Earlier this week, ETC sent out a newsletter indicating that due to the advancement and popularity of LED stage lighting fixtures, they will be phasing out a number of tungsten fixtures by the end of this year.

Those fixtures are:

• Source 4 Jr
• Source 4 PAR and PARNel
• Source 4 Fresnel

Full-sized incandescent Source 4's will continue to be sold.

ETC anticipates there will be no shortage of supplies as these fixtures enter EOL (End of Life), but that a substantial increase in order could change estimated timelines. 

Orders will be accepted for the above fixtures through September 30th, 2024.  If you would like to add a few to your inventory before they are gone, act now!

Hi there, 

While most people reading this are sure to be very familiar with the BMI Supply crew, I am a fairly new face - I started with BMI in September of 2023 as a marketing assistant, and we just wrapped up a very busy show at USITT 2024.

I figured I would log some of my thoughts and experiences here, in case they are helpful to anyone as a fellow first-timer, or even if you are interested in reading them as a seasoned vet!

My Experience:

While the USITT convention has become a staple in yearly calendars for many theatre professionals, there was an interesting statistic shared toward the end of this year's conference: 

At USITT 2024 in Seattle, there were a record number of first-time attendees.

Like many in the room, I found this to be quite surprising for a couple reasons: First and foremost, while some entertainment pros call the West Coast home, many of us (BMI included) are based far, far away in the upstate NY area. The expected turnout in Seattle was a bit of an unknown, simply due to the distance and cost of having booths shipped or traveled with across the country. Jumping on the plane to Seattle involved traversing across multiple time zones, not to mention setting up at a venue that USITT hadn't been held at since 1992. Needless to say, the concern was... valid.

But, if there's one thing I have learned during my 6-7 month tenure thus far at BMI, its that the live entertainment industry has a passion and zest for the work that you rarely come across in other fields. The community, the feeling of togetherness - the sensation you get from watching these people who (in many cases) have known and worked alongside each other for years, building careers out of what started out as a hobby or passion... it is a feeling that, frankly, goes beyond words.

You don't see that same "corporate fatigue" that characterizes the working experience for millions all over the globe, that look of defeat as people clock into jobs they aren't passionate about or trudge lifelessly through fields they end up regretting. There is an artistry and a craft in this world, our world - that I find extremely invigorating and contagious.

Don't get me wrong - I am, by all accounts, an outsider - I know very little about the nuts and bolts of the industry, and that lack of technical knowledge definitely showed as I took in these new surroundings alongside sales managers who have learned this field like the back of their hand. A phrase I found myself using frequently while working the booth was - "Let me get you over to my colleague for assistance", or "let me grab one of the sales managers to help you out." 

All of that being said, it was comforting to know that I wasn't the only one experiencing the Stage Expo for the first time. To think that someplace, there are others like me who are looking around wide-eyed, excited and anxious about this novel experience. It indicated to me that, perhaps one day, and assuming all goes well, maybe I can become one of the "old guard" holding this industry down. The future is bright, and I was elated  to be given the trust by BMI to attend the show after less than a year.

Putting faces to names and having proper introductions with several people who I had only "met" via email was similarly fun. We enjoyed a successful show filled with a huge variety of product, which in turn brought many attendees into our (comparatively modest) booth. 

 

Here are some product highlights:

Rosco DMG Dash  

The Rosco DMG Dash Pocket LED is a nifty choice for film/video folks who fancy a mobile lighting option with a punchy output. 

LogiCue Cue Light System

Our booth buddy Noah showed off his LogiCue system, and it was a smash hit all throughout the convention. It makes coordinating with production crews and actors an absolute breeze!

Pliant MicroCom XR

Matt and the rest of the Pliant crew showed of their MicroCom XR intercom system at our booth. It offers a highly reliable intercom solution with fantastic range and performance.

Antari ICE 101 Low Lying Fog Generator

A few booth guests had a blast with this one and even posted photos on their personal social medias! The ICE 101 allows you to have low-lying fog without the inconveniences of dry ice.

GLP Fusion X-Par 12Z

You might have noticed this little guy in our booth! The GLP Fusion X-Par 12Z Oom-Par is a powerful fixture in a highly portable form factor with IP65 weather resistance and RGB + lime color options. 120W light source.

