Ask Jonah: Clearing Up Misconceptions About Compression

ProSoundWeb: This time out, we’re conquering a trio of common confusions about compression. Even the term can be troublesome. In the context of live sound, compression refers to a type of dynamics processing that acts to reduce the dynamic range of the signal; basically, reduce the difference between the loud parts and the soft parts.

Inside a Fox Sports NFL Playoff Broadcast: Erin Andrews, Joe Buck, Troy Aikman

www.esquire.com: fter review, we had additional footage that came in that did not change the ruling,” said referee Clete Blakeman. “The ruling on the field stands as called. It is Green Bay's ball, first down."

“What?” came the collective shout in the production trailer.

“Additional footage?”

“What do they have, a cell-phone video?”

'Hair' at PMT nails the show's iconic music

Pittsburgh Current: Irony, it was said at the time, died after 9/11. (Which I still don’t get.) But rumors of its death, irony might have said ironically, were greatly exaggerated. We’re living in a Golden Age of Irony; a racist, thrice-married, self-confessed sexual predator who spent decades stealing money from the working class is hailed as God’s populist vessel by white evangelical Christians.

Creating Success in the Unscripted Video Industry

AMT Lab @ CMU: The landscape of the unscripted video industry is changing. Part 1 of this series explores four case studies demonstrating the current landscape and what features are most appealing to audiences. In this section, the researchers look to experts in the video industry and fans to explore how the landscape is changing and what content providers should expect.

Cirque 2020 is “Under the Same Sky”!

www.cirquefascination.com: In Cirque du Soleil UNDER THE SAME SKY, the audience will be touched by uplifting acrobatic choreography, startling physical theatre and moved by the vibrant musical score, all infused with the warmth of human interconnection. This new big top experience invokes the power of the human performance and communal experience which remain at the heart of all Cirque du Soleil creations.

The Art and Craft of Intimacy Direction

HowlRound Theatre Commons: In case you haven’t noticed, we are experiencing a revolution in the way artists and entertainers rehearse and perform intimacy.

The seeds were planted at least ten years ago, when a few highly trained movement specialists started noticing that they were often called upon to handle scenes of sexual intimacy in rehearsal rooms. Working in isolation, they all realized that while many of their existing skills could be applied to that task, new techniques were necessary to choreograph intimacy in an ethical, efficient way.

With Smart Caption Glasses, the Eyes Have It

AMERICAN THEATRE: During the final open-captioned performance of Colman Domingo’s Dot at People’s Light, the LED screens that transmit the play’s text to the audience malfunctioned near the end of the first act. The Malvern, Pa., venue offers more than 50 captioned performances each season. Mostly it’s smooth sailing, but the possibility of such a snafu always lingers.

BSO Cancels East Asia Tour Due to Concerns Over Coronavirus

www.broadwayworld.com: The Boston Symphony Orchestra's four-city tour to East Asia (Seoul, Taipei, Shanghai, and Hong Kong) with Andris Nelsons, February 6-16, has been canceled due to increasing concerns over widely documented official news and government agency reports assessing the spread of the new coronavirus. These concerns, along with discussions with the Shanghai Oriental Art Center-whose leadership informed the BSO about the official cancellations of their upcoming performances-followed by consultations with the tour's presenters in Seoul, Taipei, and Hong Kong, combined to play an influential role in the cancellation of the BSO's East Asia tour.

Alanis Morissette's 'Jagged Little Pill' takes on sexual assault

Los Angeles Times: In the first act of “Jagged Little Pill,” the new Broadway musical featuring Alanis Morissette songs, a teenager named Bella sits timidly on a sofa trying to piece together what little she can remember from a party the night before. Passed out from all the alcohol, she momentarily regained consciousness to see a male classmate on top of her.

The attractions industry is set for a wild ride – some of it virtual

InPark Magazine: Here’s a first in my experience. We gathered with other journalists at an exhibitor’s booth for a scheduled press conference and … and … after 10 minutes or so, someone hurriedly approached our foot-tapping group and said something like, “We’re so sorry, but have to cancel the press conference. Every one of us is busy with potential clients so none of us can make the presentation.”

