ETC OFFICIALLY Launches New Console: Gio @5

Face it, ETC has a strong hold on the Theatre market.  Hell, it’s in their name.  With the launch of the Gio @5 and the latest version of the Eos family software, ETC is looking to expand into other areas of the entertainment industry. At LDI2016, ETC not only introduced a new logo, but also a preview of their latest lighting control console, the Gio @5.

I have to hand it to ETC and their naming of the new Gio @5.  At first, I didn’t get it. The @5 name derives from a common command in the Eos software where @5 gives you 50%. Funny. At just over 15″ wide, the Gio @5 can fit into some tight spaces at FOH.  The software gives you 2,048 “outputs” or parameters with 4 5-pin DMX connections on the backside.  The console can be expanded up to 32,768 “outputs” or a total of 64 universes with networking and nodes.

To learn more about the ETC Gio @5, visit www.etcconnect.com.

More from the Press Release:

Middleton, WI – The Eos family of consoles just got bigger – by going smaller. After a successful preview at LDI, ETC has officially launched the Gio @5™ console, which brings the acclaimed, professional-grade control of the Eos Ti® and Gio® consoles within reach of users with tighter spaces – and tighter budgets.

“With the Gio @5, we’ve given you a little bit of everything,” says product manager Anne Valentino. This portable console packs all the control necessities into its narrow, 25.5-inch (641 mm) footprint, making external monitors and accessories optional. The desk includes an articulating, 17-inch, multi-touch LCD display, four encoders with haptic feedback, five definable and page-able motorized faders, a master fader pair and a retractable tray with backlit alpha-numeric keyboard.

The Gio @5 derives its name from the Eos command that sets a level at fifty percent, but don’t be fooled by its compact size; the desk offers a full programming experience. The console is the perfect step up for Ion® users who want expanded hands-on access to playbacks, award-winning color control, touchscreen Magic Sheets and more. The programming surface matches the full, backlit keyboard layout of its larger sister desks, providing an easy transition for experienced Eos users looking to scale down for touring and smaller productions or venues. The Gio @5 is also a perfect educational desk; skills learned on the console will transfer to the highest end of the programming job market.

The board has everything a programmer needs to rock small, live gigs – right out of the road case. The short-throw motorized faders are designed for efficient busking, but if more hands-on control is needed, the console can serve as a base for a customized, expanded work surface of plug-and-play Motorized Fader Wings, external touchscreen monitors and other accessories. The upcoming v2.5 software – which will release in time to ship with the console – builds on the playbacks and effects work of the v2.4 release, with even more tools suited to busking. Wherever you are, the Gio @5 console has what you need to do the job.

PS: Does this mean that all of ETC’s products with the old logo can now be considered vintage and worth more money?

Elation Professional Launches the SNIPER, a Multi-Effect and Laser Simulator

Over the weekend, Elation attended the PRO Show @ BPM in Birmingham England to introduce their latest product to the world.  Those attending witnessed Director of Sales, Eric Loader introducing the Sniper, a multi-effect and laser simulator.  The rest of us, we had to wait the weekend out for the big announcement to make it over the pond. Was this a ploy to get us to attend the PRO Show to see it live and in person… it kinda worked!

Here are more details about Elation Professionals latest product, the SNIPER!

The Sniper is a revolutionary hybrid beam, scanner and laser simulator in one. Emitting a powerful, precise and ultra-narrow 3° beam, a high-speed X/Y scan and Z rotation mirror system allows the Sniper to spread laser-like effects including liquid sky, laser wave, and laser cone effects, all moving at speeds never seen before. What’s more, Sniper allows these effects to be projected and “scanned” into the crowd and without the hassle of laser regulations!

“The Sniper is unlike anything that’s out there today and we’re excited to see the different ways lighting designers will incorporate it into their designs,” states Elation Professional Sales Director Eric Loader. “This is not a one-trick pony or a simple ‘upgrade’ – it does so much more – giving LD’s a host of new and varied effect possibilities from a single luminaire. It’s available now and we’re able to offer it at a price point that is certain to have mass appeal.”

The Sniper is the perfect new high-energy effect light for clubs and other nighttime venues and can liven up any stage for tours and special events. In fact, the Sniper has already had its first televised event and touring debut having been used on Big Knockout Boxing at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas in August on DirecTV, and is currently on rock band A Day to Remember’s US tour. It’s also specified to be in the rig when One Republic kicks off their European tour in October.

