Music | The Guardian: Every night during Taylor Swift’s 2015 world tour, the runway sticking out from the stage would take off and rotate like a propeller, carrying Swift and her dancers over the fans’ heads. At the 2016 Oscars, five glittering towers of statuettes loomed behind the host, like skittles made of crystals, then turned into video screens. On Broadway and around the world, Aladdin continues to fly on his magic carpet with no strings attached. At the Omnia club in Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, the punters are greeted by what is believed to be the world’s largest chandelier, made up of moving parts that double as LED displays.
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Why is this the first time I am learning about Lititz? I always thought that the big set designs for superstars would be designed and built in Las Vegas or in California, never would I have thought they would be in the farm lands of PA. My biggest question is how do they surrounding Amish towns people respond to this? With driving from the East Coast to Pittsburgh many times, I have gotten stuck behind a horse and buggy more times than I want to remember, and I find it hard to image that these firms are well respected. I think that it really is amazing that such incredible work comes out of a small town place, but that really it the key to it. I love the quote one of the designer said in the article, “You can’t separate the steel and the mechanics from the poetry.” A place that has lots of history and art must be inspiring, so it does seem natural that great works can come out of a small little place in the middle of no where. Perhaps this is the secret to some of the greatest elaborate designs, that they are not done in an office in New York City or someplace in LA, but are where the most unique art is.
Before reading this article I had never heard of Lititz! I had always assumed that huge touring events would have there set built in New Jersey or Hollywood. And for Aladdin’s magic carpet I had assumed it was built at Hudson Scenic but nope it was Lititz! I always thought that these things would be built in big cities since small towns would not like all the happenings that come with building sets for high profile shows. Just like Annie, I wonder how the neighboring towns feel about the craziness that is brought into the towns because of this. But at the same time I wonder how much a company like this has helped the towns economy. So many people now come in and out and have to pay for food and lodging so this defiantly helps the towns. In the future I wonder if more companies will start to venture out into rural areas than major cities to build the set pieces.
Rural Pennsylvania must be a interesting place to set up a company like Tait Towers. Plenty of low cost land and area to expand and build. While the amish neighbors and I may never understand what and how they are building it does appear to be a great location. However getting employees as knowledgeable in electronics to live in the middle of nowhere must be difficult. I mean Microsoft is in Seattle and other high tech companies are in popular cities. But trying to get tech people in a largely unadvanced area might propose a reasonable challenge. Otherwise it’s perfect for the work of their scale and hosts plenty of available storage space if necessary. Within the article there were a few odd points like bringing in politics and pointing out that a majority of the workers were male but otherwise it seems like an incredible company.
Article Rating:
8/10
Notes:
Stringy material, frays easily
It's interesting that a small farm town like this is where a company like Tait Towers is. I always assume any company that has to do with the entertainment industry is located around a major city. It makes sense since a town like this would have a lot more open space, which is necessary for the large operations these companies would have to accomplish. With the prevalence of these live-event businesses, I'm sure the town sees a decent economic gain from them being there. But in addition to that, it's nice to see art and technology weaving its way into a town like this. I would like to see how the people living in this area feel about these companies being there. Do they even know the relevance of these companies and their significance to the entertainment industry? How many of the employees are local? Is there some kind of cultural impact that they think is noticeable?
This article is easily one of the coolest stories I've read on this blog to date. It makes a lot of sense though that this company has set itself in the middle of nowhere--it makes it way easier to have a massive shop space for almost no money. The company itself, and what it is capable of, is equally amazing--from a really small start, the company has claimed its place as one of the best automation shops in the world, and the stuff they are capable of is astounding. If I knew anything at all about automation or construction at all, I'd love to work for them, but unfortunately that’s past my pay grade. Overall, I really enjoyed this article and the insight it offered into the workings of this company and all the cool stuff that they have done, and I hope to see more articles about this stuff on this blog.
I've only ever heard of Tait Towers in whispers about cool automation and entertainment design and I only ever assumed that they were a big company from a big city like New York or Chicago (ala Hudson Scenic). It is interesting to know how much companies can contribute even if they aren't in a big area. In fact, this is really giving me hope for my future because I don't think I really want to ever work in a city like New York because I really enjoy driving and hate public transportation or the idea of having to live an hour away from where I work. But I also want to do amazing work with a reputable and well known brand. Another thing that was interesting is what all this company from such a small town can do. I am amazed at the work they have produced in such a random geographical area. It is awesome to think how such a small town from so far away can produce such amazing stuff.
