Larry and I just got back from ISE 2012 in Amsterdam. Despite the frigid temperatures, it was a great show. It’s a big show extending through multiple exhibit halls that are all fairly disconnected but people found us without a problem. I guess it helps to be next to a pizza stand!
We showed off ProTraXX, V16 Pro, Touch, DMX OverRide, the Digital Binloop HD, the Digital Video Machine HD and our MediaFlow workflow solution.
The Gadget Show – a product of the UK’s Channel 5 – built a custom immersive experience revolving around the new First-Person Shooter game Battlefield 3. The demo – which was estimated to cost around $650,000 – uses an igloo-like dome with 5 HD video projectors, surround sound, LED lighting to augment the video screens, motion tracking and a really cool omni-directional treadmill. Using all of these elements together, they are able to really put the player right into the game.
After 2 years of slumming with the iPhone 3GS, I finally got an iPhone 4S. Much has been made about how the differences between the 4 and the 4S are fairly minor (although to a 3GS’er like myself, the form factor really is beautiful). But the big difference in Siri.
Siri is Apple’s new voice command application. Based on a DARPA-funded technology that Apple acquired, the power of Siri is in its ability to do context-specific voice processing. Ask “her” to remind you about something and she puts a note to pop up a reminder (including being smart enough to set a GPS-based trigger to remind you before you leave a location). You can ask to play a song by artist or title. You can even joke around with Siri (try searching for all of the funny things Siri says – they are hilarious!)
The SATE 2011 Technology panel was a great success. Special thanks to Dave Cobb from Thinkwell, Mark Gilicinski from MobileXpeditions and Rick Borovoy from MIT Media Lab/Google.
The panel discussed how we as designers can utilize technology to create a unique, personalized experience in a themed environment instead of competing with iZombies. We all know who the iZombies are (I’m one of them!). They are the people walking down the street (or in a theme park) texting, tweeting and totally unaware of everything around them. This is the growing audience we need to embrace. Our options are either to design around them or to create more compelling experiences that use technologies like mobile, RFID, etc. to engage them in the overall experience.
I am desperately awaiting the introduction of the iPhone 5…or the iPhone 4G…or maybe we will just skip right to the iPhone 9. But one of the most exciting parts of the new iPhone (whenever it may arrive) isn’t related to the hardware at all. It is the support in iOS5 for what Apple is calling “iCloud”.
“Cloud Computing” is tossed around a lot. The idea of having our data stored in some magical cloud seems like it solves all problems. I am excited about iCloud because it potentially allows me to sync my files (music, pictures, apps) without having to rely on a computer. Even if I backup my data religiously, there is always the concern that the backup device may fail. Relying on others who hopefully have a more robust backup mechanism than I do seems like a great option…for my phone.
Our industry has a long history of creating some incredible experiences. But when you are hearing-impaired, it is easy to miss one of the most important parts of that experience – the sound. And without that sound, you may be missing the story. There are a variety of different solutions to try to bring hearing-impaired guests into the experience. Solutions like reflective captioning post LED signs (with reversed) type in the rear of the theatre offering a transcription of the dialogue as well as descriptions of any other sounds that may be occurring in the show. By holding up a reflective piece of glass in front of their view of the screen, the guest can read what is going on. However, these signs are often distracting for other guests as they are visible throughout the theatre.
We are pleased to welcome the newest member of the Alcorn McBride family…Coralie Lulette Rosenberg, the daughter of Adam and Kris Rosenberg was born this morning (August 26th) at a weight of 7 lbs. 15 ounces.
Mother, daughter and father are doing great.
Welcome, Coralie!
Image courtesy of www.fastcompany.com
An article on PSFK today discusses Facebook integration with Coke’s “Freestyle” vending machine. I bring it up not just because I think the Freestyle machine is really cool (we tried it out at IAAPA last year and it is very cool) or because one of our former Alcorn McBride engineers – Chris Harden – worked on the user interface. I bring it up because it is a great example of both mass personalization as well as social media interaction with a practical outcome (instead of developing clothing for your avatar, you actually end up with a frosty beverage – how cool is that?!?)
Much has been made recently about the convergence of audio, video and information technology (AVIT). While there is certainly ample evidence that these worlds are merging, it is not necessarily a bad thing. It just means that there are new tools and skills to learn. It also means a change in the way we distribute media. In many cases, a centralized control room has given way to distributed media, linked by an Ethernet network for content control and signal distribution.
However, much of the discussion of AVIT centers around PC platforms with the belief that there is some overwhelming benefit to using “non-proprietary hardware” to build a control system. I strongly disagree with this statement for two reasons:
As anyone who has visited a theme park in the past few years has recognized, cell phones and other mobile devices are everywhere. It’s impossible to walk around in a museum, theme park or other entertainment venue without running into someone who is looking down at their phone (or more likely, they are running into you – literally!)
So as designers of themed spaces and technology, what are we supposed to do about it? Do we combat the wave of mobile devices in our venues – they are destroying the experience after all. Or do we simply need to take a fresh look at how people are using their devices and figure out how they can add to the experience?
Alcorn McBride Inc. is the leading manufacturer of show control, audio and video equipment for the themed entertainment industry.