Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas Focuses on Projection Technology

Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas (SILV) recently held Video Projection Week, led by lighting designer Brian Gale, of the firm NYX design. The gear involved in the week's activities included a 12' x 16' LED wall, eight High End Systems Cyberlights, 40 units from Philips Vari-Lite and Morpheus Lights; 20 Barco VersaTubes, 12 Philips Color Kinetics ColorBlasts, and 40 conventional fixtures, along with four High End Systems DL3s, two 5K and one 10K Christie projectors, and a variety of consoles, including ETC Eos, MA Lighting grandMA, and Strand Light Palette, plus such media servers as Green Hippo Hippotizer, High End Systems Axon, and coolux Pandora's Box. Supporters included Morpheus Lighting, Chaos Visual Productions, A.C.T. Lighting, Pete's Big TVs, BCT, PRG, 4Wall, Christie Lites, Freeman, and Cirque du Soleil. Rose Brand provided shapes for the projection surfaces.

Following the load-in with multiple crew chiefs, including LED wall specialists Matt Ellar and Guy Benjamin, of Pete's Big TV, the students dove back into class mode under the instruction of Trevor Burke, an Eos programmer, and Mike Hall, a grandMA programmer. In a few short days the students were programming intelligent lights and writing show cues.

Loren Barton, a Hippotizer trainer, introduced the students to this media server, with software that allowed the students to create customized projection content. In class they manipulated pictures and videos to create dramatic effects.

On the weekend, students were joined by directors and designers from around the country to take part in a design charette. They guided the students through the demanding design process for the play Fallujah, Evan Sanderson. The students were divided into three design teams directed by Jane Childs, Jon Farris, and Linda Leonard. Assisting in the design process were Eric Mongerson, Don Childs, John Forbes, and Cindi Turnbull.