2K Motion Capture Studio Workers File for Union Election, Marking Historic First

IATSE: Workers at 2K’s Motion Capture (MoCap) studio in Petaluma, California, officially filed for a union election to be overseen by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the union announced Wednesday. 21 full-time staff members at the studio, who are responsible for a wide range of motion capture productions for Take-Two Interactive, requested voluntary recognition of their union but Management declined to respond, forcing workers to file for an official election supervised by the Federal Government.

Chess.com creates ‘virtual production truck’ in the cloud

www.avinteractive.com: The world’s most popular online chess platform has created a ‘virtual production truck’ in the cloud to meet growing production demands while improving the quality of its broadcasts.

Octopus Design Studio: The man behind the magic

InPark Magazine: Brian Paiva’s career is a testament to the power of passion and innovation. Starting from humble beginnings as a junior high stage crew member, he has carved a niche in the entertainment industry, pioneering new technologies and redefining immersive experiences. Today, Brian stands at the forefront of cutting-edge entertainment with his company, Octopus Design Studio. Designed for extreme wet locations, his latest product, FluidLED, is revolutionizing the way guests interact with visual displays.

3 Critical Problems Gen AI Poses for Learning

Harvard Business Publishing Education: Since the widely acclaimed release of ChatGPT 4, generative AI has been touted by many as the savior of education. Case in point: British education expert Sir Anthony Seldon has predicted that by 2027, AI will replace human teachers on a global scale.

A Song That Old Was Sung

AMERICAN THEATRE: English cannot hold my heart; there’s no word in the language for my visceral reactions to theatre this past month. In Brazilian Portuguese, we have words for belly laughs-turned-cries caught in the chest and sobs that heave with the rhythm of laughter: “chorar de rir,” “chorar de soluçar.” So powerful were the evocative tales of lineage this month. Theatre transported us across time and back to intimate corners of our souls in Pericles, Azira’i, Chicago Lore(s), Jocey y Las Mariachis, Becky Nurse of Salem, and By the Way, Meet Vera Stark.

Towards a Hapa Consciousness: Understanding Blended Identities Through David Johann Kim's Pang Spa

HowlRound Theatre Commons: On a warm Sunday in May, the courtyard of the Atwater Village Theatre buzzed with more festivity than usual. A food truck parked on the curb advertised sushi burritos and bulgogi fries, while strings of colored paper cut-outs of miniature clothes fluttered between entryways.

Legacy Playwrights Awards, Stephen Schwartz Award, and More

AMERICAN THEATRE: American playwrights Cherríe Moraga and Richard Wesley have been announced as the 2024 recipients of the Legacy Playwright Awards. The industry-wide Legacy Playwrights Initiative (LPI) shines a spotlight on the achievements and influence of playwrights whose work deserves greater visibility, including those who have fallen out of the public eye. LPI offers a pathway to rediscovery for honorees and their writing and provides financial support.

Joker: Folie à Deux Proves Success Can Be the Enemy

consequence.net: Whenever there’s a critical and commercial bomb on the level of this fall’s Joker: Folie à Deux, an inevitable part of the aftermath is articles breaking down the behind-the-scenes drama that led to disaster. “Why No One Will Get Fired Over ‘Joker: Folie à Deux,’” The Hollywood Reporter explained, while Variety offered up “Inside the ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Debacle: Todd Phillips ‘Wanted Nothing to Do’ With DC on the $200 Million Misfire.”

Invaluable Assets: A Monitor Engineer’s Guide To Looking After Your Ears

ProSoundWeb: Yes, I get the joke – monitor engineers are all deaf thanks to the job, right? I made the decision early in my career that I didn’t want to fall into that trap, and I’ve been consistently meticulous about looking after my hearing. It seems to be paying off – a recent test showed that I have the hearing of someone 20 years younger, so I hope what I share helps you to take care of your ears too.

