Month: August 2018

Why You Should Consider Renting Your Lighting Equipment

Posted on by J3551CA

Why You Should Consider Renting Your Lighting Equipment Instead of Buying It

If you are considering buying the right lighting equipment for your venue, event or production you may already have discovered that great lighting requires more than just a couple of rigs and some colored bulbs.

Having all the elements that make up effective lighting design can be a costly business. You will need to spend a sizable amount of your budget and invest a lot of man-hours in finding the right lighting set up.

Being able to buy the right equipment is one thing but knowing how to use it in your specific venue to produce dazzling lighting effects is something else entirely.  When you rent your lighting equipment from a specialist, you will also get their expertise thrown in for free.

Rent Your Lighting Equipment – An Affordable Alternative to Buying

If you aren’t prepared to spend all your cash on your lighting or would like the assistance of a professional lighting team on the night, renting your lighting equipment is an affordable and effective alternative to buying.  Renting you lighting equipment means that you will always be sure of the following:

Custom Designed Lighting Solutions

All the internet research in the world won’t turn you into a lighting professional overnight.  A professional lighting director with years of experience, however, will be able to design an entire lighting plan that really makes your event shine.   All the equipment needed will be provided by the lighting director and his crew, delivered to your venue, set up and operated, then swiftly taken away again when your event is over.

The Right Lighting for Every Occasion

Different occasions call for different lighting. If you are looking to illuminate your wedding, for example, a lighting hire specialist will be able to provide you with uplighters for that soft, romantic glow, pinspots for tables and even LED parcans that dance to the music when your guests are enjoying the party portion of your big day.  Buying all these different types of lighting would be a big investment and take a large chunk out of your budget.

Alternatively, if you are looking to light up an outdoor event, then large rigs of floodlights will make sure that your spectators never miss any of the action.

Renting your lighting equipment from a professional lighting specialist means that you will have the right lighting to complement your event, whatever it may be.

  • Give Your Event That Professional Look

If you are holding a corporate awards night, ceremony or other occasion, Gobo projection can provide you with instant, illuminated branding solutions that add kudos for your clients. When you rent a Gobo, your logo or corporate message can be projected onto any surface and will act as a constant reminder that your event outshines the rest.

  • A Spot Light on Your Stage

Whether you are holding a one-off production, or a run of shows, renting your stage lighting can enhance the overall look and feel of your show.  A professional lighting company will be able to rent you everything you need including a wide range of effects, control systems, media servers, dimming, rigging and all the extras you need to make your vision come to life.

  • State of the art equipment

Lighting professionals are at forefront of lighting technology and have access to some of the most innovative and exciting lighting available today. This means that you don’t have to spend $1000’s on top of the range kit, as they will be able to provide it for you.

Lighting Rental from Frank Gatto & Associates

With over 30 years’ experience in the lighting business, Frank Gatto & Associates can provide you with the very best advice and recommendations to help your event glitter and shine.  Your lighting should enhance every aspect of your event and is as important as the action on the stage, the music, and the attendees.

Don’t blow your budget on basic lighting equipment, hire an expert to provide you with lighting solutions that really work.  Speak to us today at 561-368-0101 to find out about our rental services.

Frank Gatto & Associates, Inc. are specialists in lighting for television events of all kinds.  If you have an event that needs expert lighting, please call us today to see how we can help.

Phone: 561-368-0101

Email: frank@frankgattolighting.com 

We can be found on Social Media at the following links.

            

A Brief History of Stage Lighting

Posted on by J3551CA

The use of lighting to enhance stage productions was first recorded as far back as the early Grecian and Roman times.  Even all those centuries before the invention of electricity, budding producers built their theaters facing east to west so that in the afternoons the sunlight would shine on the actors, without getting in the eyes of the orchestra.  Many centuries later, Shakespearean theaters were built with a circular opening in the roof to allow the natural light to flood in and illuminate the action on stage.

