It’s mid-week and things are heating up online. Lots of activities to stimulate your mind and keep you entertained, from training at your fingertips to discussions on a wide range of topics. And a new short film by Brandon Stirling Baker as an example of designer-in-confinement projects. Make your choices from our menu for May 27, 2020.
Training and Webcasts:
12pm Eastern: Meet The Sound Designers: Join Avid's Robb Allan as he hosts acclaimed sound designers, Peter Hylenski and Gareth Owen, for a discussion of theatre sound, life in lockdown, and more. Register Here.
1pm Eastern: The Elation Hour—Tools and Techniques: Join national sales manager, John Dunn, and global product manager, Matthias Hinrichs as they discuss trade show, corporate and special event design/production with John Featherstone, Chris Medvitz, and Ignacio Rosenberg of Lightswitch. Register Here.
2pm Eastern: Integrating GDTF & MVR Into Your Workflows: Don’t get left behind in the industry. Join Brandon Eckstorm, product-marketing manager at Vectorworks, and René Berhorst, head of product management at MA Lighting as they give a quick introduction into GDTF & MVR and what the future holds. Matt Geasey, technical director at Clear All Visuals will dive into why he is transitioning his workflow to include GDTF and MVR file formats, how he is creating these file types and the benefits he has experienced thus far. Register Here.
2pm Eastern: Where Do We Go From Here? As we start to contemplate our post-pandemic future, how will museums adapt current exhibits, plan future exhibits, and create new modalities for exhibition? Join Praxis member and principal of Blue Telescope Trent Oliver for a survey of best practices —and best guesses—from some of the country’s leading museums and science centers, as well as some thoughts on how new technologies can help us navigate these new challenges. Moderated by Steven Rosen of Available Light, presented by Praxis Museum Projects Group. Register Here.
2:30pm Eastern: AI for Video: Scaling Deep Learning for the Multichannel Universe: The use of AI for video and visual imaging in the broader media and entertainment industries. A conversation with some of the leading figures in the science of visual information, and will discuss considerations for AI in video as they relate to mobile networks, broadcast production, and computer vision. Speakers include Thomas Jelonek, CEO and founder of envision.ai, Dr. Eric Petajan, principal systems engineer, Video, CV, AI, AT&T Mobility, Senthil Kumar, chief ML scientist, center for machine learning, Capital One, Bryce Hunter, senior vice president, digital, Boat Rocker Media, and Chris Pfaff, CEO, Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC (moderator). Plus the introduction of Videoviews, a cloud-based product which enables video professionals to conduct automatic discovery of topics and information in video content. Register Here.
4pm Eastern: Harman Professional Live Workshop Series: Touring Life 101: The Nuts and Bolts Of Touring: Join host Susan Rose as she shares her touring wisdom with an unconventional approach. Pick up some helpful hints you wouldn’t learn in audio school, discuss touring life and learn behind-the-scenes basics of what to do (and not do) on the road. Register Here.
• 4pm Eastern: USITT Forum@Four: Strategic Plans: How to Use Them to Get What You Need: Most academics never read the strategic plans written by their institutions, as they are seen as an administrative hoop used for assessment. Learn how administrative assessments via strategic plans can help you get what you need while helping administrators get what they need: a win-win. This webinar will walk through the process of deciphering a strategic plan for the purpose of requesting resources and/or equipment in a way that supports administrative assessment goals. Presented by Frani Geiger Rollins, assistant professor of Design and Technology at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Zoom Link.
Be Sure To Watch:
• OH, LIGHT, a short film by lighting designer Brandon Stirling Baker: Artist note: "At a time when theaters are dark and audiences are empty, there has never been a greater need for hope, curiosity, and compassion. As a lighting designer quarantined without live performance, I have searched beyond my medium to find peace, warmth and light. This short film is a love letter to the natural sunlight and shadow that surround us in our everyday lives. Filmed throughout the last natural forest on the island of Manhattan: Inwood Hill Park." Music by Careful. Funded by Works & Process Artist (WPA) Virtual Commissions to financially support artists and nurture their creative process during these challenging times, Works & Process at the Guggenheim will grant over $150,000 for artists to create new works while observing social distancing guidelines. Please consider a donation. Every dollar you give will go directly to the artists.
For Your Viewing Enjoyment:
• Young Vic’s A Streetcar Named Desire, Free National Theatre Live Play, directed by Benedict Andrews, filmed live on stage at London’s Young Vic theatre by National Theatre Live in 2014, with set design by Magda Willi, costumes by Victoria Behr, lighting by Jon Clark, and sound by Paul Arditti. For broadcast: lighting director Mike Le Fevre, sound supervisor Conrad Fletcher. Watch Here (thru May 28).
• New York City Ballet: Final Week of their Digital Spring Season. Watch Here.
• Metropolitan Opera Nightly Stream, Week 11, 7:30pm Eastern. Watch Here.
• Opera America – live streams.
Listen or Watch Anytime:
• ETC On Headset: The Billington Files
• EDC 2020 Las Vegas Virtual Rave-A-Thon: Insomniac has posted videos from this year’s virtual event. Watch Here.
Special Event:
• National Design Portfolio Review—Virtual Event (thru May 29): The National Design Portfolio Review is an annual event, usually held in New York City to introduce talented theatrical designers graduating from the country's top MFA programs, including the University of Washington, to industry professionals. This year, the graduating MFA designers Chanté Hamann (costume design), Adair MacCormack (scenic design), Chun Yen Huang (lighting design), Trevor Cushman (lighting design), and Em Allen (scenic design) will be part of a virtual event. If you are an industry professional and you would like to request an invitation to NDPR, please contact event coordinator Katie Danner at 816-813-3476 or [email protected]. More information here.
Industry Resources: