UK lighting rental company HSL supplied all lighting equipment to the 2011 British Military Tournament at Earls Court in London … for LD Steve Sinclair’s dynamic design which helped showcase the action presented by a cast of 700 troops, 100 horses, massed bands and featuring the famous ‘field gun run’.
HSL tendered and won the contract for lighting contractor, which was project managed for them by Thor-Andre “Spantax” Saether. “It was a great honour to be involved in a project with such long traditions and we are proud to have picked up the ball on this contemporary version,” he says referring to its origins as The Royal Tournament, a spectacle that ran from 1880 to 1999 returning to the live event calendar last year in this new format.
Spantax adds that it was also good to be working with Sinclair again following HSL’s recent supply of lights to Top Gear Live in Birmingham and London, for which Sinclair is also the LD.
Sinclair said, “HSL did an excellent job. They really came up with the goods, and I’m delighted with the results”.
The action packed show, directed by Christopher Joll and produced by IMG, was themed around the special relationship between the British and American armed forces, and contained an eclectic mix of entertainment including the traditional field gun run that was so iconic to the Royal Tournament; a large horse orientated section including the Musical Drive of the Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery; the White Helmet Army Motorcycle Display Team; the incredible US Army Drill Team and their flying rifles, plus several battle re-enactments from the American Civil War to the current conflict in Afghanistan.
It was a hugely challenging environment to light and required a multi-disciplinary approach, drawing on techniques from theatre to stadium lighting and all things in-between!
For certain sections of the three hour show, Sinclair had to close the performance area right down almost to a black box studio theatre environment, and for others it had to be almost a daylight arena.
The technical challenges included a 21 metre trim height for the trusses, needed to maintain sightlines all around, so fixtures that could really cut a punch were chosen. The floor was filled with a turf mix so it was soft underfoot for the horses, but this soon swallowed any amount of lumens thrown at it, so a large rig was needed to lay down the base washes.
The lightshow also had to be designed around an amount of scenic gear and props that were flown out of the way in the roof.
Two 64 metre trusses traversed the long sides of the arena in Earls Court 1, and there was also a T truss at either end, each with a 21.5 metre stem and a 9 metre cross piece. Sinclair additionally used the mother grid supporting a video cube in the centre to position some lights.
The basic arena washes were created using 44 x 6-lamp PAR bars. There were also 44 4-lite Moles and 20 Source Four profiles for key lighting and specials.
The moving lights were 50 Martin Professional MAC 2K XBs – among Sinclair’s ‘new favourite’ lights -part of a recent large investment in Martin by HSL.
Thirty Four of Robes ColorSpot 2500E ATs provided powerful coverage all over the arena floor, and there were also 12 MAC IIIs, eight in the air and four on the floor, one in each corner of the arena.
In the entrance / exit tunnels either end, were Robe ROBIN 600 LEDWashes attached to the scaffolding supports of the seating tribunes, along with Chroma-Q Color Force 72 LED battens and 2K fresnels. Smoke machines were also allocated to each entrance.
Four Robert Juliat Lancelot follow spots were stationed at the back corners of the lower seating bleachers. Operated by local crew, they worked extremely hard throughout the performance. They were positioned specifically to spot the horses, which do not mind lights in their eyes but don’t like shadows, so could not be highlighted from above.
Sinclair controlled all lighting from a Whole Hog Full Boar console with a second Full Boar running as a tracking back-up. His programming schedule was hectic and the light show evolved – some of it organically – as the show unfolded and rehearsals progressed.
To heighten the drama of the Drill Team’s performance, they were very tightly and moodily lit at one the end of the arena. No light at all could be in their eyes as this would have impeded their ability to catch the flying rifles – all of which were fitted with combat-ready razor sharp bayonets! They were therefore lit almost entirely with back light from the ROBIN 600 LEDWashes, Color Force 72s and fresnels. Sinclair watched one run through, listened to the lighting cues requested by the Troop Commander, and then added his own magic in two hours of plotting that evening resulting in 28 cues in the desk. After the first in-situ run through with lights at the next day’s rehearsals … he had to tweak just one cue.
HSL supplied six crew for the in and out who worked alongside three of Sinclair’s own regular technicians, chiefed by Paul Makin, who looked after the show for the three day run of five performances, the first attended by HRH Queen Elizabeth II.
To save time and optimise the get in operation, all the conventional lights and cabling were loaded in first, followed a couple of days later by the moving lights – all before the equestrian floor went down, which would have made it difficult to push cases across the arena floor and generated lots of flying particles!
The event was another great success, and the latest in a run of top level projects that HSL has serviced this autumn / winter covering a diversity of music tours, theatre / television productions and special events.
