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LD Profile: Andrew Strain

Posted on December 1, 2012

Six questions with Andrew Strain, lighting designer and owner of Blue Haze Entertainment, a full-service lighting design and production company in Huntington Beach, Calif.

1. How did you get into this field?
I have always wanted to work in the industry. I went to a performing arts high school and I attended the classes at the Academy for the Performing Arts in Huntington Beach. I did my first show when I was 15 — it was a chorus line, and I was the followspot operator. Among the types of designs I do are musical theatre projects, themed parks, architectural and special events.

2. What do you think is the next big thing in the lighting industry?
I think it would be a great thing if more people used ArtNET and Ethernet-based DMX distribution without a DMX cable. It is much faster and transfers more info. Also,  I would like to see an evolution of quad LED, more power-efficient LEDs and no more “skittles”-looking fixtures.

3. Do you have a favorite fixture (and why)?
I like the COLORado 1-Quad Tour from CHAUVET for its light ambers, light pinks, and its popularity for TV, film and special events.

4. What has been your favorite design/project?
We had this project at the Paramount Pictures studio lot, which turned out to be one of the few designs where we could show off all the colors in the fixtures. We used 58 COLORado 1-Tri Tour static wash lights and 40 COLORdash Batten Tri linear wash lights from CHAUVET Professional, at the opening of Technicolor at Paramount post-production sound facility at the Paramount Pictures studio lot. These are also flicker-free, so it worked out well with the camera.

5. What was the biggest unforeseen obstacle that you’ve faced in one of your designs, and how did you overcome it?
Unavailability. I needed this fixture for a project, but wasn’t available yet.

6. Complete this thought: A show without light is like…
… my motto: life is too short for boring lighting.