Welcome to Vegas
24-Oct-06
This past weekend I went to LDI in Las Vegas. It is a trade show. It is a very large one and it sort of works as the annual social gathering of the lighting business. It switches between Vegas and Orlando. I was sponsored by ETC or Entertainment Theater Control. They flew me out, put me up, fed me, took care of cabs and gave me an all access pass to the show. It was pretty sweet. I had the opportunity to meet many many people who will hopefully be paths to employment. ETC introduced a lot of them. I also lost my phone in a the parking lot to a restaurant while sloppy drunk. I didn’t realize it until I was entirely elsewhere in a cab. I did remember where and I tried to track it down. I didn’t get the message that it had been found until after I bought a new phone. I needed a new one anyway… wanted one… Well anyway this one has Bluetooth. That is only important because it allows me to transfer data to and from my cell and computer. I can back up my entire address book. I’ve been looking forward to that feature for years. I know one could do it before, but this is my first phone to have the ability.
At the show I saw many a thing. Many a LED fixture and more moving lights that I can’t tell apart. I did get extended demos on the boards of interest to me. The EOS and the Congo are the new ones from ETC. The EOS is like a next generation obsession. It’s not an obsession, that’s been engrained, but ultimately it’s like they rebuilt the obsession like Mac rebuilt their OS for version 10. It’s prettier, easier to use, and more fully featured. The Congo I had heard odd things about. It was explained well to me why it exists in the way it does. In the US it seems like a radical departure from ETC gear, but with the market they have in Europe its like old hat. I can see it’s benefit really. I’d be interested in using or programming one myself. The way I see it the EOS is like a spreadsheet and the Congo like a database. In EOS you track information in a chart in a linear way so that each cue relates to the ones around it. The Congo is a table of cue information that you query into an order in response to a show. The syntax is funny, but you’d get over it. You could also use it like a spreadsheet, but it would be a little odd. I also saw the Grand MA, which, come on, opens itself up to Mocking in name, but I’m much more comfortable with the prospect of using it in December for Big Baby.
Anyway, that’s where I was this weekend. I’m back now. I had three production meetings and a design meeting today. I should really step it up. I’m being sort of lazy these days. There is something about calarts that just makes me want to get out, some layer of dealing with something that I’m not quite certain on. I’m not sure if I’m excited about producing silver circus or not, it feels a little rag tag right now. I have already imagined the big baby plot and I just feel like I’m moving along at a pace that’s quite easy. I don’t know who might read this, so I don’t like saying that. The thing is, and I’ve felt this since I got there, is that I’m used to a certain academic setting. At Rice I had Studio, Rigorous Liberal Arts Classes, Producing, Designing and working full time in some level of balance. That seemed overwhelming sometimes, but now that it’s over trying to balance one show at a time between lighting and producing seems pretty easy. But I do like the environment and most days I adore being around, but sometimes, I just don’t know.
LDI had some factor in my feelings of “Why am I spending all this money”. I was offered a job at Roscoe and possibilities elsewhere. I have a strong background to go into Architectural Lighting or Theater Consulting, if not ideal at this point. So maybe I’m just anxious to get out.
Anyway, I’m going to do some actual work now.