2011年12月22日星期四
2011年9月6日星期二
2012 Nissan Versa Sedan SL
Most, if not all, of the new subcompact offerings we've seen in the last few years - the Fiat 500, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Accent, Mazda 2, and Nissan's own Cube - have played to an upmarket strategy. The hope and expectation is that wealthier buyers downsizing from other segments will pay extra for small cars that cater to all the right-brain pleasures of a larger car - style, performance, trendiness, comfort, etc. The new Nissan Versa, however, remains a steadfast adherent to the notion that subcompact buyers consider price, practicality, reliability, and not much else. No surprise, therefore, it's not as nice as the competitors I just mentioned. It takes about a second's glance around the cabin to notice the lower-grade plastics and the completely unadorned dash. The Versa doesn't hit the segment's 40-mpg benchmark, doesn't stand out as a performer, and, even with a well-executed new exterior design, won't win any fashion contest. And don't expect lots of standard tech goodies. And by "tech goodies" I mean intermittent windshield wipers.
So, bad car and shame on Nissan, right? Wrong. Bravo, Nissan. In case you haven't noticed, the economy still stinks, especially for those at the bottom. Unemployment for teenagers is above twenty percent. Retirees are getting reamed by the stock market even as the federal government considers cuts to Medicare. For those groups and others, an $11,750 new car - about fifteen percent cheaper than the lowest-priced Fiesta -- is a very good thing. And the Versa is a fine $11,750 car. Comfy seats, good air-conditioning, antilock brakes, and venerable Japanese quality, not to mention a full warranty. And the Versa doesn't drive badly, either. I drove it on a racetrack, surely the last thing any real owner would do, and found it offers accurate steering, a compliant yet composed suspension, and resilient brakes (at least resilient enough for the 109-hp engine and 2360-pound curb weight).
There is one caveat here. The test model I drove does not cost $11,750, but rather, $16,320. That extra $4600 buys power locks and windows, an automatic transmission, and remote keyless entry as well as a few goodies like Bluetooth and fifteen-inch aluminum wheels. However, it does not buy you the vastly more upscale interior materials of a Ford Fiesta, the superior reflexes of a Mazda 2, or the style of a Fiat 500. In other words, it's a nonstarter. The Versa is a very good "supercheap" car but not a very good "kind of cheap" car.
There is one caveat here. The test model I drove does not cost $11,750, but rather, $16,320. That extra $4600 buys power locks and windows, an automatic transmission, and remote keyless entry as well as a few goodies like Bluetooth and fifteen-inch aluminum wheels. However, it does not buy you the vastly more upscale interior materials of a Ford Fiesta, the superior reflexes of a Mazda 2, or the style of a Fiat 500. In other words, it's a nonstarter. The Versa is a very good "supercheap" car but not a very good "kind of cheap" car.
Anyone worried about missing the magic 40-mpg mark in a Versa should do the math on how much money it costs to purchase a car with a 40-mpg highway rating. Then look at how long it would take to make up that sticker-price difference in terms of gas savings given that the cheaper Versa manages 38 mpg on the highway. Unless you're driving hundreds of thousands of miles in your subcompact in the next couple years, the fuel economy issue is a nonstarter.
My coworkers have pointed out the difference in pricing strategy between Nissan and virtually everyone else selling a subcompact car in America. I think it was very wise to hold the line on pricing and not try to force all subcompact buyers to move upmarket. As David Zenlea says, a fifteen percent price difference is huge in this class, and shoppers looking for a less Spartan experience would be better served buying a lightly used compact than optioning out a new subcompact.
I was pleasantly surprised after my weekend in the Versa. With the trend to move all cars upmarket and physically larger, the Versa is a breath of fresh air. Basic transportation, sure, but it's reliable, safe, and affordable. There are hundreds of thousands of car shoppers who care only about those three points. I didn't miss soft-touch plastics, infotainment, or anything else while I was driving the Versa. My only complaint is that the FM radio has pretty weak reception in comparison to pretty much every other car I've driven this year. If you desire a basic new car, the Versa is certainly worth a test drive. Just ask yourself how much upgrades and luxuries really matter when you're looking at the ballooning monthly payment at the Fiat or Ford dealer.
So, bad car and shame on Nissan, right? Wrong. Bravo, Nissan. In case you haven't noticed, the economy still stinks, especially for those at the bottom. Unemployment for teenagers is above twenty percent. Retirees are getting reamed by the stock market even as the federal government considers cuts to Medicare. For those groups and others, an $11,750 new car - about fifteen percent cheaper than the lowest-priced Fiesta -- is a very good thing. And the Versa is a fine $11,750 car. Comfy seats, good air-conditioning, antilock brakes, and venerable Japanese quality, not to mention a full warranty. And the Versa doesn't drive badly, either. I drove it on a racetrack, surely the last thing any real owner would do, and found it offers accurate steering, a compliant yet composed suspension, and resilient brakes (at least resilient enough for the 109-hp engine and 2360-pound curb weight).
There is one caveat here. The test model I drove does not cost $11,750, but rather, $16,320. That extra $4600 buys power locks and windows, an automatic transmission, and remote keyless entry as well as a few goodies like Bluetooth and fifteen-inch aluminum wheels. However, it does not buy you the vastly more upscale interior materials of a Ford Fiesta, the superior reflexes of a Mazda 2, or the style of a Fiat 500. In other words, it's a nonstarter. The Versa is a very good "supercheap" car but not a very good "kind of cheap" car.