 

Corona PAL Brushes

ON SALE! Several of the Corona PAL brush offerings are on sale until the end of April as part of our USITT sale.

 

We look forward to next year's show, and feel free to shout if you have any questions about what was featured on the show floor!

 

 

 

 

BMI Supply will be closed on Thursday 11/23 and Friday 11/24, for the Thanksgiving holiday.

For those who celebrate, we wish you a relaxing and rejuvenating holiday break.

We will return at 8:00AM eastern time on Monday 11/27.

As we continue to climb back from the dramatic challenges presented by the pandemic throughout 2020 and 2021, we have been pleased to welcome back a variety of BMI crew members that, unfortunately, had to take a break from our team in 2020.

As of Monday, August 2nd, we are thrilled to welcome back Brandon Riney to his role as a Sales Manager at BMI Supply.  Our Sales Managers are talented people with years of experience in the field as practicing technicians, who are now serving BMI customers with product recommendations, technical advice, and much more.

With Brandon coming back into the mix, we have revisited our Sales Territory breakdown.  In other words, which Sales Managers handle which states.  Please see the map below for reference, with a table underneath listing all states as well.  The Sales Manager indicated for your state will be your primary point of contact for quotes, orders, and anything else you may need.  As always, if they are briefly unavailable, any member of our sales team will be happy to assist.

One of our favorite console manufacturers in recent years has been ChamSys.  We started up with them a little bit before they were acquired by another popular vendor of ours, CHAUVET.  We have long been impressed with the ChamSys hardware lineup and software capabilities. We also had a hand in helping them pin down the feature set baked into the QuickQ line of consoles as well. Great people, great product, great value.

Back last fall, ChamSys introduced two (2) new consoles in their MagicQ family of compact & powerful consoles:  The MQ50 and the MQ70. These consoles offer a wealth of native features at very attractive price points. They are now listed on our website at the links below!

Above: ChamSys MQ70

 

Above: ChamSys MQ50

With the complete shutdown of theatre, events, concerts, and more, there is no time like the present to jump on training and education.  A number of companies have stepped up to offer FREE training opportunities and other resources for lighting controls, audio, video, and more.  The list below is just a start.  We will be adding to this regularly as offerings cross our desks.

Lighting:

Company	Opportunity	Ending Date (or other date information)	Link	Promo Code
Electronic Theatre Controls (ETC)	LearningStage - A broad catalog of training materials for ETC products	May 15, 2020	https://courses.etcconnect.com/all-courses.html	(none)
ETC and High End Systems	Study Hall - New, curated content and videos	Starts in April	https://www.etcconnect.com/Study-Hall/	(none)
A.C.T. Lighting	A.C.T. Academy - grandMA training videos	June 1, 2020	https://academy.actlighting.com/series/online-courses/	act4me
Obsidian	Obsidian Controls Training - Free weekly training	Starts week of March 23, 2020	https://obsidiancontrol.com/news/obsidian-control-systems-to-offer-free-weekly-online-training-classes	(none)
Lightwright (John McKernon)	Emergency Student License of Lightwright	June 1, 2020	https://www.mckernon.com/	(none)
ADJ	Various training webinars, presented live.	Begin April 2nd	https://www.facebook.com/adjlighting/	(none)
ChamSys	Training videos and other content	Now	https://chamsyslighting.com/pages/training	(none)

Audio & Visual:

Company	Opportunity	Ending Date (or other date information)	Link	Promo Code
AVIXA	Avixa online training materials, videos, etc.	June 12, 2020	https://www.avixa.org/avixa-stands-with-the-av-industry/	(none)
Harman	Harman Professional University	Ongoing	https://pro.harman.com/training
RF Venue	Weekly training webinars	Starts Thursday March 26, 2020	https://www.rfvenue.com/blog/new-weekly-online-rf-training-and-live-qa-sessions	(none)
Optoma Projectors	Webinar - "The Benefits of Laser Technology"	April 9, 2020 at 2pm Eastern	https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_b4Y5pa01SoeP2D0W-zda6g	(none)

Hi Everyone!