OUR TOWN to Honor Veterans in November in Partnership with TDF

www.broadwayworld.com: One of the things I love about Our Town is the sense of community. It’s about seeing each other and taking care of each other,” said star Katie Holmes. “I remember the day we visited Peterborough, New Hampshire, where Wilder wrote the play, we were walking around and I saw in the town they had all of the names of people who served in Vietnam. It hit me so deeply because of this world that Thornton created of everybody knowing one another. It suddenly was your neighbor’s son or your son, and that does affect the whole town.”

Roundabout and New Victory Theater partner with new initiative to increase accessibility for neurodivergent theatergoers

www.broadwaynews.com: A new theater accessibility program has been announced. Organized in collaboration with TDF, the initiative, called Seats on the Spectrum, aims to increase and improve accessibility to and inclusivity for neurodivergent audience members. For its pilot program, the initiative will partner with Roundabout Theater Company and the New Victory Theater.

Strand by strand

mag.uchicago.edu: It was the month before he was set to graduate from UChicago with a degree in mathematics, and Jared Janas, AB’94, was feeling restless. He complained to a friend that he was sitting around with nothing to do, so she invited him to help with hair and makeup for a University Theater production of the Stephen Sondheim musical Assassins.

Agencies, Amazon, 'Ghost Town' Studios: How WFH is Killing Hollywood

theankler.com: When Amazon announced last month that employees will be required to return to the office five days a week starting in January, one Amazon Studios employee saw the news and quipped to a friend, “There goes my Friday golf game.”

In Czechia, costumes aren't just for Halloween—they're part of an enduring film legacy - Prague, Czech Republic

www.expats.cz/czech-news: Perched on the outskirts of Prague, Barrandov Studio stands as a monumental hub for European cinema, spanning an impressive 400,000 square meters. Within its boundaries lies a 160,000-square-meter backlot that includes a replica medieval village and sound stages that have hosted countless productions with Hollywood stars.

Why Streaming Content Could Be Hollywood’s Final Act

www.forbes.com: The future of Hollywood changed forever in August 1997. Far from the glitz and glamour of Tinsel Town, two tech entrepreneurs sat in a café in the small Californian city of Santa Cruz and came up with an idea for a subscription-based mail-order DVD sale and rental business. It went on to become the world's most-valuable media company.

SP brings precision to the stage on Starlight Express

LightSoundJournal.com: Starlight Express, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘fastest show on earth’, has enjoyed a much-anticipated comeback at the Wembley Troubadour Theatre. The concept for the return of one of theatre land’s best-loved productions was to create an immersive visual experience, where performers race around on roller skates across multiple levels to produce a high-octane entertainment spectacle.

Review Roundup: WE LIVE IN CAIRO at New York Theatre Workshop

www.broadwayworld.com: Next up at New York Theatre Workshop is We Live in Cairo, featuring a book, music & lyrics by Jonathan Larson Grant winners and NYTW Usual Suspects The Lazours, choreography and movement direction by Ann Yee, and direction by Obie Award winner and NYTW Usual Suspect Taibi Magar. The cast of We Live in Cairo includes Ali Louis Bourzgui, Drew Elhamalawy, John El-Jor, Nadina Hassan, Michael Khalid Karadsheh, and Rotana Tarabzouni.

Broadway Is Singing Louis Armstrong’s Songs. Here Are 6 Classics.

The New York Times: When Christopher Renshaw was growing up in England in the 1950s and ’60s, everybody knew about Louis Armstrong. “He was an icon for me as a child,” he said. “He was just there — he’s smiling, he’s funny.”

How This Michigan Theatre Performed Godspell in a Pool on a Stage

Playbill: When you think of Flint, Michigan, the first thing you think of is water. Or rather, the 2014 water crisis which made the water in the city undrinkable for many residents, until 2020. But for director Michael Lluberes, who has lived in Flint for six years and runs the Flint Repertory Theatre, the city is more than that catastrophe. So, when he came up with the idea to do Stephen Schwartz’s musical Godspell and set it in a working swimming pool, with actors splashing around—it felt like a natural fit for Flint.

