements spelled out below. Take it away Dan!

The use of high powered lasers in theatrical and concert lighting has exploded in recent years due, in part, to the advent of new technologies that make integrating lasers into designs easier, and more cost effective than ever before. It used to be that a laser show was just for rock concerts or your local planetarium, but now lasers are being used in an ever increasing number ways from creating virtual scenery likes cages or walls, to creating extremely high contrast digital signage, to immersing audiences inside of 3D shapes and effects. The visual effects that can be accomplished with laser are virtually endless and are enabled by laser and ;s unique optical properties such as having no focal distance.

Virtually any well collimated laser can travel hundreds of feet, or even miles, with only a minor loss in intensity. This also means that lasers can put significant amounts of power on target creating punchy, high contrast effects even in the presence of powerful wash lighting. A laser of only a few milliwatts can be visible even within an intense white beam from most modern profile moving lights.

"Sounds cool Dan, but is it safe?"

Lasers: Like Star Wars, but without the "Pew, Pew"

People sometimes worry about the legal and safety issues surrounding laser. Here are the facts: First, there has never been an injury reported to regulatory authorities in the U.S. from a legal high powered entertainment laser, ever. That and ;s a pretty amazing safety record, and it comes from most folks operating lasers with common sense (like not shooting people in the face with the beam) and with modest training supplied by better manufacturers. If you are worried about the risk of operating a laser, we would remind you that tens of thousands of people from mobile DJ and ;s to museums operate high powered lasers everyday while maintaining a virtually perfect record of safety. Its not as difficult as you might imagine, and real world experience has demonstrated for the last couple of decades that the margins of safety are far greater than most people realize.

"Ok, but is it difficult to get licensed?"

It has never been easier to get licensed to use a high powered laser. The process involves less than $50 in most cases, 30 minutes of your time to complete the application and several weeks of waiting for your application to be approved by FDA. Once approved, your variance is good for two years and will renew indefinitely if you submit an Annual Report which takes about 20 minutes to complete each year.

"How do I make sure I get a safe product?"

The ease and reliability of this process, as well as the safety of the product, really comes down to the manufacturer you chose to work with. We strongly recommend that you consider the reliability of the manufacturer above price, because in the world of high powered lasers you can often get a cheaper product that you can and ;t actually get licensed to use - meaning that you have a several thousand dollar paperweight. You may also find that advertisements about safety, compliance and so forth really don and ;t match reality in some cases. There is a simple way you can check out any prospective manufacturer you may want to work with to protect your business.

Visit www.regulations.gov. In the upper right hand corner simply type in the name of the manufacturer. Whatever results you get can be filtered by agency in the left hand toolbar. Select and ;FDA and ; and read what you get. What you are looking for is a large number of and ;approved and ; customer variances, not applications. If you get nothing, that and ;s a pretty bad sign because everyone who buys a laser has to get a variance. If they don and ;t have a lot of approved customer variances either they don and ;t have any customers, or FDA wont approve their variances probably due to a problem with their products.

This can be tricky, but doing this check is the single most important step to protect your business from liability and fines, and your reputation. Do not import lasers from overseas without guidance from FDA as to what you are allowed to bring in, and how. If you have questions, contact FDA at https://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/default.htm or the International Laser Display Association Regulatory Committee at regulatory@laserist.org.

Powerful and safe laser shows have never been easier to access and use to great effect. There are loads of resources out there to help you along your way and the International Laser Display Association (www.laserist.org) can be a wealth of knowledge to keep you from making costly mistakes and ensure your success. With just a bit of effort and interest high powered laser shows can be within your reach!

Dan Goldsmith is the President of X-Laser, one of the leading manufacturers of high powered entertainment lasers in the world. In addition to providing effect design and laser safety officer expertise to large touring and production clients, Dan chairs the Regulatory Committee for the International Laser Display Association which serves to interface between worldwide regulatory agencies and members of industry. Dan also sits on the Board of Directors of the International Laser Display Association and lectures extensively on entertainment laser technology, safety, and compliance.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/contest-time Contest Time! https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/02/06/contest-time Fri, 06 Feb 2015 02:24:32 -0800 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f54d50d364a4d9.jpg UPDATE: The correct answer was 1. Solaris LED Flare; 2. MAC Quantum Profile; 3. Clay Paky Mythos; 4. Color One LED Par! Joshua Modrell and Tony Patti are the "Additional Winners". Please email your shirt size and address to contest@usedlighting.com. Th... UPDATE:

The correct answer was 1. Solaris LED Flare; 2. MAC Quantum Profile; 3. Clay Paky Mythos; 4. Color One LED Par! Joshua Modrell and Tony Patti are the "Additional Winners". Please email your shirt size and address to contest@usedlighting.com. Thanks to everyone for participating!

It's contest time!

There are four pictures below of different lighting fixtures. Identify as many items as you can of the 4 pictures. Enter the contest by commenting on this article or on our Facebook Contest Post. Make sure you match your answer to the number of each picture. The winners will be revealed on Monday at noon PDT on here and our Facebook Page.

Grand Prize Winner (Everything in the picture below)
(1) Winner will randomly be chosen from anyone who correctly identifies all 4 items.

Additional Winners (T-Shirt and Drive)

(1)Winner will randomly be chosen from anyone who correctly identifies3 out of 4items.
(1) Winner will be randomly chosen from anyone who participates in this contest by commenting, liking, or sharing this or our Facebook post.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

#1)

#2)

#3)

#4)

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/paid-lighting-design-internship-in-hollywood Paid Lighting Design Internship in Hollywood https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/02/03/paid-lighting-design-internship-in-hollywood Tue, 03 Feb 2015 01:01:31 -0800 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f54d1002df3c73.jpg The Emmys are offering one lucky college student the chance to spend a summer learning lighting design from the pros.

Attention all college students! We were just made aware of an opportunity you won't want to pass up.

The Television Academy Foundation and ;s summer internship program has just opened up, providing an opportunity for a lucky college student to spend the summer of 2015 having an amazing learning experience in Hollywood. Best of all, its a PAID internship.

The fortunate winner of the internship will find themselves in the design studio, on location, and on soundstage with professional lighting designers, their assistants, and crews. The intern will have an opportunity to work in every stage of designing for television- from creative development and design, to gaffer prepping and the eventual installation and focusing of shows.

The online application process is simple, and requirements include being enrolled in a theatrical lighting design or a technical theatre program with an emphasis in theatrical lighting. Applicants from all over the country are welcome to apply!

Potential applicants can see more details about this once in a life time experience, as well as apply for the spot, by visiting the and ;how to apply and ; site here: https://www.emmys.com/foundation/programs/internship/apply

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/chauvets-church-lighting-roundtable Chauvet's Church Lighting Roundtable https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/01/30/chauvets-church-lighting-roundtable Fri, 30 Jan 2015 07:02:30 -0800 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f54cc0d86995b8.jpg Chauvet brought together a panel of experts recently for a lively discussion on lighting for worship.

We know many of you who browse and purchase gear here on the site spend at least part of your time working with (or for) houses of worship (those .org email addresses don't lie!).

All jokes aside, worship arts are a huge part of the lighting industry, and the folks at Chauvet Professional know that as well as anyone. That's why they gathered together a few well-respected professionals with a ton of experience in lighting for worship, and sat them down for a roundtable discussion on a variety of topics.

Moderating the panel is the always awesome Jim Hutchison from Chauvet, and he's joined by Daniel Connell, LD for Church on the Move (look up a few of his rigs, amazing stuff), as well as CCI Solutions Duke DeJong, and Steven Ellison from Stark Raving Solutions.

Whether you're a volunteer working on a small holiday service, or a paid pro broadcasting a message to multiple locations, chances are you'll find something of use in this video. Watch, listen, and enjoy!

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/clay-paky-announces-show-batten-100 Clay Paky Announces Show Batten 100 https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/01/26/clay-paky-announces-show-batten-100 Mon, 26 Jan 2015 01:52:22 -0800 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f54c67ed6348b4.jpg The new batten is a "moving bar" featuring angle rotation up to 240 degrees, as well as independent RGBW control for each LED.

Clay Paky recently announced a new entry into the wall-washing batten category...but this one does a little bit more than just sitting on the ground!

The Show-Batten 100 is actually a "moving-bar" featuring 240 degrees of angle rotation on the tilt. It also offers individual RGBW led control of the ten 15W Osram LEDs that run the length of the fixture. At 40" long, it's smaller than many entries in the LED batten category, but it seems to make up for its size with a litany of features.

We can certainly think of a few applications where having a powerful wash light with a little bit of movement would come in handy. What do you think?

You can view more of the specs below, or visit the official product page from Clay Paky here.

  • Light source: 10 X 15W Osram Ostar RGBW LEDs
  • Distance between LEDs: 100 mm (4 and ;)
  • and ;STANDARD and ; VERSION: - Optical unit with motorized zoom: minimum 10 and ; x 23 and ;, maximum 43 and ; x 48 and ; (at 50%); minimum 23 and ; x 35 and ;, maximum 66 and ; x 76 and ; (at 10%); - High brightness: 3340 lumens
  • and ;AS and ; VERSION: - Asymmetrical optical unit with special motorized zoom for illuminating backdrops: minimum 8 and ; x 25 and ;, maximum 9 and ; x 45 and ; (at 50%); minimum 18 and ; x 37 and ;, maximum 21 and ; x 74 and ; (at 10%); - High brightness: 5210 lumens
  • Independent RGBW color control for each individual LED
  • Effects: dimmer (16 bit), 24 Hz strobe, color macros and effect macros
  • High speed motorized tilt: 240 and ;
  • Internal Ethernet switch for IN/OUT daisy-chain connection to make it easy to connect bars up for pixel control in a matrix arrangement
  • The length and width of the bar allow it to be assembled in horizontal and vertical matrices with a fixed distance between LEDs (100mm/4 and ;)
  • Sockets within the dimensions of the bar to prevent accidental contact with adjacent trusses or bars in matrix arrangements

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/9-degrees-of-separation 9 Degrees of Separation https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/01/21/9-degrees-of-separation Wed, 21 Jan 2015 05:11:16 -0800 Manufacturers https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f54c015f440065.jpg Which Source Four Lens Tube do I choose? Here are a few indispensable tricks to help you choose the right lens tube for your unique application.
From back to front: 5, 10, 14, 19, 26, 36, 50,70, 90
degree lens tubes. In this setupthe beamsof
the fixtures would be about thesame size
againstthe wall.

This week we are joined in the Lounge by Clint Zaayer!Just a few words on Clint. Many of the pictures and videos that we use on this site come from Clint. We will usually havean idea of what we would like, send that idea to Clint, and he makes it happen. To give you an idea of his personality, when I asked him for a picture and bio, he sent me twopictures, a "professional" one and, as he putit, "more of a natural habitat Clint". You be the judge of which picture we went with below. Now forClint!

Which lens tube do I choose? This is one of the most asked questions from first time users of a Source Four Ellipsoidal. The possibilities are endless with, 5 degrees to 90 degrees; each lens has its own use and situation that calls for it. There are many tricks to deciding which one to use though. Manyseasoned pros can look at an area and just know which lens will work for the situation, but for people who are new to using the fixture, there
are a few indispensable tricks out there.

Knowing the Options:

For a fixed ellipsoidal, users have 9 barrels in their arsenal, ranging from 5 to 90 degrees. The popular 50, 36, 26, and 19 will cover most situations while 5, 10, 14, 70, and 90 are generally used for more specific situations. The 50-19 degree
lens tubes come in standard and enhanced definition (EDLT), while the remaining lenses do not. The EDLT is for using high resolution images with the fixture to produce a crisper image. These are the choices available when using a fixed lens tube Source Four.

Understanding the Lenses:

After learning all of the options, it is important to understand what differences they make. A basic rule is larger the degree, the closer you will want the fixture. For example, a 50 degree lens tube at 10 and ; away has a 6.5 and ; diameter. So a 5 degree lens tube will need to be 65 and ; away to get the same 6.5 and ; diameter. So the farther out you extend the fixture the smaller the lens
needs to be.

Very helpful infographic from ETC. Click to see a larger version.

A Rule of Thumb:

Stand at the distance the fixture will be placed. Put two hands together and use index fingers to range the area the light will need to touch. The angle the fingers make roughly corresponds to the size of the barrel needed. For example, if the two fingers roughly make a 70 degree angle then that is the lens tube that needs to be installed on the fixture. Although it is only an approximation, it is a relatively effective way to see which tube would be the best fit.