Well, now is as good of a time as any to get back to our long-neglected BMI blog.  It certainly has been an unprecedented past few weeks, and we will have many challenging weeks ahead across numerous industries.  Given the resourcefulness and passion of tech theatre & event production personnel, we are confident everyone will persevere in the end.

All of us at BMI Supply hope you and yours are staying safe & smart.  We are focused on taking care of our team here, juggling individual work & family needs as best we can. Our team remains at the ready should you need anything. We are available to chat up future projects, discuss new products, schedule demo fixtures, track down replacement parts...or heck, even to just say hello and talk about whatever.

We are bringing internal projects to the forefront while this downturn in regular activity persists.  Some of it is pretty boring (accounting stuff), some of it may be interesting (new products for the website!). We will aim to keep you posted (well, at least about the semi-interesting stuff).

Try to have a good week everyone.  Take care of each other.

BMI Supply, in its 32nd year of operation, is pleased to announce an ownership transition. Cindy Barber, President and owner since 2010, has sold the company to longtime employees Steve Roudebush and Matt Williams. The sale was effective August 31st.

Cindy led a dedicated team of employees to many years of steady growth. "I have enjoyed my years at BMI Supply, in a variety of roles from IT support to President," commented Cindy. "Steve and Matt have been an integral part of our success and are more than capable of taking the helm."

Steve and Matt are both in their 20th year with the company, having started in the BMI Supply sales department during the summer of 1999 under the guidance of BMI Supply’s late founder Robert Barber.   Matt has an undergraduate degree from SUNY Fredonia and an MFA from the University of Arizona. "Steve and I complement each other well and will make an effective team" said Matt. "We are thrilled to move BMI forward into a new era that builds upon our strong traditions.”

Steve holds an undergraduate degree from Cornell University and an MBA from the University at Albany. "We have always prided ourselves on ultimate customer service, broad product offerings, and bringing our collective years of hands-on experience to the table to benefit our customers. These will continue to be our priorities."

In their new capacities, Matt will serve as President, heading up day-to-day operations at BMI's primary location in Queensbury, NY. Steve will serve as CEO, handling overall corporate matters, finances, and marketing. Cindy will remain at the company in an advisory capacity for a number of months.

Contact Information:
Steve Roudebush - steve.roudebush@bmisupply.com
Matt Williams - matt.williams@bmisupply.com
Cindy Barber - cindy.barber@bmisupply.com

Congratulations to Kim Pelle from Allen Lanes Theatre, the winner of the ETC Source 4 MINI fixture that BMI Supply donated for the 2016 Behind The Scenes charity raffle at USITT 2016 in Salt Lake City!

Pictured below (left to right):  Steve Roudebush, BMI; Kim Pelle; Matt Williams, BMI.

You can learn more about the charity at the Behind the Scenes website.

Well, it has been a few weeks since USITT 2015 ended, so we have finally caught our breath a bit and are back in the groove! We hope everyone who attended had a fantastic time at the conference. Everyone at the BMI Supply booth had a blast catching up with old friends, meeting new customers, and demonstrating the wide ranging of products we had on hand. We are excited about USITT 2016 in Salt Lake City!

BMI Supply participated in the PLASA Behind the Scenes annual charity raffle (one of our favorites!). In conjunction with our friends at Production Advantage, we offered up a new GaffTech GaffGun tape-laying device and an assortment of CoreLok tapes to go with it. Adam Marshall was the lucky raffle winner who selected the GaffGun prize. Congratulations Adam!

In our own booth, we also conducted a GaffGun giveaway. Abbie Betts, a theatre student at DePaul University, was the lucky winner. Congratulations Abbie!

Again, it was a fun and engaging time for us at USITT. Thank you again to everyone that stopped by to say hello.

























Behind the Scenes USITT Raffle - Pictured (L to R): Cindy Barber (BMI), Phil Harris (GaffTech), Adam Marshall (Winner!), Dan Kretz (GaffTech), David Schraffenberger (Production Advantage)

Good Afternoon All,

Hope the holiday season is treating you well so far!  Here is part 2 of our 2014 LDI recap (check out part 1 in case you missed it...).  We visited a crazy number of booths to check out the latest product offerings and to see what is coming in 2015!  Three more manufacturer highlights appear below.

