Archive of the Video Editing Systems Category

Germany’s biggest and best known hip-hop band – Die Fantastischen Vier – AKA Fanta 4 just concluded their latest sold-out arena tour with an equally fantastic set, lighting and visual design by Gunther Hecker.

The tour culminated in a spectacular home-coming performance by the band at Stuttgart’s Hanns Martin Schleyer Halle.
Hecker – one of Germany’s most innovative designers – worked in close collaboration with Marc Lorenz, who looked after all the LED screen and video elements, to create the show and specify the equipment. It has been acclaimed as one of the best stage presentations of Die Fantastischen Vier’s long and eventful career which has put German hip-hop on the map.
Hecker has worked with the band since 1993 – and seen them undergo much evolution yet always staying at the forefront of the genre – edgy and accessible and one of the country’s most critically and commercially recognised artists.
Hecker had always secretly longed to design an in-the-round show for them – thinking that the architecture and geometric form offered by geodesic circles and the 360 degree aesthetic would be perfect for their hi-energy performance and enhance their already close interactive bonds with their audience.
Until now, they always resisted, saying they didn’t like the idea! However, knowing them so well, Hecker took his chances and presented the idea, convinced the time was right. He asked the band for 15 minutes in one of the early pre-tour meetings to convince them of his concept ….. and they went for it!
Once agreed, it was down to Hecker and his creative vision and talented team to pull out all the stops to make the production as exciting, incendiary and energetic as possible to match their performance.

Lighting and Set
The 14 metre wide circular stage was built with a combination of Lite Structures’ standard and custom products. It featured four five metre thrusts, each at 90 degree intervals around the stage.
Above, it was crowned by four circular trusses at 8, 10, 12 and 14 metre diameters, with the three smaller ones all on a 18 axis Cyberhoist system, operated by Ingo Koenzen, allowing them to move into a dynamic section of different positions.
Five hydraulic rams were integrated into the stage and used for entrances, one in the centre and the other at the stage end of each of the thrusts. The show started with a lone sampler slowly elevating on one of these and the four Fanta 4 members mid stage, silhouetted by a hand-held photo-flood lamp against a circular cloth that kabuki’d in to reveal them.
The five piece backing band remained playing under the stage for the first three numbers and then made their entrance as the excitement and anticipation built, and the full show kicked in.
Below the Macrolon topped stage was 100 square metres of Martin Professional LC LED screen, which provided another trajectory of lighting and for those sitting higher up in the bleacher seating, an additional visual dimension.
The perimeters of all the above-stage trusses were clad with 1 metre high Pixled F-15 LED tiles – in total amounting to 140 square metres.
The smallest – 8 metre – circle was also rigged with 16 Robe ColorSpot 2500E AT moving lights, 8 Martin Atomic strobes and 12 ETC PARs … and these were the only lights directly above the stage.
Four spine / finger trusses stretched out above the thrusts, each rigged with seven Robe ColorSpot 2500E ATs and seven ColorWash 2500E AT moving lights – chosen for their power and punch – plus two Atomics and nine square 4-lite Moles.
The lighting on these was ideally positioned for illuminating the runways and also blasting into the audience. A key part of the performance was to pull the audience into the action and ensure that they felt part of the show, so Hecker’s lighting and programming played an essential part in evoking this emotional response and connection between the band and their fans.
Circling the stage on the floor were 30 x JB Lighting A7 LED wash lights and four smoke machines were also on the floor for atmospherics.
Hecker operated the lighting using a Road Hog Full Boar console with a wing, complete with hot backup.
It was a relatively small rig in terms of fixture numbers for the stature of the show, but the effect and impact proving that you don’t have to have the most and the biggest, you just have to choose your media carefully and program and plan with intelligence and feeling.