In 1880, Thomas Edison received the historic patent embodying the principles of his incandescent lamp that paved the way for the use of electric lighting in theatre. The Savoy Theatre in London was the first in the world to install new electric lights for their stage productions, swiftly followed by the Bijou Theatre in Boston as well as the Vienna State Opera.  The introduction of footlights, border lights, and strip lights completely transformed the way in which the audience could view the action taking place on stage.

Spring forward to mid-20th-century theatre and the evolution of moving pictures, and suddenly we start to see stage lighting take on a whole new meaning and become an art form. American theatrical producer and play write, David Belasco, worked tirelessly with his electrician, Louis Hartman, to develop a range of single source lighting equipment that was used to light the acting areas from above the stage as well as from the auditorium.

With the introduction of the moving picture, studios began to spring up all over the world, and advances in lighting took a new turn as mobile lighting devices were used to light the action on screen.  Soft focus lenses, basic effects and a deeper understanding of how images are seen by a movie theatre audience paved the way for investment in the lighting industry as a whole.

From the 1960’s onwards, new and more exciting lighting effects were becoming the mainstay of theatrical performances the world over.  With strobe lighting, parcans and automated variable color changing lights gradually becoming increasingly common up until the 1990’s, stage lighting had become an art form in its own right.

In recent years, the 21st century has seen a tremendous amount of technological advancements in the way stage lighting is used to enhance audience enjoyment.  Whilst the basic concepts still exist, LED technology and digital consoles allow much sharper, quicker and even more exciting illumination to take place at the touch of a button.

The Future of Stage Lighting

Without a doubt, the most innovative development in stage lighting over the last few years has been the introduction of LED light sources.  Being energy efficient, cost-effective and producing very little heat, LED is the future of stage lighting across venues of all shapes and sizes.  LED also offers endless color options that create atmosphere at every event from small intimate productions through to large scale rock concerts and beyond.

Lighting Solutions from Frank Gatto & Associates

As a team of lighting professionals with a thorough understanding of how lighting can complement every occasion, Frank and his team can supply you with every type of lighting solution for any event.

Frank Gatto & Associates, Inc. are specialists in lighting for television events of all kinds.  If you have an event that needs expert lighting, please call us today to see how we can help.

Phone: 561-368-0101

Email: frank@frankgattolighting.com 

We can be found on Social Media at the following links.

            

Light Shows Attract Millions of Visitors to Niagara Falls

Posted on by J3551CA

The world-famous waterfalls of Niagara are a sight to behold any time of the day or year.  But at night, they are simply magical as state-of-the-art illuminations give them an ethereal quality. On the Canadian-US border, the Bridal Veil Falls, the American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls throw as much as 170 million gallons of water from Lake Erie into Lake Ontario.

During the day, visitors don ponchos and enjoy the legendary Maid of the Mist boat tours, but at night the falls glow three times brighter than ever before, thanks to innovative, color changing lighting that has been designed to make the water look absolutely breathtaking.

With over 20 million visitors a year, the Falls are one of the largest tourist attractions in the area, and if you are planning a trip to see them, you should definitely stay to take in the light show.

Lighting Up Niagara Falls

The falls are illuminated throughout the year, to mark holidays and significant occasions. They are also lit in a range of colors to mark specific dates for charitable causes.  Keeping the lights bright underneath such a huge amount of fast-flowing water has been a challenge for the designers at Niagara, but technological advances in lighting have meant that the illuminated falls are now more beautiful at night than ever before.

In 2016, almost 20 years since the last major investment in falls lighting, the existing Xenon lights were replaced.  Now using new, energy efficient LED lighting technology, the falls are easily illuminated with programmable lighting effects and an array of colors. Where once there were gaps in the lighting pattern, the new LED lighting has filled them to provide a stunning and thoroughly constant effect throughout.

All of the lamps are weatherproof and remain relatively cool, even when they are running at full brightness.  The designers behind the light shows, updated lighting programs, created a system that can rotate and adjust to seamlessly blend colors, as well as altering the intensity of the lights and colors as and when required.

Using a total of 12,600 individual LEDs, arranged in 1,400 three-by-three squares of color, and illuminating 120 areas across the American Falls and 230 across the Canadian Falls, there is the potential to produce up to 16,777,000 different color combinations. The finished effect gives the appearance of a video production that constantly changes, making every visit to the Niagara Falls illuminations completely different from the last.

