Sons of Sylvia Digital

It seems that almost every day, we are making a new digitally printed backdrop for an artist or band.  It is really interesting to see these backdrops in the various stages of construction.  First, the individual panels running through our wide format digital printer.  Then, the panels being matched together and sewn.  And finally, the finished backdrop hanging on our mechanical truss for the final quality control check before being shipped to the client.

Even more exciting, however, is seeing these backdrops actually in use – on stage with the artist or band.  It makes it so much more real – to know that these beautiful pieces went from plain fabric to beautiful scenic backdrop to part of an actual concert! 

One of the backdrops that I have recently seen onstage was a 30′ h x 32′ backdrop that we made earlier this year for Sons of Sylvia, the country music trio of brothers.  Printed on FR Heavy Knit, a durable wrinkle-resistant digital substrate, the backdrop was also topically treated for flame retardancy after printing, meeting National, California and New York City standards for flame retardancy.  Also included on the order was a Tear Away header, which allows the backdrop to function as a kabuki without the need for a solenoid system.

Seeing it in a photo is great, but video footage is even better.  Check out this video on YouTube – the backdrop is certainly a prominent feature in the show!

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Photos on Flickr – We’ve Come a Long Way

You know – I’m not that old (I’m in my mid 40s), but it amazes me to think of how much technology has changed in my lifetime. For at least half maybe more) of my life, you needed a camera and film to take a photo .  How many times did the opportunity for a great picture arise, but you didn’t have a camera with you, or you were out of film?  I know it happened to me a lot.

You had to finish the roll of film (12, 24 or 36 frames), take it to be developed, and then wait for the results (when I was younger, it took several days to a week, but eventually you could pay extra for one hour service).  Only then would you have your photos (and the negatives).  Want to give a copy of a photo to a friend or relative, customer or business associate?  You had to take the negative to the store to have a copy made, wait for it (just like before) and then give or mail or Fed Ex the photo to your friend or customer.  Not exactly a quick process.  And if the negative was lost or damaged?  Too bad – the photo is gone forever.

Today, it is so quick and easy to take, store, and copy photographs – all digitally.  We have digital cameras that are about the size of credit cards.  Our cell phones even have cameras, not to mention e-mail capability, so we can snap that pic and instantly e-mail it to a friend or colleague. 

We can save the photo files to our computers and back them up to DVDs or Flash drives – so that they last forever.  We can distribute them electronically or print copies ourselves in an instant using a color printer.

And then there is Flickr – which gives us the opportunity to make our photos available to thousands of people all over the world.  On some of my previous posts, I have included links to photos of our projects on Flickr.  Well, I was looking in Flicker today, and I thought, how amazing is this!  There are so many incredible photos on Concerts and Photostream – 152 in all.

If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you know how much I love the Rent What? Silver Satin Series.  Well, there is a set just for those drapes.  There are also sets for Wide Format Digital Printing, Austrian Curtains, and much more.  And new photos and sets are continually being added, so it is always fun to go back to the photostream to see what’s new.  It’s definitely a photostream to bookmark.

I have always been pretty computer-savvy – my father had one of the first home personal computers, and I have used computers in one form or another for many years.  Even so, I can’t help but be amazed when I consider the changes brought by technology within my lifetime.

And I haven’t even mentioned Facebook or Twitter or Linked In, or DVRs or Wiis or iPhones or Blackberries or Kindles…I’m excited to see what’s next.  How about you:?

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Digital Printing Portfolio

We’ve been offering wide format digitally printing for quite some time now, but, since we didn’t have a dedicated digital portfolio page on our website, most of our digital project photos were either displayed on one of our other portfolio pages, within the product pages, or in this blog. 

Well, I am excited to say that we now have a digital portfolio page on our website!  There are ten projects highlighted on the page – just a small percentage of the number of digital projects that we have done, but a really good representation of our work.

To mention just a few of the projects featured on the page:

Brooks and Dunn “The Last Rodeo”

This was a recent project that we really enjoyed, that included a main “tour logo” backdrop along with two “cowgirl” backdrops.  For more info, check out my previous blog post.