A masterfully-crafted steam-curved bench

Woodworking Network: Watch woodworker and YouTuber André Göbel masterfully craft a beautiful steam-curved bench. Without commentary, Göbel shows the process via timelapse, closeups, and onscreen subtitles. The video has amassed more than 5 million views.

Göbel submitted the bench for Rockler's bent wood challenge on Instagram.

The Irishman Costume Designer Sandy Powell on Dressing The Favourite and Her Career in Drama

W Magazine | Women's Fashion & Celebrity News: There is a crucial scene in The Irishman that vividly demonstrates the brilliance of Sandy Powell, who has won three Academy Awards for costume design, and codesigned with Christopher Peterson the costumes for Martin Scorsese’s latest feature. The film spans five decades and details the life of Frank Sheeran, a mob hitman (Robert De Niro), and his affiliation with Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), the powerful head of the Teamsters union from 1957 to 1971.

Safe Rigging Advice from an ETCP Certified Rigger

Church Production Magazine: As church productions become larger and more sophisticated, church techs often find themselves involved in projects that require hanging equipment and scenery in their worship environments. The changes in lighting, sound and video, along with the effectiveness of using scenery for the stage have greatly improved our ability to share the gifts that God has given each one of us.

Sonic Decisions: Mix Tips, Workflows & Gear Talk For The Independent Audio Practitioner

ProSoundWeb: How something sounds to each of us is very subjective. Not everyone hears the same – this was a big “a-ha” moment for me early in my career as an independent audio practitioner, a.k.a., a Lone Audio Ranger.

Aside from ensuring that the loudspeakers and the rest of the system gear are functioning properly, as well as considering room acoustic challenges, your individual taste is up to bat when it comes to mixing. There is no one perfect mixing style or sound – if there were, this whole sound thing wouldn’t be so fun anymore!

IBS 2020: The Power and Importance of Construction Checklists

Remodeling: Checklists for the construction process can be used as a leverage tool and can create best practices and differentiate your company from competitors in the area, according to Bryan Kaplan of Construction Consulting. Something as simple as a checklist can ensure predictable results even when an owner is not present, Kaplan said during his education session "The Construction Checklist: Your Secret Weapon for Fewer Mistakes, More Profits & Satisfied Clients" at the 2020 International Builders Show in Las Vegas.

Point Source Audio Sounding Board: Custom Fitting Headset Mics

Stage Directions: Point Source Audio works with audio professionals from all different industries and listens to their important feedback on what works, what doesn’t, and what could be improved/created to solve production challenges. This month, PSA addresses how to properly fit a headset microphone to an actor or presenter.

The House of Dancing Water

www.livedesignonline.com: Performed in a tailor-made 2,000-seat ‘Dancing Water’ Theatre at the City of Dreams entertainment complex in Macau, by a cast of nearly 100 international artists, the spectacle combines water stunts, acrobatics, aerial arts and theatre. Behind-the-scenes, an army of 160 technicians, production staff and scuba divers work tirelessly to ensure the twice-nightly show runs seamlessly.

GalaPro tests out smart glasses with live captions on Broadway

Broadway News: GalaPro, the company behind the live caption app for Broadway shows, is now testing out smart glasses with captions in the theater.

The glasses, which GalaPro in launching in partnership with Epson, rely on the same technology as the GalaPro app, allowing the user to view captions in real time within the lenses. The glasses are currently in a testing phase at Shubert theaters.

Adam Savage Geeks Out Over EVA Foam Chain Mail!

Tested: Adam welcomes friend of Tested Ben Eadie to the cave to geek out over chain mail and Ben's solution to making mail out of EVA craft foam! Ben demonstrates how he knits together incredibly lightweight swathes of foam mail from laser-cut strips, which can then be used for cosplay!

