The Rental and Staging Network (RSN), a network of geographically-diverse rental and staging companies with complete event capabilities, showed its commitment to charitable giving through in-kind and monetary donations totaling $646,413 in 2011.
 
RSN polled its members at the beginning of the year to see which charities have benefited the most from member pro bono audio/visual and staging services. It was determined that the Make-A-Wish Foundation was the greatest benefactor, with $111,000 of in-kind donations from a variety of members across the country. The association then contributed an additional monetary donation.
 
Since its inception in 2007, RSN has aimed to bring the industry’s best live event rental and staging companies together. This allows members to provide nationwide service with the benefit of local contacts, eliminating the need for clients to spend valuable time verifying the competence and capabilities of multiple companies. Additionally, RSN is a non-competitive forum for establishing best practices, enhancing professionalism and engaging in business referrals and cross-rental opportunities.
 
To find your local RSN provider, visit http://www.rentalandstaging.net

This is pretty interesting. There have been virtual and augmented fashion shows using transparent film and projectors, but I’ve never heard of a holographic opera.

The projector giant Christie has a case study up on its UK site about a virtual opera, written by Franco Battiato to honor the 16th century Italian philosopher Bernardino Telesio.

The set, singers, dancers and performers appeared on stage, but they were not physically there. They were just holograms. The Philarmonia Mediterranea orchestra, directed by Carlo Boccadoro, was the only piece of the puzzle physically present at the show, playing live and having the added challenge of syncing the music to the holograms’ singing and dancing on stage.

The Comune di Cosenza commissioned the opera, which ran for three days at the Rendano theatre in Cosenza, Italy, to full houses.

The production of the show took nine days. During this time Christie partner Gianni Guerrini worked closely with production company International Music and the UK company Musion, which provided the Eyeliner technology to create the holograms.

The whole opera was filmed beforehand at the theatre. The production company set up a TV studio at the theatre using a black background to then be able to super impose different backgrounds behind the acting and singing scenes.

While the scenes were being filmed in the studio, they were also broadcast live onto the stage, already prepared with the holographic screen, to make sure it all fitted well and the holograms looked as natural as possible. Post production and effects were done separately in a studio.

Rossani comments: “The cameras were connected to AYA for recording and then they hooked into the Pandora box. We tried filming in High Definition (HD) interlace and progressive, to see which one gave us the best natural movement and realistic effect on the holograms. We chose interlace 1080 HD because it gave us smoother contours and the movement was perfectly natural.”

“The sync between the live audio and the recorded images on the performance nights was quite a big job. Everything was controlled from the sound desk, the Digidesign Venue. We used a Digidesign desk and a Mac 5. A DMX interface, going through the light board, was only used manually to pause lights,” Rossani recalls.

The hologram effect on stage was achieved by using a transparent screen foil from UK company Musion, a reflecting surface and three powerful Christie Roadster HD18K projectors. The foil is positioned at a 45 degrees angle on the stage and the projectors and reflecting surface are opposite each other one at the top and the other at the bottom of the screen. The image is projected directly onto the reflection screen and this appears then projected onto the Musion screen. The result is an eye trick that presents the images vertically (i.e. standing) and with virtual physicality, creating a 3D image that seems to be moving in midair. Using this technique together with clever lighting and the depth of the stage, the holographic effect is achieved.

Working with Guerrini, production manager David Broccoli adds: “For this project we used a main screen of 14 metres from Musion on the stage and a smaller one positioned behind it to add depth the scenery. A challenging aspect of this setting was to create multi layered, well proportioned projected scenes using Pandora’s Box. Every scene was composed by the overlapping of different clips and graphics on stage. All of the elements were captured separately and brought together on the stage to create the scene in different layers. We have to fine tune the projectors and screens to create a visual balance ensuring that the proportions and synchronicity were spot on.”

Guerrini, expert in the use of AV for dramatic arts explains: “The main foil was served by two Christie Roadster HD18K projectors in edge blending configuration, both connected to one Pandora’s Box server that provided two independent outputs. A third Roadster HD18K with a second Pandora’s Box server projected on the second foil. These projectors were considered the best projectors for the job, with the combination of 16:9 format and 18K power essential to produce the desired results in brightness and resolution. The show was unforgettable and the holograms kept the audience at the edge of their seats all night, it was magic in action.”

I’m not much of an opera guy, but this would have been fascinating to sit in on. Here’s a video report, but in Italian.

