Back in 2011 I was interviewed for "William Shatner's Weird or What" about Infrasound; I have a writeup about that and the show here. It originally aired in Canada, and Ray Kent tipped me off to the fact that the SyFy channel is now airing it in the US! My episode "Paranomal Mysteries" started airing tonight.
It's time for the controlgeek.net geekout at Infocomm Orlando 2013! Jim Janninck and I have rustled up three very interesting case studies, after which we will head out for drinking and bowling or miniature golf. Everyone is volunteering their time, and Full Sail is graciously donating their space, so there is no admission fee and all are welcome.
Thursday, June 13, 2013 at Full Sail Live 3
3150 University Blvd.
Winter Park, FL 32792
(situated between McDonalds and Taco Bell)
Hosted by Mark Johnson, Full Sail Director of Production
7pm: Show Control at Sea
Dave Christoffers, Sr. Systems Specialist, The Walt Disney Company
Providing entertainment systems on board a floating resort is far from ordinary. Explore the system architecture and design decisions related to integrating audio, lighting, video, special effects, and rigging systems on board a state-of-the-art cruise ship. From interactive dining experiences, to the modern nightclub; from the outdoor sports deck, to the intimate sports pub; from the 3D cinema, to the grand showroom; the Show Control system touches almost all public areas on the ship. The shipwide system manages 37 Show Control systems spread across 27 venues, and coordinates inter-system communication, scheduling, user management, and show editing.
7:30 pm: The Jekyll and Hyde Club Show Control
Mike Blasko, Principal & Director of Technology, Weigl Works, LLC
The Jekyll and Hyde Club in NYC [Editor's note-my previous entry on this new attraction here] was built to create a flexible, guest-centered experience through the use of a semi-automated and live experience. For the restaurant, Weigl engineered a system that adapts as modular components are added and updated in the continuously changing experience. Technologies being controlled through the integrated system include: Audio, RGB DMX controlled lighting, moving mirror fixtures and animatronics. The completed system allows a single or small number of Equity stage actors to control the entire guest experience, as well as for the system to adjust the automated routines based on the inevitable changes that come from a live performance.
8pm The Smallest Show on Earth: Integrating 21st & 18th Century Technology
John Leonard, Freelance Sound & Show Control Designer
Clock conservators in museums and galleries are frequently faced with the need to keep complex mechanisms in clocks made in the 18th and 19th century preserved in working order. Whilst the clock movements are usually fairly simple and can be maintained with the minimum of intervention, for the carillon (musical box) movements and animated figures, the decision is often made to disable these features so that the mechanical parts do not degrade to the point that they either fail completely, or have to be modified using modern parts, thus compromising the integrity of the item. A number of galleries and museums have been investigating ways in which these features can be brought back to life using modern technology and this presentation will look at three such projects: one completed and two in progress, all involving 18th Century clocks, and using a mixture of off-the-shelf products and custom designed circuitry.
9:00 Drinking/Miniature Golf and/or Bowling at Boardwalk Bowl
10749 E Colonial Dr, Orlando, FL 32817
I will post any updates to my twitter.
Jim Janninck and I have scheduled a case study session for June 13 during Infocomm (pictures from last year are here). More details to come, but at the moment proposals are due by May 1.
Here's what we're looking for:
* A real project.
* A show control project (two or more entertainment disciplines connected together--lighting and sound, sound and video, pyro and a performer, etc).
* Someone to do a 20 minute (max) presentation on the project.
Please email me (you can use the contact form on this site) one paragraph by 10am NYC Time May 1 containing the following:
* The name of the project
* Presenter(s) name
* A brief description of the project.
We dodged the weather and had another excellent Tribeca Film Festival Drive In! It was great working again with Good Sense and Co. and Local 1 and my old friends at One Dream sound. I didn't take many pictures but here's a few, starting with the the star of last night's premiere of Lil Bub and Frienz:
More photos here, including lots of sound geekery.
I'm back from the USITT conference and a little spring break road trip. This was my first time back in Milwaukee since 1990 (when I attended USITT the last time it was there), and this city has really come a long way since then. I was happy with the way our sessions went (although, of course, I forgot to take any pictures), all my books sold out, and all in all it was a great time. One cool thing was a tour of Rockwell Automation, including their high current testing lab, where they do full load testing of electrical gear up to 100,000 amps (!). As you can see from the char marks in the photo below, not all of the gear survives this testing.
We also got to tour their materials and environmental testing labs and got to visit the clock tower. More photos here.