ITF Tech Challenge Champs

Dramatics Magazine: TECH CREW members sometimes joke that if their work is noticed, it means something has gone terribly wrong. Indeed, if they’re doing their jobs right, theatre technicians can be easy to miss. They wear black and work in shadows, communicating through headsets in quiet, cryptic cues — all to ensure that performers and audience members alike stay lost in the story unfolding onstage.

But that doesn’t mean they don’t love demonstrating their skills.

Technotrix Reinforces Aragon Ballroom With Martin Audio MLA

ProSoundWeb: Technotrix recently deployed a Martin Audio MLA system to solve acoustic problems at the challenging Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. “The Nights We Stole Christmas,” featured headliners such as Cage the Elephant, The 1975, Twenty One Pilots, Mumford & Sons and 311 with a full retinue of well-known supporting artists.

Kaufman: The Perfectly Imperfect Pearl Jam Predicament

www.ticketnews.com: I have to admit, I don’t exactly hate it.

But, I don’t love it either, and that’s the fundamental dilemma with Pearl Jam’s decision to not allow transfer or open resale of tickets to its eagerly anticipated upcoming Giganton tour, which went on sale today as part of Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan lottery and Pearl Jam’s Ten Club presales: It’s an imperfect solution to a problem that may be impossible to solve.

What Happens When an Art Museum Is Conceived to Capitalize on the Experience Economy? Fotografiska New York Is About to Find Out

news.artnet.com: At Fotografiska New York, you enter through the gift shop. The Swedish photography hub, which opened last month inside a dramatic, Gilded Age mansion on Park Avenue, is one of America’s only for-profit art museums. (Another one, the Museum of Sex, is located just a few blocks north.)

Alexei Ratmansky Goes Experimental at New York City Ballet

Theatre Development Fund – TDF: There's an electricity in the air as ten New York City Ballet dancers rehearse a brand-new dance by Alexei Ratmansky. Titled Voices, it's the acclaimed choreographer's first world premiere for the company in three years, and the cast is embracing the challenge of mastering his adventurous movements set to Peter Ablinger's experimental score.

Many Dance Studios Still Aren't Gender-Inclusive. Here's How to Change That

Dance Magazine: Many techniques, especially older ones like ballet and bharatanatyam, segregate movement into gender-based categories. It's of little surprise, then, how many schools struggle to welcome dancers who are nonbinary, transgender, gender-fluid, gender-nonconforming or still discovering their gender identities. It gets even more complicated when you factor in how early many start training.

How Duke's Interdisciplinary Dance MFA Is Delivering

www.clydefitchreport.com: Not all new programs in higher education meet the expectations of, and preparedness for, incoming students. But in Durham, NC, the inaugural class of Duke University’s sparkling new, two-year MFA in Dance: Embodied Interdisciplinary Praxis — the first such program in the U.S. — seems to be thriving thus far. The first cohort arrived in the fall of 2019; all eight students are now immersed in three of the program’s mandatory classes

The New Rules of Business Casual Guidelines

Style Girlfriend: When it comes to office style, so much of what we think a man “dressing for work” looks like formed in our brains before we even knew it was happening.

Our synapses fired, watching our dads head out the door each morning. That is what ‘work clothes’ look like, our still-forming brains imprinted on the hippocampus.

Adam Savage's Favorite Tools: Machinist Squares

Tested: Everyone has some kind of 90-degree angle square in their shop, but Adam advocates for a specific kind of square: the 4” machinist’s square. They allow for fine and delicate layout on small parts, something a big honking 12” square will have trouble with. Adam has them in multiple sizes going down to 3/4” long (super tiny!) but if you had to have only one, get the 4”!

Get More Work Done Anywhere With New AutoCAD Web App Features

AutoCAD Blog | Autodesk: It’s another leap in productivity! The AutoCAD web app continues to address the need to do even more based on your continued input. And with improved efficiency and workflows, it’s helping users to view, edit, and create designs from any computer.

Costume Designers Guilds Awards Shine a Spotlight on Artists

Variety: In the age of Instagram, costume designers have used social media to introduce legions of fans to their art, with names such as Sandy Powell, Arianne Phillips, Colleen Atwood and Mary Zophres earning superstar status.

