From The Horse's Mouth

While recently spending time with the new ‘Current Technologies’ theatre class at Columbia College Chicago, a handful of undergrad students really put the Right Arm through its paces. Outfitted with a Source Four ERS and the Apollo EZ Iris, the Right Arm kept the class busy, each student choosing items (and unsuspecting faces) to light with various size beams. Pan and tilt were controlled with the student’s fingertip, tracing the Right Arm’s path using the ETC Expression console’s touchpad. I hadn’t seen application before and was amazed at the speed and repeatability of control.

http://www.colum.edu/

One of the constants in entertainment lighting is that there is never enough time in the theatre. We work in a world when opening night is going to happen at a given date whether you, your lighting, the scenery or even the actors are ready. The other constant is that many companies cannot afford to rent the theatre for a lot of time to set the lights or run the show many times to work the kinks out. This is why time saving gear and design approaches are valuable.

When I would design a show going into a limited time set of rehearsals, I would pre-write my lighting cues and dimmer levels. I had stage managers look at me strange as I gave them the cue sheets for the board op to punch in while they were running up dimmers for focus. Yes, the cues are not accurate or even close to the “look” in some cases, but at least it was a start and forced me to think through what I was planning to do on the stage. It also saved a lot of time during cue setting which is golden. Any extra time, whether it is minutes or hours, can certainly be used by many folks from scenic artists touching up the paint to choreographers running a dance piece one more time.

Apollo makes several products that a smart designer or electrician can employ to buy some extra time. The Right Arm is a remote control yoke that allows you to refocus a light or (continue reading…)

We will be exhibiting at PLASA in booth # 2-R24.  Stop by and visit with Joel, Keersten, Milad and Keith.  They will be demonstrating the Right Arm, Smart Color PRO, EZ Iris, and more! Don’t forget to check out a sneak peak of our 2011 new gobo designs too!