"We're going to see your handiwork tonight over in Tampa, and to see Warren too. Wish you were going to be there - would love to meet you in person. Happy New Year Nook!"
Where Entertainment Production and Design People Meet!
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Kirk Garreans
- 46, Male
- Orlando, FL
- United States
- Blog Posts (15)
- Discussions (2)
- Events
- Groups (1)
- Photos
- Photo Albums
- Videos
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Kirk Garreans's Page
Latest Activity
Elisa Goad commented on Kirk Garreans's blog post The importance of a mentor
"I had the best mentor ever, but she made me promise early on that I would return the favor when I could. I am on my 3rd protege, with my first protege ending up in some big movies, my 2nd one is a union electrician in New Orleans (biggest success)…"
Brent Frison commented on Kirk Garreans's blog post The importance of a mentor
"I've had many people I consider mentors over the years, though a laundry list of names would be pretty boring reading. I'm a vocal supporter of mentorship, it's the most valuable education anyone can get, and I try to give back…"
Elisa Goad commented on Kirk Garreans's blog post the futility(?) of attempting the impossible
"Im on a gig right now that the client was unsure what the height of the rig should be so that the signage looked best, the problem was they were rushing every department and mostly the riggers, that we ( the lighting) didn't have enough time to…"
Kirk Garreans replied to Justin Lang's discussion What Projects are you working on?
"I just finished working on the Republican debate on Fox News and the related Florida straw poll - I was running the Encore switcher, in charge of sending video and graphics images to the various screens and house feeds. I'll likely give a…"
Kirk Garreans replied to Steven Hall's discussion Architectural Projection
"Steven,
Also keep in mind that if you are using this in a wide-screen (multi-projector blend) application, you will not be able to use a single photo to create a mask, since the angles for each projector are different than if you take a…"
Nook Schoenfeld commented on Kirk Garreans's blog post MUST the show really go on?
" I played the shed at Indy a couple days ago. The local hands there were collecting any cash available from passing crews to buy Steve an Ipad to play with while recuperating. If you go there, throw him a day's per diem…"
Kirk Garreans commented on Elisa Goad's blog post What inspires you at work?
"I also began my career in the entertainment industry more for the love of being involved with the biz than for the money. Especially at the beginning, the money is usually minimal (if offered at all) and there are so many people that think they want…"
Kirk Garreans commented on Kirk Garreans's blog post MUST the show really go on?
"Also please read the following below - and for those who are concerned about giving - I did speak with someone at the Local 30 office, and they are the ones who set up this request. The address listed is for the IATSE Local 30 office. There were at…"
Debi Moen commented on Kirk Garreans's blog post MUST the show really go on?
"Cosmo Wilson was the one who started the request for cards for Steve - I was simply one of many who are helping spread the word. I'm sure Cosmo appreciates you getting the news out there. Thanks, Kirk!"
Steve Irwin commented on Kirk Garreans's blog post Training for our industry
"Although there are not enough of us who beleive in training, we are here. Over the years of providing training I have noticed how hard it is to get people to free themselves from work in order to receive training. Most techs are just to hungry to…"
Kirk Garreans commented on Kirk Garreans's blog post Training for our industry
"I do understand Jason's point... especially here in Central FL, we have a certain school that tends to have a lot of inexperienced graduates "dumped" onto the local labor market, and many of them are willing to seriously lower daily…"
Elisa Goad commented on Kirk Garreans's blog post Training for our industry
"Thats why being a mentor may help. No one at a young age should have immediate money. I ate noodles till I was 24. It was about being on movie sets/television sets, and the excitement of not working at McDonalds. Anyone who goes into a field looking…"
Jason R commented on Kirk Garreans's blog post Training for our industry
"Sadly, there are now more hopeful kids coming up the ranks and out of the schools, than there are jobs to support them. Yes, this can be said of many career choices, but it's a particular a problem in our industry. What's worse, the pay…"
Kirk Garreans commented on Kirk Garreans's blog post Training for our industry
"Excellent point, Elisa. Mentors have played a vital part in my growth as well. And I completely agree with your summation of the current techniques of belittling others in order to make themselves look better... I see that on almost every show I do."
Elisa Goad commented on Kirk Garreans's blog post Training for our industry
"I've been a tech for 20 years now and 'back in the day' I had a mentor. My mentor made sure I was the best assistant a professional could have. I traded pure lifting for specific hands on training. My mentor drilled it into my head…"
Profile Information
- What's your current occupation?
- Encore operator / trainer; President, ALP Design & Production
- Where did you learn your craft?
- John Brown University
- Who have you worked for or where have you worked in the past?
- ALP Design, Media Control, VLPS, Vari*Lite
- What's your favorite new technology?
- Barco Encore
- Do you have any words of wisdom for your fellow lighting pros?
- It's now all about the video!
- Do you currently subscribe to PLSN?
- Yes
Kirk Garreans's Blog
The importance of a mentor
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 12:38pm 2 Comments 1 Like
I was reminded this week of my first, and likely most important mentor in this industry. He was the owner of the company that first hired me in the mid 80's to do lighting for concert tours and other live events.
You see, Brad Barrier, the owner of Stage Lighting Products in Tyler, TX was not just a boss, but a friend and mentor when I was extremely green. He taught me that doing a good show is HARD work - and that there are no shortcuts for doing things the RIGHT way. He…
Continue the futility(?) of attempting the impossible
Posted on October 12, 2011 at 7:50am 1 Comment 0 Likes
It's been a crazy fall for me and my company - I've been in Nashville for a corporate show, ran the Encore for a live TV broadcast on Fox News (the Republican Debate in Orlando) & the subsequent Florida Straw Poll, worked a large association meeting in Boston, and am now in Montreal doing a medical conference. It's nice to be busy, but hard to keep up with writing a blog as well!
Do you remember the song "One of these things is not like the others" from your time watching…
Continue Keep it clean!
Posted on September 9, 2011 at 4:58pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
I'll have to admit, I'm not the most tidy of people... I don't feel the need to have every tassel on a throw rug laying flat or iron my polos before I wear them on a load-in. But when it comes to equipment and work space on show site, I am adamant about keeping things clean and organized. There is seldom time to be hunting down a case that contains my spares, or cleaning a piece of gear that is failing due to overtemp conditions.
Like some of you, I am often at the mercy of…
Continue MUST the show really go on?
Posted on August 16, 2011 at 10:00am 3 Comments 1 Like
After the past few weeks in which we witnessed 3 separate incidents of failures of outdoor staging structures, I feel the need to discuss this matter. I'm far from the only one to do so - you can read for yourself the multitude of blogs and articles on this subject, most of the same mind - this latest tragic failure was unacceptable, and will hopefully change how our industry works on outdoor events. There are now 5 people dead, including one of our own, IATSE Local 30 spot op Nathan Byrd,…
Continue Learning about Lumens
Posted on August 12, 2011 at 8:19am 0 Comments 0 Likes
In our house, we name our pets after terms and objects in the entertainment industry. We've had pets named Pinspot and Patch, and currently have a cat named Lumen. She isn't all that bright (she IS a cat...), but who says the name has to be descriptive, right?
In some ways, projectors have the same problem. There are lots of projectors that SAY they have high lumen output, but then don't have nearly the same brightness as another projector with the same lumens. So can you…
ContinueComment Wall (1 comment)
- At 1:27am on October 15, 2009,
Jim Fitzpatrick said… - Yippee!!!
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