Built around recent advancements in lamp, electronics, optics and motor technology, the Sniper is powered by the new 132W Philips™ MSD Platinum lamp (6,000 hour lifetime rating), delivering an intensity of 45,010 lux @ 16.4’ (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.

Looking to get more details, photos or videos of the Sniper in action?  You have to be patient, Elation will provide them soon enough on their website, www.elationlighting.com.

UPDATE

Squint Abroad – Load In

Loading in any event can be stressful.  Even when you are not dealing with language barriers, unfamiliar electrical standards, and different gear, the ballet of people and gear is a delicate balance between executing “the plan” and adapting to challenges.  In a foreign country this process has the potential to be a disaster.  Luckily, my experience abroad has been nothing but positive.  This week we are in Istanbul, Turkey building, running, and then tearing out a corporate event.  Although our client will only spend around seven hours in the general session space, countless hours have been spent planning, designing, building, teching, and rehearsing every little detail.

Let’s talk about the load in experience.  I’ll paint you a picture of what exactly we are working with

• A ball room space (width) by (length) with a (height) ceiling.
• An octagonal 8 screen projection setup, with a “T” shaped stage at the front
• Lighting and seven speaker surround audio support

Fortunately for us the in house A/V is a production house similar in capability and gear to our own company.  While we have traveled with our entire video rig, including switching and projection, the audio and lighting gear came from the house.  They were able to provide familiar Vari Lite 3000 fixtures, ETC Source 4’s.  Our audio team was happy to have the same Yamaha console we use back in the states, as well as a pair of Labgruppen line array cabinets.  Eight powered speakers hide behind each screen for full surround audio support.  Perhaps most importantly they were able to provide the proper truss (Prolyte folding triangle) and motor package.  This show relies on the 18 foot tall video walls in an octagonal shape, and being able to fly the rig instead of ground supporting is a huge advantage.

 

Working with the in house team was a breeze.  They know their gear well, and could easily take our CAD drawings and implement without a problem.  While we had issues with language barriers enough of their crew spoke English well enough to keep both of our production teams on the same page. Needless to say, it was a great opportunity, and we are all really excited for the next chance to work overseas!

 

Squint Abroad: International Event Production, A Fresh Perspective

Let’s start from the beginning.  I work for a live event production company based out of Indianapolis, Indiana.  One of our clients is staging their annual general managers conferences around the world, and has been kind enough to ask us to leave the US borders and come with them.  Our first stop is in Bangkok, Thailand.  We left on the 28th of February, and returned to the States on March the 11th.

The flight(s) from the US, specifically Chicago, to Asia are forever long.  I have to believe that the country is pretty much as distant from the Midwest as any could be.  After a 14 hour flight from Chicago to Incheon, South Korea, we boarded a five hour flight to Bangkok.  After a brief stint at customs, our crew of 15 was on it’s way to our home for the next two weeks; the Millennium Hilton Bangkok.

So that’s the surrounding story, but let’s be honest with ourselves.  You came to iSquint.net to hear about event production technology.  The truth of the matter is that while production gear is hardly scarce in this country, it can be incredibly expensive to rent for any short period of time.  After choosing a gear provider and looking over the associated rental costs, we determined it would be more cost effective and reliable to ship our video equipment from the US.  This particular show design calls for eight 16′ x 24′ projection surfaces surrounding the room.  It creates the effect that you are in a 16′ tall octagon, with video painted seamlessly across all surfaces.

Lighting Gear

The lighting team was able to get their hands on a number of  Martin Mac 2k’s, as well as multiple unbranded non-moving head LED fixtures to use as uplighting.  It should hardly have been a surprise that all of the Martin gear arrived in PRG branded cases.  Those guys truly are everywhere.  Front light for the stage came in the form of what appeared to be brand new Phillips Selecon series fixtures.  Everything was controlled by an Avolites Pearl console.

Video Gear

As mentioned above, we were able to ship all of the video equipment from the United States.  Projection included a mix of four Panasonic 10k HD projectors and four Christie 10k HD’s.  These pieces of equipment are available in Thailand, but the cost of renting 8 of the 20 available HD’s in the country is quite a bit higher than we were comfortable with.  All screens were fed with a brand new Lenovo laptop running the Dataton Watchout’s most recent software release.  We have been using Watchout a lot lately on shows, and despite a few fall set backs, we have had a lot of luck with the system.  It has certainly given us the ability to create visual effects that cannot be easily mastered with tape decks alone.

