This weeks Friday Flickr Lighting Porn comes from Andrew Hunt.  The photo above comes from his redesign of the worship space at Blue Ridge Community Church in Forest Virginia. Back at the beginning of 2010, Andrew, (Drew), worked with some of this fellow production members to redesign and reuse some of the equipment to change the space up.  I am totally diggin’ the lighting bolt truss! Then or course the soft colors and angles, very nice!

Head over to Andrews blog where he explains in more detail what his goals were and how he accomplished them. Thanks for sharing Andrew, excellent work!

Want to see you lighting design work featured here on iSquint?  Simply add your lighting design photos to the Friday Flickr Lighting Porn Pool located on Flickr.  Each week I randomly choose one lighting design from the pool and feature it here on iSquint.

Friday Flickr Lighting Porn – Andrew Hunt is a post from: iSquint.net

The “fruit Basket” must have been a favorite around the New Zealand office as it was left out during some important talks and picked up some VERY interesting tid bits. From what I was able to decipher from the audio is that Strand Selecon is preparing to announce and show a prototype of a new fixture at ProLight + Sound in Frankfurt Germany at the end of the month.

From there, on, things got a little garbled and I could not understand what was being said.  I hope someone didn’t eat the mic! If so, looks like I need to send another “care package” to New Zealand!

So what does this mean? Look for something new and exciting from Strand Selecon this year at ProLight + Sound.  If we are lucky, we might just see something State side sooner then later.  I’ll keep after the US rep and see what other details I can find out.

Rumor Mill: Selecon Prepin’ to Release New Fixture at ProLight + Sound is a post from: iSquint.net

This year at ProLight + Sound in Frankfurt Germany, Elation Professional is focusing their product lineup on energy efficiency.  With the growing trend of LEDs and “Going Green”, Elation is showing off a couple of fixtures that not only are energy-efficient, but also pack a punch with some of the features and light output that we have come to expect in certain fixtures.  Here is a little info on just a couple of the fixtures that Elation will be showing of at Prolight + Sound 2010.

Platinum Spot 5R – This DMX moving head produces an output comparable to a 575-watt fixture, yet is half the size, uses less than half the energy and weighs half as much as a typical 250-watt fixture!.  The secret is its advanced MSD Platinum 5R technology, a revolutionary lamp source from Philips, which rated at 2,000 hours, also burns twice as long as a conventional 575-watt fixture’s lamp.  Additionally, the Platinum Spot 5R moves faster than traditional moving heads on pan and tilt, as well as on color-gobo changes. It offers a full complement of professional design features, including: 8 dichroic colors; 22 gobos (8 rotating/indexing, 14 static); 3-Facet Rotating Prism effect; Variable Frost; Motorized Iris; Motorized Focus; Variable speed Shutter/Strobe; and 0-100% Mechanical Dimmer.

Design Spot LED –   An LED-powered version of Elation’s popular Design Spot 250 Pro DMX moving head, the Design Spot LED weighs less than the original model while offering output equal to a 250-watt discharge lamp plus an extended 50,000-hour LED lamp life.  It offers all the same features as the original, including a Variable Frost Filter, which allows it to function as a hybrid spot/wash effect, and a Motorized Iris and Motorized Focus. Nine dichroic colors, 14 gobos (7 rotating/indexing, 7 static) and a 3-facet Rotating/Indexing Prism are also included.

E Spot LED – A 14-channel DMX spot effect with a 50,000-hour rated  LED light source, the E Spot LED has an output greater than a standard 150-watt discharge fixture, while consuming about half the energy. At a featherweight 25 lbs. and petite 8”L x 11.8”W x 17.2”H, it’s packed with features for its compact size, including 8 dichroic colors, 7 rotating/indexing gobos, 3 rotating/indexing prisms (3-facet, 5-facet and 3D), Motorized Focus, Variable Speed Shutter/Strobe and 0-100% Mechanical Dimmer.

