Bob Bonniol On What To Expect At The Projection Master Classes

Bob Bonniol of Mode Studios, creative consultant for the Projection Master Classes at LDI (PMC@LDI), took some time to discuss with us what’s new at this year’s sessions, to be held October 20 and 21 in Las Vegas, in the days prior to the opening of the LDI show floor.

“One thing that’s got my attention is the proliferation of 3D,” says Bonniol. “Stereoscopy has swept cinema, and I really believe we’re on the verge of some big beautiful deployments in live production. It almost happened on Michael Jackson’s This Is It. Kenny Ortega, Michael Cotten, and Robb Waggoner had done the legwork—and VER and Chaos). It’s been seen sparingly since, but the technology is catching up. We’re definitely going to be talking about stereoscopic work flow both from a content standpoint, as well as gear questions.”

Bonniol adds that efficiency in design is also a trend. “Certainly, less is more is now, so to speak,” he says. “Efficiency of design approach and workflow is on everybody’s minds. So much of it is being organized, but there can be real beauty in efficiency. That discussion extends through gear knowledge and to aesthetic simplicity. I think the classes will be a forum for knowledge share on this topic.”

In terms of what’s new in technology, the classes will include discussion and debate on gear, as well. “There’s actually some substantial new things on the market in all the product categories,” Bonniol says. “We’re going to look at new display and playback options, and we’ll be discussing the outcomes of some interesting side-by-side product shootouts I did this year. We’ll review the attributes to look for when picking the right LED, and we’ll talk about signal path.”

As far as other topics to be discussed, Bonniol notes that “interactive” is the buzzword right now. “We’re going to dig into the most popular interactive cueing environments, like MAX for Live, Isadora, and Processing,” he says. “We’ll be looking beyond ‘how’ and going to ‘why’ as well. When is interactive the right answer to a design question, and what do we, as designers, need to know in terms of educating our clients and collaborators?”

He adds that the types of projection surfaces used will also be a hot topic this year. “We’re all busting out of the rectangle and exploring non-traditional surfaces,” he says. “We’ll be placing a huge emphasis on exploring non-traditional textiles and surfaces, and the great people at Gerriets will be facilitating with a huge sample array of surfaces to explore and experiment with.”

Check out the full schedule of sessions, or click here to register for the Projection Master Classes at LDI.