Broadway Grosses Analysis: Job Closes to Highest Gross of Run

Playbill: Broadway's Job capped off its run with its highest-ever gross last week, bringing in $363,992.25 at an average ticket price of $85 and filling more than 90% of seats at the Helen Hayes Theater. The two-hander, along with recently opened Sunset Blvd and newcomer Tammy Faye saw the biggest increases at the box office last week.

These New Universal Monsters Animatronics Are Awesome

gizmodo.com: Across the generations, we’ve seen the likes of Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolf Man, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon brought to life in virtually every medium. We’ve seen them in movies, on TV, as toys, and you’ve probably even seen them in theme parks too. So, when creating a whole new theme park area dedicated to those legendary monsters, the team at Epic Universe had to figure out an important question: how do you make characters everyone knows somehow seem new and fresh?

Review: Theatrical Wizardry Propels Public's Inventive 'The Hobbit'

onstagepittsburgh.com: I thought I had every possible iteration of The Hobbit seared in my brain. Now I have to make room for another: Pittsburgh Public Theater’s mashup of clever staging, puppetry and nimble performances that bring the creature-filled journey to life.

Connelly Theater Suspends Operations After Church Landlord Takes Issue With Productions

www.broadwayworld.com: The Connelly Theater, located in New York City's East Village, is shutting down after the building's landlord, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, has taken issue with productions begin produced there. According to the New York Times, the church has been looking more deeply into the rented shows being presented at the venue, with three productions being forced to relocate.

Taming Red Rocks: An Evolving Approach To Optimizing Coverage At The Iconic Colorado Venue

ProSoundWeb: In the summer of 2023, I was hired to design, deploy and tune a sound system for a concert at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, CO, a venue notoriously unique both for its acoustical properties and its challenging coverage requirements. Having never worked there before, I called a number of my colleagues who had mixed shows there, and asked what they considered to be the biggest challenges from an audio perspective.

Broadway League and COBUG announce return of annual Broadway Salutes event

www.broadwaynews.com: The Broadway League and the Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds (COBUG) will host the 15th annual Broadway Salutes event on October 29, 2024, marking its first return since 2019. The ceremony will take place at Sardi’s restaurant in midtown Manhattan, beginning with a reception at 4 p.m.

'Woman of the Hour' Production Designers Remade 'The Dating Game' Set

variety.com: Approximately one-third of the Netflix true crime thriller “Woman of the Hour” takes place on set of “The Dating Game,” where real-life serial killer Rodney Alcala was a contestant in the 1970s. So, production designers for the Anna Kendrick-directed film had two missions: to accurately recreate the well-known set and to make that colorful, cheery space highlight the irony of a murderer’s participation on a romantic game show.

Taylor Swift's New Eras Tour Outfits: Reputation, Fearless & More

wwd.com/pop-culture: Taylor Swift continued her 2024 Eras tour on Friday, performing at the Miami Gardens stadium in Florida. The “Shake It Off” singer has embraced custom outfits in collaboration with prolific designers, with looks from designers like Roberto Cavalli to Versace. Keeping things fresh after going on hiatus since August in London, Swift debuted an array of new looks for the continuation of her North American tour.

Elphaba's Dress in 'Wicked' Was Inspired by Mushroom Gills

variety.com: As Paul Tazewell was conceiving design ideas for “Wicked,” mushroom gills served as an unlikely inspiration for Elphaba’s black dress. The costume designer had stumbled across a documentary about mushrooms. Tazewell says, “I became aware of the beauty of different kinds of mushrooms because of the texture and different colors.”

Blade Runner 2049 Lawsuit Against Musk, Tesla: Do Producers Have Case?

variety.com: Alcon Entertainment, producers of “Blade Runner 2049,” have accused Elon Musk and Tesla of infringing its copyrights — alleging the tech mogul blatantly copied an iconic scene from the movie with an AI-generated image intended to promote Tesla’s new self-driving taxi, after Alcon refused to grant any rights related to the 2017 sci-fi pic.

