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Re-Post: Prelite Studios Uses Previz to Aid Apple Product Launches

prelite-apple

In our industry, we do some pretty amazing stuff with some very interesting people and companies.  It is a well known fact that I am a big fan of Apple products.  When I hear of a story involving them and our industry, I have to share it.  Prelite Studios, (www.prelite.com), helped Apple launch the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus last year in San Francisco by providing lighting designers and OneRepublic previsualization of the space well before show time.

More from PLSN and the Press Release

The latest iPhones and Apple TV launch, announced by Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook introduced new models of Apple’s popular smartphones with many new features and improvements.  More than 13 million units of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus were sold in the first three days of their availability.

Prelite partner Tom Thompson, who also served as the event’s gaffer and assistant lighting designer, and Prelite host Brooke Kimple spent six days at the Civic Auditorium providing previsualization services to production lighting designer Paul Efron of Seeing Eye Lighting Design and guest LD lighting designer of OneRepublic A.J Pen.

“Prelite offers out-of-the-box thinking for the best way to approach a project and attain your goals efficiently,” says Thompson.  “Using Prelite meant we were able to work on site before the immense lighting rig was installed and working.  Big events come with enough stress.  Prelite relieves any additional stress by providing the time to build and program looks so everyone is ready to go when lighting and scenic elements are set up.”

“My experience with Prelite was 100 percent positive,” says A.J Pen.  “From the precise fixture placement to the perfectly animated stage and screen movements, the Prelite model was indeed an accurate representation of the real live event.  There is simply no way that I could have pulled off the show that we did without pre visualization.”

“I use Prelite all the time, especially for an event like this where a single rig must provide for the needs of more than one designer in a compressed rehearsal schedule,” says Paul Efron.  “Prelite allowed us the time needed on the front end, while we were waiting for staging and scenery to be installed, to explore a variety of options to address what has traditionally been the challenge of lighting a black set for video production.”

Apple is known for its clean, elegant and minimalist staging. ”The lighting is designed to maintain focus on the presenters, product and content” says Efron. “However as the event is live streamed to millions of people worldwide, our challenge is to still light for the best quality video production possible while minimizing the amount of “visual noise”. For this particular launch we were directed to provide something a bit different from what we had been doing in the past while still working with the same scenic materials and traditional black background.”

The audience and rig itself provided much of the backgrounds for the multiple camera shoot which also included 2 Jib cameras”.

The event marked a departure from previous launches since it was held at the Civic Auditorium for the first time.  “The venue was recently renovated and is primarily used for arena concert events, so it’s basically a shell,” Efron notes. “We were tasked with transforming that shell into a world class black box theatre making the build out quite extensive.”

The set consisted of three three-dimensional black “monoliths.”  The center monolith, featured a single rear projection screen.  Spaces between the center monolith and the two outside monoliths formed dark “infinity tunnels,” which served as entrances and exits for the presenters.

At the conclusion of the general session OneRepublic came on stage to rock the audience with a three-song set.  Thanks to Prelite, Pen was able “to create both a unique mood that bridged our ‘normal’ live show with the context and setting of the Apple event, as well as to program accents and flourishes that the band is used to feeling from the light show,” he explains.

“During our rehearsal period we experienced some unforeseen delays and consequently were only able to run each of our three songs once before the live show.  With estimates of the potential live-streaming audience being in the hundreds of millions, it was impossible to place a value on the confidence that working with Prelite afforded me.

“The team was exceptionally helpful and attentive during the entire experience,” Pen adds.  “Although the OneRepublic performance was just icing on an elaborate cake, they all made me feel as if our brief moment was one of the most basic and important ingredients of the entire event.”

Via: PLSN.com

Cast Software Releases WYSIWGY R26 TOMORROW, 12/15/2010

Get your previsualization self ready.  Cast Software is preparing to release WYSIWYG R26 tomorrow, December 15, 2010!  If you are already a member, you can head over to the Members Only section of Cast Software’s web site and get it now!

More from Cast Software:

wysiwyg R26 is really virtually real, and this is a fact. R26 has been designed to give the user a better experience on many planes – with a heavy emphasis on Reports and Presentation.

New features in wysiwyg R26 include:

  • Worksheets: Import/Export data from Excel (97,2000,2003,2007) & CSV
  • Over 100 onboard spreadsheet calculations
  • SmartCells: Use PRES Mode’s new SmartCells to intelligently update your show data in both Reports and Worksheets
  • Dimensions: Create clear & concise plots with the new radial and arc length dimension tools
  • Frames simulate motion in Six Degrees of Freedom
  • Reports: Improved Reports tab makes it easier to create, customize, and maintain all of your show’s vital information; Intelligent data filtering using Boolean queries

Luminair App for iPad: A no-brainer for every production set; Download fixture POV and DMX data to your iPod and now to your iPad. Plus R26 allows the User to send Reports, Layouts and Worksheets as PDFs to the Luminaire App
R26 gives the user a solid platform of spreadsheet tools, improving the data experience for the user and improving efficiency in creating paperwork. R26 is also the international debut of some new essential dimensioning tools – radial dimensioning, arc length, and a new Protractor Tool. CAST software development has also made developments in the virtual environment, adding the ability to use the 3Dconnexion mouse for true 3D flyovers on 6 Degrees of Freedom – X, Y, Z, and Pitch, Roll, and Yaw.

wysiwyg R26 and the 3D mouse from 3DConnexion

R26 now has the ability to put the User directly into digital space with the 3Dconnexion mouse, using all of the 6 Degrees of Freedom. 3Dconnexion is a subsidiary of Logitech, headquartered in Fremont, California with European headquarters in Munich, Germany and offices worldwide. With this unique 3D mouse users can pan, zoom and rotate as if they’re holding the model in their hand. It’s a level of control that’s simply not possible with a traditional mouse and keyboard. Users can also operate cameras with this new powerful addition to wysiwyg, focus conventional fixtures, and create amazing flybys as well as switch camera views and create a live motion video – capturing it all with wysiwyg’s onboard CamStudio package.

The 3Dconnexion connectivity feature turns an already outstanding product and gives it wings to fly – so users can now truly interface with the digital world on a level not seen before in lighting design program packages. CAST has upgraded the User experience, increasing productivity, creativity, and potential. With the 3Dconnexion mouse in one hand and a normal keyboard/mouse combination on the other hand, users are truly enabled to fly through their design.

Featured Library Additions

Members will also be pleased with the Library Additions included with R26. In fact, the wysiwyg Library is bigger than ever. wysiwyg R26 includes loads of hot new fixtures and the truss, gobos and accessories needed to do a show right. R26 introduces the Coemar Infinity Spot M, Coemar Reflection, GLP Impression Meisterstück, Robe ColorSpot 1200E AT Profile, Martin MAC 101 (Preliminary), Clay Paky Sharpy (Preliminary) and more. Over 65 new fixtures, 165 Gobos and 71 Truss pieces have been added.

Learn more about Cast Software’s WYSIWYG R26 by visiting their web site at www.cast-soft.com.

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