Why Visitors Love the Lights at Niagara

Every evening at dusk, the Falls are transformed into an incredible, multi-colored masterpiece, fusing fast-flowing water with an amazing light display.  This daily occurrence alone is enough to keep visitors coming back for more, but the Niagara Festival of Light that runs from November through January see’s not just the falls, but the surrounding areas bathed in festive sounds and colors.

Light Up Your Event with Frank Gatto & Associates

With over 30 years’ experience in the lighting industry, Frank and his team are on hand to help with every kind of large-scale lighting requirement. Call us today at 561-368-0101 to find out more.

Frank Gatto & Associates, Inc. are specialists in lighting for television events of all kinds.  If you have an event that needs expert lighting, please call us today to see how we can help.

Phone: 561-368-0101

Email: frank@frankgattolighting.com 

We can be found on Social Media at the following links.

            

What Are LEDs and Why Do They Last So Long?

Posted on by J3551CA

Advances in modern technology have meant that you can now illuminate your home, venue or other area with low-energy, cost-effective, long-lasting light sources that offer the same amount of light as traditional light bulbs, without the heat and expense.

LED (Light Emitting Diodes) use very little energy and last a really long time.  Unlike energy saving light bulbs, they light up instantly and do not take time to reach the desired brightness, making them the perfect choice for venues or events looking for full illumination at a fraction of the cost.

These types of modern LEDs produce light in a totally different way to how old-fashioned incandescent bulbs do.  With incandescent light bulbs, the electricity is passed through a thin wire filament, With LED light bulbs, the light is produced with the use of a semiconductor that emits light energy when the electrical current is passed through it.

While it is true that LEDs can be more expensive to purchase initially, the low energy output and long shelf life make them an excellent investment for anyone looking to maximize their lighting abilities, either in the home or within a professional environment.

How Do LEDs Last So Long?

Because LEDs are as much as 90% more effective than incandescent light bulbs, they have a much longer lifespan. This is because they have no working parts that will burn out or break over time.

An average LED light is a very robust piece of kit.  They are solid-state devices with no glass to break, nothing to wear out and they are not made from fragile glass that is likely to break.  In turn, this means that they will last a whole lot longer than regular light bulbs.

For the technically minded, the way they produce light is a crucial element of their longevity.  Because they are made of substrate semiconductor materials and have two specific two doped regions, P – positive and N – negative. When current passes through the PN junction it causes electrons to jump to higher atomic energy states. When the electrons return to the ground state, light in the form of photons is emitted. This phenomenon is called electroluminescence and it consumes very little energy since very little heat is generated.

How Long Should an LED Light Bulb Last For?

Well, if it has no way of burning out or becoming damaged, technically it should last forever?  If you invest in LED lights for your home, it may well be the last time you have to purchase light bulbs for a very long time indeed.

LEDs are touted to have a 50,000-hour average life. This is a massive increase in lifespan when you consider that the average life of a halogen 50-watt bulb is only between 1,000 and 2,000 hours.

How the LED is fitted and how long it is used for will obviously affect the real-world efficiency of your light source.  For example, an office that is lit for 10 hours a day using an LED light source should only have to replace the LEDs every 8-9 years.  A homeowner with LED lights in the living room, where lights are only one for a few hours a day, may not need to replace them for almost 20 years!

Frank Gatto LED Stage Lighting Solutions

LED lighting has completely transformed the way in which are able to illuminate studio sets, outdoor broadcasts and large events and occasions.  Our state-of-the-art LED lighting solutions provide high output, flicker-free, single-source lighting that runs cool with low current draw, saving up to 90% in energy costs while still providing the best-looking lighting for every event.

Frank Gatto & Associates, Inc. are specialists in lighting for television events of all kinds.  If you have an event that needs expert lighting, please call us today to see how we can help.

Phone: 561-368-0101

Email: frank@frankgattolighting.com 

We can be found on Social Media at the following links.