Being able to understand each lens can help make sure the Source 4 Ellipsoidal is being utilized at its best capacity. Picking the proper lens helps to make gobos and images crisp, clean, and properly sized. A basic understanding of the lens and how it works can also lead to a better understanding of the fixtures full capabilities.

Clint Zaayer is an Account Manager at 4Wall Los Angeles. While earning his degree
atBall State University, he collaborated on the Lower Great Lake Regional Emmy
Awardwinning documentary
Increasing the Odds: How to Start a Business. In 2010,
aftergraduating with a B.A. in telecommunications, he relocated to Los Angeles

wherehe began his career with 4Wall Entertainment.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/learn-something-new-at-etc-cue Learn Something New at ETC CUE https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2015/01/14/learn-something-new-at-etc-cue Wed, 14 Jan 2015 06:34:00 -0800 Events https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f54b6eed7e7d10.jpg Registration opens on January 19th for the latest installment of the popular ETC development conference.

The folks at ETC don't mess around when it comes to teaching the next generation of lighting professionals the ins and outs of the trade, as well as the company's products. This year ETC opens its Madison, Wisconsin, doors (which are lovely by the way) again for the biennial CUE professional development conference!

Whether you are new to lighting or a seasoned pro, chances are you will pick up something great by attending CUE. You can attend tracks focusing on technical theatre, console operation, or even advanced programming. Early bird registration opens on January 19th and runs through February 28th. You can get more information on how to get registered here.

Here's a bit more detail on the conference itself:

The CUE conference is a great way for lighting professionals of all skill levels to gain knowledge that can be used in their careers. It also gives students the opportunity to get hands-on experience with the technology they and ;ll use when they enter the workforce. At CUE 2015, ETC will offer two special tracks: a Technical Theater Continuing Education track geared toward students and educators, and a Console-Training and Certification track for programmers and ; from beginners to the most advanced and ; to improve their knowledge of Eos and ;- and Cobalt and ;-family lighting systems.

The CUE conference will feature interactive classes on a variety of topics led by ETC employees and industry luminaries, including several surprise guests. Attendees will have a lot of time to experiment with existing ETC gear, and will get an inside look at upcoming products. CUE will also allow attendees to network with industry peers and the ETC professionals behind the company and ;s award-winning products. In addition, ETC will host several exciting events and tours of its legendary factory, giving attendees an experience they can and ;t get anywhere else.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/christmas-tree-light-show-with-etc-nomad-puck Christmas Tree Light Show with ETC Nomad Puck https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/12/24/christmas-tree-light-show-with-etc-nomad-puck Wed, 24 Dec 2014 00:52:49 -0800 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f549aef615c14d.jpg Is your tree lacking that extra pop this year? Sean Beach and Alex Fogel show you how to up your tree game using the ETC Nomad Puck It's Christmas Eve, and your tree is already up...but is it lacking that special touch that says "I work in the lighting industry"?

Lucky for you, Broadway programmers Sean Beach and Alex Fogel are here to help.

Using the handy new ETC Nomad Puck (makes a great gift this holiday season)...the guys show you how to take your tree from boring to brilliant!

Thanks for sharing gentlemen! And a big Happy Holidays to all of you from all of us at UsedLighting.com...may your trees be forever pixel-mapped.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/ldi-2014-photo-recap LDI 2014: Photo Recap https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/12/03/ldi-2014-photo-recap Wed, 03 Dec 2014 07:52:13 -0800 Events https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f547fa73f6ce19.jpg If you missed out on the 2014 incarnation of LDI, check out some photos from the hottest booths on the show floor. LDI 2014 has passed, and the pre-Thanksgiving festivities were all we could handle. From walking a crowded booth floor, to attending demonstrations and manning our own booth, the UsedLighting.com team had a busy time at the convention.

If you didn't get a chance to attend, you missed out on impressive US fixture debuts from Clay Paky (Mythos), Elation (Sniper), Chroma-Q (Color ONE Par), Martin (MAC Aura XB), and more. You also missed out on free coffee and drinks at our booth along with our trademark "witty banter". And there was a TV showing sports for those not finding the banter so witty (we saw you watching out of the corner of your eye...yes, you).

To give you an idea of what it all looked like, below are some photos from the show floor. Also, for an even more in depth look, be sure to check out our video center where we've posted some of the clips from the manufacturers themselves giving tours and demos right on the show floor.

Thanks to all who visited us at the booth! It was great seeing old friends and making new ones.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/things-were-thankful-for-this-season 10 Things We're Thankful for This Season https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/11/26/things-were-thankful-for-this-season Wed, 26 Nov 2014 07:32:26 -0800 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f54769a5fcad3f.jpg What do Gaff-Tape, the Wayback Machine, and TSO have in common? All are part of our 2014 list of the things we are thankful for this holiday season. Thanksgiving is here! It's that wonderful time of year when we all take a moment to appreciate the things in life that make us smile and give us joy. We also may or may not spend the next few days making excuses to avoid certain family members, or overeating in an attempt to "not let anything go to waste", but we digress.

All of us here at UsedLighting.com are not immune to the tidings of joy that the season brings, and as such we've compiled a short list of things we are thankful for! Before that though, let us say that while the east coast is buried in snow, all of us at UsedLighting.com headquarters in sunny Las Vegas have to point out how thankful we are for our lack of snow plows, winter coats, salt bags, and other east coast necessities. Stay warm out there Buffalo!

With that said, on to the list of things we are thankful for this year:

1: Light Emitting Diodes -

We have a hunch that these might become a big deal. You heard it here first! Also, they make GREAT Christmas lights. If only someone would make them into a par, or perhaps a leko, these things might really take off.

2. Gaff-Tape

Like duct tape, but for us.

3. Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Inspiring the guy next door to become a Lighting Designer since 2007

4. True New Yorkers (Including all of our staff at 4Wall / UsedLighting.com New York!)

Because without them, would all the rest of us really seem so nice?

5. Daisy-chaining

Not only is it helpful, you always sound cool saying it.

6. Work Boxes

Every one is a different treasure trove. What will you find when you open yours after a long hiatus? Un-cut gel sheets? Long since expired food items? It's a never-ending source of excitement.

7. Par Cans

The original Silver Bells.

8. Light.

Because without it, our website domain and brand name would be pretty worthless, right?

9. The Wayback machine

Because whenever we get full of ourselves, it's good to remember our humble beginnings. Take a look at UsedLighting.com circa 2001.

Yep, we went with the spinning credit card graphic in the middle.

10. Last but not least all of our friends, customers, and acquaintances in this great industry...including our readers here!

Or at least the few of you who made it to the end of this list! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/elation-professinoal-announces-platinum-profile-led Elation Professinoal Announces Platinum Profile LED https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/11/07/elation-professinoal-announces-platinum-profile-led Fri, 07 Nov 2014 03:16:15 -0800 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/ Elation’s new fixture is an entry-level LED moving head with automated framing shutters. Elation cranks out a number of products each year, catering to different levels of designers and venues. Their latest moving light fixture is one they claim is the market's first entry level LED moving head profile WITH framing shutters, the Platinum Profile LED.

As we all know, adding shutters takes any moving light profile product to the next level. Here's a bit more on the fixture from Elation's official release:

Using a high-performance 180W LED engine that gives a level of power comparable to a 575W discharge lamp, the fixture and ;s flexible 4-blade rotating framing system allows the beam to be shaped and angled as required for precise highlighting of set pieces and performers, or can be used to create outstanding projection or mid-air effects.

Individual control of each blade position and angle allows for a highly controlled field of light with less light spill while rotation of the complete framing module permits projection at any angle. Pre-programmed blade macros are included that offer a series of shape and movement effects

The fixture and ;s economical 180W LED engine (6,500K, >85CRI, 20,000 hours) emits 9,000 total lumens of flicker-free output while the fixture consumes a total of only 250W of max power. Its wide array of uses include special event and AV rental applications, broadcast and television, theatres, houses of worship, or any event or venue that requires an affordable profile luminaire with framing.

The Platinum Profile LED also includes two color wheels that feature 11 total dichroic colors including UV and CTO.

Interested in adding this new fixture to your venue? You can see more features and purchase it from us here.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/5-things-student-lighting-designers-should-know 5 Things Student Lighting Designers Should Know https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/11/03/5-things-student-lighting-designers-should-know Mon, 03 Nov 2014 06:53:37 -0800 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f545810781c94e.jpg LD Mike Wood gives us five pieces of wisdom design students may not glean from their current curriculum. This week, Mike Wood joins us in the Lounge to give design students five pieces of wisdom they may not glean from their current curriculum. An award winning designer himself, Mike has also spent years in the classroom teaching not only the technical aspects of lighting design, but also how to manage a career in the profession. Without further ado, here's Mike!

When I was approached to write about and ;5 things that young designers need to know, and ; I was at first trying to think of technical or design things that are important to people starting their careers. Then, I realized that students are being bombarded with this information left and right every day in school - why would they need to hear it again from someone on the Internet?

Instead, I tried to think of five things that you probably are not going to be taught in school. Without these vital things, your career is sure to be short-lived.

Mike's Students at Howard W. Blake running a production of RENT

1) Take care of your body and your mind

The hours are long, the demands are overwhelming, and as a student, you probably often find yourself in the theatre at midnight trying to work out that complicated scene change or trying to finish up tweaking those light cues that just weren and ;t right. You probably had pizza and cookies for and ;dinner and ; around 3pm and your breakfast tomorrow will probably consist of whatever you can find in the vending machine backstage (or maybe leftover pizza). Sounds like the ideal college lifestyle, right? Wrong. Even though you probably do not believe your mom when she says it, it is important to take care of yourself. This means eating right, sleeping, and exercising.

One of the nice parts about working in professional theatre (and working with unions) is that when the rehearsal is over at 10pm, it and ;s OVER at 10pm. It and ;s not time for work notes, it and ;s not time to finish painting or sewing, it and ;s time to go home. It is time to rest your body and give your mind time to recharge for the next day. When the production team is going on little sleep and junk food, the 4th or 5th day of tech is no fun for anyone. People get irritable and angry, tensions flare up, and the art suffers because of it.

I always try to have healthy snacks at my tech table. Fruits, veggies, nuts, and the like. Of course, there are cookies and chips too. It is all about moderation. When you go on break, actually get up and go outside. Breathe in some fresh air and stretch your legs. It not only helps you physically, but helps you mentally. On dark days, exercise. Do yoga, go to the gym, play a sport. Keep your body healthy and strong.

Most importantly, stay home when you are sick. No production is worth your health. You are useless when you are ill, and the more you try to work through it, the longer you stay ill and useless. On top of that, you risk spreading sickness to your fellow company members. While it might seem that the show cannot go on without you, something can always be done to accommodate you getting better. This past summer, I injured myself pretty badly while knee boarding behind a jet ski (a sentence that makes me sound way cooler than I actually am.) It was 4 days before tech on God of Carnageat a theatre company in St. Petersburg, FL and two weeks out from the premiere of a new musical that I was lighting at the New York Musical Theatre Festival. The morning of focus forCarnage,I was in the hospital. Before that, I had contacted my assistant and the production staff at the theatre, and we worked out a revised schedule to allow me to recover and still get the work accomplished.

The important thing to remember is that everyone gets sick. Everyone gets hurt. People will not get mad and blame you for it. Only you know your limits as to what you can and cannot do, but if you are too exhausted to perform your work, you will surely fail.

2) Have a life outside of the theatre

Theatre people tend to live and breathe theatre. Theatre is who we are, it is what we do, and it is our life and our passion. These qualities are very important to have to be successful in this business. As with any good thing in life, it is important to have moderation. Burnout is real. I admit that I am not the best at giving myself and ;time off and ; - I book shows back to back and try to be working as much as I can because I truly love what I do - but I try to always set aside a week or two here and there that I force myself to have and ;off. and ; This means no paperwork, no meetings, nothing. I am doing other things unrelated to my work. It allows me time to decompress and to recharge both my body and my mind for my next project.

That and ;s bigger picture, though. What does it mean to have a and ;life and ; outside of the theatre? It means that you need to be interested in other things. You have to have other hobbies, other things that interest you. You have to have friends who have no connection to the theatre world. For me, it is playing ultimate Frisbee and having game nights with my friends and ; friends who are accountants and advertising professionals and would not know a gobo from a batten.

