The most memorable conversations are often those that were unexpected. So it follows that in order to create something memorable, we have to cultivate the unexpected. That’s the ethos behind the programming that I’ve been helping InfoComm to develop for its brand-new Center Stage series, which will debut at the show in Orlando this June 14-16.
These will be three days packed with unanticipated conversations between the foremost thinkers and doers in and around AV. The program is packed with experts from the audiovisual periphery, the ones who employ technologies and environmental design strategies at the most captivating edge of their use cases. They will be joined in dialogue by those who analyze and connect these technologies to the work done in our field, and the resulting conversations will illuminate the many ways our industry’s work can produce valuable outcomes.
Further, Center Stage is all about active encounters with the next-level AV technology bedecking this glamorous platform. All sessions will be live-streamed and also recorded for future social sharing. But you won’t want to miss these influential 20-minute sessions live on stage. So, to help with your InfoComm planning, here is Part One of our Center Stage preview, with a few tantalizing details that may persuade you to save these sessions in your show calendar:
Wednesday, June 14
10:00a.m.: Nevin Steinberg, the sound designer for a little Broadway production called Hamilton, will discuss how “Your Brain Does it Better: The delicate art of using sound and video immersion in live event design,” in a dialogue with Daniel Brodie, projection designer for another Tony award-winner, Disney’s Aladdin.
11:30 a.m.: From the frontier of advertising agency technology awareness, Rich Cannava, president and partner, The CSI Group will present a supreme content-centric talk on “Brave New Creative Services: Advertising Finally Understands Digital Signage” with TJ DiQuollo, director of creative services at Diversified.
3:00 p.m.: Two extreme creatives, Daniel Burwen, creative director at Cognito, and Toshi Hoo, director of research for The Emerging Media Lab at The Institute for the Future, will reveal how VR will revamp our understanding of UI in their session, “Interface On Your Face: How user agency in VR/AR is replacing visual fidelity as the driving factor of media evolution.”
3:30 p.m.: Legendary punk sound surfer Dave Rat, founder and president of Rat Sound, will test the laws of physics and discuss with yours truly how they can solve common live sound issues in “Situational Audio Engineering.”
Thursday, June 15
10:00 a.m.: Industry data interpreter and trend analyzer Ira Weinstein, senior analyst and partner with Wainhouse Research, will get to the heart of enterprise outcomes in another session where I’ll be moderating, “What Works at Work: Which metrics should we be looking at for the best possible outcomes?”
1:30 p.m.: Motorsport fans (myself most fervently among them) will flock to “The Race to Engage: How Daytona's upgrade is driving returns for fans and brand partners,” a dialogue between Rodney Ward, senior director of venue technology with International Speedway Corporation and Brian McClimans, VP global business development for Peerless-AV.
3:30 p.m.: When Kipp Bradford from the MIT Media Lab does his session, “It’s Not Just Noise: How Electronic Music and Virtual Reality Will Change the Future of Computer Programming,” he’ll provide a glimpse of how programming language and tools are evolving with input from creative users.
Friday, June 16
2:00 p.m.: You’re going to want to make sure your departure is later on Friday this year, because we are closing Center Stage with a finale hosted by Brian Dickson, director of video production for No Static. Talk to Dickson for just five minutes, and you will hear about every new possible angle on live video production, VR capture, streaming, and the extremely creative integration of all of the above. He doesn’t just see gear, he sees the reconfiguration of gear to solve the biggest problems that used to get in the way of truly immersive visual experiences. This will be a live demo session where audience participation is encouraged, and we’ll be bringing in a variety of video world notables to collaborate with him on stage.
That sounds like a lot, but those are just the highlights from a very full program. Watch this space for part two of the Center Stage preview and more details to come.
