So, I’ve never made it to InfoComm before. I’ve spent more time with LDI in the past ten years than I have with my extended family, but I’ve never made it to “that other show.” I’m interested.
Part of that interest is, of course, in the new products being released by companies who traditionally focus in whole or in part on our industry. Dataton is releasing Watchout 4. If the improvements and feature additions are anything like the jump from version 2 to version 3, that should be worth seeing. Frustratingly, they aren’t talking detail up front. Medialon’s got an impressive 5 new products on display. And I’m fascinated to see if anything can be gleaned about the future of digital lighting after the marriage of Barco and High End Systems.
But my real mission at InfoComm is to borrow, steal and repurpose. I’m looking for the crossovers, products built for one industry that might apply to another with a minimum of modification. The most immediate fertile ground this year seems to be the digital signage and network video management sectors, but I’m sure I’ll have lots of surprises to look forward to.
The most exciting thing I’ve seen in the pre-show press so far is a new projector technology developed by Evans & Sutherland. Their ESLP (Evans & Sutherland Laser Projector) develops the concept of laser display devices put forward in TV form by Mitsubishi and others at CES this year. Their solid-state diode laser displays use something called a grating light valve modulator (GLV), which is a micro-electromechanical device (MEM) similar in some ways to the digital micromirror devices (DMD) that power today’s Digital Light Processor (DLP) projectors. This GLV allows the ESLP to produce something they are calling “nanopixels,” yielding a total resolution of 8192×4096 - almost 16 times that of a regular HD projector. The ESLPs also have richer color reproduction and sharper fast motion display than DLP projectors.
They are only 5000 lumens at this point, and the lasers’ theoretically infinite contrast ratio has apparently not been realized, but the ESLP represents the kind of crossover I’m in search of. It may take a while to make the transition from the planetarium market to the entertainment mainstream, but let’s get the process started now.
I drove down to UCLA yesterday to meet up with a few friends to walk-through the Design Showcase West exhibit. For those that are unfamiliar with Design Showcase West, it is a portfolio review and presentation primarily for graduates from a variety of schools. The main schools at the showcase this year were UCLA, USC, CalArts, University of Texas at Austin, University of Kansas City at Missouri and Yale to name a few. It is the “Clambake” of the west as we often refer to it at school.
I had a great time at the showcase because there was a lot of amazing work and I got to hang out with a lot of my peers who I haven’t seen in a while. Also, as I was unable to get to Clambake in NYC, I thought this might be a good opportunity to see what other designers were up to. I would estimate that there were a total of 60 presenters at the showcase, but the majority was scenic or costume based. I was a little disappointed with the low turnout of only five lighting designers, two of whom are friends of mine. The most impressive part of the showcase was the scenic models. They were incredibly detailed and accurate, and glancing briefly at the play titles they were for, they made a lot of sense in supporting each work. It was an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon with friends in the industry.
We had a swell morning of questioning and answering after seeing PASSING STRANGE last night. There were lots of great questions from the impossibly young types. Sorry you missed the fun.
Kevin Adams during Friday’s post-session Q&A at the BLMC.
The past four days have been remarkable. I could write several volumes on what I learned on Monday at Projection Master Classes, but I don’t have the time. I’ll just sum it up by saying that projection, LED, and media technology are SO advanced that it’s a bit intimidating, but I really believe that it is a HUGE component of both scenic and lighting design in the future. It will DEFINITELY play a huge part in shows we all design in the future, whether on Broadway or for WWE wrestling or anything…
NJTransit buses were running really slow on Tuesday, so I walked in to BLMC on Tuesday right as Ellen Lampert-Greaux was introducing Jules Fisher. He, as well as his presentation, are…well…legendary.
Something that I came to BLMC specifically for was to hear Beverly Emmons and Clifton Taylor’s presentation, Color Therapy. They spoke a lot about the physics of light (kind of neat for a science geek like me). They used a bunch of scrollers and a mannequin to demonstrate color mixing, however not on a wall or piece of scrim. The mannequin helped to visualize mixing on the body.
Fast Forward to Thursday…
Last night we went to see Passing Strange on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre. Kevin Adams’ design is well, I’m not sure. I don’t really see it to be “lighting design.” Yes, he has a rig in the air with lekos and PARs and stuff, but the rig in the air really wasn’t what the show was all about. Kevin Adams and Dave Korins’ light wall really drives the show. All of the neon and fluorescent and LEDs and birdies in the wall complement Stew’s music. It’s also really cool. I could and would write more in this blog, but Kevin Adams is standing right behind me and is going to blog. I’ll be back soon to finish my recap (and hopefully) chronicle my adventure next year as I start at college in the Fall.
Blogger Zephan Ellenbogen (left) shows off his TMB socks at the manufacturers showcase during on Wednesday at the BLMC.
I am so glad that I had the opportunity to attend all 3 sets of classes.
I have met some great people, but even more importantly, been able to get the stimulation and rejuvenation that I so desperately needed. It has been wonderful to have so many talented and knowledgeable professionals enthusiastically share their skills, experience, and art with us.
I am truly ready to go home to work and teach.
Thanks, LIVE DESIGN, for an incredibly valuable experience.