When I am looking to hire an assistant for a production, their technical knowledge is not the most important thing I look for. Knowing how to draft and how to program doesn and ;t make you special. Tons of people know how to do those things and they are a dime a dozen. What matters to me is simple. I ask myself and ;would I go out for a beer after rehearsal with this person? and ; if the answer is no, then I do not want to work with them. It might seem like a shallow thing, but when you think about it, you spend hundreds of hours with this person when you are working with them. Why would you want to spend those hours with someone that you do not like?

The best designer is worthless if he or she cannot hold a conversation about things other than moving lights and control consoles. Be a student of the world around you and it will make you an even better designer.

3) It is never too early to start networking

Every single person that you meet can have a direct effect on your life and your career. It might not seem like it at first, but you never know when that one person you met after a show once will come into your life many years later. A short story:

A year after I graduated from high school, I designed a production of Seussical for my old school. We went all out, bringing in moving lights, scrollers, and more. For a young designer just starting out, it was awesome. I was able to and ;play and ; in an environment with virtually no consequences because it was a high school out in the country.

After the show, a guy came up to me and introduced himself. His name was Justyn and he was the artistic director of a small theatre company out in Tampa. He said he loved my work and we exchanged cards and became Facebook friends and that was it. Other than the yearly and ;happy birthday and ; Facebook post, we never really spoke again. Fast forward several years. Justyn is now living and working as an Equity Stage Manager in NYC and he posts about a exciting new show that he is working on with some big Broadway names attached to it. On a whim, I sent him a message asking if they had an LD. They had literally just lost theirs that morning. Within two weeks, I was in NYC teching this show. Justyn and I are now the best of friends and he has gotten me many more shows in NYC. All because of that one contact that was made many years prior.

Be kind to everyone you meet. Make good impressions. Do not burn bridges. It seems so simple, but I see it forgotten all the time. The theatre industry is SMALL. Everyone knows everyone. If you are an asshole, that reputation will precede you wherever you go.

As much of a brain drain as it might be, social media is a vital tool for networking. Become Facebook friends with people, connect with them on LinkedIn, like their photos on Instagram. You never know when it might lead to a job - and trust me, it can and it will.

On a similar note, make sure that you are representing yourself and your work well on all forms of social media and on your portfolio. Edit, proofread, and fine-tune everything you post. Do not post unflattering images of your work. Get a decent camera and learn how to use it - if you are taking photos on automatic mode with a DSLR, you are doing it wrong. (There is an entire post on how to photograph your work coming soon.) Use hashtags. Use them properly. I and ;ve gotten offers to design shows because an artistic director was on Instagram and looked through posts that had been tagged with #ShrekTheMusical and was impressed with my work.

There are people I know who are the same age as me who I consider remarkably more talented than I am, but they are not working right now because they did not take the time to start networking right away.

Simply put, don and ;t be a jerk.

Mike's Students working on a production of PARADE

4) You do not know everything.

You don and ;t. No one does. People who think they do are wrong. Many years ago, I came across a brilliant quote in PLSN magazine. I wish I had saved a clipping of it so that I could properly attribute it to the writer, but here it is nonetheless:

and ;Surround yourself with people who know more than you. You can learn from these people. Surround yourself with people who know less than you do. These are the people you can teach. and ;

The most successful people in any field are those who are lifelong students. This does not mean that they stay in school forever; rather it means that they are always looking for ways to grow their knowledge and to improve their minds. Surround yourself with people who inspire you - you will learn from them and your skills will benefit. Surround yourself with people who do not know as much as you, because they might draw that same inspiration from you. I and ;ve learned things from stagehands who have been working for 60 years just as often as I and ;ve learned things from high school students. The lessons may be different, but they are there. Look for the lesson in every situation you encounter and ; especially the difficult ones.

5) Do not be afraid to try things that don and ;t work.

and ;It and ;s always okay to explore a bad idea, but it and ;s never okay to implement one. and ;

- Jules Fisher

There is no one right way to do anything in this industry. The only wrong way to do something is if it is unsafe to the performers, crew, or audience members. This might seem at odds with everything you have probably been taught in your educational careers so far. It and ;s important to be able to adapt to different ways of doing things.

In your design classes, you probably have spent countless hours discussing colors and angles and you have done several projects where you had to analyze and defend your choices. I get messages from some of my former students who are now off at big arts schools asking me what color I would choose for ______ application and I just scratch my head. It is an impossible question to answer. Looking for an objectively and ;correct and ; answer is futile, because there isn and ;t one. What is and ;right and ; to me might not be right to your design professor or to your director or to the usher and ;s cousin who came to see the show.

Don and ;t get me wrong though; the assignments that your professors are giving you are absolutely vital to your development as a designer. It is just important that you see why. You might not see it right away. I certainly didn and ;t when I was in school. The point of an assignment like choosing the and ;best and ; color for a particular application isn and ;t to make you actually figure out what the best color is, but to prepare you for the process of choosing color and to open your eyes to the vast array of options (and opinions) that there are. When you are asked to defend your choices, you are not being expected to prove that you are right, you are expected to realize that your choices are completely subjective. This is a lesson that might not sink in right away, but it will eventually.

There are times where I and ;ve made a design choice blindly, thinking, and ;This will either work or it will fail miserably. and ; 99% of the time, it works. Sometimes it even works better than you might have imagined it. If it fails, chances are you can repurpose it for something else. Trust your instincts. If your instincts are all bad, you probably are in the wrong profession.

Of course, there are things that are wrong. Don and ;t hang a far cyc unit in the FOH bays as your main front light source because you and ;did the math and the beam spread was perfect. and ; (I wish I was making that quote up.) That and ;s wrong.

Unless it and ;s not.

Mike Wood is a theatrical lighting designer and educator who is currently based in Tampa, FL. His award winning work has been seen on stages throughout the country. He teaches design and technology at Hillsborough Community College and spent several years on the design faculty at Howard W. Blake School of the Arts in Tampa. You can see Mike and ;s work and blog at mikewoodld.com and facebook.com/mikewoodlightingdesign.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/plasa-award-winning-sniper-now-shipping Award-Winning Elation Sniper Now Shipping https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/10/28/plasa-award-winning-sniper-now-shipping Tue, 28 Oct 2014 08:54:16 -0700 Manufacturers https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f545020a2a1bc3.jpg The laser simulator took home the 2014 Award for Innovation, and is now available to purchase from NewLighting.com
Eric Loader and Toby Velazquez Accepting the Award for Innovation

Is it a laser? No. Does it look like a laser? Yes. Can it do a lot of other cool things? Definitely.

Our initial assessment of the new Elation Sniper was shared by those judging the 2014 Plasa Awards. The fixture took home an Award for Innovation for its innovative technology and new approach to hybrid lighting.

The judges commended the Sniper, stating, "The Sniper beam light, scanner, and laser simulator adds a unique effect to the lighting toolbox. It fills a gap in the market for a huge number of venues that won't spend top dollar, Euro, or Pound but need great effects lighting. It also sidesteps the issue of laser regulations by simulating laser effects without actually using a laser source. Its small size is an added bonus and it and ;s priced affordably."

Elation Sales Director Eric Loader and Elation President Toby Velazquez were on hand to accept the award.

and ;This only adds to the anticipation and excitement we have had in the Sniper from the moment we turned on the first prototype, and ; Eric Loader commented. and ;PLASA was a very positive show for us and has continued the momentum. The Sniper is a very unique product that LDs are discovering can offer something new and the PLASA award is really an endorsement of that. and ;

Want to add the Sniper to your lighting toolbox? You can find it here available for purchase.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/etc-adding-colorsource-led-par-to-lineup ETC Adding ColorSource LED Par to Lineup https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/10/21/etc-adding-colorsource-led-par-to-lineup Tue, 21 Oct 2014 04:07:00 -0700 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5446a0c3f277e.jpg ETC has finally announced it's first entry into the LED Par realm, the ColorSource PAR. Read on to hear more about the fixture and the special "ingredient" they used to create rich LED color.

ETC is an industry giant that has brought the lighting world fixtures such as the Source Four Ellipsoidal, Source Four Par and more recently the Source Four LED.

After a long wait, the company is finally adding an LED Par to it's repertoire...the ColorSource PAR!

Not only does the company claim to have produced a fixture that will emit a richer, more natural light output than other LED fixtures, but they did it with an addition you couldn't have guessed (even if we gave you a hundred guesses...which we won't): lime.

Yep, you read that correctly. Lime. While other fixtures add amber or white to their RGB to balance out the color spectrum, the lighting gurus at ETC found that by adding lime they could fill in color gaps neglected by those fixtures. The company promises this leaves the ColorSource PAR with a more vibrant and color-rich palette!

ETC has also promised to keep the fixture budget friendly, with a rumored list price of around $750.

The ColorSource PAR also sounds like it will be easy to use for both lighting veterans and novices alike. Like all of ETC's fixtures, we expect this new LED to be a hit when it begins shipping at the end of the year.

Here's more from the official ETC release:

Since ETC began developing LED luminaires, the company has spent a lot of time experimenting with color, inventing LED products whose color capabilities go well beyond what is available on the market today. ETC has applied this expertise to the ColorSource PAR, which uses a proportionate blend of red, green, blue and lime LED emitters to produce a richer, more natural light output than other budget LED fixtures. and ;It and ;s so easy to see difference in light quality, and ; says ETC Fixtures Product Manager Jim Uphoff. and ;The ColorSource PAR is in another league when it comes to color, delivering the most beautiful light that a four-color LED can produce and ; all without breaking the bank. and ;

ColorSource PAR users can benefit from the color calibration that ETC does on all its LED luminaires. The luminaires are tested for uniformity, so a lighting system with multiple ColorSource PARs will have the same color from fixture to fixture. And they and ;re designed to compensate for the droop that typically plagues LED fixtures, so the ColorSource PAR and ;s output will look the same from the beginning of a show to the end.

Despite its superior color capabilities, the ColorSource PAR doesn and ;t require extensive lighting knowledge to use. and ;This is a great fixture for students just starting out in lighting or small venues with staff who don and ;t have lighting training, and ; explains Uphoff. and ;It and ;s easy to set up and works with or without a simple lighting desk. You can just plug it in and get it working in seconds. and ;

These are now available to purchase on NewLighting.com here!

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/registration-open-for-touring-career-workshop Registration Now Open for Touring Career Workshop in Nashville https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/10/20/registration-open-for-touring-career-workshop Mon, 20 Oct 2014 07:38:58 -0700 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f544580f19ff47.png Are you interested in a career in the touring industry? Looking for some great advice? Look no further than the fourth annual Touring Career Workshop, which is set to be held at SoundCheck Nashville next month. (November 19th, from 5:30 PM to 11 PM to ...

Are you interested in a career in the touring industry? Looking for some great advice?

Look no further than the fourth annual Touring Career Workshop, which is set to be held at SoundCheck Nashville next month. (November 19th, from 5:30 PM to 11 PM to be exact!)

The event is free and is produced by a great group of folks who have successfully navigated the touring world for years, including Erik Parker who recently joined us for a guest post here on the Lounge.

While it is free, space is at a premium so you will want to reserve your spot soon.

Click here to register, and you can also preview a few of the sessions below:

This year's sessions include:

  • Setting Up and Running a Business
  • Not just a Man's World
  • Getting in and Surviving the Business
  • Navigating Relationships
  • Conflict resolution/ Stress of the Road
  • Show and Safety
  • Health and Fitness on the Road
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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/demo-of-martin-mac-quantum-led-profile Demo of Martin MAC Quantum LED Profile https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/10/15/demo-of-martin-mac-quantum-led-profile Wed, 15 Oct 2014 09:01:21 -0700 Manufacturers https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f543efcc0ab081.jpg Martin stopped by to demo the finalprototype of the MAC Quantum LED Profile! The finished version will debut at LDI 2014. The fixture was 45' from the back wall of a 53' trailer. The Quantum Profile is set to replace the now discontinued MAC 700 Profile a... Martin stopped by to demo the finalprototype of the MAC Quantum LED Profile! The finished version will debut at LDI 2014. The fixture was 45' from the back wall of a 53' trailer. The Quantum Profile is set to replace the now discontinued MAC 700 Profile and is also comparable to a VL2500 Spot. Our parent company 4Wall Entertainment will be adding these to their rental inventory soon, so be sure to watch the 4Wall Facebook and Twitter pages for updates on when these are available to rent!