Power

The power situation in the hotel ballroom was less than perfect, but they staff worked to make sure we were able to hook up our equipment without seeing the magical blue smoke.  While the solution was a little scary looking, the equipment worked perfectly all week.  Thailand runs on the 240V, 50Hz standard, where as your standard American Edison outlet hovers somewhere around 120V at 60Hz.  Fortunately most of our gear, projectors aside, could automatically sense and handle the switch.  To be safe, we ended up placing all of the video equipment on 120V, 60Hz service.

 

We have a week and a half back in Indiana to regroup, after which we will be taking the same corporate show to Istanbul, Turkey.  Stay tuned for more stories, equipment discussions, and tips/tricks for international event production in the near future.

Hemsley Internship in Lighting 2011

The Hemsley Lighting Programs has announced that the open call for applicants to the 2011 internship program has begun. The Hemsley internship is open to Bachelor and Masters of Fine Arts graduates in lighting design (current students are not accepted).

Applications for the 28th annual Hemsley Internship Program with the Lincoln Center Festival, the New York City Ballet, New York City Opera and Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre will be accepted from January 1 through February 15, 2011. Interviews for finalists will be held in New York on March 26, 2011 in conjunction with the Hemsley Lighting Portfolio Review on March 27.

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 2011 and continue until the end of December 2011. The program provides the opportunity to work in a professional repertory situation with resident and guest designers. Additional opportunities may include touring and media events. A monthly stipend of $1,750 is provided in addition to travel expenses. Gilbert Hemsley dedicated his life to the training of young theater professionals. Beginning with the first intern in 1984, the Internship has continued his legacy by offering a unique experience to young designers.

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

www.hemsleylightingprograms.com

Lighting in New York City – It’s More Beautiful Then You Think

Before I go on about the Broadway Lighting Master Classes, I wanted to share something that all of you have inspired me to do. It has been a very long time since I have taken out the camera and just started shooting.  With all of the work and amazing photos that everyone has shared either here, on flickr, or on your own site or other sites, you have all gotten me fired up in me about my picture taking. You have encourage me to capture moments and feelings with photography and I thank each and everyone of you!

I want to share a couple of photos that I had taken the afternoon before the Broadway Lighting Master Classes in New York City as I hope to help inspire and encourage you and others to capture your own moments.  As my father would say, I arrived in New York City at the “Golden Hour” for photography, the late afternoon around 5:30pm.  After checking into the NYU dorm where I was stay, I was eager to hit the streets and see some of my favorite sections of the city.  With the Camera in tow, I headed down Broadway to SoHo to visit one of the many Apple Stores in NYC. Along the way, I witnessed some of the most amazing lighting in the city that I have ever seen.

Now, when people mention the lights of New York City, most times they are referencing the manufactured lighting of Time Square or advertisement bill boards or video displays all around the city.  That is not what I mean, I mean the natural beauty the afternoon sun produces reflecting, refracting and penetrating the urban jungle that is NYC.

From the images below, you may get a sense of what I mean. A simply stunning white faced building 3/4 in shadow might seem unappealing to the unimaginative, but to me, it shows a city putting an end to the day like a dock worker taking off his hard hat at the end of the day.  How about the simple shape of the apple logo cut out of a piece of metal and hung on a brick wall.  Of course I get excited seeing that simple shape as it means I have arrived at the SoHo Apple Store, but take a second look.  Look at the distorted shape of the Apple logo in shadow and light, something so simple taken out of normal representation and given a new look.

I found myself looking at the Apple sign for a bit before I went into the store.  Not because I was in awe of being at yet another Apple store, but I wanted to watch the shadow of the Apple sign move with the setting of the sun to create a sun dial of sorts. And yes, the power of the Apple store did eventually get to me and I had to go inside and I am glad I did.  Not because I wanted to see any of the new MacBooks or sit in on a apple session, the power of the architecture and simplicity of design that is found in every apple store.  I have seen photos of the SoHo store before and have wanted to visit for a long time.  The use of glass and light are just amazing.  Beams of light come flowing in from the sky light and fill the store with natural beauty.  One thing that I am every curious about is the wooden water town visible just outside of the skylight.  Seen just right, you see old world technology meeting new, now is that intentional or just a happy mistake? I’ll have to quiz Steve Jobs when I finally meet him some day!