Scenic designer Nina Ball builds 'moments of transformation'

Datebook: If in your Bay Area theatergoing, you’ve marveled at the ingenuity of a set — a striking overall concept, a clever and efficient use of space, a sense of fun or magic, a freedom from the constraints of realism — there’s a good chance it was designed by Nina Ball.

It’s not just that the designer is prolific, but she is that. Her resume lists almost three full pages, single-spaced, of design credits with a wide range of companies where she works — from American Conservatory Theater to Shotgun Players, from Oregon Shakespeare Festival to San Francisco Playhouse.

Dozens of UK theatres at risk of being demolished, experts say

Stage | The Guardian: The UK’s cultural heritage is at risk unless there is a significant shift in how theatre buildings are preserved, according to a study which shows that dozens of institutions could be lost.

The annual Theatres at Risk register, which is collated by the Theatres Trust – the national advisory public body for theatres – lists 30 buildings across England, Scotland and Wales it believes could be demolished or redeveloped, despite having a potential future if restored.

Lori Klinger from Rosie’s Theater Kids on Merging Passions and Arts Education

The Theatre Times: There are angels in New York City who are teaching the arts to kids, and Lori Klinger is one of them. She co-founded Rosie’s Theater Kids (RTKids) in 2003 with the help and support of Rosie O’Donnell, who she had met by chance. It was a meeting that changed her life. The organization has changed the lives of thousands of kids who love the arts and may not have otherwise known how to pursue their chosen field.

Hong Kong Quickly Shutters Its Museums and Public Spaces to Stop the Spread of the Deadly Coronavirus

artnet News: Museums and other public institutions across China closed last week in a country-wide effort to stop the transmission of the deadly coronavirus, which was first identified in the city of Wuhan in December.

Now, Hong Kong’s institutions are following suit.

For ‘Jagged Little Pill’ Producer Vivek Tiwary, Professional Is Personal

www.forbes.com: Walking into the offices of Vivek Tiwary is akin to entering the lair of the world’s nerdiest wizard. Every square inch of wall or shelf is adorned, but instead of potions, spells, and scrolls, the suite overlooking Union Square is chockablock with Broadway, rock & roll, and comic book memorabilia.

Video: How Myst’s designers stuffed an entire universe onto a single CD-ROM

Ars Technica: Although the passage of time serves to make the past seem sweeter in recollection than it might have been in the moment, it's impossible to deny that there was something special about the gaming landscape of the 1990s. Every year in that decade brought a torrent of titles that were destined to become classics—including the often-imitated-but-ultimately-inimitible Myst.

Prolight + Sound Guangzhou 2020 Postponed

LightSoundJournal.com: To support the government’s efforts in controlling the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, the Prolight + Sound Guangzhou organisers have decided to postpone the 2020 fair, originally scheduled to be held on 19 – 22 February at Area A & B China Import & Export Fair Complex, Guangzhou.

Evocative, Enacted, Embedded & Emergent: Narrative Architectures for Immersive Storytelling

noproscenium.com: In an interview last year with two immersive creators, I asked them to make a hard choice: if given only one aspect of immersive design: would they pick “world-building” or “narrative”? Of course, ignoring one is often at the detriment of the other.

Cirque du Soleil OVO alternates between amazing and absurd

Theater | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: Cirque du Soleil OVO and its fleet of multicolored insects landed in Pittsburgh this weekend, with multiple shows at PPG Paints Arena through Sun., Jan. 26. This production from the Montreal touring circus company takes viewers into the world of bugs and their fascination with a found egg ("ovo" means "egg" in Portuguese).

Protesters rally at 'West Side Story' against Amar Ramasar casting

Broadway News: A group of protesters gathered outside the Broadway Theatre Friday night to speak out against the casting of Amar Ramasar in the “West Side Story” revival.

Ramasar, who plays Bernardo in the musical currently in previews, has been accused of sharing explicit images of female ballet dancers without their permission during his time as a principal dancer with New York City Ballet.

