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.

“Magical” Metal Mesh

Earlier this year we were contacted by Jason Bishop, illusionist extraordinaire, regarding our Metal Mesh drapery.   He felt it had just the right look to complement his amazing illusions.  The textures are terrific, and the ability to light it in different colors gives it so much versatility.  After working with Sew What? Account Manager Gwen Winter, Jason chose to purchase a custom 25′ h x 45′ w Metal Mesh Drape, fashioned as a Tear-Away for that quick “magical” reveal.

Well, last week Jason contacted us again to rave about the drape.  He sent us photos of the drape on stage with The Jason Bishop Show.  They’re terrific photos – check them out!

Photo Courtesy Jason Bishop

Photo Courtesy Jason Bishop

Photo Courtesy Jason Bishop

Backdrops for System of a Down

Back in mid April, we were so excited to be approached by Chris Roberts on a large project of digitally printed backdrops for System of a Down.  Chris explained that they were looking for four (yes, FOUR) backdrops, each 30′ h x 60′ w.  That is 7,200 square feet of printing alone (not considering the hours spent in sewing the backdrops).

The project sounded especially cool, because they weren’t looking for 4 identical backdrops.  Instead, they wanted to utilize four different images – one image per backdrop – and each image was unique. 

The first image was a snow-capped mountain scene – very dramatic!  We found a photo of it on Flickr – check it out!  With the blue-tinged lighting, it really evokes the feeling of ice and snow.  A gorgeous desert scene in oranges is a great contrast to the mountain scene – just as dramatic, but this time evoking heat.  The third image was a terrific rendition of the band’s logo in white on a black background.  Finally, a hand image completes the series of backdrops.

The artist for two of the images (the mountain and the desert) was – you guessed it – John Rios (frequent contributor to this blog), and he also prepped the band’s existing images (logo and hand) for printing.

The Power of the Quick Sketch

As I mentioned in my first post, I was contacted by Megan to work on the backdrops and other soft goods for Crue Fest II tour. I had the pleasure of working with a creative genius, Mr.Scott Holthaus, to help him manifest his vision for the show.

Crue Fest II celebrated a milestone anniversary for Motley Crue’s wildly successful Dr. Feelgood album. Every detail down to the CMYK value of the tiles was carefully considered. The concept was to create the insane asylum that is indicated on the Dr. Feelgood album cover as it would look if you revisited the facility twenty years later. The concept had vast possibilities so we decided to do a series of quick sketches first to narrow down a direction. Obviously these are not award winning illustrations but more so used like a storyboard would be in a movie. They indicate size, scale and perspective as well as content so that we can cut right to the chase on the computer once the direction is decided. It does take a person of vision, like Scott, but the end result is a faster development from an production art standpoint. This project was mammoth so it did take a few weeks to complete but, the quick sketches let us work out details and cut right to production worthy art within 24 hours of our first conversation. If you’re developing an involved or complex concept, I’d welcome working out the details with you in the same fashion.

Need inspiration? Check out the Rent What Photostream on Flickr

I’ve posted in the past about the great photos that Rent What? has posted on Flickr, but as it has been awhile, I thought I’d mention it again.  We’ve told you a lot about the various custom stage curtains, theatrical backdrops, and other theatrical soft goods and supplies that are available for purchase through Sew What? and / or for rent through Rent What?  But, as they say, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” and so if you are looking for inspiration for your next show or event, why not look through the many great photos in the “Concerts and Curtains” photostream on Flickr?

Here are some of my favorites:

LED Stardrops

Want to add some sparkle to your next show?  Thinking about purchasing or renting an LED Stardrop.  You can choose between the traditional bluish white night sky look with the Classic Stardrop, or maybe mix it up a little with color through the Chameleon Stardrop.  Check out the LED Stardrops photo set for some great visuals.

Austrian Curtains

I mentioned before how much I love Austrian Curtains – they are so beautiful and can set so many different moods. I especially like when an Austrian seems to change color magically during a show (through the use of a variety of lighting techniques) – one moment red, the next moment blue.  There are a number of gorgeous examples in the Austrian Curtains for Theatre and Stage set.

Digital Backdrops

Digital printing is such an amazing option today!  Whereas in the past, the only way to have a large scale scenic backdrop was to commission an artist to hand-paint the image, today just about any image can be printed and sewn into almost any size scenic backdrop.  From a simple 8′ x 10′ backdrop for a trade show booth to a huge 40′ h x 60′ w backdrop for a concert – digitally printing can handle it all.  Check out some of our projects in the Wide Format Digital Textile Printing set.

And these are just a few of the photo sets available – there is so much more.  So, if you haven’t looked at the photostream lately, check it out – I think you’ll find great ideas and inspiration.

Janet Jackson # 1′s

Last month we did an interesting project for Janet Jackson’s 2011 tour.  Most of the time, we either make a theatrical drape or a scenic backdrop (often digitally printed).  In this case, however, we combined the two, with great results, and I wanted to share.

We started out by making a pair of Bi-Parting Traveler Curtains, each 30′ h x 30′ w, from sewn flat in Black 22oz Encore.  This achieved a traditional drapery look with deep blacks and full opacity.  We then added digitally printed elements by appliqueing one half of the digital design to the onstage edge of each of the drapes.  

