Moving Ahead

Its been about a month since my last post, and this has been primarily because the nature of my work has shifted dramatically in the past few weeks and I haven't been prepared to update the contents of this blog to reflect this. My Research Assistance-ship for Don Marneilli and time with Carnegie Mellon's ETC has come to its natural conclusion with the completion of my Master of Entertainment Technology Degree and I have found myself in the unique position of being a highly valued Consultant in Europe. At the moment my present client is Philips amBX (see tech review below) where I am working in a Creative/Technical/Buisness Development role to conduct a feasibility study on market expansion of Philips "Ambient Experience" Technology into High end markets for Location and Themed based Entertainment and Theatrical technologies.

For many reasons discussion on these projects is highly limited.

We have recently updated the Alchemica website to reflect the changing nature of our companies work and focus.

I did want to mention a delightful side-tirp I made recently to Belgium to meet with The Creative Office of Franco Dragone. This amazing production company born out of the cream of creative minds at Cirque Du Soliel is making a huge impact on the world stage. Check them out.
www.dragone.be

That's all for the moment, As I can discuss other ideas more I will.

A Day of London Theater

Au Revoir Parapluie by James Thiérrée

This past Saturday night I witnessed a magical journey of abstract expressionism meets contemporary dance and classic French clowning technique. This production was spectacular with amazing stage props, stunning choreography and highly crafted lighting. The Production told the a variation on Orpheus in his decent into the underworld to recover his beloved Eurydice. A highly abstract variation with the humility of a clown and modern movement that at times made the stage stand still or even move in reverse. I most most impressed by the use of stage space and massively over sized props, fabrics and light. The completely full house of nearly 1600 patrons was highly sophisticated and engaged with the humor and beauty of the production. Inspiring to see the level of response for a truly "artistic" production away from the hustle of the West End. Sadler's Wells is a magnificent modern theater with a wonderful feel and incredible depth and scale.

Musion Eyeliner

Visited Musion Systems in London yesterday for a site visit and demonstration of the Musion Eyeliner system. A commercial application of the Pepper's Ghost concept. This was the most impressive demonstration I have seen to date. Full 3D hollographic projection. Animated charicters interacting with real life actors, Dynamic scientific visualizations and Live Action illusions unlike anything I have seen. This product looks amazing on film, It is 100 times more impressive in person. Fantastic applications for immersive theater.

Ambient Experience

Philips amBX is a product for "ambient experience" technology for home entertainment. Combining recently available hardware (Germany, Holland currently, US and UK by Christmas)
amBX is also features a "state of the art" language and authoring tools developed out of the Redhill, Surrey UK - Philips Research Lab. I will be here for the next 7 weeks working with their development and creative teams. My first project will be to amBX enable the "Spaghetti Circus Pirates Film". The Authoring tool (all be it in a developing form) is fantastic. To give you an Idea, I have made a first pass of the 90 minute film in the last 48 hours. Tomorrow I will see my efforts in their amBX demo room.

My Favorite part are the Fans and Rumbler's... Much more to come as I begin working on new concepts in Immersive Theater. I am here for 8 weeks.

Pittsburgh

2 full weeks spent in Pittsburgh... Working at ETC on my new Immersive FullDome Arena Theater concept... much more to come as soon as I am allowed to talk about it. Exciting visit to see freinds and catch up with colluges and faculty on Main Campus. Had a delightful time seeing my old stomping grounds and ofcourse The Hkan... great people, good food, beautiful shisha, and now a fantastic selection of micro-brews. Good times. Nothing particurally Immersive in my visit... but the fantastic news is that the Immersive Theater Institute looks like it will continue to have life. I am now pretty much finished with my Masters Degree and I will become staff at ETC following graduation in November. Did get to visit The Earth Theater at the Carnegie Museam of History which was very exciting. Also help to put up an inflatable 5m Dome...

California

California was very interesting. I spent most of the time at High End Systems LA, but also had a chance to visit with Dan Green, former president of the CMU Drama West Coast Alumni Clan. He and his TV Scripting partner Mark (who you may recognize from 24) met with me for lunch in Beverly Hills. Lots shared and talked about...

I also had a chance to visit Zula USA to speak with them about the ETC. I took a trip down to Sandiego for one weekend to visit an old Friend of mine and we ended up at Airport, a Lounge Club in little Italy. Set directly underneath the landing flightpath to Linburgh Filed, this amazing club features on of the most advanced "themed" design and projection aspects immaginable. incredible spot. Once in the Garden it is fantastic to experience the acoustical sensation of a 737 flying directly overhead at a height of only a few hundred feet overhead, this happens every few minutes and reminded me of a conversation i recently had with an Acoustician on the human perception of large sounds and deep frequences. A Highly attractive and moving immersive experience. Airport also features very well done projection and LED lighting set up. Excelent work.

Digtial Lighting

For the past several weeks I have been in Los Angeles undertaking courses at High End Systems The Courses have included WholeHog Lighting Software and Desks, DL.2 Dynamic Digital Lighting/Projection System, and a technical certification for their entire line of moving luminaries including the all new ShowGun. This training has been fantastic and incredibly informative. The possibilities for the use of this technology within the context of Immersive Theater is fairly obvious. The Path it has led me down is to begin forming a concept for interactivity with dynamic digital projection systems. I am beginning conversations with High End System CTO about this concept, the results should be very interesting.