If you find yourself in the land of Hefeweizen, Wiener Schnitzel and Sausage, (Frankfurt Germany), between March 24 and 27, make sure to stop by ProLight + Sound to check out the Elation Fixtures on the Booth D51, Hall 11.

Elation Focuses on Compact & Energy-Efficient Lights at ProLight + Sound is a post from: iSquint.net

Claude Heintz Design has developed a new set of lighting applications for Mac OSX called LXFree.  LXFree is part of LXSeries of software which allows lighting designers to draft their plot very similar to other well known drafting programs. Did I mention the best part… It’s FREE.

Here’s more from the LXFree web site:

LXFree is an application for drawing light plots and generating paperwork. LXFree combines drawing a light plot with editing information associated with graphic objects in the drawing. LXFree produces reports by linking the graphics, attached data, and additional databases related to the properties of these objects.

LXFree is, as its name implies, totally free! Here’s why: The goal of the LX series is to make the best possible set of tools for Lighting Designers. By giving away the base application, the hope is to build a strong foundation for the rest of the tools.

LXFree is a Mac OS universal binary application. LXFree requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later for full functionality. You can choose to download a version of LXFree that runs under OS X 10.3.9.

If you own a Mac, what is stopping you from heading over to www.claudeheintzdesign.com right now and downloading the software and giving it a try?  While you are there, check out some of the other software packages aimed at helping lighting designers such as LXBeams, LXConsole and LXTools.

Thanks Daniel!

FREE Alternative Lighting Plot Software is a post from: iSquint.net

More from the press release:

A major addition to this new release is the ability to both mix the audio track from movies and to control the global audio volume via DMX. As a result, a DMX control desk can now act as an audio mixer. Also new is MediaMaster 1.2’s support of Quartz Composer. This Mac-only technology allows both the creation of GPU accelerated movies and highly customized effects and music visualizers. The addition of this feature now makes it very easy to create animations that read information from web pages and present it in an attractive way. Flash Animation Player has been enhanced by its support of Actionscript3. This opens new doors to developers who want to create unique animations and music visualizers on Windows or Mac.

These new developments also open MediaMaster 1.2 to an infinite array of new creative possibilities by offering users an easy way to design unique audiovisual shows that combine traditional video and lighting with audio reactive visuals and advanced custom effects.

As a highly professional media server software, MediaMaster also comes with features such as improved Frame Blending Support for extremely smooth video playback even at slow speeds, perfect Soft Edge for seamless blending of multiple projectors, high resolution output at up to 4096 pixels on supporting hardware and advanced media composition due to its support of alpha channels.

The software is fully compatible with Matrox Dual, TripleHead2Go Analog and Digital Editions, allowing several projectors to be connected to a single server.

MediaMaster is the only solution offering decompression engines for almost any video format. This dispenses with the need to recompress video files which, in turn, provides maximum flexibility for the designer who can work with almost any file in a very user-friendly way.

Thanks to the CITP support, Media Server Extensions (MSEX) enable media information to be displayed on many lighting consoles, including those from Avolites, Chamsys, Compulite, ETC, Zero88 and ADB. The software also listen directly to a GrandMA console through the MA-eDMX protocol resulting in a simpler and more efficient setup between these two very popular products.

Finally, the ArKaos Media Server A10 HD already incorporates the new MediaMaster 1.2 software. This super-fast media server is designed for customers who demand a high-performance, turnkey solution which guarantees the best video performance and can run large shows seamlessly.

If you are attending ProLight + Sound 2010 in Frankfurt Germany on March 24 through 27, be sure to stop by ArKaos’s booth, C30/C28 in Hall 11.1.  You can learn more about the MediaMaster 1.2 by visiting Arkaos web site at www.arkaos.net. You can even download a trail version of the software to put it to some test.

ArKaos Announces New MediaMaster 1.2 is a post from: iSquint.net

Together, along with attendee’s interaction and questions, Mr Cadena and Mr. Ungerleider will explore the newest technologies and how to compare light sources in terms of light output, color, rendering, dimming , flicker, effects and cost.  When the smoke clears attendee’s will have a better understanding of what you can and cannot do with the newest lighting equipment, how it will look, and what the payoff will be.