Of all the images that I took that day, I am only showing a fraction of what I took. I feel that these are some of the best ones taken, but there are a couple that I am keeping to myself. Not that I am protecting my images or hiding anything from you, it’s just that these couple of images mean something special to me. I feel that photography has the ability to capture a lot of things, feelings, emotions, events, memories and so forth.  There comes a time when you capture a moment in time and it does something to you, it means something special.  A couple of photos did that for me that day. Now will I lock them up and never show anyone? Heck no! But at the moment, I want to keep these very meaningful images to myself, sorry. ;)

I normally don’t feel right unless I have left you with something.  Whether that is news about products or information about events or maybe a bit of advice. So hear is the helpful hint to you, always carry a camera.  That is it, plain and simple.  Now, let me clarify that a bit, you don’t need to carry around your precious DSLR or expensive camera, that is, unless you want to. Carry around something that has the ability to capture a moment that means something to you.  Keep a simple point-n-click camera in your pocket or use your iPhone/smart phones camera, capture the moment.  I have taken many photos with my iPhone over the last three years and while the images may not look to exciting or mean anything to you, each image on my iPhone has the ability to take me back to that moment in time and remind me of why I took it. I encourage you to do the same, who knows, you might just like it!

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World Expo 2010 Shanghai China Opening Ceremonies

The World Expo 2010 Shanghai is happening right now in China.  Actually, it started back on May 1st so we are 5 days into it.  At least at the time of this writing, China is 5 days into it, we, state side are only 4 days into it.  The World Expo 2010 Shanghai runs for just a bit, till October 31, 2010.

World Expositions are galleries of human inspirations and thoughts. Since 1851 when the Great Exhibition of Industries of All Nations was held in London, the World Expositions have attained increasing prominence as grand events for economic, scientific, technological and cultural exchanges, serving as an important platform for displaying historical experience, exchanging innovative ideas, demonstrating esprit de corps and looking to the future.

A good friend of mine, Bar-B-Que Aficionado and lover of light sent me a note about some pretty crazy stuff going on at the opening ceremonies of the World Expo 2010. Crazy stuff as in some pretty awesome lighting, video and pyro! The opening ceremonies have been uploaded into YouTube, but had to be broken into three separate videos due to YouTube’s restrictions.  Take look, just turn down the volume unless you can speak Mandarin. Oh yeah, it is all being run off grandMA2’s!

Learn more about World Expo 2010 Shanghai by visiting their web site at en.expo2010.cn.

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Lighting App Coming for Android

Listen up all of you Droid users. Look like a gent out of the UK is working on a Lighting App for you.  From the very short YouTube video it looks like the app is still in heavy development.  But it shows that someone out there feels your pain of not having any Lighting Apps for the Droid.  I have not been able to locate any additional information about where the app is or when it will be released.  I’ll keep my eye on the development of the Droid App.

Another FREE iPhone Lighting App – Lampy

Fire up your iTunes and get your iPhone/iPod Touch transfer cable ready, there is another FREE lighting iPhone App out there to download.  Yes, it is ANOTHER DMX and dip switch calculator. The New app is called Lampy and is from Nick Shearer.

Here is what the iTunes Store says about the app.

Lampy is a free tool with several calculators for lighting technicians and designers – including power, DMX Universe, and DIP Switch modes. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s free! Featuring an updated version with new modes and user interface.

Honestly, what else can you say about it?  It is nice to see some of the lighting calculators coming into a single app.  So what sets this app apart from other calc apps just like it?  Other then the price of being free, not to much.  That is not to say that is not a useful app or any worth a download.  Download it and try it out, let me know what you think of the app in the comments section of the site.

Thanks UKSLC!

New iPhone App: Lighting Handbook

I just received a note for an iPhone app developer, Andrew Derrington about his new lighting iPhone app, Lighting Handbook. It is a new app for the iPhone and iPod Touch, It provides detailed information about moving lights, LED fixtures, Scrollers and more DMX fixtures.

It also provides access to the manual direct from the internet.

Manufacturers included:

• ChromaQ
• Claypaky
• Coemar
• GLP
• High End
• Martin
• PRG
• Pulsar
• Robe
• SGM
• Studio Due
• Thomas
• Vari-lite

The Lighting Handbook App includes 295 moving lights in this the first version of the app. The app also contains connector pinout information for Socapex, Lectriflex, 3, 4, 5 Pin DMX/XLR (Scroller cable, Comms, AMX etc) and RJ-45 (Ethernet) connectors.

The Lighting Handbook app goes for £2.99 or $4.99 in the iTunes App Store. For more infromation on the Lighting Handbook app from Andrew Derrington, visit his website at www.aderrington.co.uk.