Features:

  • Color mixing:CMY, independently variable 0 - 100%
  • Color wheel:6 color filters plus open
  • Rotating gobo wheel:6 interchangeable gobos plus open, wheel rotation, gobo rotation, indexing and shake
  • Static gobo wheel:10 gobos plus open, wheel indexing, rotation and shake
  • Beam effects:Rotating three-facet prism
  • Zoom:12 and ; - 36 and ; (1:3)
  • Pan and tilt speed:Adjustable via onboard control panel and DMX
  • Focus:Motorized, with zoom-focus trackingIris:0 - 100%, pulse effects
  • Shutter effect:Electronic, with variable speed regular and random strobe
  • Electronic dimming:Four dimming curve options
  • Pan:540 and ; Tilt:268 and ;
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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/sgm-g-spot-ip-65-rated-moving-light IP-65 Rated Moving Light https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/10/13/sgm-g-spot-ip-65-rated-moving-light Mon, 13 Oct 2014 08:49:53 -0700 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f543c5710ba6ce.jpg SGM stopped by to demo theirG-Spot water-proof IP-65 rated, LED moving light! The G-Spotis a first of it's kind water-proof fixture that iscompletely sealed to protect the fixture from water, dust, sand, and fog. Of course we had totestthat claim by dumpi... SGM stopped by to demo theirG-Spot water-proof IP-65 rated, LED moving light! The G-Spotis a first of it's kind water-proof fixture that iscompletely sealed to protect the fixture from water, dust, sand, and fog. Of course we had totestthat claim by dumping water directly into the fan...well, you can see more of that in the video. Along with the fixture being sealed, italso comes standard with a Neutrik True 1 waterproof cable/connector.

The LEDfixture outputs 17,000 lumenswith a 2,000K - 10,000K color temperature. It also featureselectronic dimming,1-100% pulse Iris, high-speed strobe effectand 540 to 270 deg pan/tilt. It also has a built in LumenRadio with RDM for wireless DMX. You can see full specs for the fixture as well as pricinghere.

Let me tell you, when it came time to dump water in the fixture, it wasn't hard to find a volunteer!

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/lighting-lounge-contest-winners-10-13-14 Contest Winners - 10/13/14 https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/10/13/lighting-lounge-contest-winners-10-13-14 Mon, 13 Oct 2014 04:43:52 -0700 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f543c1d6828f7f.jpg It doesn't happen very often, but no one correctly identified the fixture! The correct answer is the Chroma-Q Color One Par! The 3 second place winners are Kevis Mulchan, Nathan Reed, and Zach Weeks. Please email your shirt size and address to contest@use... It doesn't happen very often, but no one correctly identified the fixture! The correct answer is the Chroma-Q Color One Par! The 3 second place winners are Kevis Mulchan, Nathan Reed, and Zach Weeks. Please email your shirt size and address to contest@usedlighting.com.

The next contest will be on 10/24!

Contest

It's contest time! Name the stagelighting fixture from the pictures below. (Hint: These pictures were taken directly at the front lens of the fixture.)

There are two ways to enter the contest:

1) Comment on this post with your answer to be entered for the grand prize.

2) Go to ourFacebook Pageand comment on our latest contest post with your answer to be entered for the grand prize. In addition, like or share the post to be entered for the second place prize.

One grand prize winner will be randomly chosen from anyone who correctly identifies the item. Three additional winners will be randomly chosen from anyone who comments on this postor likes/sharesour Facebook post.

Grand Prize: 10% off sitewide coupon (new or used),Flash Drive, Laser Pointer, T-shirt, LED Keychain, Pen

Second Place Prize: UsedLighting T-shirt, Laser Pointer, LED Keychain

The contest will end Monday, 10/13 at noon PDT and the correct answer and winners will be revealed then, both here and on Facebook!

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/lighting-lounge-contest-what-am-i Lighting Lounge Contest - What Am I? https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/10/10/lighting-lounge-contest-what-am-i Fri, 10 Oct 2014 02:55:59 -0700 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f544a78d61f71d.jpg RESULTS The answer to the contest was indeed the Clay Paky A.LEDA B-EYE K20!https://bit.ly/1rvEZHKHere are the winners: Grand Prize - Jonathan Martell Second Place Prize - Nathan Reed, Rob Jones, and Drew Hull. Send your address and shirt size... RESULTS

The answer to the contest was indeed the Clay Paky A.LEDA B-EYE K20!https://bit.ly/1rvEZHKHere are the winners:

Grand Prize - Jonathan Martell

Second Place Prize - Nathan Reed, Rob Jones, and Drew Hull.

Send your address and shirt size to contest@usedlighting.com.

Thanks to everyone for participating! We will do another one in 2 weeks.

CONTEST

It's contest time! Name the stagelighting fixture from the picturebelow.

There are two ways to enter the contest:

1) Comment on this post with your answer to be entered for the grand prize.

2) Go to ourFacebook Pageand comment on our latest contest post with your answer to be entered for the grand prize. In addition, like or share the post to be entered for the second place prize.

One grand prize winner will be randomly chosen from anyone who correctly identifies the item. Three additional winners will be randomly chosen from anyone who comments on this postor likes/sharesour Facebook post.

Grand Prize: 10% off sitewide coupon (new or used),Flash Drive, Laser Pointer, T-shirt, LED Keychain, Pen

Second Place Prize: UsedLighting T-shirt, Laser Pointer, LED Keychain

The contest will end Monday, 10/27 at noon PDT, and the correct answer and winners will be revealed then, both here and on Facebook!

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/james-thomas-engineering-joins-tomcat-as-part-of-milos-group James Thomas Engineering Joins Tomcat as Part of Milos Group https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/10/07/james-thomas-engineering-joins-tomcat-as-part-of-milos-group Tue, 07 Oct 2014 08:44:11 -0700 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f54346cbb43094.jpg Tomcat Global, an industry powerhouse truss company, joined the Milos Group a few years ago. Today, Milos announced the addition of another truss company familiar to anyone in the industry: James Thomas Engineering. It seems JTE will operate under t... Tomcat Global, an industry powerhouse truss company, joined the Milos Group a few years ago.

Today, Milos announced the addition of another truss company familiar to anyone in the industry: James Thomas Engineering.

It seems JTE will operate under the Tomcat Global banner going forward.

You can read an excerpt of the press release below, or head here for the full version. We can only assume that putting together two of the most well-respected truss brands in the country will be a positive for both companies (as well as the Milos Group itself) going forward.

From the official release:

James Thomas Engineering has been one of the leading manufacturers of aluminum trussing, rigging and ground support to North American and international clients since 1977. Its General Purpose, Supertruss and HD truss systems are known throughout the industry as benchmarks for professional outdoor concert, theatre and corporate venue productions.

As part of the Milos Group, and falling under the TOMCAT banner, JTE will continue to manufacture the same high quality and ;Made in the USA and ; products that industry professionals have relied upon for more than 35 years. Innovation will remain its first priority, and its mission statement and ;Innovation through Design and Engineering Excellence and ; will continue to be its mantra.

Looking to purchase truss? You can browse our selection of used and new Tomcat Truss as well as our selection of Milos products.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/take-the-which-luminaire-are-you-quiz Take the "Which Luminaire Are You?" Quiz https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/10/06/take-the-which-luminaire-are-you-quiz Mon, 06 Oct 2014 02:18:40 -0700 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5432c8a20ec6b.jpg Our friends at Live Design Online have done something incredible. Leveraging the latest technology, they've created a way to use DNA profiles to match human beings to comparable luminaires, literally answering the question "If you were a luminaire, whi...

Our friends at Live Design Online have done something incredible.

Leveraging the latest technology, they've created a way to use DNA profiles to match human beings to comparable luminaires, literally answering the question "If you were a luminaire, which luminaire would you be?" Are you a VL4000? A Clay Paky Sharpy? A GLP X4XL? It's time to lose a bit of your DNA in an effort to find out.

Just kidding.

Really, the quiz is similar to any you would find on Facebook or other sites, just asking a few simple questions that will then allow the system to spit out the answer of which luminaire you are.

So despite the lack of DNA authenticity...you still want to know right? Click here to get started! Then come back and let us know in the comments below which luminaire you are, and if you are happy with the results.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/sale-item-of-the-week-chauvet-nexus-4x4 Sale Item of the Week: Chauvet Nexus 4x4 https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/10/01/sale-item-of-the-week-chauvet-nexus-4x4 Wed, 01 Oct 2014 09:37:17 -0700 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f542c902ca137b.jpg In a new (and possibly short lived depending on our work ethic) feature here on the Lounge, we're going to highlight one of our items featured on this week's specials and give you a bit of background on how top designers are using it! This week's featu... In a new (and possibly short lived depending on our work ethic) feature here on the Lounge, we're going to highlight one of our items featured on this week's specials and give you a bit of background on how top designers are using it!

This week's featured item is the Chauvet Nexus 4x4 LED Panel. You can currently grab a a used Nexus Panel for the price of $995, saving 16% off the list price.

So what makes the Nexus cool? There are a number of features we like about it....pixel mapping, vivid colors, and great rendering even when viewed from locations other than directly in front of it. But why take our word for it? Here are some comments from a few designers who have used the Nexus on their shows:

LD: Sohail Najafi, Najafi Design Group

RX Bandits Rocking the Nexus at the Fillmore

Used the Nexus on: RX Bandits 'Gemini Her Majesty' Tour

Sohail said: "The Nexus 4x4s were used to create a large dynamic monogram backdrop of the band's initials 'Rx" that changed with the music. We used a wide range of pixel-mapped effects including color morphing, flying text, motion, and image cues."

"As an added bonus of the software we used for control (Madrix), the integrated sound effects engine inside the software allowed us to create sound-controlled motion effects that drove the audience crazy; our sound activated fire and audio waveform cues on the Nexus panels always made the crowd roar!"

Nexus Panels on stage with 3EB

LD: Mitchell Schellenger, iLikeLights

Used the Nexus on: Third Eye Blind 2014 Festival Tour

Mitchell said: "Third Eye Blind wanted a very bright, warm, and powerful energy coming from the stage. I knew I needed some sort of panel to fulfill that need. Nexus panels were the best tool to achieve the warm look we were aiming for with an LED fixture. The color scheme was very warm with CTO, amber, and some deep orange. The only exception was one special cue (green flash). The inspiration behind this show was a setting sun and the optical phenomenon of a green flash. We played off of that inspiration throughout the entire show, all the way to the last cue with a drum hit and the and ;green flash and ; ending the show."

"Even with such a specific set of palette demands, the 4x4s were able to handle the colors I was creating and gave me the desired result. I knew I would be bitmapping with the Nexus unit, controlling each individual pixel. I also knew I would need the use of the warm white LED, due to our particular color scheme for this tour. The 53ch mode allowed me to do both of these techniques effectively and made programming a snap."

Thanks to both Sohail and Mitchell for giving us a bit of insight on the Chauvet Nexus! For those of you who would prefer a more visual display of what the Nexus can do, check out this video from our parent company 4Wall Entertainment:

Let us know in the comments if you've used the Nexus panel yourself!

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/winners-of-our-lighting-contest Contest Winners - 09/26/14 https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/09/29/winners-of-our-lighting-contest Mon, 29 Sep 2014 05:35:49 -0700 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5429b495690d9.jpg Thank you to everyone who participated in our contest! The correct answer was Apollo. The fixture is the Apollo Avere 7UV, which will debut at LDI 2014 in Las Vegas. We will continue to do these contestsevery two weeks, so the next one will be October ... Thank you to everyone who participated in our contest! The correct answer was Apollo. The fixture is the Apollo Avere 7UV, which will debut at LDI 2014 in Las Vegas.

We will continue to do these contestsevery two weeks, so the next one will be October 10. Here are the winners:

Grand Prize
Shane Tillman

Second Place Prize
Jon Felt
Alex Dycus
Jose Ybarra Jr.

