August 2016

TLS Productions, Inc. News & Announcements

 

 

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TLS Productions, Inc. Will Be Closed Monday September 5th, 2016
In Observance Of Labor Day

   

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Save The Date!

 

You can register for one of these sessions or both, depending on your needs and experience level.  To learn more about what each session offers, download the course descriptions here!

We Won The Midwest!

      

Brad Hayes, Doyle Martin, Emily Ann Jugowicz-Miller, and Carl Kedzierski of TLS Productions, Inc. had a great time networking with the industry’s leading healthcare exhibit marketers, medical association meeting and exhibition directors, designers, creative marketing and convention services companies at #HCEAConnect - which took place in Savannah, GA - August 14th through the 17th!  They especially enjoyed participating in the community service activities; volunteers from several organizations, TLS Productions, Inc. included, came together to help Savannah's Greenbriar Children's Center - TLSP is proud to have pitched in and helped such a noble cause.  We're already looking forward to next year's HCEA conference!  

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TLS Productions, Inc. & Entertainment Design and Technology at Eastern Michigan University
Contributed by John Charles, Technical Director, Eastern Michigan University Theatre

EMU Theatre will open it’s 2016/17 season with a return of The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown.  The show, which includes visually striking projection and lighting designs by TLS Productions, Inc.'s Dustin Miller and Bobby Glowacki respectively, played for two weeks in June, and returns for a single week starting September 9^th.   


 
The Entertainment Design & Technology program at EMU is excited to be mentoring another group of talented student designers who will be adding their creative input to our upcoming production of Macbeth by William Shakespeare.  Recent design meetings suggest that it will be a spectacular show that you won’t want to miss.  The production will feature a projection design by ED&T student Cristine Franzen, who assisted with projection design for last season’s - One Man Two Guvnors.  ED&T students Kayla Deneau and Emily Jannaro will assist with costume design, and Basia Mack will serve as student assistant scenic designer.  All of these students have demonstrated remarkable creative talent and are bringing amazing ideas to the design process. 

Macbeth will play the Quirk Theatre on October 21, 22, 27, 28, 29 at 7pm and October 23 & 30 at 2pm. High school matinees are offered on October 25 & 26 at 10am.


 
For tickets and more information for Eastern Michigan University Theatre’s upcoming season, please go to: www.emich.edu/emutix/

We are happy to announce that we are currently accepting applications from students in the ED&T program for the John Briggs Endowed Scholarship in Entertainment Design & Technology, to be awarded on September 12.  Once again, we wish to thank TLS Productions, Inc. for establishing this scholarship to help support students in our ED&T program, and to acknowledge John Briggs for his many years of dedication, hard work, and support for all of us in the entertainment industry.  John helped us through many technical crises and did it with a generous and selfless spirit.

Thank you, John.

John Charles - Eastern Michigan University Theatre
Technical Director


 

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TLS Productions, Inc. has partnered with Eastern Michigan University to create the John Briggs Endowed Scholarship for EMU's Entertainment & Design Technology program.  This scholarship creates a legacy at Eastern Michigan University by honoring John Briggs for his devoted service to the entertainment industry and the field of theatre technology. 

This scholarship honors the passion, dedication, and commitment to the field of theatrical technology by Eastern Michigan University Alumnus - John Briggs.  Over the years, John Briggs and TLS Productions, Inc. have generously given their time and equipment to assure EMU Theatre productions are of the highest quality, while using the most cutting-edge technology.  EMU students appreciate the opportunity to work with state-of-the-art technology that prepares them for their professional careers in technical theatre.  The scholarship will be awarded annually to an Eastern Michigan University student majoring in Entertainment Design & Technology.

To donate to this scholarship in John's honor, you may do so by downloading the scholarship brochure, available here - or by calling the Eastern Michigan University Foundation at 734-484-1322 - and of course, you can contact us for further information on the scholarship and learn how to donate.
 

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From The Desk Of Design Services - August 2016

This month has been full of travel for me, and it looks to continue through September.  I truly value the opportunity to get out and meet people and find out what is on their minds and how, as a company, we can best help them with our service offerings.  One thing I have found is that many event and exhibit planners and coordinators have many questions about the necessity of having a lighting designer and are confused as to the differences that might exist between designers who are independent and the role of designers who work for a company.  Here are the top three questions I get on this topic.  I have tried to answer them so that you have the information to decide what lighting designer is going to be best for you and your project.

How big does my project need to be before I need a lighting designer?

I get this question quite a bit, and the real answer here is that this is the wrong question.  The size of the project (number of lights, size of the space) really shouldn’t have any bearing on the decision on whether or not to include a lighting designer on the team.  The reality is that, even on the simplest project, someone is going to be doing the lighting design.  The question you have to ask yourself is, “whom do I want my lighting designer to be?”