Let's get started!

Pathway Connectivity Cognito²

Pathway showed off their forthcoming Cognito², the next iteration in their successful brand of compact and powerful lighting control consoles. Cognito² features the same software set with a newer, more robust processor supported by a juicier power supply. The additional processing capacity allows for two (2) more universes of DMX along with support for an external monitor. Interestingly, while many have asked for the monitor capability, others love the fact that the existing onboard screen is all they need to get up and running. Now, both can have their way! All the original Cognito features are here - no command line to learn, programming groups, real-time feedback, comprehensive effects, unlimited memories, unlimited playlists, versatile cue timing options, and support for the neato iOS App for remote control and playback. Many more features, too plentiful to list here. The original Cognito will be shipping until late January at a reduced price point. Cognito2 should ship shortly thereafter.

Lex PCS Trio Power Control

​Lex re-introduced their Power Control cabinet first revealed at LDI a couple years ago. It appears to be a quality entrant to the permanent installation market. A single rack can accommodate LEDs, incandescent fixtures, 220V moving lights, and more. Patent-pending 'plenum' cabinet design takes advantage of natural heat convection to minimize cooling fan needs (and thus reduce fan noise). Rack control processor supports DMX, RDM, sACN, and Artnet. The controller also stores a handful of presets locally for easy, basic control without a console. Modules come in a variety of flavors including 20A dimmers, 20A relays, double-pole relays, and more. Racks are available in 4-module, 8-module, and 16-module sizes (a module holds 3 single dimmers or single-pole relays).

Lex also celebrated their 25-year anniversary at LDI!  Congratulations to them...

 
City Theatrical

City Theatrical's booth, as always, was packed with a vast lineup of their classic gear and assorted new items. Suffice to say they have been active over the past year! New products include Qolorflex NuNeon (an LED-based neon substitute), QolorPoint battery-powered uplights with built-in SHoW DMX, and myriad additions to the Qolorflex line of LED tape products & accessories. Software authors were on hand to show off the ever-popular Lightwright and more recent tool Moving Light Assistant.  Of particular note is the upgrade to the SHoW DMX NEO family allowing the use of 2.4GHz bandwidth thus far untouched by wifi signals. This development will give SHoW DMX users additional flexibility in avoiding interference from problematic wifi signals.
 

 
Questions about other products at LDI?  Feel free to drop me a line... Have a great week!

Hi Everyone!

Just before the Turkey Day holiday, we returned from LDI 2014 in Las Vegas.  It was a solid few days meeting with industry friends, customers, and manufacturers.  We visited a crazy number of booths to check out the latest product offerings and to see what is coming in 2015!  Over a couple of blog posts, we'll highlight some of the gear that caught our eye and may be of interest to you, our customer.

Let's get started!

ETC ColorSource PAR

ETC has developed a number of feature-rich LED products since acquiring Selador. Those advanced features came at a bit higher price point than many users starting out with LEDs could afford. With the ColorSource PAR, ETC brings you a high-quality, made-in-the-USA product with a baseline feature set that gets the job done at a cost-effective price point. Features PowerCon in/thru, 5-pin DMX in/thru, thermal droop compensation, standalone operation, RDM capability, low-noise fan cooling, homogenized optics, and more.  ColorSource PAR offers an easy-to-use RGB control mode that automatically uses special lime and extra red LED emitters in the array to achieve an expansive color palette beyond traditional RGB fixtures.  Expect these to ship in early January!  Coming soon to the BMI webstore. Here is the ColorSource PAR page on ETC's website.