Video
Video also played a major role in the visuals, and was completely integrated into the design from the outset, with Hecker and Lorenz also mindful to avoid all the current video and LED clichés!
The video screens were sometimes also used in a lighting role, with all the “regular” lights turned off and just the screens as the lightsource.
On the video control side of the show, they worked closely with Fantastichen Vier’s AndY (Andreas Rieke) who is a bit of a wiz with digital and electronic challenges. He designed a custom control solution for the visual elements based on Apple’s Quartz Composer software system.
Live-Video/IMAG was used in about 70% of the show and the screens were active throughout. There were seven cameras in total for IMAG, three operated Sony DXC30Ps in the audience and three Panasonic Domecam remotes onstage, plus a Toshiba 1KHRIS full HD camera placed centre-stage, and fitted with a 360 degree lens to produce special effects in two songs.
These were directed and mixed by Franz Schlechter using a Panasonic AV-HS400A, and he also designed and produced all the show playback content and ran both that and IMAG live.
The playback material was stored on one of four Mac Pro desktops – one running the Quartz Composer with two inputs – IMAG and playback footage – with both sources manipulated live using Modul8 real-time mixing VJ software running on another Mac Pro and Quartz Composer, which did most of the IMAG treatment.
This was all then fed into a Catalyst media server Mac Pro, used just for mapping the outputs to the different screen surfaces. The fourth Mac Pro was a backup.
The video control system was set up and overseen by Marc Lorenz. The video sequences and effects were mainly triggered via MIDI from AndY’s samplers, but once running, some were ‘played’ live in real time by Schlechter, challenging the Mac Pro’s NVIDIA Quadro 4000 graphics cards to crunch some serious numbers …. To which they delivered time and again!
The set up enabled some truly organic mixing and matching between lighting and video effects, like in “Le Smou” where the hue of the video outputs was shifted to match Hecker’s lighting changes – in a beautiful fluid visual harmonisation together with the rhythm and vibe of the music.
Says Hecker, “We created a special look that was a perfect fit for the band and their stage-presentation and resulted in a great audience experience. After working for almost 20 years with them, it was great to see how they embraced the in-the-round, filling it with life, and integrating all the technic aspects so harmonioulsy with their on-stage behaviour. Working so closly with AndY was really interesting. He made it possible to create some interesting looks and effects using the Quartz-Composer system that I had never seen or thought of before!”
The tour was production managed by Christof Matthiesen. The 11 trucks of equipment was supplied by Satis & Fy AG, Werne – all video, sound and lighting kit apart from the LED panels; XL Video Germany, Munich – Pixled LED screen; PRG Germany from Hamburg – Martin LC LED frames; and Gunther Hecker GmbH Heidelberg – stage set and hydraulics.

For more press info, please contact Louise Stickland on +44 (0)1865 202679/+44 (0)7831 329888 or Email ‘louise@loosplat.com’. To contact Gunther Hecker GmbH direct, please call +49 [0]2389 92 59 18 0 or check www.gunther-hecker.de

Three Jands Vista T2 consoles, each running the next generation Vista v2 software, are controlling lighting and media at White’s Chapel United Methodist Church (UMC) in Dallas, Texas, USA.

In the run up to Christmas a spectacular show, “Celebrate The Light”, is being projected onto the front of the impressive 250 ft wide by 150 ft high façade of the church building. Drawing crowds of up to 5,000, and running six times a night, a Vista T2 is in control of this popular show.

Tim Georgeff, the Church’s Creative Director, had been dreaming about producing a Christmas projection presentation on the building for some time. With the help of Steve Alford of leading technical production company Alford Media – who supplied three Barco 20K FLM projectors and a pair of Green Hippo Grasshopper media servers – as well as local graphic designer David Koss this became a reality.

The Vista controlled the Grasshopper media servers to create the detailed Video presentation the team were after. Vista’s graphical interface made the process fast, accurate and smooth.

Throughout the duration of the festive season White’s Chapel run events including a major annual Christmas musical. This year’s production, “Born Where the Shadows Lie”, has lighting designed by Keith Allen from Alford Media.

Fixtures include VARI*LITE VL 3000s, Martin Professional MAC 550s and GLP Volkslicht LED washes , Chroma-Q™ Color Block DB4™ LED battens, plus ETC Source Four profiles, PARs and fresnels.

Tim comments that the ease of programming on the Vista made creating both these shows a very time-efficient process, remarking on how simple it is to get the most from whatever technology they choose to use – whether moving lights, conventionals, LED, or media servers.

