The nominations for the 75th Emmy Awards were announced this past week, including the nominees for the Creative Arts Emmys, honoring artistic and technical achievements in television. The 2023 Creative Arts Emmy Awards are currently scheduled to take place at the Peacock Theater over two consecutive nights on Saturday, September 9, and Sunday, September 10.
PLSN’s LD-at-Large, Chris Lose, notes that, after years of feeling like the “young gun on the crew,” where he could easily “work circles around lighting techs who struggled to adapt to new technologies,” he has once again started to “feel the creep of maturity” set in. The solution, he notes, is to guard against extinction by adapting to technological changes, detailing his journey from working with a Strand 520i to the Wholehog II, grandMA1, grandMA3, while eyeing a future that could include consoles that harness AI to optimize show production.
At NAB 2022, roughly 50 out of 1,200 booths showed Virtual Production (VP) solutions. A year later there were 600 out of 1,500 booths in the segment. InfoComm 2023 also underscored the fact that VP as a market segment has moved from buzzy trend to something worthy of full blown R&D assets for manufacturers.
‘New York, New York’ is a big, spectacular Broadway musical with stunning designs that saw Scenic Designer Beowulf Boritt win a Tony Award and Lighting Designer Ken Billington get a Tony nomination. They tell us about how their designs evoke 1940’s New York and interpret it for a musical theater stylized staging.
This month, PLSN’s LD-at-Large Chris Lose discusses how to avoid becoming a ‘Tech Dinosaur’ and stay one-step ahead of tech extinction by continuing to learn and evolve your skill set.
Debi Moen brings us the who’s doing what, where for tours and festivals as well as a bit on the design work of the Bono & Edge streaming documentary.
This quandary of good and bad came to my mind when following the conversations raging around Artificial Intelligence (AI). Will AI become this generation’s dynamite? We now have companies producing AI programs to do just about anything and everything. Then, a whole new crop of companies are developing products to detect content created by AI, mainly to prevent cheating and unmask deepfakes. Many in Hollywood are warning actors who are thinking of being scanned and whose imagery can be turned into digital avatars. Tom Hanks said his career could go on forever with the advent of AI. Is that what we really want? Nothing against Hanks, but is that acting, is that a human creating art?
In regard to getting staff to carry a production company’s ethos and vision into the field, “I look for people who understand it’s hard work, but the hard work is VERY rewarding. Counting hours or days in this industry does not compute… I believe that our success has been a result of us doing things differently. It’s what sets us apart, makes us unique, and defines us. Hard work, determination, sacrifice, dedication mixed with common sense decision making.” – Aaron Soriero, Founder and Lead Production Designer of Music Matters Productions (MMP)
Amy Melia, a Lighting Director & Programmer, says she recognizes and appreciates all the opportunities that have come her way. “There are people who have vouched for me and opened doors I never thought to even knock on,” she says. “I will not give up when faced with a negative response for any reason, be it my age or my gender. Those who came before didn’t and if I do, then we can never change the game for those who will come after us.”
Her advice to others is simply to skip the idea of having a “Plan B.” “If you have a Plan B, do that, because this Plan A is demanding. If this is your Plan A, do it. I’m literally having the best time in my life and if you want to do it, take the time to learn, take the training, read the manuals, then nothing can stand in your way.”
Janet Jackson’s ‘Together Again’ tour is her 10th outing. For the ‘five act’ retrospective of her 50-year career, Eric Wade, Principal of Crossfade Design served as Production Designer as well as Tour Director. Troy Eckerman was Associate Lighting Designer/Lead Lighting Programmer. Both speak with PLSN about the production solutions supporting this dynamic artist’s tour.
PLSN’s Michael S. Eddy chats with NEP Virtual Studios’ Phil Galler on the state of the virtual production industry.
Multi-platinum, chart-topping rock band Shinedown working with Production and Lighting Designer Mitchell Schellenger and Lighting Director Carter Fulghum for their Planet Zero World Tour. With a radical new thrust stage design, the team tells us about the design and the vendor support for the tour.