 Chauvet Professional ED-190WW LED Profile

Chauvet Professional demonstrated new LED fixtures in the Ovation line that can run off constant power w/DMX signal (typical for LEDs) OR run off a standard dimmed circuit (not typical for LEDs!).  This "hybrid" approach allows you to use the fixture as a direct swap for a traditional incandescent fixture position without running dedicated power or re-configuring dimmer/relay racks. The auto-sensing electronics take care of figuring out what power is supplied to the unit and adjusts accordingly. The ED-190WW LED Profile features 190 watts of warm white LED punch that compares favorably to 575W tungsten units. Crisp dimming, gobo slot, shutters, and all the other typical profile features. Available in 19°, 26°, 36°, and 50° flavors.  Chauvet Professional also showed the "hybrid" dimming version of their fresnel, the FD-165WW.  Be sure to check that one out as well. Both units should be shipping in early 2015.  Here is the Stage and Studio product page on the Chauvet Professional website.

James Thomas Truss & Tomcat

In case you had not heard, James Thomas is now under new ownership alongside the Tomcat brand. We had a chance to chat with the combined staffs on the show floor. Rest assured, all your traditional James Thomas truss items are still being made in earnest and are readily available! The biggest change to note is that all truss will now have a polished finish. The matte/mill finish typical of James Thomas products will no longer be offered.

Blizzard Lighting Switchblade Micro

Blizzard introduced a handful of new items at the show, but the intriguing item that caught our eye (which has been out for a little while) is the Switchblade Micro.  In short, it looks like the moving light equivalent of a "birdie" or "inkie" fixture! It features a 15-watt RGBW 4-in-1 CREE LED that packs a punch for its size. Fast pan and tilt, 8° beam angle, quad beam effects, DMX in/thru, and more. A lot of fun for $299.99. Coming soon to the BMI webstore. Here is the product page on the Blizzard website.






That's it for now!  More to come in the next post...

Have a great week!

We get a lot of comments about how fast orders arrive.  Part of the formula is a dedicated effort to process orders as soon as they come-in, but we cannot take all of the credit.  Our shipping partners, including UPS and FedEx, have made major improvements in shipping times over the past 5 to 10 years.

Here are just some of the major cities that are only one (1) day away from BMI Supply's warehouse using Ground level service:

• New York City
• Philadelphia, PA
• Washington, DC
• Boston, MA
• Portland, ME
• Baltimore, MD
• Buffalo, NY

We do our best each business day to ship out all in-stock orders that hit our desks by 3:00pm eastern (sometimes even later, just ask!).  That means next day Ground shipping for lots of you in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic cities (and 'burbs, of course).  In just two (2) days, we hit Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Charlotte, and many other locations.

Here is a current UPS Ground shipping map from our zip code.  FedEx is similar and covers a couple of the locations mentioned above.



What's on our shelf?  A little bit of most everything.  Make that a lot of most everything.  Rosco/GAM/LEE gel sheets, Off-Broadway and SuperSat paint, gaff tape, spike tape, lamps, Source 4s, rigging hardware, aircraft cable, stage hardware, and plenty more.

Questions about timing to your venue?  Just give us a shout or hit the "Live Chat" link at the top right of any webpage during business hours.

We had a great time exhibiting last week at the 2014 USITT Conference & Stage Expo!  Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hello and checked out the latest product offerings. BMI Supply welcomed a record number of visitors to the booth. The 2014 edition of our USITT pint glass swag was also a hit!

Here are a few of the product lines we showed in the booth:

LogiCue
Griplock
Blizzard Lighting
Spanset Harnesses
...plus lots more!

We have a variety of items on sale through the end of April in celebration of the USITT show, including lighting fixtures, rigging hardware, tools, lamps, and more. Be sure to check them out!

Again, it was great seeing everyone in Fort Worth.  All of us enjoy the opportunity to meet customers face-to-face, share stories, and talk about this fun industry of ours. We look forward to another great show next year in Cincinnati! 

If you haven't been to USITT or would like to learn more about the organization, please visit www.usitt.org for more information.

Happy Holidays to All!

To aid in your production planning, here is an outline of our schedule over the next couple weeks.  Please make special note of our shipping schedule next week!  Be sure to get your orders in by early afternoon on Friday December 27th.

Monday December 23rd - Open standard hours 8am - 6pm EST.  Regular shipping pickup.  For deliveries needed December 24th, we recommend UPS 1-day shipping.

Tuesday December 24th - Closed for Christmas Eve Holiday.

Wednesday December 25th - Closed for Christmas Holiday.