White’s Chapel have been running the Vista v2 software for some time, with Tim highlighting that information is clear and readable; its fast setup is “fantastic” and it is “so easy” to navigate.

Tim explains that they loved the first Vista T2 they bought so much that they went out and purchased a second for their smaller venue! Both are in constant use with the busy schedule in its two worship facilities – the main 2,500 capacity auditorium and the second 650 capacity facility, ‘The Bridge’.

For more press information on Jands Europe, please contact Louise Stickland on +44 7831 329888 or +44 1865 202679 or EMail ; louise@loosplat.com.

Find out more about the Vista v2 at www.jandsvista.com or contact:

European Sales:
Jands Europe
Tel: +44 (0)1494 838 365
Email: info@jands-europe.com

North American Sales
A.C. Lighting Inc.
Tel: (416) 255 9494
email: northamerica@aclighting.com
www.aclighting.com.

Projection artist Ross Ashton of London, UK based The Projection Studio was invited back to Caerphilly Castle in Wales – by popular demand – to recreate his fabulous “Illuminata” digital art son et Lumière.

The commission – for which Ashton also designed the large format projection system used to bring the work to life – was from Cadw – the Welsh Assembly Government division responsible for preserving and promoting the history and heritage of Wales.
The 2010 event was the first time that an entertainment spectacle of this genre had been commissioned for a Cadw historical monument, and proved such a massive success that they decided to repeat the experience for three evenings this year.
Ashton’s 20 minute work depicted the history and stories of the castle, accompanied by a special audio track produced by sound artist Karen Monid.
Working at Caerphilly Castle again was a “Fantastic” experience enthused Ashton, who has produced detailed and very specific works for many landmark building and site specific locations worldwide. Caerphilly is the largest castle in Wales (and only second to Windsor in the UK) and complete with formidable water defences, one of the largest fortresses in Europe, dating back to 1267.
The projection work was projected onto two buildings in the Inner Ward of the Castle – the rear of the Gatehouse, and the Main Hall, at 90 degrees to its right. The images measured approximately 30 metres wide onto both surfaces and the three Christie HD18 projectors were positioned 50 metres away. These were supplied by QED to the Projection Studio.
A double stacked pair rigged at the top of a scaffolding platform covered the Gatehouse, with the third single machine positioned at the end of a long balcony on the building opposite the Main Hall.
All the content – including some impressive PiP elements shaped and fitted millimetre-perfectly to the architecture of the buildings – was loaded onto 3 OnlyView servers, and programmed by Richard Porter & Karen Monid.
Ashton was engaged for the project by Marilyn Lewis, Director of Cadw. After receiving the original brief, he worked closely with Lewis and Cadw, a storyline was developed from which he chose specific elements that would look best with large video projections, whilst preserving the timeline and events chronology.
A major creative challenge was designing a show without a voice-over accompaniment. Welsh Assembly Government projects need to be fully bilingual; however a show without spoken word effectively removes the need for simultaneous translation. The narrative therefore had to be very strong within the visual material with a minimal amount of text and the atmospheric enhancement of the soundscape.
Original artwork for the show was produced by Ashton and his team of Paul Chatfield and Steve Larkins, together with some 3D animations by Richard Porter. Cadw provided archival material and also commissioned illustrator Mike Cooper (of 2000AD/Judge Dredd fame) to produce original works, which were drawn to the Projection Studio’s specification allowing them to be easily animated when the final show’s video content was edited and composited.
Karen Monid’s sound track was a fusion of sound effects and music, much of it specially written by her for the piece. Other parts were sourced from record labels Naxos and Boosey & Hawkes plus some original recordings, including some red kites, a local bird of prey.
Ashton comments, “This was a great opportunity to work in an amazing environment again, plus a massive honour to be asked back and enjoy the opportunity of bringing the location alive through an entertaining and fun mixed media experience”.
“Illuminata” is the second repeat show that Ashton and The Projection Studio has produced this autumn, following their extremely popular “Crown of Light” projected artwork on Durham Cathedral, which was invited back for the city’s 2011 Lumière event in October.

