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Review: Nooks Ultimate Punt Pages DVD

A couple months before LDI this year, the Academy of Production Technology announced the arrival of their latest training tool, Nook’s Ultimate Punt Pages DVD.  No, it is not a training DVD for football kickers on how to punt the ball correctly, that is just silly.  Punting is the US term for running a lighting desk on the fly.  Our European brethren know it better as busking.

Richard “Nook” Schoenfeld is a staple in the entertainment lighting industry and is well know for his programming skills and experience running some rather large shows. In addition his programming wizardry, Mr. Schoenfeld also has a monthly column that he writes for PLSN Magazine, LD-At-Large.  It is here that Mr. Schoenfeld imparts advice, experience and his strong opinions about the lighting design field.  When ever PLSN lands in my mail box, Mr. Schoenfeld article is one of the two articles I read first, as I am always amused and left with valuable information and some well appointed humor.

It is no wonder that Mr. Cadena, the founder of the Academy of Production Technology approached Mr. Schoenfeld to produce a training video on moving lighting controls and playback.  Mr. Schoenfeld brings his experience and knowledge of moving lights and live event programming to the DVD with well though out plans of execution and console layout.

Who is it for

The training DVD does have some “prerequisites” before jumping into the DVD.  Before trying to keep up with the training, it is beast to have a basic understanding of how different types of moving lights work and function.  It is also best to have a fair understanding of how a modern lighting desk functions, interacts with moving lights, multiple playbacks and of course tracking.  From there, following along with Mr. Schoenfeld with or with out a desk in front of you is fairly easy to keep up.

What you can expect

If you come from a theatrical programming background, live event or punting/busking style playback might not be the easiest to grasp at first.  In the theatrical world we are thought that everything has a time and must go at a certain time and be repeatable night after night with like or no difference. In the concert/live event world… timing… yeah, not so much.  Things are happening quick, real quick.  Solos can go on and on, or maybe just a couple of seconds.  So running the desked based on timing just will not work, in steps punting/busking.

Mr. Schoenfeld walks you through his methods of setting up a desk for punting/busking.  As a programmer, I found that I already setup my desk for this style of playback very similarly to Mr. Schoenfeld. But there where some very pleasent surprises and interesting concepts that made me stop and think… “I’ll have to steal that”.  That of course is a joke, stealing isn’t very nice. But that is the point of the DVD.  Take new ideas, use them, don’t use them, make your own style and build from there. Mr. Schoenfeld presents a fairly clear road map for successful punting/busking playback session.

Conclusion

Mr. Schoenfeld’s experience and knowledge really shows in the DVD and is presented clearly and easy to understand.  Hey, if he goes to fast, pause, rewind and repeat as many times as you like, it’s a DVD!  It’s like having Mr. Schoenfeld at your finger tips when ever you need him! I would recommend this training DVD for anyone that has the grasp of fixtures and control, but needs a course on live playback.

You can purchase your copy of Nook’s Ultimate Punt Pages from the Academy of Production Technology website, productionseminars.webs.com for $59.95.  If you still have a doubt in your mind or need a little more convincing, The Academy of Production Technology was kind enough to allow me to provide you with a sampling of the training DVD.  Some times, seeing is believing.

Academy of Production Technology Offers Electricity Training in Dallas, TX

Are you looking to increase your self worth or gain  renewal credits to your ETCP certification? Good news, the Academy of Production Technology is offering a 3 day training session in Dallas Texas next month.  From December 1st through December 3rd, the APT is offering a training session on Entertainment Electricity, Power Distribution, and Controls Training lead by the Electron Magician himself, Mr. Richard Cadena, an ETCP recognized trainer and certified Entertainment Electrician.

The 3 days of training includes everything from basic electricity to advanced power distro, safety, codes and regulations, and control systems. Join ETCP Recognized Trainer Richard Cadena three days of discovery and learning about the essential skills of the entertainment electrician and technician. It covers theory and practice of entertainment technology for the working electrician and technician.