Please email your shirt size and address to contest@usedlighting.com.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/elation-hosting-jonathan-smeeton-design-seminar-in-miami Elation Hosting Jonathan Smeeton Design Seminar in Miami https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/09/25/elation-hosting-jonathan-smeeton-design-seminar-in-miami Thu, 25 Sep 2014 02:52:33 -0700 Events https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5424496897707.jpg Jonathan Smeeton Whether you're an aspiring lighting designer or simply someone who enjoys hearing from an industry legend, if you can make it to Miami you won't want to miss Elation's upcoming seminar with Jonathan Smeeton. Hosted at their headqu...
Jonathan Smeeton

Whether you're an aspiring lighting designer or simply someone who enjoys hearing from an industry legend, if you can make it to Miami you won't want to miss Elation's upcoming seminar with Jonathan Smeeton.

Hosted at their headquarters in Opa-Locka, the full day event is titled "Lighting Designa and its Application for the Stage."

If you're not familiar with Smeeton's work, the list is long and impressive, including designs for Peter Gabriel, Diana Ross, Journey, Phil Collins, Taylor Swift, and many more!

Best of all, the event is completely FREE! However you do need to register to attend, and spaces are sure to fill up quickly. You can head here to make sure you're on the list.

Full event info below:

October 15, 2014
8:30am - 4:30pm
Elation Professional
13185 NW 47th Ave
Opa-Locka, FL 33054


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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/win-a-trip-to-ldi-or-prolight-sound-from-vari-lite Win a Trip to LDI or ProLight and from Vari-Lite https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/09/22/win-a-trip-to-ldi-or-prolight-sound-from-vari-lite Mon, 22 Sep 2014 07:43:22 -0700 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f54209959d8a29.jpg Our friends at Vari-Lite have announced a contest that is sure to peak your interest...especially if you're interested in winning a FREE trip to LDI or ProLight and ! The "1 on 1 with Vari-Lite" Contest is a video contest challenging you to create a o... Our friends at Vari-Lite have announced a contest that is sure to peak your interest...especially if you're interested in winning a FREE trip to LDI or ProLight and !

The "1 on 1 with Vari-Lite" Contest is a video contest challenging you to create a one minute video featuring just a single VL luminaire.

Additional prizes include GoPro Cameras, Vari-Lite swag packs, and more. Check out the video below for more details on the contest! You can also read the full rules and submit your entry here.

Good luck to any of you who plan on submitting!

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/elation-sniper-2r-multi-effect-and-laser-simulator Elation Sniper 2R - Multi-Effect and Laser Simulator https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/09/17/elation-sniper-2r-multi-effect-and-laser-simulator Wed, 17 Sep 2014 03:48:39 -0700 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5419c99ecf35c.jpg A week ago we posted a preview of the Sniper before it's big debut with a teaser video of the fixture here. We now havefull details and a videoof the Sniper in action! From Elation: Built around recent advancements in lamp, electronics, optics a... A week ago we posted a preview of the Sniper before it's big debut with a teaser video of the fixture here. We now havefull details and a videoof the Sniper in action!

From Elation:

Built around recent advancements in lamp, electronics, optics and motor technology, the Sniper is powered by the new 132W Philips and ; MSD Platinum lamp (6,000 hour lifetime rating), delivering an intensity of 45,010 lux @ 16.4 and ; (5m). Designers have 14 dichroic colors and 17 static gobos (including beam reduction gobos) at their disposal to create a variety of dynamic effects which can be delivered at lightning speed thanks to the ultra-fast mirror system. The high-precision beam and effects can be multiplied via a 3-facet rotating prism and further manipulated using a variable speed shutter, mechanical dimmer and strobe. The Sniper provides all that power and effect while consuming a maximum of only 205W.

The Sniper is naturally DMX controllable offering 14, 16 and 18 channel DMX modes (18 channel is 16 bit) and includes multiple built-in pattern macros via DMX that make programming even quicker and easier. A 4-button touch control panel and LCD display provide for easy hands-on addressing with easy-to-read fixture menus and messages. Ruggedly built and compact at 14.2" x 12.0" x 11.6" (361mm x 305mm x 295mm) and weighing 21 lbs (9.5 kg), the Sniper will fit comfortably in any rig or installation.

Professional grade Neutrik 5-pin DMX in/out and Powercon in/out connections are included and multiple units can easily be linked together for customizable setups. An auto-sensing power supply covers worldwide voltages and frequencies allowing the fixture to operate anywhere in the world.

Once we get a ship date and price from Elation, we will post it on NewLighting.com.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/jimonlight-5-tips-for-designing-a-trade-show-booth JimOnLight: 5 Tips for Designing a Trade Show Booth https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/09/11/jimonlight-5-tips-for-designing-a-trade-show-booth Thu, 11 Sep 2014 06:53:14 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f54120e7a0809c.jpg Today we're joined in the Lighting Lounge by Jim Hutchison of JimOnLight.com as well as Chauvet Pro! In addition to being one of the foremost industry voices in the blogosphere for many years, Jim is an accomplished LD and programmer who currently handles... Today we're joined in the Lighting Lounge by Jim Hutchison of JimOnLight.com as well as Chauvet Pro! In addition to being one of the foremost industry voices in the blogosphere for many years, Jim is an accomplished LD and programmer who currently handles all of the lighting designs for Chauvet Professional's booths at LDI, Infocomm, and many more. Take it away Jim!

Hello, lighting industry! I and ;m Jim Hutchison, creator of JimOnLight.com and a lighting designer/programmer in our beloved industry. I and ;m also the Customer Engagement and Education Manager for CHAUVET Professional, and the guy who designs the PRO booths for the company. That and ;s why I and ;m here today and ; to talk about designing TRADE SHOW BOOTHS!

Designing a trade show booth for a company is a lot like designing a store, a concert, a theatrical production, a ballet, and an opera all at the same time. Oh, don and ;t forget that you also have to design in a marketing campaign in there too, so there is that! But don and ;t worry and ; here and ;s five things that will help you in the future in designing big, beautiful, and more importantly, EFFECTIVE trade show booths!

#1: IT and ;S NOT ABOUT YOU!

Let and ;s start with the most important thing that there is to remember about being a lighting designer for a trade show stand: IT and ;S NOT ABOUT YOU, GREEDY LD! When you and ;re designing a booth for a company, even if that company has the baddest, biggest baller light that there ever was, your job is not to accentuate how clever you are or how talented of a programmer you are, it and ;s simply to show how great that new fixture from Company DeJour is and how it and ;s going to change the market. That and ;s really your gig. If you can and ;t adapt and become chameleonic enough to bend yourself around the products (that and ;s right, I invented that word chameleonic), then you should probably go somewhere that you can be your own King or Queen. You and ;re not gonna hang in this world.

The Chauvet Pro Booth Jim Designed for LDI 2013

#2: Got a Theatre Design degree? You and ;re EXCELLENT for Trade Show Design!

Are you a purveyor of light who learned more about lumens for the stage? Believe it or not, you and ;re very, very qualified to work on trade show booth design. Generally, designing a trade show is more like a theatrical event than a concert based on the needs of so many different teams on the show floor. Sales needs stuff, marketing needs stuff, the manufacturers and ; reps need stuff, and among all of that need, you also have to make a pretty show for the company. It and ;s not hard to do, but it and ;s not easy to do well!

#3: Not a programmer? GET A PROGRAMER. You don and ;t have time.

There are people out there who can learn a new desk in about eleventeen minutes. There are a lot of people out there too who are unbelievably creative and talented that, when placed in front of a surface they don and ;t know stare at it like an inexperienced stagehand at Monkey and ;s Fist knot. If you and ;re one of the latter and you have to get your booth programmed, call someone who doesn and ;t suck at it. You don and ;t have time between 7pm and 7am when we and ;re usually programming our booths to pretend you know what and ;s up with the desk you chose. This is varsity, people! Go ahead and try it out if you think I and ;m over-exaggerating. Let me know!

#4: THEY don and ;t have to be MOVING all the time, but YOU have to be MOVING!

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received and ; when you have moving heads on a trade show booth, they do not have to be wiggling for maximum effectiveness. As a matter of fact, you might just have a pretty fantastically stunning booth if you can master the balance of wiggling lights and not wiggling the lights, you and ;re going to have a whole heck of a lot of people coming to find out where all of this beautiful light is emanating from on the floor. Work on your aerials, make sure your coverage is tight, and try a combination of slow and fast moves that really accentuate the features in the fixtures you and ;re using. That and ;s the task at hand.

#5: Every bit of your design costs money, and lots!

If you and ;ve never worked in trade shows before, get ready to be stunned right directly to stupidity with the costs associated with places like Las Vegas Convention Center and Anaheim Convention Center, places where lots of trade shows take place. Moscone Center in San Francisco is one of the most expensive places to do a show in America, for example and ; these places charge you to get your gear from the dock to the booth space, then there and ;s high costs per rigging point, stagehands are not cheap (nor should they be, frankly) and you pay again to get your kit from the booth to the truck. The costs just keep on coming, like the hits! All of those costs add up, and quick. A lot of trade show booths have monster budgets, and it and ;s because of the reality of that business.

I hope this has helped a little and ; stay tuned for more to come!

Jim Hutchison is the creator of JimOnLight.com, as well as the Director of Education and Customer Engagement at Chauvet Pro. You can see more of his designs and tutorials at the Chauvet Pro Blog

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/demo-of-the-chauvet-next-nxt-1-pixel-mapping-moving-light Demo of the Chauvet Next NXT-1 Pixel-Mapping Moving Light https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/09/10/demo-of-the-chauvet-next-nxt-1-pixel-mapping-moving-light Wed, 10 Sep 2014 07:33:27 -0700 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f541213046da13.jpg What happens when Chauvet takes their popular Nexus fixture and makes it into a moving light? Anthony Chiappone, Product Manager for Chauvet Professional had the following to say about the NXT-1, and ;If you and ;re looking for a pixel-mapping ... What happens when Chauvet takes their popular Nexus fixture and makes it into a moving light?

Anthony Chiappone, Product Manager for Chauvet Professional had the following to say about the NXT-1,

and ;If you and ;re looking for a pixel-mapping panel that will add eye candy and really make your tour or production stand out, the Next NXT-1 is your hands-down solution. It and ;s a very high-impact visual effect with 25 10-watt RGBW LEDs that produce brilliant multi-color graphics, and an intense narrow beam angle that was designed for long throws in concert-type settings. As a moving head panel, its breakneck pan/tilt speed can keep pace with all your other moving yoke fixtures."

and ;Plus, not only can you use Art-Net and Kling-Net to make incredible pixel designs, but the virtual-gobo wheel feature allows you to access both static and kinetic patterns, and index them just like regular gobos in a moving head. This makes it incredibly easy to build really dynamic shows on-the-fly. It and ;s innovative features like this that really set the Next NXT-1 apart. and ;

The fixture comes with industry standard Neutrik, powerCON, and etherCON connectors for power and data. It can be contolled with either lighting consoles or media servers.

You can viewfull specs and purchase theNXT-1 here.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/erik-parker-5-tips-for-a-career-in-touring Erik Parker: 5 Tips for a Career in Touring https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/09/08/erik-parker-5-tips-for-a-career-in-touring Mon, 08 Sep 2014 02:07:31 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f540dd4cad64d0.jpg This week, Erik Parker joins the Lounge to give a few tips to those who are preparing for a career in the touring industry. Parker is the Associate Director of the Touring Career Workshop, a Nashville based program that helps prepare future members of the... This week, Erik Parker joins the Lounge to give a few tips to those who are preparing for a career in the touring industry. Parker is the Associate Director of the Touring Career Workshop, a Nashville based program that helps prepare future members of the touring industry for a career on the road. The main TCW event is held in November and is free to attend. Panels focus on a variety of topics including financial management, business skills, retirement planning, and much more. For more information (or to register to attend), visit the official site here. Take it away Erik!

When I was a kid I remember looking through the Country Weekly magazine and seeing all these country stars that I thought were awesome and telling my family that someday I wanted to move to Nashville and be a star. I quickly realized that with the lack of musical talent I needed a backup plan. My dream of being the next Garth Brooks quickly turned into, and ;I want to work in the music business and ;. I thought I may want to be an artist manager, but the plan ended there, so when I graduated high school I made the move to Nashville to see where that path could take me. In the nine years I have called Nashville home, I and ;ve been able to make a small mark in the lighting business and do some insanely crazy stuff. I and ;ve travelled places that the high school kid I was in 2005 didn and ;t even know was a possibility and I and ;ve worked with some people that I only imagined could happen.