For more press info on The Projection Studio, please contact Louise Stickland on +44 (0)1865 202679/+44 (0)7831 329888 or Email louise@loosplat.com. To contact The Projection Studio direct, please call +44 20 8293 4270.

Leading New Zealand lighting designer Ben Cooper utilised 24 Robe ROBIN 600 LEDWash moving light fixtures – amongst others – for the 2011 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards (VNZMAs), which honoured the very best of established and emerging talent spanning a diversity of genres.

The high profile event – produced by J and A Productions for the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) – was staged in the Vector Arena in Auckland. It is the largest and highest profile Awards show in the country. This 46th edition of the VNZMAs featured live performances from a host of stars including Brooke Fraser, The Naked and Famous, Ladi6, Six60, Tiki Taane and Avalanche City and legendary Kiwi band Supergroove. It was telecast live on national Channel FOUR.
Cooper was lighting it for the second year, bringing a fresh and innovative style to the visuality, with all the lighting equipment supplied by Auckland based rental company, Spot-Light Systems Limited.
Cooper is also the owner of Spot-Light Systems, which specialises in supplying international music tours and events and has a long history of involvement in the local music scene. The company has actually been involved with the lighting and/or design of the VNZMAs event for nearly two decades!
This year’s set, designed by Robin Rawstone, contained multiple video elements and LED screen surfaces, which were raised off the ground to allow artist entrances / exits and rolling risers to be pushed on and offstage at the back for quick changeovers. Cooper, Rawstone and production manager Peter Grumley worked closely to evolve a unique, interesting aesthetic for the fast paced show, and to ensure that all the lighting, set and digital scenic elements worked in harmony.
The LEDWashes were specifically positioned to provide back and ‘black hole’ fillers beneath the LED screens for certain camera shots.
The fixtures were configured in 37-channel mode with all the LEDs individually addressed, allowing the creation of lots of funky and kaleidoscopic patterns on the rings – one of the special features of Robe’s LEDWash series. This is brilliant for eye and camera candy effects.
The LEDWashes are a relatively new edition to Spot-Light’s rental stock. The first batch was purchased in May, and that was followed up by more just prior to the event, as they were pleased with the performance and scope of the units. The Robes were supplied by Robe’s very proactive Australia / New Zealand distributor, ULA.
Cooper had used LEDWashes only once before spec’ing them onto the NZMAs – which was in a completely different context –a charity gig in a hotel ballroom for front light. However, this was enough for him to realise the potential!
He jumped at the chance to used them on the Awards, “I like trying out new and exciting technology, so this was the perfect chance,” he explains, emphasising that lights positioned in the ‘back-of-camera’ are absolutely crucial, he needed fixtures with real power, punch and impact to fulfil the role … hence choosing the LEDWash 600s.
“They were awesome!!” he declares, “Extremely bright and delivered exactly what was required, plus the flexibility to run them in zones and programme so many different shapes and effects was amazing ”.
He adding that as a new product to Spot-Light’s inventory, they are all still at the start of their creative learning curves with the LEDWash 600, a process in which he and his staff are very much looking forward to engaging.
The LEDWashes and the rest of the lights for the 2011 VNZMAs were controlled via three Avolites Pearls running Expert Titan software running and the latest Touch Screen Wings, and the show was programmed and run by Cooper and Chris Browne.
Spot-Light’s LEDWashes are also out on two Coca Cola ‘Christmas In The Park’ shows, which will have a combined audience of approximately 250,000 and are shown on national TV during December.

For more press info. on Robe Lighting, please contact Louise Stickland on +44 (0)1865 202679/+44 (0)7831 329888 or Email ‘louise@loosplat.com’. For more product and general info, check www.robe.cz or call + 420 571 751 510.