How interesting! Like everyone else on here, I always assumed these huge complicated sets were just constructed closer to the big entertainment areas like Los Angeles and New York. How fascinating that a tiny little Trump supporting town in the middle of Amish country is the real manufacturer of all of these insanely cool sets. It makes sense, because land is probably much much cheaper in the middle of nowhere. My first thought is about how expensive it is to transport the sets out of Lilitz, but I suppose it's going to be expensive transportation no matter where the sets are manufactured. I also think it is really interesting how no one who has commented has heard of this place before. People have heard of Tait Towers (which I had never heard of before today), but no one knew it was based in such an obscure and small town. I wonder what it is like to have such a huge company and be surrounded by Amish towns.
wow, this article is pretty wild. i have never thought about where these giant sets are made, i just thought about how they were made and how much id love to participate. even so i was really shocked that such elaborate sets came from one company in the middle of nowhere. i think it would be wild to work there, i have always imagined myself gravitating towards a larger city just because of where i would like to live, but i would jump at the idea of working somewhere like this company. thinking about how large the shop they would need is, i'm sure they save a lot despite that. i checked out their website, and it is incredible; they have done work for what seems like everyone from phish to adele to the 2012 London olympic games i can confidently say that this is a job that i would dream to have.
It’s so odd to imagine all of these special effects companies next to Amish country, pretty much as opposite as it could be. I do wonder how much longer the Amish country will be able to last, with new companies, employees, and visiting clients coming into that area. This is another one of those articles, like the pattern library, where I learn about a crazy place I never knew existed. I am curious how many projects they can have going at one time, and how far in advance they are commissioned. At this point, are they doing mostly the same technology is stages, just customized a bit for different performers, or really unique projects, like Aladdin’s magic carpet? I also thought it was interesting that they are working on drones in performance venues, so clearly they still have some inventing going on. I imagine that they are going to continue to change the entertainment industry without most people knowing it was them.
An interesting article about Lititz and Tait Towers. When I first heard about Lititz, PA upon arriving here at Carnegie Mellon was instantly amused but not necessarily that shocked. Amused because part of me is picturing a Taylor Swift being "hauled " by an Amish buggy. However ever I am not that surprised that Tait is out in the Lititz area, land is far cheaper than it would be nearer to a city and thus you can purchase enough land the be able to assemble and create a stage rig that is fully operational. Have Inc that much room for fabrication also leads them in to really cool project that I will feel confident in say started just to see if they could. The amount of productions that Tait has work on is a staggering amount. I had know that Tait had work with some big names in the past but I didn't know they dated back to before Micheal Jackson's first moon walk( done on a Tait built stage) the fact that Tait has kept it going sir sling and has managed to still create new a spectacular things, has me excited to see what the do next as a company.
“A small town that builds concerts? Is this article about Tait Towers?” Of course it’s a bout Tait Towers! Who wouldn’t want to talk about Tait Towers for hours and hours and hours (but really though – they are an amazing company that has been secretly masterminding every mind blowing experience in and outside of the country for decades and has managed to hold themselves perpetually on the knife’s edge of innovation and I love them). I wish that this article had spoken more about the town as a whole or the other businesses. The perceived contradiction between Amish country and a center for entertainment invention and innovation (actually not a huge difference in my opinion due to similar methodologies on craftsmanship and community) would be fantastic thing to touch on more? How is the surrounding community faring? Is the region growing? What is the new business moving into the area? What are the other businesses which service concerts and entertainment feats? Tait is amazing, but I would have loved to hear about the other aspects of creating a concert that are not as tangible as the awe-inspiring stage (like the speakers, for example… It would be nice to hear more about how those are made and rented/sold out of the same town).
This is really fascinating, and at first I was a little confused about why someone would pick rural Pennsylvania to do anything, but the more I think about it the more it makes sense. To build these giant sets and technological wonders you need lots of space, and an power that understands what your doing, and a way to work in that large space for very little rent so the middle of nowhere PA actually sounds perfect. I will agree with David that there is something amusing about thinking about Beyonce riding through pennsyltucky or Taylor Swift being put in an amish buggy but if it works it works. I am constantly impressed by how much work these shops do, even reading this article there were so many examples of work that the shop had done all around the same time, and from a management standpoint I would love to learn more abut how that shop is managed and truly how much work they get done in a day, because it has to be huge.
It’s definitely very cool that all of these iconic scenery pieces that we think of as being larger-than-life are built in a town that is so the opposite. I remember being surprised when I worked this summer at Mystic Scenic Studios (in a pretty small town just south of Boston), that this seemingly middle-of-nowhere shop produced set pieces for people, shows, and companies like The Daily Show, T-Mobile, She Loves Me, and Lady Gaga. While it’s very cool that Tait has developed such a reputation within the world of stadium-size scenery and engineering for some of the world’s biggest performers, I appreciate that the author points out the clear disparity, even within the world of “show business”, between men and women (“spread out behind are 30 or 40 engineers and designers, nearly all male”). I think it’s interesting what one of the bosses, Fairforth, says about sets becoming an extension of the artist. Especially in a world in which the circulation of pictures and videos happens at the speed of light, visuals and spectacles are tied more than ever to the artists who stand at the center of them.
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