Great American Food Fest

This was a huge project – dozens of digital backdrops and signage for this Northern California event.  I got so excited with watching the progress of this project that I ended up buying tickets and driving up for the weekend to attend the event.  And guess what?  I took the photos shown on our portfolio (OK, I don’t claim to be an expert photographer, but I think they turned out pretty nice).

Soulja Boy

I blogged about this digital / mixed media awhile back, but at the time I didn’t have a photo to add to my post.  Well, check out the photo on our digital portfolio page – it really is impressive!

Want to see more?  Head over to the Digital Printing Portfolio.

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Backdrops for Tegan and Sara

We worked on a fun digital printing project last month with Benjamin Price, and he recently sent us some great photos that I thought I’d share.

Benjamin was working on the Tegan and Sara tour (if you aren’t familiar with Tegan and Sara, they are a Canadian indie band lead by twin sisters Tegan Quin and Sara Quin).  While looking for a provider of wide format digital printing for a series of custom backdrops for the tour, Benjamin contacted Megan, and we were off and running.

Rather than make one large backdrop, the decision was made to instead print a series of five backdrops, each 24′ h x 6′ w.   Emmy Story’s artwork, composed of a series of diagonal colored lines, is beautiful in and of itself, but the repetition and crossover that occurs when hanging the five panels side by side with space in between, emphasizes the drama of the artwork.

Backdrop Image: Emmy Story; Photo Courtesy of Benjamin Price

Lighting also plays a big part in creating a dramatic effect.  The backdrops were backlit using 2 Martin stage bars per panel – one for a short throw and one for a long throw.  During portions of the show, they were also frontlit using a Martin Mac 700 profile with a custom Bar gobo for each panel.  Here’s another photo to show the effect that lighting has one the artwork:

Backdrop Image: Emmy Story; Photo Courtesy of Benjamin Price

This really was a fun project to work on – it is so rewarding in our business to have the opportunity to work on digital backdrops, custom stage curtains, and other soft goods for so many talented artists such as Tegan and Sara, and to see our work looking so gorgeous on stage as in these photos.

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Digitals for Brooks & Dunn

Back in 2008, we were excited to be selected by Randy “Baja” Fletcher, tour manager for country music superstar duo Brooks & Dunn, to provide a digitally printed wide-format backdrop for the tour. 

Obviously, the result was successful, because Baja came back to Megan in February 2010 and asked Sew What? to print and manufacture new backdrops for Brooks & Dunn’s “Last Rodeo” 2010 farewell tour.

The project included several different digital backdrops, with artwork provided by graphic artist Mike Swinford and printing and sewing done by Sew What?  Mike’s images really are amazing – I especially love the Cowgirl images:

It is so gratifying to have clients such as Brooks & Dunn return to Sew What? for tour after tour, and to have the opportunity to work with such gorgeous artwork. The tour kicked off on April 29th, and I am pleased to say that the backdrops look great, as evidenced by the photos!  Want to know more about this project?  Check out this article for more information and photos.

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The Big Picture

You may recall the post I did in late December about the terrific backdrop we made for Brian Setzer’s “Christmas Rocks! Extravaganza” tour.  Well, around the same time, Megan was interviewed by The Big Picture, a print and online magazine that focuses on wide format digital printing, and this same backdrop was the focus of the interview.

Recently, we were excited to read the article based on that interview, published in February 2010 and posted online on March 11th.  Check it out to get the story from a different focus – targeted specifically to the wide format digital printing industry.

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Printing for Christmas

We recently completed a 24′ h x 40′ w digitally printed project for Brian Setzer for the current “Christmas Rocks! Extravaganza” tour.  We have worked with this client before and enjoy doing their projects, and in the past have provided everything from traditional textiles to digitally printed backdrops to stage set elements.  But our most favorite time of the year is Christmas – we love to decorate and celebrate – and we always get excited about participating in Christmas shows, so this was a fun print project to tackle.