Singular Software invites Final Cut editors to test drive the upcoming release of their award-winning PluralEyes synchronization app for Final Cut Pro X
 
Vancouver, British Columbia — Singular Software™, a developer of workflow automation applications for video production, is pleased to announce that the PluralEyes® for Apple® Final Cut Pro® X Public Beta is now available. The multi-award winning PluralEyes technology works alongside Final Cut Pro to instantly sync multi-camera video and audio tracks; saving hours of tedious, manual syncing during post. “We have a large PluralEyes for Final Cut Pro user base, so it was imperative that we added support for the latest release,” says Bruce Sharpe, CEO of Singular Software. “Many of our PluralEyes for Final Cut Pro users employ multi-camera and dual-system audio workflows…relying heavily on PluralEyes to facilitate the media sync. Whether editing with Final Cut Pro version 7 or X, we want to ensure our customers enjoy all of the same advanced synchronization capabilities that PluralEyes has to offer.
 
Final Cut Pro X editors can download the new PluralEyes public beta at http://www.singularsoftware.com/downloads.html#fcpx. When it is released, support for Final Cut Pro X will be a free update for all current users of PluralEyes.
 
About PluralEyes
PluralEyes dramatically accelerates the workflow for multi-camera, multi-take and dual-system audio productions. By analyzing audio information, PluralEyes synchronizes audio and video clips automatically, without the need for timecode, clappers or other special preparation.
 
About Singular Software
Established in 2008, Singular Software pioneers the development of workflow automation applications for audio and video professionals. Its breakthrough solution, PluralEyes, offers innovative technology to automate and simplify multi-camera, multi-take and dual-system audio workflows. Singular Software products support industry leading non-linear editing products. For more information about Singular Software, please visit: http://www.singularsoftware.com.
 
Singular Software PluralEyes is a trademark of Singular Software Inc. All other trademarks, registered trademarks and products mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.
 
Press Contact
To schedule a press briefing or request a product review, please contact Janice Dolan at:
 
Zazil Media Group
Janice Dolan
(p) +1 617 817 6595
(email) janice@zazilmediagroup.com

DFT Digital Film Technology, provider of high-end film and digital post production solutions that preserve, manage, and deliver your pictures, announces that Spice Shop, Bangkok, Thailand, is the first commercial post facility in Southeast Asia to install a SCANITY film scanner.

In addition to providing a full range of post production services for the local and international television and cinema commercial markets, Spice Shop has recently unveiled it’s newly renovated facility which enhances its service offerings to support feature film post production including on-set and post grading, 3D DCI mastering, as well as archive & restoration work. more

Hollywood Studios Jump on New Technology

OOBAXS (pronounced Out of Band Access), the console access authority for data centers and broadcasting today announced that it is bringing High Definition (HD) KVM DVI Draco matrix switches capable of mixing both CATx and fiber optic connections between source and target to the US market. The switches are manufactured by IHSE Germany, a leading developer and innovator in high speed, high definition DVI and KVM/Video extension and switching solutions.

OOBAXS, one of Hollywood’s leading technology integrators will provide installations, support and guidance on deployments at numerous post-production facilities. “The Draco series is the fastest core switching product on the market,” said Alan Frank, technology strategist and founder of OOBAXS. “IHSE’s willingness to be a responsive partner with their end-users has led to the evolution of a product that is changing the way movies are made.”

The Draco offers DVI video extenders over CATx or Fiber for “mission critical” server and computer access, as well as, fiber optic HD-KVM matrix switches. The Draco, featuring ZERO blocking, high speed switching, HD DVI to 1920×1200, and four HID, has already made its impact on Hollywood studios.

Working with OOBAXS to design and deploy a solution using Draco, Shapeshifter Post was the first post-production facility in Hollywood to embrace the high speed technology. “We had been researching KVM Matrix switching/extension options for many months, and needed a robust solution that could support all our input devices without issue, including our Avid Symphony, DS, and Media Composer, as well as De Vinci Resolve, and Final Cut Pro workstations,” said Russo Anastasio, president of Shapeshifter Post. “We knew that by installing the IHSE Draco, we would increase our productivity, but didn’t realize the extent of that increase would be such a game changer!”

“Post-production tasks can be time consuming and draining on resources and typically depend on individual hardware and locations,” added Alan Frank. “An editor may have traditionally worked in one bay for picture editing, but then would need to move to a new location to add in special effects or color-time. With the Draco, an entire production house worth of resources becomes accessible at any single end-point.”