Yes, there are bad days. Yes, there are days that I want nothing more than to have a simple nine-to-five office job and not have to deal with the issues of that moment. But, in each of those times I remind myself of why I got into this industry, and in the following thought, I remember the joy we help provide people. I remember the release we help give fans from all of their problems, and I remember the alternative of that nine-to-five job. Yes, there will be stressful moments and there will be times you want to no longer work in the business, but remember why you got into it. Remember the joy and spark it first gave you. With that being said, if you truly don and ;t enjoy your job, not to be blunt, but it and ;s time for you to find another one. It and ;s not worth it for someone to continue doing something they don and ;t enjoy and it and ;s not worth it to the people you and ;re surrounded by.

That being said, with my several years of experience and many mistakes made, I thought a few things I think is important to know as you continue your path in touring and ;.

1. Be prepared for rainy days

Unlike many other career choices, a job in the touring business could have extended periods of time where no income is made. There are obvious exceptions to the rule, but if you are a freelance contracter and work with a band that does not offer a salary or retainer, when they don and ;t work, you don and ;t work and you don and ;t get paid. Be prepared for this, whether that and ;s with lining up another job or with money saved throughout the busy season.

2. When you can, get out and see the town

I don and ;t know how many times I and ;ve toured with people that spend their entire days off in their hotel rooms. I TOTALLY understand the rest that we need and want on days off, but this business has the potential to take you to some really cool places. Make an effort to go see at least a few of them. Some of my fondest memories on the road are the times a buddy and I would leave our hotel in the early afternoon and explore the city well into the evening meeting people and taking in the culture. There and ;s some crazy stuff out there, check it out! Who knows when you may be back there.

3. Appreciate the local help

Yes, we and ;ve all had stagehands that we just want to look at and ask what went wrong in their genetic pool. Understand, though, that you don and ;t know that person, their history, or how they got to the position they and ;re in. That person currently has the job to assist you in whatever it is you need. Saying and ;Thank You and ; or and ;Good Job and ; will go a long way; yelling and belittling them will do nothing but create anger and cause them to not put in their efforts that you need to make your day successful. Appreciate what they do and, if needed, take time to help them learn.

4. Shut up and listen

How many times has some punk kid come up and tried to tell you how to do your job? How many of those times have you wanted to punch them in the face or say some not-so-nice words in their general direction? I have been on both sides of that on many occasions and to that I tell myself to shut up and listen. Older folks and people that have more experience than me have have some of the greatest lessons to share, but then the punk kids have some good thoughts as well. There are definitely times when you need to interject your opinions, but there are also those times when shutting up and listening to what others have to say is the better action. Learn as much as you can from as many people as possible and use that knowledge to improve what you have to offer the world.

5. Get a mentor and ; Then give back too.

I have been blessed with an incredible mentor through my career. Actually, I and ;ve been blessed with several incredible mentors. A mentor is someone that you can get advice from and could bounce ideas back and forth with; Someone that could help you on the skill side of things, as well as the business side of the touring industry and even with personal stuff. I highly recommend seeking a mentor; finding someone you can talk about whatever with and gain some great knowledge that you may not have otherwise gotten. A good mentor can save years of mistakes and havoc should you do everything on your own. At the same time, appreciate it and give back as you can. Don and ;t forget those that brought you up in the industry or those that are coming up behind you. Become an asset to not only yourself and your immediate organization, but also to those others that surround you.

This is by no means a complete guide to touring in the music business, but some basic life tips that I have encountered that I think will help someone making their way into this lifestyle. At the end of the day, enjoy what you do and be a team player. Even those two things will be apparent and help your career.

Oh yeah, there is one more important one and ; don and ;t s&%t on the bus. Trust me.

Erik Parker is a Nashville based Lighting Director and Programmer who has worked with acts such as Jennifer Nettles, One Republic, Billy Currington, and more. He is also the Associate Director of theTouring Career Workshop. For more info on Erik visitwww.eriklparker.com

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/bill-groener-a-career-in-theatre-is-not-so-bad Bill Groener: A Career in Theatre is Not So Bad https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/09/04/bill-groener-a-career-in-theatre-is-not-so-bad Thu, 04 Sep 2014 08:53:18 -0700 Nonsense https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5408efa2cf40f.jpg Back in the seventies when I was attending UC Santa Barbara and majoring in Technical Theatre and Design, my mother would regularly ask me if I really thought that this and ;theatre stuff and ; was a good idea. Like many mothers, I am sure that she reall... Back in the seventies when I was attending UC Santa Barbara and majoring in Technical Theatre and Design, my mother would regularly ask me if I really thought that this and ;theatre stuff and ; was a good idea. Like many mothers, I am sure that she really wanted her youngest son to pursue a career in a more stable, more lucrative and more legitimate field like medicine, architecture, engineering, finance or (dare I say it?) law (I and ;ll resist the temptation for some quick, cheap humor at the expense of lawyers). I can almost picture a scene where others mothers were bragging about their sons the [pick one] doctor/lawyer/engineer and she had to avert her eyes and mumble something under her breath about her son the theatrical designer.

Aside from my mother, I believe that there were/are a lot of people who believe that the entertainment industry (theatre/film/television/live performances) is populated by flaky artistic types who work late, sleep even later, dress very casually and don and ;t appear to have a and ;real job and ;.

In the more than 40 years since I embarked on my career, I have worked in design and theatrical production, but I have also now worked in what I am positive my mother would have thought were real jobs and ; College Professor, Executive VP of a major manufacturing firm, President of an international trade association and General Manager of a national systems integration firm responsible for major construction projects.

In all of these roles, I have found that the best and ; I mean the very BEST and ; people I have employed or collaborated with were people who came from a theatre background. Theatre (as I already knew and have since confirmed time and time again) is a tremendous training program for business. Well-trained theatre people are great problem solvers, they know how to multi-task REALLY WELL, they know how to work within budgets, they know how to create and ;magic and ; with very few resources and they certainly know how to meet a deadline. After all, as we know so well, the curtain goes up at 8pm and the show has to be ready and ; no excuses.

I have long believed that as liberal arts education should be required of all undergraduates to ensure that they have a well-rounded education. Such a program teaches a person to think and use all of their talents. It prepares them for a career and not merely a job. Unfortunately, specialization too early can make a person shallow, narrow-minded and not particularly interesting. If that liberal arts education includes a healthy dose of theatre and theatrical production and ; then so much the better for all of the reasons already mentioned.

My mother passed away in 1990. I suspect that she would agree with my premise and would be pleased with what her youngest son has become and what he has accomplished with his degrees in design and technical theatre.

Bill Groener is the General Manager for the Systems and Design Group within 4Wall Entertainment Lighting. He is also the Vice Chair of the PLASA Governing Body, the Vice Chair of PLASA operating in North America and a board member of the PLASA Foundation.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/robe-bmfl-world-tour-hitting-4wall-la-and-4wall-dc Robe BMFL World Tour Hitting 4Wall LA and 4Wall DC https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/09/03/robe-bmfl-world-tour-hitting-4wall-la-and-4wall-dc Wed, 03 Sep 2014 04:01:23 -0700 Manufacturers https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/ Yesterday brought the global launch of Robe's new moving light, the "BMFL". (No seriously, that's what it's called. It stands for "Bright Multi-Functional Luminaire". It doesn't stand for anything else. We didn't even think what you're thinking. Hasn't cr... Yesterday brought the global launch of Robe's new moving light, the "BMFL". (No seriously, that's what it's called. It stands for "Bright Multi-Functional Luminaire". It doesn't stand for anything else. We didn't even think what you're thinking. Hasn't crossed our minds.)

Anyway, if you missed the online debut of the fixture, which was broadcast to nearly 11,000 people in multiple languages, you still have a chance to see this fixture in person soon. Robe has announced a BMFL World Tour for the fixture Robe CEO Josef Valchar called "...the best fixture we have ever made."

The tour kicks off this week in four key US cities, and UsedLighting.com's parent company 4Wall Entertainment will be hosting two of the four demos! 4Wall LA and 4Wall DC are the places to be this week if you want to see the BMFL up close.

Full time and date info is below, and each event is free to the public. Stop by either 4Wall location and be sure to let us know what you think of the fixture by hitting us up on Facebook or Twitter.

BMFL Demo, 4Wall DC:
Thursday, Sept 4th, 12 PM - 8 PM
9525 Berger Road, Suite G
Columbia, MD 21046

BMFL Demo, 4Wall LA:
Thursday, Sept 4th, 3:30 PM- 5 PM
5435 W. San Fernando Rd.
Los Angeles, CA 90039

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/elation-set-to-debut-sniper-multi-effect-fixture-at-pro-show-uk Elation Set to Debut "Sniper" Multi-Effect Fixture at PRO Show UK https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/09/02/elation-set-to-debut-sniper-multi-effect-fixture-at-pro-show-uk Tue, 02 Sep 2014 03:33:13 -0700 Manufacturers https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5406069608cb7.jpg Elation Professional teased us this week with the announcement that they will debut a new 'hybrid multi-effect lighting fixture' at PRO Show this month in the UK. The company promises this will be a game changing product that gives creative LDs an all-...

Elation Professional teased us this week with the announcement that they will debut a new 'hybrid multi-effect lighting fixture' at PRO Show this month in the UK.

The company promises this will be a game changing product that gives creative LDs an all-new tool to create light shows. If you live in the UK or are planning on journeying to Birmingham for the show this month, you can see the fixture live and in person at stand G25.

You can check out a sneak peak video of the Sniper here ...it doesn't show a great deal, but it does feature dramatic music that will get you excited for the release! Also, who knew you could trademark the word Sniper? The good folks at Elation, that's who!

Check back here for more info on the Sniper once it's released, and also check out our stock of new and used Elation fixtures up for sale on the site.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/tickets-for-behind-the-scenes-charity-happy-hour-at-ldi-now-on-sale Tickets for Behind the Scenes Happy Hour Now on Sale https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/08/28/tickets-for-behind-the-scenes-charity-happy-hour-at-ldi-now-on-sale Thu, 28 Aug 2014 06:30:21 -0700 Events https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f53ff915d75696.png Are you heading to LDI in Las Vegas this year? You're obviously interested in lighting so we'll assume you are! If LDI is in your plans, and you feel like spending a night raising funds for a great charity while also imbibing, join our parent company 4...

Are you heading to LDI in Las Vegas this year? You're obviously interested in lighting so we'll assume you are!

If LDI is in your plans, and you feel like spending a night raising funds for a great charity while also imbibing, join our parent company 4Wall Entertainment for the "Behind the Scenes Happy Hour".

Taking place on Thursday, Nov 20th from 6 PM to 8 PM at the Westgate Las Vegas, the event will feature an open bar and live music. All the proceeds from your $50 ticket will benefit Behind the Scenes, the only industry charity providing grants to ill or injured entertainment tech professionals.

In addition to the gang from 4Wall and UsedLighting.com, you'll also get to rub elbows with other sponsors such as Altman, Chauvet Professional, Ultratec, Tomcat, Lex, and more.

Purchase your tickets here before they sell out!

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/new-robe-moving-light-debuting-in-online-premiere New Robe Moving Light Debuting in Online Premiere https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/08/19/new-robe-moving-light-debuting-in-online-premiere Tue, 19 Aug 2014 05:24:08 -0700 Manufacturers https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f53f3bb959734c.jpg Our friends at Robe have come up with a creative way to introduce the newest member of their moving light family. The company is hosting an "online premiere event" set to be broadcast live from their production studio on Tuesday, September 2nd. What's ...

Our friends at Robe have come up with a creative way to introduce the newest member of their moving light family.

The company is hosting an "online premiere event" set to be broadcast live from their production studio on Tuesday, September 2nd. What's on tab for those who tune in? An exclusive look at the newest Robe moving light, which rumor around here has it is a "big" entry into a category of mover Robe hasn't previously entered.

If anything, the event seems like a fun way to see a demo of a new fixture without all the travel and hassle!

You can register to 'attend' the online event here!

Note: While the page does say "Invite Only: Discretion should be used"...they didn't exactly say what the discretion should be used for. We feel proper discretion is sharing this invite ONLY with our closest group of friends who visit UsedLighting.com, Facebook, twitter, and those who have access to the internet in general. The more the merrier!