Interested in “attending” the webinar, be sure to register now and mark your calendar for March 26th.

CSL Announces Next Webinar: The ABCs of Lighting a Green Show is a post from: iSquint.net

It looks like USITT and Useful Development are not done with the app.  I have heard through the digital grape vein that development of the iPhone app is not yet done.  While the core of the app is in place and ready, Useful Development has many, MANY more features planned and preparing to release before the Conference and Stage Expo next month.

One of the things that I am excited to hear about is the addition of a floor plan and booth layout of the Stage Expo being added to the iPhone App.  Rather then carrying around a printed copy of the conference guide with the show floor plan, it will be directly accessible via the iPhone App. My under cover operative leaked a couple of screen shots of the next update to the USITT App with “Maps” added. The first of a couple updates to the USITT App are expected to hit the iTunes App Store anytime now with the Maps feature.

There are additional features that will be added to the USITT App, again, before the Conference and Stage Expo next month.  Once my under cover operative is able to sneak additional information out, I’ll be sure to add it here.

If you haven’t done so already, you can download your FREE copy of the USITT app right from the iTunes App Store.  Any and all updates will be free as well.

Here are some screen shots of what the Maps feature will look like when the App is updated.

USITT Planning Updates to iPhone App is a post from: iSquint.net

While on the show floor, Mr. Shelley was happily signing copies of his latest book, A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting.  Copies of Mr. Shelley’s book were on sale at the SETC registration desk, but copies ran out quickly. As an offering, Mr. Shelley is offering a discount for A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting, 2nd Edition through the books publisher, Focal Press.

If you are interested in saving an 25% off the cover price of the book, you can visit Focal Press’s web site, (www.focalpress.com) and type in a discount code to receive the discount.  But, to receive the discount code, you MUST email me at info@isquint.net as I have been asked not to publish the code.

I am not sure exactly how long the discount code is valid for but hurry and get your copy of Mr. Shelley’s book with 25% off the cover NOW!!!  You can read a review of Mr. Shelley’s book right here on iSquint.net.

UPDATE: Looks like I was wrong on he sale of the Mr. Shelley’s book at SETC. The book was not for sale any where at SETC. Mr. Shelley’s fan’s and owner of his book actually brought copies WITH THEM to the show to get his signature. Now why didn’t I think of that!!!

Also, I have confirmed with Focal Press that the 25% discount code runs through the end of the month, (March).  But don’t wait till the last minute.  email me at info@isquint.net and I’ll be happy to send you the promotional code for a 25% savings!

Special Offer on A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting Book is a post from: iSquint.net

The app will be geared towards a select bunch of lighting folks as it is a proprietary app. What does that mean?  Think about controlling your console from the iPhone or iPod Touch. From there, I will leave you to your imagination and own speculations.

There was no mention of cost of the new app, but I can only assume that it will either be free or fall in line with similar lighting apps already on the market.  So when is this new app going to hit the street?  As of right now, beta testing is in full swing and a release date is expected late first quarter, early second quarter of 2010.

Keep your eyes peeled for more information to come here on iSquint.

Rumor Mill: New iPhone App on the Way is a post from: iSquint.net

The conference does not officially start…um… right now!  But last night Tomcat Truss hosted the annual Tech Mixer as a way for all of us “technical folk” can get together, meet and get to know one another. There w1as also the bar, the food and the prizes!  By the way, if you won one of the two $10 iTunes cards last night… Congrats!!! Not only did I donate some prizes to give away, but it seemed like the almost ALL of the manufacturer exhibiting gave something as a prize! I also gave out what seemed like 500 stickers while walking around the Tech Mixer and I think I didn’t get everyone!

Here are just a couple of photos from last nights Tech Mixer that was hosted by Tomcat Truss and lite by Altman Stage Lighting and their Specta Par and Spectra Cyc LEDs. Thanks again for a great night!

 

Day 1 of #SETC and the Tech Mixer is a post from: iSquint.net