OOBAXS (pronounced Out of Band Access) provides anywhere, anytime console access to broadcast facilities and data centers. The company has a long track record integrating access solutions to help data center managers gain access to any appliance or piece of equipment in their network. OOBAXS.COM has been instrumental in bringing the latest technologies to data centers helping them improve anytime access, image/video quality, productivity, access speed, and a more flexible infrastructure. OOBAXS has brought modern data center tools and techniques into the broadcast world. The result is a client list that includes the world largest movie, recording, radio and television studios as well as Fortune 100 company data-centers. As video, speed and visual interfaces continue to improve; OOBAXS will remain a leading resource for CIOs, CTOs, and broadcast engineers.

All trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.

MANHATTAN EDIT WORKSHOP PARTNERS WITH ABELCINE; CONNECTS PRODUCTION TO POST
Educational developments teach filmmakers and videographers end-to-end production to post workflows and techniques

New York, New York – December 12, 2011 – Manhattan Edit Workshop (Mewshop), the cutting-edge authorized digital training destination, is pleased to announce a training partnership with industry leading film and digital media equipment supplier AbelCine. Their first collaboration, ‘Hands On: From the Camera to the Cutting Room,’ is a two-day intensive workshop in the art of shooting and editing narrative and documentary film.

“This partnership leverages the expertise of our respective training organizations to produce educational programs that approach training from the artistic workflow as opposed to teaching specific buttons and dials,” comments Josh Apter, Founder and President, Manhattan Edit Workshop. “I am very excited to get people working on all the latest tools and technology available to filmmakers, and using them for specific creative ends.”

“AbelCine Training was established to bring real-word education to industry professionals. We emphasize practical training taught by instructors who work everyday in the disciplines they teach. We are excited about the partnership with Manhattan Edit Workshop, because it allows us to offer our clients first-class instruction in editing techniques, which fits perfectly with our philosophy,” explained Andy Shipsides, AbelCine Training Department Manager and Camera Technology Specialist.

The first ‘Hands On: From the Camera to the Cutting Room’ workshop will be held on January 21st at AbelCine and January 22nd at Mewshop.

Day One takes place at AbelCine’s brand new training space. Award-winning cinematographer Peter Olsen and Mewshop founder and filmmaker Josh Apter deconstruct classic examples of three cinematic concepts – fiction, vérité and the interview – and take students through an immersive hands-on workshop in lighting, camera placement, composition and sound for these disciplines. Working with professional actors, state-of-the-art gear and award-winning instructors, the students break off into crews and shoot their own exercises.

Day Two takes place at Manhattan Edit Workshop where students take their footage through post-production using the industry’s most popular non-linear editing tools. Mewshop founder and filmmaker Josh Apter will walk through the post process where students will ingest, assemble, fine-tune and output work for a group screening and critique to end the class.

Students can register for the workshop on the Mewshop web site for 500.00 USD.

About the Instructors:
Instructor Josh Apter
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, instructor Josh Apter attended NYU’s Graduate Film Program, where his thesis, 53rd Calypso, was honored with the Martin Scorsese Award for achievement in directing. The film, which stars Edward Norton, received numerous awards for directing, editing, and cinematography at film festivals across the country.

Josh was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards for his first feature film, Kaaterskill Falls – The John Cassavetes Award and Best Debut Performance. Kaaterskill Falls was also awarded the Critic’s Jury Prize at the IFP/West Los Angeles Film Festival. It is currently screening on the Sundance Channel and is available on DVD through Wellspring Media.

In addition to establishing Manhattan Edit Workshop, the destination for post-production training, Josh has served as editor for more than eight feature films including The Holy Land (winner Slamdance 2002/Cavu Pictures Distributor), Kaaterskill Falls, and Barbecue is a Noun (Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Rome International Film Festival and the River Run Film Festival). To view more of Josh’s work, please visit www.peteandjoshmakemovies.com.