Day one: theory and fundamentals of electricity including

  • DC and AC electricity
  • Impedance
  • AC power
  • Phase angles
  • Power factor
  • Three-phase power
  • Balancing three-phase loads

Day two: practical power distribution

  • Electrical safety
  • NFPA 70E
  • Lockout/tagout
  • Arc Flash/Arc Blast
  • Portable generators
  • Feeder transformers and cable
  • Overcurrent protection
  • Branch circuits
  • Grounding
  • GFCIs

Day three: networking Ethernet

  • DMX512-A
  • RDM
  • ACN
  • And more…

SPACE IS LIMITED, hurry up and register TODAY!  Head over to the Academy’s website at www.aptxl.com and register now. Each day cost just $225 or for all three days $675.  If you go, make sure to say hi to the swami for me!

‘Nook’s Ultimate Punt Pages’ DVD is Ready to Rock Your World & #LDI2010 Show Price

The Academy of Production Technology announces the release and special LDI trade show pricing of “Nook’s Ultimate Punt Pages,” a new training DVD designed to instruct lighting programmers how to run a show “on the fly.”

The DVD is available for sale Oct. 22-24 at booth #1828 in the Las Vegas Convention Center. Those who ordered the DVD during its pre-release promotion may pick up their copies at the booth by showing their printed web order. DVDs may also be purchased via the website www.ultimatepuntpages.com Special pricing ends at the conclusion of LDI.

In the one-hour DVD tutorial, industry lighting designer/programmer Richard “Nook” Schoenfeld guides viewers through his step-by-step process of a universal punting method. As a design specialist in festivals and festival-type tours, Schoenfeld says, “Punting as opposed to programming the entire show ahead of time has not only become an art form, but the shows usually look much better.”

The universal art of punting involves setting up one page of the console with as many programming elements as possible before the show. This allows the designer to then choose focus positions or movement cues, color schemes, gobo patterns and intensity levels through a variety of faders and push buttons on the fly, Schoenfeld explains.

The special LDI 2010 pricing on the DVD is available on the website at www.ultimatepuntpages.com.

For more information on other Academy of Production Technology training tools, visit www.APTxl.com.

Update: 33% of Nook’s Ultimate Punt Pages DVD

I just found out more about the new training DVD, Nook’s Ultimate Punt Pages, from the Academy of Production Technology that I wrote about yesterday. If you pre-order the DVD right now, you’ll be saving 33% off the retail price of $59.95. That is a savings of $20 bucks! With the 33% off, you can pre-order the DVD for $39.95. The price does not include tax and freight though. But still $20 bucks is $20 bucks!

If you have any interest in honning your programming skills, it is a highly recommended training DVD. The training DVD is expected to ship late summer, early fall. Once it starts shipping, the pre-release savings goes away, so stop by the Academy of Production Technology’s web site, productionseminars.webs.com, now and pre-order your copy.

Pre-Sale Announced of Nook’s Ultimate Punt Pages Training DVD

The Academy of Production Technology announced the pre-sale of Nook’s Ultimate Punt Pages training DVD.  The DVD is designed to instruct lighting programmers on punting, (or busking as it is called as well), which is the process of running a show “on the fly”.

Industry lighting designer/programmer Richard “Nook” Schoenfeld guides viewers through the process of a universal punting method – step by visual step – in a two-hour DVD tutorial, “Nook’s Ultimate Punt Pages.”

The session, Shot and Chopped by Fire Ant Productions’ Tim Grivas, features Schoenfeld showing console set-up to allow for quick, easy lighting looks using just a few presets with transparencies.

The special pre-sale pricing on the DVD is available on the website at www.ultimatepuntpages.com. Full pricing goes into effect with the DVD’s scheduled release in October. For more information on other Academy of Production Technology training tools, visit www.productionseminars.webs.com.

About Richard “Nook” Schoenfeld
Schoenfeld, an industry lighting designer/programmer for more than 20 years, heads a team of lighting, set and video designers specializing in live music, trade shows and corporate theater in his company Visual Ventures Design.
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