Secret Cinema to Tackle Disney Movies With Immersive Experiences

Hollywood Reporter: Audiences could soon be part of the cinematic worlds of Disney's The Pirates of the Caribbean, Tron, Avengers and Star Wars when they go to the movies.

Walt Disney Studios and Secret Cinema, the company behind unique, immersive movie-based experiences, have signed a multi-title agreement for the London-based outfit to tackle some of Disney’s most iconic films.

The Future of Storytelling? Why XR has an Untapped Potential for Social Impact

PaulAllen.com: The way stories are told and shared is changing fast.

In this evolving landscape, Vulcan Productions has identified an area with untapped potential for social impact. We believe that XR – which includes mixed, augmented and virtual reality (VR) – has the potential for completely immersive storytelling, allowing audiences to step into and become part of a story.

How I Painted A 3D-Printed Statue With Rosco Scenic Paints & Coatings

Rosco Spectrum: Created by Kent State University, in collaboration with the Opera di Santa Croce of Florence, Italy, the Sisters in Liberty exhibit explores the long-standing cultural ties between Italy and the United States through themes of art, architecture, liberty, poetry and the human condition.

Production Notes: Cucoloris

Nevada Film Office: A cucoloris, or cookie, is a tool used to break up man-made light sources and make them look more natural. It is also used to cut or shape light in order to cast specific shadows. This is extremely useful in creating the illusion that a scene shot in a sound stage was filmed in a completely different location just by casting the right shadows.

Sexism and gender divide ingrained in UK theatre, study claims

Stage | The Guardian: British theatre has an institutional problem with sexism and gender inequality, according to the authors of a study who say Arts Council England (ACE) is ignoring the issue and failing to help redress the balance.

Review: SanErYiGo SH72 Soldering Iron

Hackaday: When the Miniware TS100 first emerged from China nearly three years ago, it redefined what we could expect from a soldering iron at an affordable price. The lightweight DC-powered temperature controlled iron brought usable power and advanced features in a diminutive package that was easy in the hand, a combination only previously found in much more expensive soldering stations. All this plus its hackability and accessible hardware made it an immediate hit within our community, and many of us have adopted it as our iron of choice.

Sting sails into LA with d&b Soundscape

LightSoundJournal.com: This week at Los Angeles’ Ahmanson Theatre, Sting takes centre stage to bring his musical, The Last Ship, to the West Coast deploying a d&b Soundscape immersive sound system. The show tells the story of two childhood sweethearts set to the backdrop of the collapse of the shipbuilding industry and features an original Tony-nominated score with music and lyrics by Sting, who will also perform for the month-long duration of the show’s LA residency.

Pittsburgh Opera’s “Alcina” – Brilliantly Sung, Well Staged Production of Handel Rarity a Bewitching Treat

Pittsburgh in the Round: Pittsburgh Opera presented Handel’s Alcina for the first time in its history Saturday night, with a strong cast and Antony Walker conducting the orchestra – an excellent group of musicians exquisitely augmented by period instruments in the highly skilled hands of players from Chatham Baroque.

these robot portraits are painted unguided by the human mind or eye

www.designboom.com: husband and wife artistic duo rob and nick carter take on digital age technologies with one of their most technically pioneering projects to date. presented at london-based gallery ben brown fine arts from now through april 17, 2020, ‘dark factory portraits’ poses the intriguing questions: could a machine become a painter? could it convey human personality?

The Mandalorian Stagecraft Photos Reveal the Incredible New Tech /Film

www.slashfilm.com: Even though Disney+ spent a lot of money to get the live-action Star Wars series The Mandalorian off the ground, they still had to be a little more conservative with the budget than they are with the feature films. Instead of building massive sets, Lucasfilm is utilizing new “Stagecraft” technology that uses a rear-projected LED screen to create a reactive environment that essentially works as an immersive real-time green screen. Now, thanks to new set photos from behind the scenes, we can see the Stagecraft tech at work.