Tex Arcana
Vari*lite edit
Heya, just wanted to say thanks for all the content you are adding to the article. I had hoped for some time to expand it significantly as the company turned the lighting industry on its ear and revolutionized performance lighting, but did not have a lot of technical and background information available to me other than what I found on VL's sites and in some scattered forums. About all I could do (at least back in the day) was make them dance a little :) Your contributions are fantastic and really add a lot of substance to the article and hopefully will go on to be of great value to people in the future. Seems as though you have some fairly intimate knowledge about the company and their models as quite a bit of your material is in more depth than just a brochure :). I will say I do miss the hey-day of intelligent lighting when it broke out and in the first several years following.
Thanks again for your contributions and please keep it up! Thanks! Srobak (talk) 14:07, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
You're welcome, Srobak. I just happened to see this article the other day and thought I'd try to fill in some of the gaps. In a previous life, I worked as a freelance stage lighting technician and was trained by Vari-lite Europe in Greenford, back in 1990; so my knowledge is first-hand, if a little rusty (I haven't touched any V*Ls since late 2002). Hopefully some other V*L stalwarts will help whip the article into even better shape, especially regarding the finer technical details and post-Series 300 products.
Tex Arcana (talk) 15:09, 30 June 2010 (UTC)Tex Arcana
- Just read the historical perspective - very well written! Reading the first paragraph echoed my thoughts as well... remembering back to the first time I saw them and they came on the scene, and now you cannot see a performance anywhere without some kind of intelligent lighting. It still wows me today as much as it did back then, simply because I can remember the sharp contrast between that and the walls of pars from previous times. The impact of the effect of having several VLs all train in on one or a few key stage positions, or swept over the crowd, the dead-accurate, unified color change - and even the un-intentional side effect of "momentary brilliance" that grabbed your attention as the lights cycled through colors for a split second to arrive at their target color. Very few people who benefit the most today from intelligent lighting can really appreciate it for what it was back in the day and the sharp, drastic contrast it was to previous lighting technologies. I have several younger friends and I actually sit them down and have them watch old concerts that are pre-vl... and then I show them some clips from Pink Floyd's DSOT and anything from the 1st half of the 80's of Genesis (both of which probably pushed the effect and made the best use of VL's out of anyone in the 80's, I'm sure you will agree)... only then do they start to remotely appreciate it, but in reality - like your contribution said - they never will truly appreciate it like those of us who were involved in live performances beforehand do. Sorry to get all wordy - but your contribution really struck home with me, and I wanted to thank you for it... I think there will be some other folks for sure that will be able to cast back as a result of your text. :) Thanks again for the excellent work. Srobak (talk) 14:34, 2 July 2010 (UTC)
That's very kind of you to say so - just remember that I wouldn't have done any of it without the inspiration you provided and to be honest, I was a little surprised (nay, disappointed) that nobody else had picked up the torch. "Luckily" I'm in between jobs at the moment and have the time to put into it.
I also added a quick line on the Wikipedia page for Genesis, about the debut of Vari-lites on the Abacab tour ;-)
I felt it was important to add the Historical Perspective section, just to sum things up and stop it from turning into a kit list. I still remember seeing that cue in "The Cage" instrumental section, where all the VL1s narrowed down and swung onto Phil Collins standing in the centre - the hairs on the back of my neck LITERALLY stood on end. It's hard not to get emotional about those times - it really was an Age of Discovery.
I'm going to add some stuff for the remaining consoles and maybe a section on crew and training. I'll leave the post-Series 300 luminaires blank, as I never really used them (apart from the 2416 a few times). Then I'll put a post up on LightNetwork and drop a line to the boys at PRG Distribution, inviting review and improvement - hopefully some of the others who have "been there" will complete it.
So thank YOU, Sir, for sending me on a fantastic voyage of (re)discovery. Checking out the patent numbers and trying to match them to the various developments was huge fun and the accidental discovery of the identity of the lawyer, who represented them in their patent suits, made me chuckle - he must have been so new back then =D
Best Regards, Tex Arcana (talk) 08:53, 3 July 2010 (UTC)Tex Arcana
- I know exactly what moment you are talking about - and I remember it very well also. I remember the look of awe on everyone's face around me - and I just could not stop smiling. What an impact it had... as if the song didn't have enough on its own! Segment starts at 3:58 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYRH2-dC3jg :) Your downtime from work has yielded an awesome and extensive article - and certainly has had to start the ball rolling for other contributors - so despite having involuntary time off from work - a huge THANK YOU for all the progress it has resulted in for the article! :) Srobak (talk) 06:23, 4 July 2010 (UTC)
Welcome edit
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Hi,
I'm looking into the history of Vari-Lite for a University Dissertation, do you have any references for the VL5 Section? Feel free to email me on pbentley807@bruford.ac.uk