The project took one week to complete.  We did not design the artwork ourselves – instead it was build by the client’s own graphic artist as a vector file in Adobe Illustrator ®.  This was a cartoon-style graphic – lots of color and bright imagery. 

This type of graphic particularly lends itself to being digitally printed – the blues and bright tones show so well under concert stage lighting.

For this backdrop, we chose a heavy knit for two reasons.  First, in our industry, being flame retardant to national standards (at a minimum) is very important, and this material met the client’s requirements in terms of flame retardancy.  Second, knit type materials are perfect when the client needs to store the pieces folded up – when re-hung, the knit fabric relaxes and the wrinkles tend to hang out fairly well.  As you can imagine, in a stage or concert backdrop, clients don’t want to see wrinkles!

We use exclusively 3M inks with our 120″ Vutek QS3200 printer and use Colorburst for our RIP software.  I think the combination of the inks, the printer, and the software really come together for beautiful colors in the end product. 

For this project, print time took four hours, not including sewing / finishing time.  The piece was finished with webbing, grommets & ties across the top (we use a Jopevi electric grommet machine), which is a traditional backdrop finish.  The sides are durably hemmed (we prefer Consew brand commercial sewing machines) and the bottom is completed with a hidden weight pocket to help the drop hang nicely.

Offering digitally printed textiles in addition to our regular services is a benefit to our clients and allows us to keep the complete show in-house in terms of production.   I tend to post a lot about concert projects we work on – primarily because those are the projects that we can usually get photos of or find videos on YouTube.  However, as a full service sewing shop, we do produce all sorts of textile products for the theatre and stage, including traditional stage draperies, and more and more we are beginning to get request for digitally printed backdrops from schools, churches, and other non-tour customers – they really add a beautiful element to a show, and if the artwork is nice (such as a beautiful snow scene), the drop can be used at the annual holiday show for years to come.

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Swags and Digitals for the Eagles

Recently, both Sew What? and Rent What? had the opportunity to contribute custom stage drapery to The Eagles West Coast Tour, which opened on Monday in Portland, OR.

Production designer Butch Allen send us some rehearsals photos of our drapes on set – and I think they are just amazing!    Take a look at these Silver Swags from Rent What? :

Design: Butch Allen Designs; Photo Credit: Butch Allen

Also included in the rental package provided by Rent What? was a 24′ h x 50′ w backdrop, digitally printed by Sew What? to give the appearance of parchment (see the background in the photo above), as well as black masking pieces.

The tour also purchased a 24′ h x 24′ w custom digitally printed backdrop from Sew What?  Printed on clear vinyl, the clock image is dramatic while still allowing a view of the parchment backdrop behind it (as above).  Clever lighting in another scene makes the clock appear blue:

Design: Butch Allen Designs; Photo Credit: Butch Allen

More clever lighting, and somehow the drapery looks completely different:

Design: Butch Allen Designs; Photo Credit: Butch Allen

I can’t decide which of these three photos is my favorite; all three are just so beautiful.  Butch has created a wonderful set design, and I am so proud that Sew What? and Rent What? were brought on board to bring Butch’s vision to life. 

The show is in Seattle tonight, and then goes to Sacramento, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles, before finishing up in San Diego on December 21st.  So, if you happen to get to one of the shows – check out the drapery and let me know what you think!

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Focus On: Double Kabuki Drapes

A couple of weeks, in my post on Single Kabuki Drapes, I promised that I would do another post on Double Kabukis.  Well, here you go!

A Single Kabuki allows a single release – the drape is hanging, the solenoids are released, and the kabuki drops to the ground.  With a Double Kabuki, through the use of either two sets of solenoids or one set in which each solenoid has two pins, a double release occurs. 

Initially, the kabuki is not seen by the audience.  It is hanging high up near the truss, enclosed in what is called a diaper.  For the first release, the first set of solenoids (or one set of pins) is released, and the bottom of the Kabuki drops toward the stage, allowing the audience to see the Kabuki.   On the second release, the second set of solenoids (or pins) releases the top of the kabuki (and in some cases the diaper) , which then drops to the ground.