There is one caveat here. The test model I drove does not cost $11,750, but rather, $16,320. That extra $4600 buys power locks and windows, an automatic transmission, and remote keyless entry as well as a few goodies like Bluetooth and fifteen-inch aluminum wheels. However, it does not buy you the vastly more upscale interior materials of a Ford Fiesta, the superior reflexes of a Mazda 2, or the style of a Fiat 500. In other words, it's a nonstarter. The Versa is a very good "supercheap" car but not a very good "kind of cheap" car.
Anyone worried about missing the magic 40-mpg mark in a Versa should do the math on how much money it costs to purchase a car with a 40-mpg highway rating. Then look at how long it would take to make up that sticker-price difference in terms of gas savings given that the cheaper Versa manages 38 mpg on the highway. Unless you're driving hundreds of thousands of miles in your subcompact in the next couple years, the fuel economy issue is a nonstarter.
My coworkers have pointed out the difference in pricing strategy between Nissan and virtually everyone else selling a subcompact car in America. I think it was very wise to hold the line on pricing and not try to force all subcompact buyers to move upmarket. As David Zenlea says, a fifteen percent price difference is huge in this class, and shoppers looking for a less Spartan experience would be better served buying a lightly used compact than optioning out a new subcompact.
I was pleasantly surprised after my weekend in the Versa. With the trend to move all cars upmarket and physically larger, the Versa is a breath of fresh air. Basic transportation, sure, but it's reliable, safe, and affordable. There are hundreds of thousands of car shoppers who care only about those three points. I didn't miss soft-touch plastics, infotainment, or anything else while I was driving the Versa. My only complaint is that the FM radio has pretty weak reception in comparison to pretty much every other car I've driven this year. If you desire a basic new car, the Versa is certainly worth a test drive. Just ask yourself how much upgrades and luxuries really matter when you're looking at the ballooning monthly payment at the Fiat or Ford dealer.
2011年8月8日星期一
10 Award-Winning Scientific Simulation Videos
Thanks to increasingly cheap, fast and efficient computing power, scientific simulations are now a crucial tool for researchers who want to ask once impractical scientific questions or generate data that laboratory experiments can’t.
But there's more to harnessing an army of computers than testing a hypothesis or extrapolating real-world observations. Simulations contextualize and clarify mountains of data into striking graphics that play to human strengths.
"The human eye can pick out patterns in simulations that are are otherwise hard to describe, and they can do it better than any computer," said visualization scientist Joseph Insley of Argonne National Laboratory. "Plus, with the incredible amount of data gathered these days, it's difficult to analyze it any other way."
Making a useful scientific simulation isn't light work. If field researchers want to do it themselves, they must learn to code instructions for computer processing and control advanced 3-D animation software. Because of these hurdles, and the increasing sophistication of modeling methods, most team up with computer and visualization scientists to get the job done.
Ready-to-run simulation instructions can demand incredible computing resources. To churn out timely and useful data, it's not unusual to consume millions of processor hours. (Thirty minutes of nonstop number-crunching on a personal computer's dual-core processor, for example, is equivalent to one processor hour).
To reward the past year's most impressive scientific simulation efforts with bragging rights — and a shiny, Oscar-like statue — Insley and others coordinated the fourth "Visualization Night" competition. The U.S. Department of Energy hosted the event in July 2011 during its annual program called SciDAC, or Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing.
Twenty-three hopefuls entered, but only 10 earned a "people's choice" award from their scientific peers. Two won awards from a three-person panel of experts.
We review the researchers' favorite animated submissions in this gallery.
But there's more to harnessing an army of computers than testing a hypothesis or extrapolating real-world observations. Simulations contextualize and clarify mountains of data into striking graphics that play to human strengths.
"The human eye can pick out patterns in simulations that are are otherwise hard to describe, and they can do it better than any computer," said visualization scientist Joseph Insley of Argonne National Laboratory. "Plus, with the incredible amount of data gathered these days, it's difficult to analyze it any other way."
Making a useful scientific simulation isn't light work. If field researchers want to do it themselves, they must learn to code instructions for computer processing and control advanced 3-D animation software. Because of these hurdles, and the increasing sophistication of modeling methods, most team up with computer and visualization scientists to get the job done.
Ready-to-run simulation instructions can demand incredible computing resources. To churn out timely and useful data, it's not unusual to consume millions of processor hours. (Thirty minutes of nonstop number-crunching on a personal computer's dual-core processor, for example, is equivalent to one processor hour).
To reward the past year's most impressive scientific simulation efforts with bragging rights — and a shiny, Oscar-like statue — Insley and others coordinated the fourth "Visualization Night" competition. The U.S. Department of Energy hosted the event in July 2011 during its annual program called SciDAC, or Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing.
Twenty-three hopefuls entered, but only 10 earned a "people's choice" award from their scientific peers. Two won awards from a three-person panel of experts.
We review the researchers' favorite animated submissions in this gallery.
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