Dubbed Wall Flex, the new series of mounts from rp Visuals are designed for heavy-duty LCD and plasma mounting. The mount actually allows for comfortable service by extending the mounted display up to 31 inches from the wall and then even gives you the ability to articulate to the left and right. Integrated with a quick-release retention system, the Wall Flex is designed to secure the panel in the closed position and is even guaranteed to hold up in an earthquake -- or maybe even with Randy Pagnan hanging from it:

[Editor's note: Randy is actually climbing on a different product of rp Visuals' at a tradeshow last year.]

Here's a brochure about the product [PDF]: http://www.ravepubs.com/utility/documents/rpvisuals-mounts.pdf

Everybody has a favorite business book. My personal favorites are “Crossing the Chasm” and “The Klingon Way.” The former, of course, is a phenomenal business book by Geoffrey Moore, which both Gary Kayye and I think explains many of the mysteries of our industry (and probably holds the key to time travel). The latter is a Star Trek book by Marc Okrand that outlines the Klingon warrior philosophy, which has a number of great quotes that I feel define the staging industry quite well. And, in fact, it DOES hold the key to time travel (provided you are operating a Klingon “Bird of Prey” starship).

Some places in both books warn you about the dangers of making the wrong decision about your business. But this month, what I am struck by most in our industry is that you can be flattened by making the right decision. I looked for examples in The Klingon Way, but couldn’t find any. But I was listening to the radio, and the answer came out in, of all things, an oldie by Dr. John:

I been in the right place
But it must have been the wrong time
I'd of said the right thing
But I must have used the wrong line
--Dr. John

Doing the right thing at the wrong time is one of the deadliest mistakes you can make in our industry at any level.

As a prime example, look at the groveling misery that has been suffered by Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix. Netflix pioneered the delivery of DVD content on discs ordered over the Internet, and grew tremendously as the service took off. The company’s recent decision to separate its DVD delivery service from its Internet streaming delivery system and rename it was heralded as one of the worst business decisions since “New Coke” -- or, in our business, “Panja.” It resulted in FURY from older subscribers to the existing delivery service, and the loss of a huge number of subscribers.

But it was the right decision. Seriously. Anyone who thinks the DVD, even Blu-ray, has much of a future has missed the point. EVERYONE is moving to electronic delivery -- books, music -- and OF COURSE movies. It makes sense, and is inevitable. I am tired of having racks full of dedicated players for miscellaneous media formats, and there’s no reason for it. With cable and phone company Internet bandwidth exploding, costs coming down, and the average home having multiple devices that can stream from the Internet, the idea IS the right one.

So there’s the danger, and we in the staging industry face it too. When is the right time to change your operating procedures, institute a new service or change technologies? It seems in our business that if you wait until the majority of your clients ask for something, you have missed the proverbial boat -- but if you move too early, you run the risk of the herd turning in another direction (to mix a couple of apt metaphors).
So what does the rental and staging company learn from this? A couple of things -- we need to examine the capabilities of our organization objectively, maximize strength and minimize weakness. A big part of that is size and spread of organization, and realizing you can’t be all things to all people.

I’ve run one of the largest AV companies, and one of the smallest ones. By nature, I’m an innovator. I like to create demand for new services and products, to lead the pack when I can. Small companies do this well. But there were times I tried to lead the pack too far technologically in a company that was national in scope. I had the budget to do it, but my constant flaw was underestimating how long it took to move the procedures for a new service through an organization with hundreds of employees in 13 cities. Conversely, the errors in making a small, innovative company bite off more than it can chew are just as dangerous.

So, secondly, I think we need to learn to fail. Seriously. But to fail in small ways. Think of it as rental and staging R&D, because it is. Don’t bet on new technologies or services until you find a way to test them in small ways -- and be willing to try a lot of them. This takes employee time and resources, but it’s an important thing to budget them for. Trial programs, even in small companies but especially in large ones, actually save money and help target the product.

So, lastly, we need to learn to celebrate our small failures, because they weren’t large ones and they helped us get to the right place in the market.

Just ask Netflix.

rAVe Rental [and Staging] contributor Joel R. Rollins, CTS-R, is General Manager of Everett Hall Associates, Inc. and is well known throughout the professional AV industry for his contributions to industry training and his extensive background in AV rental, staging and installation. Joel can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 

The industry is mourning the death of industry legend Jack Root, who passed away on Nov. 20, after a battle with cancer. A memorial service was held Nov. 22, 2011. He leaves behind his wife, Harriett, his sons Jim, John and Dan, and six grandchildren. 

Jack was the president of Audio Visual Headquarters from 1967 to 1992. He mentored many people in the industry and was known for his impeccable knowledge, generous spirit and Marine pride. Jack was recognized for his lifetime of service to the industry when he was issued InfoComm’s Distinguished Achievement Award.

Donations in Jack's memory can be made to the Semper Fi Fund, the Concern Foundation or the Starlight Foundation.