A Double Kabuki is made in a very similar way to a Single Kabuki, with velcro on the top front and back, but doesn’t have velcro on the bottom.  The major difference is that a Double Kabuki also includes a diaper. A diaper is a soft good that is sewn at the same width as the Kabuki, but is only around 24″ high (this can vary depending on the fabric used on the Kabuki as well as the height of the Kabuki).   The top of the diaper is attached to the top back of the Kabuki, between the fabric and the Velcro.  The bottom of the diaper has velcro on the front and back.

To set up the Double Release of the Kabuki, the Kabuki is laid flat, front side up.  It is then rolled from the bottom to the top, until it is encased in the diaper like a sling.  Velcro D-rings are then attached to the top of the Kabuki/Diaper and to the bottom of the diaper.  The Velcro D-Rings on the top of the Kabuki are hung on one set of solenoid pins and the Velcro D-rings on the bottom of the diaper are hung on the second set of solenoid pins, leaving the Kabuki hanging unseen in a hammock high above the stage.

For the first release, the pins holding the D-Rings attached to the bottom of the diaper retract.  This causes the bottom of the diaper to drop behind and the Kabuki to unroll toward the stage.  For the second release, the pins holding the D-rings attached to the top of the Kabuki/diaper retract, and the Kabuki drops to the stage floor.

When might a Double Kabuki be used rather than a Single Kabuki?  Well, let’s say that a band has a dramatic printed backdrop, but they don’t want it to hang for the entire show.  Instead, they want it to be used only for part of the show (maybe even for just one song).  The band can start the show without the backdrop. 

When the desired time comes, the first release occurs and the printed backdrop suddenly appears as if from nowhere.  When the song or show section ends, the Kabuki then drops to the floor.

Another example of stage magic.  Pretty cool, don’t you think?

There’s one more related item, called the Poor Man’s Kabuki, but I’ll tell you about that in a future post.

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Mixed Media Backdrop? What’s that?

I seem to recall way back in grade school, doing “mixed media” art projects.  The fact is, I can’t really say that any of these “art” projects of mine were very artistic.  The best you could say about them was that they were “crafty” – bits of macaroni glued on a paper plate, bits of ribbon and sequins – something only a mother could love!

Here at Sew What? we have been exploring a new meaning for the term “Mixed Media,” and in my mind it really is a form of art.  In a stage backdrop context, “mixed media” refers to combining a number of different textural elements to make one dramatic piece of stage scenery.

Not sure what I mean?  Rather than trying to explain it, I’ll let some of our recent projects do the talking:

Mixed Media – Lady Gaga Style

• Digitally printed backdrop, with cut elements appliqued to scenery netting
• Attach to that a front projection screen for low res moving imagery
• Embed some LED lights on a basic battery pack, along with some smoke lines, for the gift that keeps on giving
• One backdrop and about 100 looks!  That’s Mixed Media Lady Gaga Style!

Mixed Media – Motley Crue Style

• Translucent poly substrate, digitally printed with bold graphics
• Take out various elements  and fill with mesh
• Add a backside applique in areas to reduce transparency strategically
• Rock it Crue-Style with front lighting looks and back lighting blow through, and then whip it away kabuki-style when you’re done!

Mixed Media – Soulja Boy Style

• All-American Red, White, and Blue backdrop on a traditional cloth substrate
• Step it up a notch with glossy lenses – digitally rear-printed clear vinyl elements appliqued into the design strategically to give the appearance of reflective sunglass lenses
• The result?  A dramatic backdrop that looks back at the audience! 

These are just a few examples of the huge diversity of looks that are achievable with a mixed media backdrop.  In the past, a scenic backdrop was simply fabric and a printed or painted image.  Now, with mixed media, a backdrop can be so much more. 

Mixed media is a concept that was introduced to us here at Sew What? a few years ago, and since then we have run with it and are continually “pushing the envelope” to find better and better ways to achieve the client’s vision in better and more innovative ways.  It’s not just about the fabric anymore!

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