Another cool aspect of the LDI show is you can get “inside” info on upcoming events, movies, etc. I stopped by the Kino Flo booth and spoke a bit with Tom Jacob.

Since DP Mitchell Sargent wrote about his fondness for Kino Flo’s products in a “What I’m Using Now” column in Lighting Dimensions last spring and I did an article on Pierre Morel’s work on the Jet Li film Unleashed in the June LD, I thought I would take a closer look to see what the DPs were raving about. I asked Tom about Kino Flo’s involvement in a film I’ve been anticipating anxiously like most kids anticipate the next Harry Potter flick. I’m talking about, of course, Wolfgang Petersen’s remake of the 1972 disaster classic The Poseidon Adventure.

Simply called Poseidon, the new movie is an updated version on a modern cruise liner and stars Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfus, Josh Lucas, and many more. Tom told me how disoriented he was when he went on the set at Warner Bros. to take pictures of the Kinos in action and wondered why the sets were such a mess…then he realized these were the sets after the disaster. The Kinos were installed in the floor–well, actually the ceiling but now it’s the floor–to give an uplighting effect. He also talked a bit about the fixtures that were waterproof and were used underwater because when a capsized ship starts to flood, it’s the ceiling and the fixtures that go under first. It’ll be interesting to hear more about this exciting movie from a lighting point of view so stay tuned.

Poseidon–sans Shelley Winters–opens in May 2006.

Not only is LDI full of the latest innovations in live design technology, but it is also over flowing with free stuff, commonly referred to as swag. Oh sure, there are plenty of key chains, pens, pencils, note pads, cups, mugs, pens combined with flashlights, key rings with LEDs and so forth, but so far my favorite giveaway came from the good people at Littlite (booth 1001). They are giving away the most awesome thing ever: Wacky Package stickers!! Remember those? They were like trading cards but they were take offs on popular consumer products, i.e., Crust Toothpaste instead of Crest, Scorch mouthwash instead of Scope. I used to collect these as a kid and it’s a welcome comeback at the LDI show!

As most of you know, the annual LDI show is always a feast for the eyes and ears since there’s so much new technology to see at the many booths. However, prior to the show getting underway this morning, new technology came to me while I was at the Live Design booth. I spied a gentleman walking around with what looked like a bouquet of blue Christmas lights. It was Ian Phillips with Soundsculpture who was demonstrating the power of the company’s new product, the RC4Wireless.

The Soundsculpture booth is in the back of the massive Orlando County Convention Center while the spacious Live Design booth is at the front door. As any of you who have been to one of these shows knows, these convention centers are HUGE. But as far away as Ian was from the RC4’s home base, the blue LEDs were sparkling away, which I thought was really cool (why won’t my wireless print server work as well in the same room with my laptop at home?). “Technology is getting smarter as opposed to more powerful,” Ian told me, further explaining that the RC4 Wireless uses technology that spreads out the signal much wider than before.