Cambio Projection Screens on Display

For a versatile and affordable projection screen option, Cambio! is a great alternative to traditional projection screen material.  With its slight sheen, it lights beautifully and is suitable for both front and rear projection.

As the fabric is 10 feet wide, a seamless screen can be made up to 10′ x 10′, and larger screens can be made with minimal seams (that typically disappear when projected on).  Webbing on all four sides minimizes “hourglassing”, and the addition of grommets and ties allows the screen to be hung from the top and, if desired, tied to fixed uprights on the sides.  Screen too large to tie off to uprights, or no room on the stage for uprights?  Strategically placing a sandbag on each bottom corner will keep the screen taut.

A Cambio! projection screen can also be complimented by coordinating stretch shapes, also made of Cambio!  Stretch shapes are available in a variety of shapes, from triangles to stars to batwings, and in sizes up to 24′ x 40′.

This summer and fall, we worked with Faith Bible Church of The Woodlands, Texas, on just such a project.  We created a 19′ h x 32′ w Projection Screen in Cambio!, accompanied by three Triangle Shapes, 18′ x 18′, also in Cambio!  The pieces worked great for the church, and we were so pleased to be mentioned in the church’s blog.  Want to see a Cambio! Projection Screen in action?  Check out their blog.

Teaching Opportunities

You may remember that, a couple of years ago, I posted about the Metal Mesh drapes that we made for The Decemberists.  Through the brilliance of lighting designer Anne Militello, the metal mesh took on the appearance of any amazing Impressionistic oil painting.  Well, Anne is also Head of the Lighting Design Program at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), so when Anne approached Megan to be a guest speaker to a Lighting Lab class, Megan was excited to participate.

Though the focus of the class is on theatrical lighting, it is important that lighting designers be familiar with the many types of stage drapes, as the style and fabric of drapery can impact and be impacted by the lighting design.  Megan began the session by explaining the various types of stage curtains, from Grand Drapes to Backdrops, from Austrians to Tab Curtains, utilizing a Power Point presentation to show the students specific examples of each type of drape.  Here’s one of the slides that was included in the presentation:

But the session was more than just a lecture.  After the Power Point presentation, the session became even more interactive.  Megan brought large samples of a number of different theatrical fabrics, including Cambio, Glimmerine, Poly Silk, Sharkstooth Scrim, and Metal Mesh.  Using the lighting lab equipment, students were able to able to try out a variety of lighting designs and techniques on the various fabrics, to get hands-on experience on how each fabric is transformed by lighting.

All in all, it was a great evening – Megan really enjoyed teaching and interacting with all the talented and creative students.

Austrian Drapery Series (Part 3): How Lighting and Material Can Affect The Austrian’s Look

Austrian drapes tend to reflect the light in the most unbelievable way, creating unique and dramatic effects on the drape based just on the placement, color and intensity of the light against the beautiful swags in the Austrian drape. Anything that has any sort of translucence will want to have a strong front AND back light in order to utilize the best look of the drape, whereas those with no translucence will still have a very powerful effect with strategic front lighting only.  This specific lighting can be especially effective on glossy, shimmery, and iridescent materials. Drapes of this style can be made from all different types of materials and in all different shades. However, the most popular materials tend to be silks, satins, synthetic velours, silky charmeuse, irridescent, super vel, and anything with a gorgeous, polished finish which will really help capture the light very dramatically. Used in combination with some of our gorgeous giant swag drapes can completely finish the look! These photos show clearly how different lighting completely changes the look and “feel” of the exact same drape based on their intensity and colors.

One of Rent What?’s most popular Austrian drape styles is definitely from our Silver Satin series. These have been so popular because they are the ultimate in diversity when it comes to creating new and exciting looks for our client’s stages, tv shows, concerts, and productions. As you can see, with a slight change in the angle of the lights, lighting color, and stage design, we can help create a unique and exciting look for any event. Some of our satisfied clients have been the Jennifer Hudson/Robin Thicke Tour,  Maxwell, Foo Fighters, the Glee Live Tour,  and an Amfar Benefit starring Lady Gaga, the queen of fresh and innovative style herself. Each Austrian Drape has such a wonderfully rich and special look to them, that you can use them for practically any event you can think of where you may need to add a little touch of “wow-factor”.

All in all, we are very proud to be able to offer a wide variety of Austrian Drapes for our clients, and we know that adding one to your special event will make it that much more memorable.

Important color

Sometimes getting a particular color is very important. Most people who deal with printing on a regular basis or that are in control of their corporate logo I.D. are familiar with the PMS or Pantone Matching System. What some of you might not know is that Pantone has several books in what I call its ”Bible” to help you dial in just the color you are looking for. The one book I go to on a regular basis is the Pantone to CMYK conversion book.