Instructor Peter Olsen
After being honored as a regional finalist in the Student Academy Awards for his first 16mm film Interstates, instructor Peter Olsen was accepted into the graduate film program at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where his work garnered several honors, including a Graduate Teaching Assistantship, a Warner Bros. Production Award, and a nomination for the American Society of Cinematographers Greg Toland Heritage Award. Peter was also awarded a $25,000 development grant from IFP/North and the Minnesota Independent Film Fund as co-writer of the feature film screenplay Ice Nine, now in development.
Peter brings an invaluable distinction to the projects he shoots since he is also a writer, producer and director. His debut feature, Kaaterskill Falls (co-directed with Josh Apter), on which he also served as director of photography, received the Critic’s Jury Prize for Best Feature at the 2001 IFP/West Los Angeles Film Festival, and was nominated for two 2002 Independent Spirit Awards. Peter is currently developing and shooting a number of feature projects both documentary and narrative.

About AbelCine Training
AbelCine’s Training Department was created to continue the company’s mission of educating serious image makers on all levels on professional production technology – encompassing cameras, optics, audio, lighting, workflows and post solutions.

AbelCine Training utilizes the wide range of equipment resources and knowledge base of the company behind it. Although the curriculum is primarily focused on working professionals, classes are appropriate for serious students at all levels of their careers and are designed to pick up where formal film and media programs generally end.

About Abel Cine Tech Inc.
Abel Cine Tech, established in 1989, is a leading supplier of professional film and digital equipment with facilities in New York City, Burbank, CA and Chicago, IL. Core services include equipment sales, rental and technical service, digital media services, and training. The company is the North American agent for Phantom high-speed cameras, as well as a Sony Solutions Reseller, Panasonic Specialty Reseller, Arri digital camera reseller, and the exclusive US agent for Aaton motion picture cameras. For more information, visit www.abelcine.com

About Manhattan Edit Workshop
Manhattan Edit Workshop was founded in 2002 with the goal of providing cutting-edge instruction on Apple®, Adobe® and Avid® platforms. In 2011 Mewshop added Avid Pro Tools®, DaVinci Resolve, Autodesk® Smoke® and ASSIMILATE SCRATCH training to its already impressive curriculum. Mewshop’s signature Six-Week Intensive is a jump-start for anyone looking for a career in post-production, while weekend and one-week courses introduce and solidify core-editing concepts. Corporate and group training offers a customized curriculum, either in-house or on-site, for professionals eager to learn a new skill or to build on existing ones. The facility’s focus on small workshops, highly skilled and certified faculty, and a results-oriented curriculum, have quickly won it the reputation as New York’s premier post-production teaching facility.

Follow @mewshop on Twitter or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mewshop.
For more information on Manhattan Edit Workshop please visit: www.mewshop.com.

Press Contact (Manhattan Edit Workshop)
For all press inquiries please contact:

Janice Dolan
Zazil Media Group
Janice@zazilmediagroup.com
(p) 617.817.6595
(skype) janicedolan

Leading UK lighting and visuals rental company HSL supplied lighting equipment, LED video screens and crew to the recent UK leg of the Chase & Status “No More Idols” tour, where Neil Carson’s high energy lighting and visual design WOWed the crowds and captured the true spirit of hi-energy drum ‘n’ bass vibes.

Carson has worked for Chase & Status for the last two years, clutching his seat as their career trajectory has gone supersonic. The band shares the same management team as Pendulum, another artist to whom HSL provides lighting.

However, this is the first time Carson has used HSL to supply both lighting and video – a process likely to happen increasing frequently following a recent major investment in Martin EC10 and EC20 LED screen product. “It makes things very straightforward dealing with one source for all these elements,” confirms Carson.

The Chase & Status project was managed for HSL by the equally supersonic Mike Oates, who says, “We always enjoy working with Neil. He has great imagination and flare and the Chase & Status show is exciting, atmospheric and a great fusion of lighting and video”.

Carson designed the screen architecture – based on a central upstage block of EC10 in the middle, about 6 metres wide and 2.5 deep – flanked by three columns of EC20 at 5, 4 and 3 metres high respectively, which added real depth and three-dimensionality to the stage. The modular design allowed it to be easily – and practically – reduced to fit into smaller venues, whilst ensuring aesthetic continuity.