I led a group to the excellent Safe House (which I last visited in 1990), where one friend who didn't know the password had to dance like the Easter Bunny in order to get in:
Jamie A, John A and I also went to several cool bars, including the fun and dive-y Y Not II:
After the conference ended I stopped by the Midwest Gaming Classic, where my friend Maya N had competed the day before:
I also went to see the excellent Harley-Davidson museum, the Milwaukee Art Museum in a beautiful building on the lakefront, and then the Brewcity Bruisers roller derby:
More photos here. I had planned my trip to stay around a few extra days in the hopes that there would be some weather to chase, but there wasn't. So I went to the excellent Harley Davidson motor factory tour (no photos allowed), which was excellent. Makes me want to buy one...
I then took a quick run north to see if I could get a couple shots with the new D600 camera on the lake. Unfortunately the weather didn't allow any decent light, but I grabbed a few out of the stratus-murk.
I stopped by the National Railroad Museum on the way back to the airport.
And while chasing a snow squall, passed the Maribel Caves hotel ruin.
More photos here. I got home last night:
I'm off tomorrow to Milwaukee for the USITT conference. I go every 2-3 years, and this time I'm involved in three sessions:
Introduction to Networks
Saturday, 03/23/2013 11:00AM-12:30PM
Delta Center 102D
Description: This session is the first step in learning how to cope with and setup networks. This hands-on session is aimed at guiding users through the setup of a basic network. Participants should bring their laptop to follow along with the examples.
Issues in Audio Networks
Saturday, 03/23/2013 2:00PM-3:15PM
Delta Center 102D
Description:Join John Huntington, author of Show Networks & Control Systems, Ellen Juhlin, D-Mitri digital audio platform manager at Meyer Sound, and Davin Huston, Sound System Designer and certified network professional, to discuss issues that can arise when using audio networks. This session will help show problems, solutions, and caveats in audio networking and share information on where the audio network industry is heading.
Audio Network Troubleshooting
Saturday, 03/23/2013 3:30PM-4:45PM
Room Delta Center 102D
Description: This session is a hands-on opportunity for audio people to experience setting up a network from scratch. This is an attendee's chance to apply what they have learned in 'Introduction to Networking' and 'Issues in Audio Networks'. Participants should bring their laptops to follow along with the examples. It is helpful but not necessary to have attended the earlier Introduction to Networking workshop.
Hope to see you there! I'll be posting updates on twitter while I'm there.
For the first time, I'll be doing a fun presentation on systems, networking and show control at the upcoming Broadway Sound Master Class in June. All the talks are listed here; the description for my presentation is:
Systems Thinking and Networks for Audio and Show Control: This session will cover some basic tenants of systems thinking for shows, where we must plan for and accommodate failure in our “show must go on” world. These ideas will then be applied to the design of Ethernet networks, which today offer both a common audio transport and a control infrastructure. These concepts together lead to modern system design for show control, where we connect between audio and other disciplines like lighting or video.
Davin Huston, Ellen Juhlin, Christopher Plummer and I are doing three networking sessions for the Sound Commission at USITT in Milwaukee next month, and we need your help!
Here's the session descriptions:
Introduction to Networks
Saturday, 03/23/2013 11:00AM-12:30PM
Delta Center 102D
Description: This session is the first step in learning how to cope with and setup networks. This hands-on session is aimed at guiding users through the setup of a basic network. Participants should bring their laptop to follow along with the examples.
Issues in Audio Networks
Saturday, 03/23/2013 2:00PM-3:15PM
Delta Center 102D
Description:Join John Huntington, author of Show Networks & Control Systems, Ellen Juhlin, D-Mitri digital audio platform manager at Meyer Sound, and Davin Huston, Sound System Designer and certified network professional, to discuss issues that can arise when using audio networks. This session will help show problems, solutions, and caveats in audio networking and share information on where the audio network industry is heading.
Audio Network Troubleshooting
Saturday, 03/23/2013 3:30PM-4:45PM
Room Delta Center 102D
Description: This session is a hands-on opportunity for audio people to experience setting up a network from scratch. This is an attendee's chance to apply what they have learned in 'Introduction to Networking' and 'Issues in Audio Networks'. Participants should bring their laptops to follow along with the examples. It is helpful but not necessary to have attended the earlier Introduction to Networking workshop.
For the last two sessions, we'd like to hear from you about what you'd like us to discuss. What's the most common networking problem you've seen? Have you been stumped by a networking issue? Had word clock problems? Have you had a glitch during a show? If you answered yes to any of these things, please use my contact form (link at left) to let us know before March 7 at 5pm NYC time! (We need some lead time to make sure we are equipped to answer the questions)
I'll be speaking late in the afternoon on DMX, and I'll be giving away a copy of my book to an attendee! More details here.
I'll be doing a very quick talk about DMX at the Stage Lighting Super Saturday on January 29th here in NYC. I hope to see you there!
I'm the the author of the book Show Networks and Control Systems, and this site covers entertainment technology, severe weather, photography, and anything else that I find interesting.
