I was on the island of Trinidad working on a typical awards-style TV shoot, with five cameras, a podium and 12 musical numbers. I was in control of automated lights, LEDs, media servers, and more. I started by using paperwork to prepare a show file, using an offline editor for the console. But when I arrived on Sunday, I learned that the consoles, media servers and LED fixtures were stuck in customs…With no console, there was no programming to do. However, I had brought the network processor, so I grabbed it from the hotel and configured it to run with my laptop and the offline editor. I began teching out the rig and then updated my position palettes, programming the large show with no console and only a mouse. I then found out the console and other gear would not arrive until midday Wednesday! With the show on Thursday evening and a full day of rehearsals on Wednesday, I knew I had a lot to do…I continued laptop programming and managed to program most of the show by the time the console arrived at 3 p.m. When I first started on the desk, I kept forgetting to use the encoders and continued with the mouse! Luckily I had programmed the bulk of the show, because now not only had the console arrived but also the media servers and LED fixtures…. In the end, the show came off amazingly well and looked great on camera and in the house.
—Brad Schiller, from “Feeding the Machines,” PLSN, Jan. 2009