Different overall screen formats and shapes have been a consistent feature on all sections of Chase & Status’s recent touring schedules, keeping the visual evolution moving forward and the performance space always fresh and invigorating. Nothing stays still for too long on planet Chase & Status or in their hyperactive performances.

Their video content is created by The Light Surgeons. In addition to stunning animations and raw, edgy ambient sequences, on this leg of the tour it featured special footage of all the Chase & Status vocalists, who appeared onscreen for their songs – and sometimes onstage for real.

Playback was stored on an AI media server, triggered by timecode from the band at the start of the track. Carson could tweak parameters like the screen intensity from his Chamsys MagicQ 100 lighting desk to match the space and the variable daily configuration of the lighting rig.

The video – and its paramount importance – was also the starting point for Carson’s lighting scheme.

He had to ensure that video remained visible at all times while he delivered enough lighting drama to keep pace with the maelstrom of sounds coming off the stage. The looks and scenes veered from fantastically large, boisterous and ravey looks to subtlety and classical theatre style mood. One of Carson’s primary aims was to produce real dynamics, and a structure rather than just a flashorama! His careful punctuation of the show was combined seamlessly with the flow and feel of live operation and a bit of improvisation.

All the toured lighting was located on the floor, so it could function as a completely independent rig. However, when house moving lights were available – typically about 12 moving lights, a mix of washes and spots – these could also be hooked in to the touring system..

HSL supplied 24 Clay Paky Sharpies – also a new addition to their hire stock – which look spectacularly bright and tight! They were joined by 24 GLP Impression Zooms, which, like the Sharpies, were dotted all over the towers. They are among Carson’s current favourite LED washes and were joined by 18 x 2-cell moles and 12 Atomic strobes.

On the deck were 6 Martin MAC 3K profiles, strung out along the back wall, used for powerful back lighting effects and highly effective silhouetting of the band. On boom stands upstage of the band were six i-Pix BB4 LED wash lights, six 2-cell Moles and six Atomic strobes,

In front of the keyboard stand were two custom ‘C’ and ‘S’ scenic letters, filled with a total of 110 Jarag-style lamps which are very NOW. Each was pixel-mapped via the lighting console. They consumed one and a half dimmer racks, but were well worth the effort.

Carson, explains “Mike was extremely helpful in sorting out the cabling and other peripherals needed to get these letters working once the metalwork was completed by Hangman”

He continues, “I really enjoy working with HSL. They are very friendly, efficient and super-professional, apart from which, Mike always goes the ‘extra nine yards’ to make something happen or help add value to the tour”.

His crew were Marc Callaghan, Chris Roper and Dan Oswald, who all worked closely with media server operator, Gianni Fabricio.

Carson also highlighted the efficiency of having a crew working on the combined disciplines of lighting and video. The fastest de-rig time for all their screen elements – from being onstage to packed into the trunks ready to load into the truck – was an impressive 2 minutes and 54 seconds. This was achieved with plenty of co-operation from the local crew during the get out in Swindon!

The tour had two days production rehearsals at Brixton Academy before hitting the road HSL provided a WYSIWYG computer so Carson could visualise, patch and programme the extensive extras supplied for the Brixton gig itself, which also became a DVD shoot.. This saved stress on the day and allowed a head start in integrating the additional gear for that gig into their show.

The Brixton extras included five 24 ft trussing ‘fingers’ installed over the stage, populated with over 60 moving lights, 12 Atomics, i-Pix BB16s and Martin EC20, used to line the underside of each finger.

For more press info on the HSL Group, please contact Louise Stickland on +44 (0)1865 202679/+44 (0)7831 329888 or Email louise@loosplat.com. Contact HSL direct on +44 (0)1254 698808, ‘info@hslgroup.com’ or check www.hslgroup.com.

DP & Stereographer Bruce Austin films wild African elephants in 3D using a pair of all-new Canon XF305′s and the 3D-SS PRO RIG bulit by the 3D Film Factory. Mr. Austin is an experienced stereographer who’s worked on numerous stereoscopic 3D productions for 3ality, Element Techinica and many others.

To see more 3D rigs and gear visit www.3DFilmFactory.com