While you're waiting, don't forget to browse our current stock of used and new Robe products.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/demo-of-roscos-new-vapour-series-of-fog-haze-machines Demo of New Vapour Series Fog and Machines from Rosco https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/08/12/demo-of-roscos-new-vapour-series-of-fog-haze-machines Tue, 12 Aug 2014 07:05:08 -0700 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f53ea818474f48.jpg Rosco's new series of fog and haze machines has arrived! We were able to get a hands on demo of three out of the four machines; Mini-V, V-Hazer, and Vapour. Unfortunately the Vapour Plus was not able to make it. Here is a quick recap of each machine: ... Rosco's new series of fog and haze machines has arrived! We were able to get a hands on demo of three out of the four machines; Mini-V, V-Hazer, and Vapour. Unfortunately the Vapour Plus was not able to make it.

Here is a quick recap of each machine:

Mini-V

This fog machine is very compact and is designed to be energy efficient. It is especially made for mobile applications where there is not enough space for a larger machine. The heat up time was very quick, and the simplicity of the fogger is perfect for beginners. The Mini-V goes for $500, and you can purchase that and see more info on it here.

Vapour

The Vapour is the workhorse of the Vapour series of foggers. It operates at 1200 watts and has an output of 3.6 Liters per hour. It can be controlled via a detachable timed remote for local control of output and and also via integrated DMX interface allowing programming of fog effects via a console. It comes in at $999, and you can see all of the specs and purchase it here.

Vapour Plus

The Vapour Plus is for larger venues and also for outdoor use. It produces 7.2 Liters per hour and runs at 1500 watts. It is small enough to be mounted inside box truss and you can power it from a single mains circuit. It has the same control options as the Vapour. It is only $200 more than the Vapour coming in at $1199. You can see more info and purchase it here.

V-Hazer

The V-Hazer is extremely quiet. It uses internal baffles to maximize the airflow giving it a greater output and dispersion of fog particles. This helps ensure the haze spreads consistently and smoothly throughout your space. It outputs 0.9 Liters per hour and runs at 900 watts. It is the most expensive of the series at $1,399, which you can purchase here.

Here are some pictures of the demo, which took place at 4Wall Las Vegas.

If you want to see them in action, Rosco put together this video of each machine in action!

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/clay-paky-acquired-by-osram Clay Paky Acquired by Osram https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/08/08/clay-paky-acquired-by-osram Fri, 08 Aug 2014 02:16:28 -0700 Manufacturers https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f53e4fbb96d05d.jpg The company that brought you the Sharpy, B-eye, and other innovative products will now be a part of billion dollar lighting giant Osram.

Clay Paky, manufacturer of awesome moving lights such as the Sharpy and A.leda B-eye K20, has been acquired by Osram!

The official release states that Clay Paky will continue to operate and manufacturer products from their current facilities in Italy.

Pasquale Quadri, Clay Paky founder and President, was quoted in the release.

"Integration with OSRAM, which has a great wealth of technological competence and an in-depth knowledge of the lighting market, is an ideal opportunity for the further development of Clay Paky. After 40 years crowned by success, I am delighted to be able to offer my company, my staff and our customers a reliable solution for a secure future. OSRAM plans that Clay Paky will maintain its independence to a large extent in day-to-day business," added Quadri. "Key positions will remain in the Company, thus ensuring continuity in management."

Osram is obviously well known within our industry as a leading manufacturer of the lamps we use on a daily basis, but the Munich-based company's portfolio includes far more products such as LEDs, semi-conductors, and light management systems. The lighting giant reported revenue of 5.3 Billion Euros during the past year! (Converted into dollars that equals roughly "a ton").

Congrats to both parties on the deal!

You can read the release in its entirety on Clay Paky's site, and you can also browse our stock of used Clay Paky fixtures here.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/vari-lite-vl4000-spot Up Close and with the Vari-Lite VL4000 Spot https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/07/23/vari-lite-vl4000-spot Wed, 23 Jul 2014 02:34:41 -0700 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f53dad8178ccb4.jpg Through some begging and pleading we were able to geta Vari*Lite VL4000 Spot demo unit tothe 4Wall Los Angeles Vendor Showcase! The first impression many people hadwas that the fixture, like most of VL's fixtures, is BIG,weighing in at 83 lbs. After c... Through some begging and pleading we were able to geta Vari*Lite VL4000 Spot demo unit tothe 4Wall Los Angeles Vendor Showcase!

The first impression many people hadwas that the fixture, like most of VL's fixtures, is BIG,weighing in at 83 lbs. After checking specs of the VL3500 Spot though, it is actually lighter than the 91 lb. fixture! It didn't take long to notice that this fixture is incredibly bright! The fixture uses a 1200W Philips bulb and operates in two different modes, Standard and Studio. Standard mode boasts 33,000 lumens, while the Studio mode outputs 25,000 lumens and also operates in an ultra quiet capacity. There was actually supposed to be two fixtures made, but due to customer feedback, Vari*Lite decided to combine them into one fixture. We're definitely good with that!

Here's a quick look at some of the specs of the fixture:

Color Mixing: 3 Filter CYM cross fading system capable of extremely smooth mixing at slow and fast speeds. It also includes variable CTO color temperature correction.
Color Wheels: Two opposing fixed color wheels with five interchangeable color filters.
Zoom Optics: 5:1 zoom covering a range from 9 deg. to 47 deg.
Shutter: Four blade shutter mechanism.
Gobo Wheels: Two gobo wheels
Animation Wheels: Two animation wheels offering unique rotatable, indexable patterns with motion control from horizontal to vertical.
Variable Frost: Independent variable frost glass with adjustable softness control
Range: Pan - 540 deg, Tilt - 270 deg.

Full Specs here.

Now for what you really came here to see, pictures!

Since we weren't able to get an awesome video of the fixture, you'll have to settle for the one Vari*Lite made ;)

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/sell-your-used-stage-lighting-gear-for-free Sell Your Used Stage Lighting Gear For Free https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/07/21/sell-your-used-stage-lighting-gear-for-free Mon, 21 Jul 2014 17:00:00 -0700 Tips & Tricks https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f53cee26c593da.jpg This article is an in-depth look on how to sell your gear without getting it rejected. It is fast and easy to do, and costs you nothing. STUPID QUESTION;Do you want more money? (yes I used comic sans... I'm looking at you Dan Gilbert! (google it))

I had to throw that question in there, becausewe all need a good reminder that we could all use a little extra cash...and some of us have used stage lighting gear we no longer need.

Well, I get a lot of inquiries on how to sell lighting equipment on UsedLighting.com. Instead of getting in trouble with my wonderful boss for spending hours on the phone explaininghow to sell gear on the site, I decided to write an EXTREMELEY (you've been warned)long winded article on howto do it.

So here it is:

First you need to register on the site. This lets us know who you are and how to find you (and we will find you!).This is also how we know who to pay when the gear sells.

Next, you need to take good photos of your equipment! Why you ask? Because we will reject bad ones! OKbut seriously,try to take the highest quality of pictures you can. The gear is much more likely to sell if the buyer can see exactly what they are getting. Manufacturer photos are never allowed.

Finally,go into your account, click on the "Sell an Item" tab, and fill out the form. Unlike other sites, we only ask a few necessary questions about your gear. We won't pester you for your social security number, medical history, or favorite type of animal. We try to keep it simple! Be as specific as possible as to the condition of your equipment and be sure to list exactly what is included with your itemsuch as clamps, safety cables, etc. Upload your pictures, put in the price you want to get, and we'll take care of the rest. We'll even fix your spelling! (Asuming we can figur out what you ment of cource)

Once you click on the "List My Item!" button, a specialist from UsedLighting.com will review your item. Your asking price will then be marked up between 10-25% depending on the amount. If there are any issues with the listing, the item will be rejected, and you will get an email from us letting you know why that happened.

Once everything looks good, the item is approved and becomes active on the site. Please be patient! It may take up to five business days to approve your item, but it will be worth the wait. You will receive an email once the item is approved with a link to your item on UsedLighting.com.

Your item will be active for3 months from when the item was approved. Once those 3 months are about to end, you will receive an email notification asking you if you want to "Renew" your item. Simply click on the "Renew" button and the item will be renewed for another 90 days. This is a great time to check out how many views your item received (yep, we'll tell you) and consider possibly revising your price.

Keep in mind that if you make any changes to your listing at any time, such as changing the quantity or lowering the price, the item will have to be approved again.

If this article didn't bore you out of your mind enough, or if you want to know what happens after your item sells, then you can read through our selling FAQ here(WARNING;my boss wrote the FAQs and he can sometimes be long winded and/or include legal jargon).

Thanks for reading and good luck selling your used gear!

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/an-interactive-thunderstorm-via-leds-and-sound LEDs, Sensors, and = an Interactive Thundercloud https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/07/18/an-interactive-thunderstorm-via-leds-and-sound Fri, 18 Jul 2014 09:27:21 -0700 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f53c9ad594c52a.gif LEDs, check. Speakers, check. Motion Sensors, check. Put those all together along with some fiberfill casing to create an interactive thunderstorm! Richard Clarkson Design Studio created the "Thundercloud" to create a uniquelightning experience. The cloud... LEDs, check. Speakers, check. Motion Sensors, check. Put those all together along with some fiberfill casing to create an interactive thunderstorm! Richard Clarkson Design Studio created the "Thundercloud" to create a uniquelightning experience. The cloud comes in at $3,360, and you can purchase ithere. Youcan also get a simplified version for under $1K here. What types of applications would you use this in?

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/used-gear-sale-at-the-4wall-la-vendor-showcase Used Gear Sale at the 4Wall LA Vendor Showcase https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/07/08/used-gear-sale-at-the-4wall-la-vendor-showcase Tue, 08 Jul 2014 07:19:26 -0700 Events https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f53bc613daaaa2.jpg UsedLighting.com is having a used gear saleat the 4WallVendor Showcase July 17th! There will beblow out specials only available at the show on moving lights, road cases, distros, blacklights, and more! All the gear for sale will be at the show for your to... UsedLighting.com is having a used gear saleat the 4WallVendor Showcase July 17th! There will beblow out specials only available at the show on moving lights, road cases, distros, blacklights, and more! All the gear for sale will be at the show for your to look at and inspect.

The event will also feature the top manufacturers in LEDs, moving lights, consoles, and much more all on display in one place.The showcase is FREE to the public and all are welcome to attend! Beer, Ice Cream, and BBQ will be served throughout theevening.

Vendors scheduled to attend:
Aadyntech
AC Lighting
ACT Lighting
Altman
Chauvet
Elation
ETC
Forman and
GLP
LEX
Martin
Morpheus
Omez Lighting
Rosco
Spotlight
TMB
Vari*Lite
UsedLighting.com

Check out a recap of the 2014 4Wall New York Vendor Showcase:

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/4wall-new-york-vendor-showcase-and-barbecue 4Wall New York Vendor Showcase and Barbecue https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/06/19/4wall-new-york-vendor-showcase-and-barbecue Thu, 19 Jun 2014 09:51:24 -0700 Events https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f53a378b6c78ca.jpg 4Wall New York recently had a Vendor Showcase featuring the top manufacturers from across the stage and theatrical lighting industry. The event included demos of all of the newest in LEDs, moving lights, consoles, and more. 4Wall New York recently had a Vendor Showcase featuring the top manufacturers from across the stage and theatrical lighting industry. The event included demos of all of the newest in LEDs, moving lights, consoles, and more. The event also featured the industry's best barbecue (vendors words not ours ;)), the 4Wall Drone, and over 40 manufacturers! We were able to take some video with the 4Wall Drone before it met it's match.... (You'll see in the video).

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/le-maitre-hazemaster Le Maitre Hazemaster https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/06/19/le-maitre-hazemaster Thu, 19 Jun 2014 09:00:41 -0700 Manufacturers https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f53a36f4a4a47c.jpg Le Maitre was in our warehouse in Las Vegas last week demoing their new haze machine, the HazeMaster. We were excited to see what it could do, and we werent disappointed. Hazemaster

Le Maitre was in our warehouse in Las Vegas last week demoing their new haze machine, the HazeMaster. We wereexcited to see what it could do, and we weren and ;t disappointed.

The HazeMaster is a very powerful hazer that was able to fill our 30,000 Square foot warehouse with-in minutes. The design was sleek and modern, which would look good in any environment. It and ;s also capable of being set up andrunning quickly and efficiently with only 3 to 4 minutes of pre-heating time. It has a high power, built-in fan capable of moving up to 130 cbm/hr, which reduces the need for external fans. The fans can also be adjusted anywhere from 30-80 degrees to not only control the haze direction, but also play a role in eliminating the condensation of haze on output. The user panel is highly intuitive with easy to use with a 3-digit LED digital display.