Some people think just because you assign a Pantone color in Photoshop it will automatically print that Pantone color on press. Actually, if you want to give your logo the best chance of printing correctly, get a conversion book, look up your desired pantone color and dial it in by the numbers based on what pantone conversion book tells you.

Austrian Drapery Series (Part 2): Unquestionable Popularity of the Austrian Drape

The Austrian Drape has had a very special history with production houses around the world for many years, in which Austrians are used to shape and add unique drapery outlines to staging areas in a very dramatic and effective way.  This beautiful style of “front curtain” was originally created centuries ago to help production houses keep the gorgeous and elegant look of a grand drape when their space didn’t have the width to travel the drapes off to the left and right of the stage, called “wing space”. Another great thing about the Austrian Drape is that in situations where there might not be space in the rafters to “fly the drape out”, then the motor in the lift system can raise this drape up and basically just fold it onto itself, making it a very compact system that will still hide the drape when opened, but also won’t take up any additional fly space, either.

One of the main reasons Austrian Drape rentals are so popular for Rent What? is that our expertise in this field has allowed our clients to obtain a designer look for their special event or production, which is now an affordable possibility for them. Because of the massive amounts of man-hours it takes to build, and the vast amounts of material it takes to make one of these gorgeous drapes, they can be expensive to purchase. Ever since we’ve started offering them for rent through Rent What?, they have been extremely popular items for everything from concerts to cabarets, as well as stage productions that want to add a real touch of class to the overall feel to their show.

We started out with a few Silver Satin Austrians, and have expanded to fit our ever-growing clientele’s requests. So now we have Silver, Red, Ivory, Gold, and White in satin and silk varieties, and because of its popularity and demand, our rental base is growing all the time!

Original illustration. A great value.

A couple of years ago, we did an original illustration of  Ted Nugent as Uncle Sam for tour backdrop. The advantage of creating an illustration from the ground up in the largest possible usable form is afterward he was able to use the art to extend the value of his investment. That same illustration was used on his tour merchandise as well as the cover of a book he wrote and on promotional materials.

I’ve seen this done a few times. When original digital art has enough data and is built right it can be used in many applications as a tool to promote your business and generate funds for you.

What is Vector Art-(In understandable terms)

If you’ve ever wanted to get your logo reproduced on a backdrop, t shirt or vehicle wrap, chances are the graphic artist that was doing the layout asked you for a “Vector File” of your logo.

I could get into the technical aspects of what a vector file is but in the most understandable terms, think of a vector art file as a “wire frame” file of your logo. A wire frame will not fall apart and has structure, shape a form. That structure is the data that allows your logo to reproduce beautifully without falling apart. The most common file types are .eps and .ai files.

A couple of the best aspects of a vector file are the ability to assign spot or Pantone(tm) colors and the ability to reproduce your logo to any size, even the size of a football field, perfectly.

Is your logo just “Laying there?”

So you’re thinking to yourself, “my logo isn’t doing it for me anymore”. We need a new direction! A new look!
Things to consider when your logo isn’t speaking to you anymore are “Why and What? ”

Why isn’t this working anymore? = Does it feel dated? Does your initial design not look professional? Does your logo reflect where you were, and not where you are or where you’re going?

What are your logo goals? = Start our by benchmarking what your competition is doing? Is there perceived visual presence/value stronger than yours? What sets you apart?
The answers to these questions will get the ball rolling on the creative direction of your new logo design. 

Thinking Design?

Design of a printed backdrop starts by identifying a goal or desired end result. Depending on your needs and personal taste, this can take on many different forms. The process can start with a cocktail napkin sketch and a few key words that describe look and feel or, it can be a taken from existing brand pieces such as printed collateral, new CD artwork, your web site or whatever brings you inspiration. The key is in translating that vision into a grand format that sets the tone you are looking for. 
Literal translations can work. Sometimes they don’t. That’s when its time to start thinking design.

Installing Traveler Track

Traveler track is the most common way in which the custom stage curtains that we make are hung, and we are proud to be an authorized distributor for Automatic Devices Company (ADC), one of the major U.S. manufacturers of curtain track.

In many cases, the track is purchased by major theatre companies or music tours who are experienced in the installation of traveler track.  In other cases, however, the track is purchased by a school or other organization that has never installed curtain track and is, naturally, somewhat apprehensive about the prospect.

The reality is that, in most cases, installation of traveler track is a fairly simple, straight-forward situation, and there are several resources available to help.  ADC publishes a variety of schematics and installation instructions, which are available on our website. 

At Rent What? they have a new set of instructions available for installing bi-parting traveler track. They spent some time looking at the various resources available to help with the install process and felt that this was an area where clients might have questions. They have tried their new instruction set with a variety of clients and feel it is “right on” for helping cut to the chase in terms of the rope threading and the carrier and end pulley placement. It’s great because it is written for the “layperson” amd even includes pictures. You can view it here.