LIGHT TALK Episode 426 - "Call the Plastic Surgeon!"
Light Talk with The Lumen Brothers
Release Date: 05/31/2025
Light Talk with The Lumen Brothers
In this episode of LIGHT TALK with The Lumen Brothers and Sister, the Lumen Family interviews Lighting Entrepreneur and "Geezers of Gear" podcaster Marcel Fairbairn. In this episode, Marcel, Ellen, Steve, Dennis, and David discuss: Being the Poorest guy in Wellington; GearSource; Musical roots; The "Rock Mass"; Early days at Martin; Crazy parties; PAL 1200 and RoboScan stories; Ticket Bots; Dining with Dinosaurs at LDI; Sin City Sessions; GearShare, Solving cross-rental gear problems with AI; X-Live; Know Your Customer; Marcel's pandemic Zoom Happy Hours; Are we close to an AI...
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In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk about everything from Mystery Budgets to Missing Professors. Join Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and David as they pontificate about: Vectorworks says: "Thanks for the invite... but...."; The differences between an Assistant and Associate Lighting Designer; What do you do when your Superstar lighting professor is rarely at school; Knowing what your production budget is; Great Shakespeare come-backs; Why are some TV shows so dark; and When to freeze an academic show. Nothing is Taboo, Nothing is Sacred, and Very Little Makes Sense.
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In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk about everything from Rising Vectorworks Prices to Dennis' Lighting Injustices. Join Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and David as they pontificate about: Dancing in the Dark; The new Sphere Wizard of Oz show; Extensive uses of Gobos; Creating a stained glass look on a window; Paying attention to the playwrights' lighting notes; Designing the black before you design the light; Our most powerful blackouts; The new inflation barometer; Dennis' strange Dunkin Donuts encounter at LDI; Are software subscriptions here to stay?;...
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In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk about everything from Being Attracted to Triangles to The Village People. Join Ellen, Zac, and David as they pontificate about: New time for "Light Talk at LDI"; Zac's new appointment as one of USITT's Digital Media Commissioners; Making the world safer for projections; Lighting Zones; Odds vs. Evens; Striving for a "Hot Center"; Designing for heat and hail storms at summer festivals; "The HAL 2001 AI Lighting Console"; Can the design process be standardized?; Favored Nations and negotiating design fees; Having the flexibility...
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In this episode of LIGHT TALK with The Lumen Brothers and Sister, the Lumen Family interviews Lighting Programmer/Designer and Tech, Matt Schiller. In this installment of our "Young Designers' Series", Matt, Ellen, Steve, Dennis, and David discuss: Getting started right out of high school; Telling Mom and Dad that you are going on the road; Doing the PRG Internship; Touring with Diddy; Safety issues when touring; Moving to Las Vegas; Sphere Stories; Working with “Dead and Company,” and “The Backstreet Boys”; Dead and Company’s Par Cans; "Lighting Up" at The Dead shows; Road...
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In this episode of LIGHT TALK with The Lumen Brothers and Sister, the Lumen Family interviews Lighting Designer Mextly Couzin. In another installment of our "Young Designers' Series", Mextly, Ellen, Dennis, and David discuss Mextly's amazing and meteoric career. Mextly describes her fearless journey from earning a Pure Mathematics degree to designing her first Broadway show. Tons of wise words and advice on many issues, including: Making connections; The story of "JOB"; Being proactive; Safety issues at summer theatres; Discovering "painting" with light; Things that need to be changed; Will...
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In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk with stage designer and Professor of Scenic Design at San Francisco State University, Michael Schweikardt. Join Michael, Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and David as they discuss the Passing of Legendary Theatre Artist Robert Wilson; and The ever-changing landscape of budget, enrollment, workload, and expectations that are affecting the future of university theatre programs. Nothing is Taboo, Nothing is Sacred, and Very Little Makes Sense.
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In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk about everything from The "Ellipsoidal of Death" to Poking Pigs. Join Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and David as they pontificate about: Upcoming deadlines; The Billy Joel documentary; How should a resident lighting designer or assistant prepare for a visiting guest designer; Our favorite lighting fixture; "Shower Curtains Can Be Your Best Friend"; Do people still use Fresnels?; The affects of working in a dark theatre for 18 hours a day; "The Rookie's Guide to Selecting Color"; "Disco Inferno"; Are organized labor unions...
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In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk about everything from Creating the Illusion to Remembering Ozzy Osbourne. Join Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and David as they pontificate about: David and Snoot's wedding report; Our memories of Ozzy; Royal Castle burgers in a box; Tomorrowland fire; How to choose your colors while using subtractive and additive mixing; Remounting shows and matching color using different sources; How to create an effect of light coming through a slit in the wall of the set; What to do when your plot, paperwork and backups are stolen; Total Bastard's...
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In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk about everything from Facebook Lighting Group Wars to Getting Drunk in Catalina. Join Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and David as they pontificate about: David's upcoming wedding; The Brouhaha occuring with lighting groups on Facebook; How to get more attention from your lighting professor; Undergraduate students in graduate classes; "Extra Credit"; Tales From the American Stage"; How to tell your director that part of the show is not working; and Are swatchbooks really obsolete? Nothing is Taboo, Nothing is Sacred, and Very Little Makes...
info_outlineIn this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers talk about everything from High Testosterone to Horror Stories from the USA 829 Practical Exam.
Join Dennis, Zak, Steve, and David as they pontificate about: Report from the National Portfolio Review; Dennis' Lee Watson experience at the Union Exam; Transfering the lighting of stage plays from theatre to television; Projectors vs. LED walls in the broadcast video world; Being "bathed in the image"; Considerations when running LED walls behind talent; The difference in lighting for high-end OLED televisions vs. standard definition televisions; Skin detail features; Lighting considerations for remote shots; A Public Service Announcement from PETA, "People for the Ethical Domestication of Antropods"; and Labeling and numbering light cues.
Nothing is Taboo, Nothing is Sacred, and Very Little Makes Sense.