The feature that we were most impressed with was the huge output of haze that the HazeMaster distributed. It had a thick and steady stream of haze that quickly filled the rafters above. I was focused on taking pictures of the demo and listening intently, so it surprised me when I looked upand saw how quickly the haze had spread out and how thick it was. Finally, I was alsosurprised when we shut off the HazeMasterhow quickly it cooled down. The time it took to cool down was approximately the same amount of time it took to heat up, which compared to other hazemachines, is extremely fast.

You can learn more about Le Maitre and ;s HazeMaster here and can purchase the HazeronNewLighting.com here.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/high-end-systems-shapeshifter High End Systems Shapeshifter https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/06/18/high-end-systems-shapeshifter Wed, 18 Jun 2014 08:44:31 -0700 Manufacturers https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f53a2164ed2eb9.jpg High End Systems stopped by to demo their newest fixture the Shapeshifter! Since we don't have a demo room and it was in the middle of the day, we had the demonstration in the back of a 52' trailer, which a turned out very nicely. Let's start off with ... High End Systems stopped by to demo their newest fixture the Shapeshifter! Since we don't have a demo room and it was in the middle of the day, we had the demonstration in the back of a 52' trailer, which a turned out very nicely.

Let's start off with some stats. The fixture weighs in at a whopping 59.3 lbs and measuresat 15.3" x 12.6" x 20.5". It has 126 total RGBCree LEDs arrayed in 7 independently controllable zones. This fixture is super bright at 24,000 lumens drawing 100-240VAC at 50-60Hz. You can see the full specs on High End Systems website here.

Like you've seen in the various videos out there, the Shapeshifter can create effects never seen before. The ability to pixel map each zone is definitely a huge selling point, but the unique ability to move each LED"Zone"is incredible. One of the disappointing things about the Shapeshifter is the "Skittles" look. For example to get a green wash like the first picture below, the LEDs show different colorsrather than all of them being green. Another worry that ourtechnicians brought upwas that with all the moving partsit could get very difficult to maintain and repair the fixtures.

With a price tag of about $9,000 per fixture what types of applications can you see the Shapeshifter being used in?

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/zylight-is3c-f8-led-fresnel-demo Zylight IS3c and LED Fresnel - Demo https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/05/29/zylight-is3c-f8-led-fresnel-demo Thu, 29 May 2014 08:54:20 -0700 Manufacturers https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5387ba9c71da2.jpg Many of you probably have not heard of the company Zylight. Ill admit, I hadnt either when Kevin Kennelley from Ushio stopped by to demo the Zylight F8 LED Fresnel. Let me tell you, I was impressed.

Many of you probably have not heard of the company Zylight. I'll admit, I hadn't either when Kevin Kennelley from Ushio stopped by to demo the Zylight F8 LED Fresnel. Let me tell you, I was impressed.

You can find out more about Zylighthereand about Ushio's investment in Zylighthere.

Kevin brought two fixtures to let us play with, the IS3c LED and the F8 LED Fresnel.

The first fixture demoed was the IS3c. It weighs in at 13 lbs. and is 15" x 12.6" x 4.6". It has 24 RGBA LEDs and is fully dimmable from 0-100%. You can control it via DMX or remotely through a built-in wireless link called Zylink. What I liked best about the IS3c is it's ability to quickly adjust color temperature + green color correction in "white" mode and the ability to adjust hue, saturation and dimming in "color" mode. I took some time to play with the adjustments, and it was as quick and simple as can be. It could really save you time with how simple it is to dial in the perfect color or temperature. It really opens up unlimited possibilities to match any color, skin tone, or color temperature that you need. The low power consumption (220W max) and low heat are an additional bonus.

The second fixture was the F8 LED Fresnel. This fresnel weighs in at 9 lbs. and is 15" x 12.6" x 4.6". There are two versions, 3200K and 5600K. Now I know there may be hesitations with an LED fresnel. I had my own reservations, as i've seen some fall very short of the mark. The F8 blew away my expectations, and I'll tell you why. We all know the limitations of fresnels with their low output, high heat and power consumption, and oft-times bulky size. It seems to me Zylight had a checklist of those complaints, addressed them, and created the F8. First, let's talk about the output. The demo was in the back of our offices in Las Vegas in an enclosed room, so we didn't have a great way to see how good the output really was. We fixed that (to the surprise and complaint of the rest of the office) by opening the door to our back office, turning off the lights in the main office, and shining the fresnel from the far back of our office down the hall to the front of the office, roughly 60'. For a fresnel, the throw distance was very impressive. I would compare it to the output of a 650W fresnel. The power output is 100W max and after about 30 minutes of running, it barely felt warm. In addition you can run it through an optional battery. At 3.5" thick, fully retracted, the Zylight F8 LED Fresnel is an excellent option for those who need a very compact, bright, and efficient fixture.

You can purchase the fixtures on NewLighting.comhere.

Check out these short videos from Zylight of theIS3c LED and the F8 LED Fresnel.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/etc-source-four-led-series-2-lustr-compared-with-etc-source-four ETC Source Four LED Series 2 Lustr Compared with ETC Source Four https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/05/05/etc-source-four-led-series-2-lustr-compared-with-etc-source-four Mon, 05 May 2014 09:43:20 -0700 Manufacturers https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f536981267005d.jpg 4Wall Entertainment Lighting recently added the ETC Source Four LED Series 2 Lustr to their rental inventory!. Their New York office took the time to do a side by side video comparison of the Lustr against a 575w Source Four Ellipsoidal with a CXI Scroll... 4Wall Entertainment Lighting recently added the ETC Source Four LED Series 2 Lustr to their rental inventory!. Their New York office took the time to do a side by side video comparison of the Lustr against a 575w Source Four Ellipsoidal with a CXI Scroller attached!

Both units in the video are utilizing a 26 degree lens tube, and they are 30 ft. from the wall.

While many of you may have seen the Lustr, you may not have seen it compared directly against its traditional counterpart! Let us know what you think.

You can purchase the regular ETC Source Four here.

You can purchase the Source Four LED Series 2 here.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/philips-showline-series-available-on-newlighting-com Philips Showline Series Available on NewLighting.com https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/05/05/philips-showline-series-available-on-newlighting-com Mon, 05 May 2014 09:38:21 -0700 Gear Type https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f536981780c506.jpg Philips Entertainment’s new Showline series is now available to purchase on NewLighting.com! The Showline series is a range of LED fixtures that are all designed to work together to match color, dimming, and operation. Philips Entertainment's new Showline series is now available to purchase on NewLighting.com! The Showline series is a range of LED fixtures that are all designed to work together to match color, dimming, and operation.

The Showline BAR 640/660comes in 2 sizes, 4' or 6'. This LED strip is a powerful fixture with RGBW color mixing. Both fixtures use a standard 60� beam angle providing uniform color mixing. The fixtures include mounting brackets for floor or pipe mount, and they are designed for easy daisy chaining. See full details and pricing infohere.

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The Showline BAR 520has six cells that provide extreme output at an 8� beam angle. You have full control over the 6 independent cells, giving you flexibility with your design. It also boasts RGBW color mixing, mounting brackets, and daisy chaining. It is 31" long and 20 lbs. You can see full details and pricinghere.

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The Showline Nitro 510is an LED based strobe that provides intense bursts of light and dynamic effects. With over 1300 high power LEDsensures the Nitro provides max output and full-field, even distribution across 120�. You have control over six unique zones allowing ultimate flexibility. You can create your own chases, or use ones already built into the fixture. See full details and pricinghere.

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The Showline PAR 150ZOOMutilizes nine RGBW LEDs to produce over 3200 lumens of output. The manual zoom provides a beam angle range from 15� to 70�. Simple daisy chaining of power and data, along with a split yoke bracket allow for easy setup in any orientation. See full details and pricinghere.

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/autism-speaks-light-it-up-blue-2014 Autism Speaks - Light It Up Blue 2014 https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/05/05/autism-speaks-light-it-up-blue-2014 Mon, 05 May 2014 09:34:35 -0700 Manufacturers https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f5369819d98e23.jpg On April 2, 2014 Autism Speaks will "Light It Up Blue" to promote Autism Awareness Month. To help bring attention to Autism, many buildings and structures will light up blue across the world. Why the color blue? Autism Disorders are almost 5 times more... On April 2, 2014 Autism Speaks will "Light It Up Blue" to promote Autism Awareness Month. To help bring attention to Autism, many buildings and structures will light up blue across the world. Why the color blue? Autism Disorders are almost 5 times more common in boys than in girls, so the color blue represents the boys diagnosed with autism.

After noticing that Autism Speaks was promoting Rosco gel as a solution for lighting up buildings, Rosco took the initiative to invite our industry to participate in this great cause.

There are 2 Rosco Gel Colors that you can use to light your building blue, Roscolux #68 and Roscolux #80. Lux #80 is recommended for spaces with brighter lights or more reflective, light-colored buildings, while Lux #68 is for spaces with lower intensity light fixtures or less reflective, darker buildings.

Another way to participate is by projecting a custom "Autism Speaks" gobo on a building or structure.

As an official partner of the "Light It Up Blue" campaign, we have stocked up on Lux #80 and Lux #68 across our 5 locations. You can stop by and pick it up or you can order the gel and gobo onlinehere.

If you don't know where to start, or need help lighting up your structure, feel free to contact us at 877.789.8167!

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https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/why-buy-used-stage-lighting-equipment Why Buy USED Stage Lighting Equipment? https://www.usedlighting.com/lounge/2014/05/05/why-buy-used-stage-lighting-equipment Mon, 05 May 2014 09:04:02 -0700 Manufacturers https://cdn01.usedlighting.com/blog/images/f53a36fe05af1b.jpg Why should you buy used stage lighting equipment? What are the benefits of buying used gear over new? These and other questions were recently discussed in an article in Stage Directions Magazine. The article lays out the benefits of buying used gear, p... Why should you buy used stage lighting equipment? What are the benefits of buying used gear over new? These and other questions were recently discussed in an article in Stage Directions Magazine. The article lays out the benefits of buying used gear, pitfalls to avoid, and where to buy it. It is an excellent article, and you can read ithere.

The purpose of this post is to highlight some of the benefits of buying used lighting equipment from UsedLighting.com. Instead of boring you with paragraphs and paragraphs of text, let and ; and ; and ;s just cut to some of the facts and highlights!

Facts:

  • UsedLighting.com was established in 1999 as a way for parent company 4Wall Entertainment Lighting to sell and replace its rental inventory.
  • 4Wall equipment can be identified on the website with the label and ; and ; and ;4Wall Owned and ; and ; and ;, and will be shipped out from one of five locations; Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, and Washington DC.
  • All other equipment on the website will be labeled as and ; and ; and ;Brokered and ; and ; and ;, which means it comes from different people around the country.

Highlights:

  • All and ; and ; and ;4Wall Owned and ; and ; and ; equipment is cleaned, prepped, and tested by certified technicians before leaving the warehouse.
  • Our warranties are unparalleled in the entertainment lighting industry. If something is not right with the equipment, we will make it right! You are covered!
  • We put a lot of effort into making sure each item has accurate pictures showing you the quality of gear you will receive. We want you to get as much of a feel on what you are buying as we possibly can.
  • In an effort to give you the best representation of the equipment, many items have videos demoing the actual equipment being sold!
  • Each and ; and ; and ;Brokered and ; and ; and ; listing submitted by members looking to sell their gear is reviewed by one of our staff to ensure all the information you need to know is clear in the listing. We also require actual photos of the gear being sold by our members.

Now we know that we may be slightly biased about how great we are... sohereare some unbiased reviews of UsedLighting.com by people who purchased gear from us.

Disclaimer: No reviewer was paid over, through, or under the table or was compensated by awesome swag in any way by us to write a positive review.

For those who are still not 100% convinced that used gear is the way to go, don't worry, you can purchase new gear from our sister site,NewLighting.com!

Disclaimer #2: NewLighting.com in fact paid a substantial amount to be included in this post. However, it will in no way affect the prices of new stage lighting equipment on NewLighting.com.

Here's an exclusive (only available to people who use the internet) behind the scenes look at what goes on behind the scenes!

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