With the drapes closed, the design is front and center, with the white of the digital design really “popping” against the deep black of the Encore drapes.  Want to see more?  There is a great photo of these drapes – check it out on Flickr.

More Scenic Backdrops for Little Big Town

Last year, I posted about some beautiful digitally printed backdrops that we made for Little Big Town’s 2010 tour.  Well, this year we were excited to be asked to provided additional scenic backdrops for their 2011 tour – and this time the project included not only two digital backdrops, but a gorgeous handpainted backdrop as well, all 24′ h x 40′ w.  Of course, the artwork was created by, you guessed it, John Rios of GrafixJam.

Each of the two digitally printed backdrops had a unique image – one in black and white depicting a country church, and the other a graphic image of a black bird silhouette over a red, yellow and black geometric pattern.

Photo Courtesy of Bobby Simmons

Gorgeous, isn’t it?  Even more impressive is the handpainted backdrop.  Painted on NFR Muslin and then treated for flame retardancy afterwards, this drop features an image of a hand-stitched American flag.

Photo Courtesy of Bobby Simmons

It’s beautiful as is – but there is a surprise waiting when the lighting changes!  You’d never realize it looking at the photo above, but there is a hidden message painted on it in invisible UV paint.

Photo Courtesy of Bobby Simmons

Pretty cool effect, don’t you think!  I remember when we first hung this in our production shop, after the painting was complete, and everyone was amazed at how beautiful it was.  It is so exciting to see it on stage, with all the lighting effects.  Wow!

Drapes for Glee (on T.V.!)

Back in June, I wrote a post about Sew What? and Rent What? working together to provide custom stage curtains to the Glee Touring Show.

Well, a few months later, we were approached by the folks at Glee again.  But this time, they wanted us to provide custom theatrical drapery for the set of the television show.  Very exciting!  We work with music tours and traditional theatres regularly, but not much in the television and film industry.  And Glee is the perfect television show to utilize our drapery, with its emphasis on music and performing.

If you watch the show, you may have noticed the Grand Drapes and Border, in gorgeous Brick 21oz Velour, in the episode entitled “Special Education,” which premiered in late November.  And keep your eyes out in future episodes - we provided a variety of custom drapery pieces to the show, including masking drapes, legs and borders, scrims, and cycloramas.

If you missed the episode “Special Education,” or if you want to watch again to check out the drapery, Fox offers full episodes online on the Glee website.

Ringing in the New Year

As the clock ticks closer and closer to 2011, I thought I’d reflect a little on some of the projects that we have worked on this year.  I’d love to post a little bit about all of the projects that we worked on in 2010, but for that I would need to publish a book!  So, instead I’ll just remind you of a few particularly memorable projects.

Large-Format Digital Printing

We printed and sewed so many amazing digitally printed backdrops this year.  A few that come to mind include several gorgeous panels for Brooks & Dunn‘s “Last Rodeo” farewell tour (I love the cowgirl images!), the “Distressed Fleur de Lis” pattern for Little Big Town,  Billy Idol in black and white, and, of course, the beautiful backdrop for Kenny Chesney (third year running).  All beautiful, all unique!

Custom Stage Curtains

Of course, all of the drapery that we make is custom-made according to the client’s specifications, so all projects are interesting and unique.  But some projects really stand out.  The Silver Scrim for Yusuf Islam was so beautiful and quite unusual.  The Alice in Chains project was so cool that I posted about it twice, and of course the drapery in sheers and silvers for Celtic Woman set the perfect ethereal backdrop to their music.

Mixed Media and Specialty Pieces

These are the projects in which we really “think outside the box,” using materials and/or techniques that are just a little bit different from the usual drapery style.  I loved the Metal Mesh frame pieces that we made for James Taylor and the Korn backdrop was an amazing combination of netting, digital printing, and smoke tubes.  And just a few weeks ago – who could forget the American Parachute that we made for Katy Perry?

All of these terrific projects are just a small fraction of the projects we worked on in 2010.  I can’t wait to see what projects come our way in 2011!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Touring with Mary J. Blige

Recently, Rent What? and Sew What? were excited to work with Daunte Kenner of DK Show Production & Design to help him bring his set design to life for Mary J. Blige’s U.S. tour.

In prior posts, I have mentioned the Starlight LED backdrops.  One of the great things about the Starlight LED drapes that Rent What? offers for rental is that they are available in two sizes (15′ x 30′ and 20′ x 20′), but they can be run horizontally or vertically and can be combined to make a much larger backdrop. That was the case in Daunte’s design for the Mary J. Blige tour – a number of Starlight LED drapes were combined to make up nearly 5,000 square feet of “starry, starry night”, covering the entire rear of the stage as well as both sides.

Daunte also selected from Rent What? a gorgeous 30′ h x 60′ w Silver Satin Austrian Drape for use as an Act Curtain.  Sew What? got into the act by manufacturing a custom “City Skyline” digitally printed scenic backdrop along with additional custom stage drapes.

It really was a fun project to work on, and it is exciting to hear that many of these same pieces with be a part of Mary J. Blige’s upcoming international tour dates in 2011!

Want to learn more about this project?  Click here.