The rental company:  If you just hire a rental company, they will do the lighting design for you, but you are most likely going to get an inexperienced member of the lighting staff who is not going to give your project much of their time or attention.  Typically the attention to detail will be less than you deserve and you will get just what you ask for, not necessarily what you need.

A service company:  If you hire a company (like ours) that is more of a “service” company (vs. a rental company) then you are at the very least going to get an experienced lighting designer involved in the layout of the lighting.  For a relatively small premium, you can get full design services at a much more affordable rate than an independent designer would charge.  Another possible advantage of using an in-house designer is that many times on smaller projects this designer will also double as your “lighting guy” on site, saving you money on crew costs.

An independent designer:  Hiring an independent lighting designer gives you a person on your team that is solely focused on nothing but the lighting look for the project.  He is not worried about rental inventory or what may (or may not) be available equipment wise.  Typically not your best option for smaller events or exhibits simply because of the additional dollars it is going to cost you.  I should add that the argument independent designers make about not being concerned with any company’s rental inventory is a valid one; it can also cost you considerably more money.  Lighting is subjective, and there might be less costly equipment options available that would do the job just as well, and when using an independent designer - there isn’t anyone to point this out for you.

What are the impacts of my lighting designer choice on budget and results?

Believe me; everyone understands that you have a finite amount of money to spend and that you want to be sure that you are getting your money’s worth from your lighting budget.  A good lighting designer is going to leverage the money you have to spend so that he is getting the most “bang for the buck” out of the lighting budget.  As I have been both an independent designer and a designer for a service company, I will give you my view of the pros and cons of each option.

The service company designer:  Using the “in-house” designers at your production services vendor typically means that less of your budget is going to go to the actual design process, and more of it is going to go to the gear.  You are going to get a comparable level of service and experience to that of an independent designer (or design firm) at a more affordable price.  Our design approach (at TLSP) is to allow our designers to do the design using whatever equipment they think is the best for the project they are working on – just like an independent designer would.  They then work with our project managers, estimators, and inventory control folks to make sure that the project gets the best compromise between price and function.  It might be fun to have the brand new, super bright Robe fixture for your custom patterns, but realistically, the older VL3500’s will do the job and save you some money.  It is about checks and balances.  Granted, our designers have to know when to compromise and when to stand their ground, but I am of the opinion that the added layers of control are a good thing.  Rest assured, none of our designers will allow their designs to be compromised for profit margin – my people will always fight for the integrity of the design, and our management will back them (assuming their arguments are performance based and not ego based).

The independent designer:  An independent designer is usually going to do a design that is completely uninfluenced by anyone’s gear inventory.  They are going to specify the equipment they believe is the best for your show.  Although on the surface, this seems like the best possible way to approach a design, that is not always the case.  Most lighting vendors will bid a show from an outside designer as specified – assuming the gear can be found.  Lighting designers (myself included) have a tendency to specify the biggest, newest, brightest, coolest lights on the market, which translates to the most expensive options for the lighting vendor and your budget.  An older model or a different brand might be just as effective, but you lose the ability for this kind of check and balance on the design when you use an independent designer.  When using an independent designer, it is incumbent on you to make sure they are not inflating your budget so they can post the show to Facebook.  You know, so the other designers can see how cool they are.  There are any number of designers and design firms where this is not going to be an issue, but you do have to know who you are dealing with.
 
My team is already huge; do I really need another team member?

Yes.

Really, just yes.  No matter how great your event designer, exhibit designer, environmental designer, production designer or scenic designer or AV guy is, I would always recommend having a lighting designer on the team.  It might not be as important in the conceptual phases to have a lighting designer on staff (although I always recommend including both a lighting and a rigging specialist as early as possible on any project).  When you get down to the planning, programming, and execution of the design, there is no replacement for having a person on the team whose entire focus (pun intended) is solely on the details of how the light and shadows interact at your event.

• Note:  Lighting design, at its base, is about how light and shadow interact.  Hence, it is not about what you choose to light; it is about what you choose not to light. 

I hope this helps or at least gets you thinking about your options.  Sure, my reason for presenting this information is so that you will give me a call and we can talk about how TLS Productions, Inc. can make your event or exhibit - indeed, make your life - better.  If you do not want to use us, and you think I am full of it (completely possible, by the way), that is fine.  However, if you are not going to talk to me about lighting your project, talk to someone.  The impact of good lighting design (and attention to detail) on your project just can’t be overstated.  So, if you don’t use us, use somebody!  Your project –no matter the size or budget - is important enough to make sure someone who cares about the lighting is working with you to make it the best that it can be.

Doyle Martin - TLS Productions, Inc.
VP of Show Services | Director of Design Services