Thursday December 26th - Open standard hours 8am - 6pm.  Regular shipping pickups resume.

Friday December 27th - Open 8am - 6pm. Regular shipping pickup.  Last day for shipments until after the New Year (see next week below).

Weekend Note - Web orders placed Friday evening 12/27 and over the weekend of 12/28 - 12/29 will ship on Thursday January 2nd.

Monday December 30th - Open, but no regular outbound shipments as we prep for physical inventory.  Emergency shipments possible, please call.

Tuesday December 31st - Closed for inventory.

Wednesday January 1st - Closed for New Year's Holiday.

Thursday January 2nd - Open standard hours 8am - 6pm EST.  Regular shipping resumes.

Friday January 3rd - Open standard hours 8am - 6pm EST.  Regular shipping pickup.

A team from BMI is heading out to Las Vegas this week for the 2013 iteration of LDI!  This annual tradeshow features a diverse lineup of lighting, rigging, staging, video, and other assorted manufacturers.  We traverse the show floor in search of new, interesting, and useful products for our customers.  We also use this time to connect "face-to-face" with our manufacturer contacts.

This year, like the past few years, we expect to see additional advancements in LED fixtures.  Undoubtedly, we'll track down a few other emerging products outside the LED sphere of influence (although that gets harder each year it seems!)

Here are just a few items and/or companies we'll be checking out:

• Altman Phoenix LED Ellipsoidal
• Canto USA Followspots & Fixtures
• ETC CYC attachment for LED engine, Desire D22 LED
• RUSH series from Martin
• City Theatrical LED Tape
• ...and much more!

You can check out the full lineup of events and exhibitors at www.ldishow.com.

If you see us walking the floor in our BMI shirts, be sure to say hello!

New to wireless DMX?  Earlier this year, City Theatrical issued a brief 4-page white paper outlining the basic principles behind wireless DMX and how it can benefit a variety of production applications.  It is a quick yet informative read.  Check it out below!

City Theatrical - "What You Need To Know About Wireless DMX"

Every year at USITT, Behind The Scenes (a wonderful charity that helps entertainment technicians in need of assistance) conducts a fund-raising raffle featuring a wide range of prizes, giveaways, a kazoo parade, and more.  As in year's past, BMI Supply donated a raffle prize, this year a "Stage Technician's Kit" consisting of tools, testers, and more.  Scott Garey, from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, was the first winner chosen and he selected the BMI prize!  Congrats Scott!

To learn more about this great charity, visit the Behind The Scenes website.



From left:  Steve Roudebush, BMI Supply; Scott Garey, UNCSA

You may have noticed this logo & link hanging out at the top of our website the past couple weeks:









What is it all about?  On April 2nd, 2013, home, restaurants, museums, and many other buildings will be lit in blue for World Autism Awareness Day. Rosco teamed up with Autism Speaks to identify Roscolux 68 and Roscolux 80 as the appropriate blue gels to use on a wide range of lighting fixtures.  BMI Supply has partnered with Rosco as a national online source for supporters looking to "Light It Up Blue" on April 2nd.  We are also proud to be a financial supporter of the Autism Speaks organization!

Want to learn more?  You can visit the following website for a wealth of information about the "Light It Up Blue" event:

Light It Up Blue Home Page

You can learn more about the use of Roscolux #68 and Roscolux #80 here:

Rosco Light It Up Blue Information Page

And if you click the logo above, you'll hit our page for the gel sheets, gel rolls, and the official Autism Speaks gobo.

Light It Up Blue on April 2nd!

Hi All,

We hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season thus far!  Holiday shows are in full swing and many production staff are taking a chance to catch their breath before the next round of productions in the New Year.

For your planning purposes, here is our holiday schedule:

12/24 - Closed for Christmas Eve
12/25 - Closed for Christmas Day

12/26 thru 12/28 - Regular Hours (8am - 6pm eastern)
(no shipments on 12/28 in advance of inventory)

12/31 - Closed for Inventory
1/1 - Closed for New Year Holiday

1/2 - Regular hours resume (8am - 6pm eastern)

Thanks for an excellent 2012!  We're ready to continue as part of your production efforts in 2013.