Automated Fixtures Today show

[Shakspeares suck]

So I was watching NBC's today show this moning and saw a couple of interesting things:

1. There was a nice shot that showed some of the lights that they had hung in their...grid i guess... and i noticed that on top of the normal studio lighting i could have sworn I saw a couple, at least 5, moving fixtures. So i must ask....WHY? any thoughts?

2. Rascal Flatts was on this morning and i just caught a glimpse and the first thing I saw was 4 towers upstage, each with 2 Showguns nicely mounted on them, and there were 2 more showguns downstage.... So i ask: were these part of Rascal Flatts equipment? and if so, why in god's name would you use them in the early morning.

thanks all

Michael

 

[photoatdv]

I've seen the showguns before, so I don't think they are Rascal Flats. I think they used them because they look kinda cool in some of the camera shots.

 

[Footer]

They have had those showguns a long time. In fact, I want to say the first time we saw showguns in the wild was on the today show.

As for the movers thing, take the NBC studio tour, they have moving lights in nearly every studio. They probably use them for fill or gobo projection.

 

[lightman02]

I work at NBC, they use those lights for breakups as well as indoor musical acts. The showguns are used for certain musical acts indoors as well as outdoors. We do not own the showguns they are usually rented from PRG.

 

[NickJones]

And besides, unlike most of us, they have money, so why wouldn't you buy them?

 

[derekleffew]

And besides, unlike most of us, they have money, so why wouldn't you buy them?

Because in almost every case, renting provides a better return on investment. See the thread http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/lighting/24-automated-lights-rent-own.html.

 

[lightman02]

And besides, unlike most of us, they have money, so why wouldn't you buy them?

Because the shows have a budget, usually the lights are bought by the show, buying a bunch of showguns are alot more money then just renting them, besides the showguns are maninly used for the outdoor concerts in the summer, after that they do musical acts indoors and they normally use the in house intelligents lighting fixtures that we do own. A show only has so much money per year, so they have to spend it wiseley, also NBC makes cut backs just like every other company right now.