XS Lighting & Sound

She was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler on November 9, 1914 in Vienna, Austria. At 17 years old Hedy starred in her first film, a German project called Geld Auf Der Strase. Hedy continued her film career by working on both German and Czechoslavakian productions. Quotes "Any girl can be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid."... "If you use your imagination, you can look at any actress and see her nude. I hope to make you use your imagination." See more

For the past 10 years, longtime friends LD Steve Owens and production manager/LD/rigger Dave Shepard met up between tours and talked of their creative vision, of launching their own business off the road to keep income flowing. Then each would get the crew call and they would go their separate ways on the road. When the industry shut down in March because of the Covid-19 virus, the question of If not now, when? was answered. Creative Visions, their professional outdoor ligh...ting and installation company, was born to service the area of middle Tennessee. While architectural lighting is nothing new, who can say their home exterior was influenced by the designers of Poison, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Doobie Brothers, among others? Owens said they wanted to bring their theatrical lighting skills to the residential neighborhoods. A lot of people can use white light to shine on the front of your house or trees, but as far as creativity, it is truly lacking, Owens explained. We want to make homes look as vibrant as a main stage.

For all you teachers working remotely, and pining for your well funded technological assets back at school.

Amazing the creative ways that Conceptual Photographer Eva Creel uses color in her work. Eva recently shared how she solely relied on the filters inside our Digital After Dark Flash Pack to create the ominous and eerie moods for several of her Halloween portraits this year. The Rosco gels in this kit were originally chosen to provide useful colors for light painting and nighttime photography. Below, Eva describes her dabbles with the devils and how she put the filters from the Digital After Dark Flash Pack to work in her fiendish photo series.

Wear a mask, wear a mask... is this really much to ask??? Lyrics by Noah Lindquist Performed by Noah Lindquist and Ashley Young... Based on "Be Our Guest" from Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Enjoy, and WEAR A MASK!

The centrepiece of the new setup is a 96kHz A&H Avantis at FoH. I fell in love with the Allen & Heath Avantis mixing console from the first moment I used it, comments Pieter Kinoli, sound engineer at Music Centre De Bijloke. It’s so intuitive, easy-to-use and trustworthy. It’s definitely a step forward for us and the live performances we mix for.

"The Beastie Boys had never before licensed any of their songs for an advertisement, but that commercial blackout came to an end during Sunday’s Steelers/Browns game, when the sounds of Sabotage accompanied a spot for the Joe Biden presidential campaign. It wasn’t just any campaign spot, but one that focuses on how the COVID-19 shutdowns have decimated the live music industry. The ad focuses on a club in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the Blind Pig, that remains shuttered this year a...fter a 50-year run as a pillar of the community, which the owner blames on what he considers Donald Trump’s shortsighted response to the coronavirus crisis." [Personal connection: Many years ago, while being trained to take over the Master Electrician/House LD position at the Uptown Theater in Kansas City, the Beastie Boys were to perform, and I told my mentor that I was struggling with the music. The very sage Jim Bauman gave me one of the best pieces of advice I have ever received, which I carry to this day. He said "Ricky, it's not about you, it's not about me, it's not even about the band. It's all about the people in the audience who paid their hard earned money to see this show, that's why we're here. I learned a valuable lesson, did my job, came to appreciate a new genre of music, and eventually became a fan.]

How many Roscolux colors do you know? Take the quiz, then tell us how you did in the comments! (No cheating!) Can you name the #Roscolux Colors by any word in the filter name?

Stage and audio for the Kansas City Women’s March. #BilJax

Meet ColorSource Spot jr. This fixture only weighs 12 lbs, making it a great addition to any school, house of worship, or small theatre. Book an online demo to see it up close and get your questions answered by a member of our team! #meetjr https://bit.ly/3drvLx9

If you are searching for UV or UVC disinfection products, I encourage you to read this entire article, however, the abridged version is that direct exposure to UVC is extremely dangerous to eyes and skin without proper protection. "In response to COVID-19, production and demand have ramped up in both categories. Digital Aerolus in Kansas has produced a UVC drone, Big Ass Fans in Kentucky has designed a UVC ceiling fan, Samsung recently unveiled a UV Steriliser complete with w...ireless charger, which means you can disinfect and charge your devices at the same time, and a search for UVC wand on Amazon returns hundreds of results. It’s not hard to understand why personal UVC lights are so in demand right now, but regulators and experts have raised some fairly major concerns about the safety and effectiveness of these products. Firstly, handheld UVC lights have the potential to be extremely dangerous. If you were to wave a UVC wand around your home, it would be all too easy to expose yourself, a child, or even a pet to skin and eye damage, and it can take several days before the injury becomes apparent. Many UVC wands on the market are not equipped with child locks, and minimal information is provided on how to safely use the device around the home. Secondly, lots of devices on the market are either fake or completely ineffective. Even a high-powered device takes time to work, and most UVC wands on the market are not of the best quality. To successfully disinfect a surface, like a tabletop, the user would need to wave their device around for an extended period, which is as much a hassle as it is likely to be ineffective. Underwriters Laboratories, which tests UVC products to award safety certifications, has observed a major uptick in UVC production. Alongside the National Electrical Manufacturers Association and the American Lighting Association, the company has produced a paper outlining the risks of using uncertified UVC products."