What Does Anachronistic Mean?

No Film School: One of the hardest things about writing something that takes place in another time, whether past or future, is getting the details right. Storytelling comes down to a few things. You have to have great characters and an engaging plot. Both of those are built on the details you put into them.

CMU faculty weigh-in on the implications of AI for art in faculty dialogues

The Tartan: For ages, art has been a blend of inspiration, imitation, and an artist’s reality, finding form in everything. From the strokes the fiery arms of the sun make over the canvas of the skies at eventide or the emotions that talk through a singer’s voice and an actor’s eyes to the weaving of a silkworm’s rich cocoon, the beauty of art can come from everywhere, its spell unfading across repetitions.

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow: Bidding Farewell to Cutting Ball and Cal Shakes

AMERICAN THEATRE: The San Francisco Bay Area’s theatre scene has always been a thriving, joyful beast. We’re one of the most prolific areas in the nation for the development of new plays. We have an enormously diverse indie scene; we have exciting midsize companies doing gorgeous work; we have LORTs producing spectacular shows, often with local casts. This is a truly wonderful place to be a theatremaker.

Universal Japan Halloween Horror Nights: 7 differences from U.S.

attractionsmagazine.com: As a veteran visitor to Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) in both Orlando and Hollywood, I thought I knew what to expect during my first trip to Osaka during the spooky season, but it turns out that HHN is a very different event at Universal Studios Japan.

Saudi Arabia – A kingdom of opportunity

Access All Areas: Historically an extremely conservative Islamic kingdom, where concerts were banned for decades, Saudi Arabia’s image has been dramatically redrawn in recent years as an entertainment hot spot where international artistes and sports star, tourists and event professionals are warmly welcomed.

Visit Your Local Upholstery Shop—Before It's Too Late

Hagerty Media: Perhaps I owe the reader an apology for this title, as you may live in an area where niche businesses like upholstery shops aren’t under threat of gentrification. But one look at Galvez Upholstery, a lone outpost in a neglected Houston postmodern office park that faces a row of freshly-minted, prairie-style townhomes, certainly provides a chilling effect to the automotive enthusiast.

'The View' transforms with dynamic, adaptable set in move to new Hudson Square facility

NewscastStudio: ABC’s long-running daytime talk show, “The View,” has moved into a brand-new, state-of-the-art broadcast facility in New York City’s Hudson Square neighborhood. The move has provided the show with a unique opportunity to redesign its set from the ground up, embracing cutting-edge technology to create a dynamic and versatile environment that can transform to suit any occasion or hot topic.

Tom Hardy Explains Complex Origin Of His Bane Voice

brobible.com: Given that Tom Hardy has spent much of the last six years playing Venom — his only non-Venom role between 2018 and 2024 was 2020’s Capone — it’s slightly fallen under the radar that the Academy Award-nominee is one of the best actors alive (if you saw The Bikeriders this summer, hopefully, that served as a reminder).

Mixbusters: Identifying And Eradicating Audio Mishaps – Before They Happen

ProSoundWeb: We like to focus on the “do’s” when helping students build a better live music mix, but maybe a quick review of the “don’ts” isn’t such a bad idea. Solid, fundamental practices like good gain structure and proper use of EQ and dynamics are crucial in constructing a mix from the ground up, but what often derails our best intentions are “add-ons.”

Broadway Cares Provides Emergency Grants to Victims of Hurricanes Helene and Milton

Playbill: Theatrical non-profit Broadway Cares has awarded $300,000 in emergency grants to nine food banks and community service organizations serving those affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton in Florida and North Carolina.

After A Decade, Met Opera Settles On-Stage Injury Lawsuit

www.broadwayworld.com: More than a decade after a serious onstage accident ended her career, veteran mezzo-soprano Wendy White has settled her lawsuit against the Metropolitan Opera, reports the New York Times. Ms. White was injured during a December 2011 performance of Faust when a platform on the Met stage collapsed, causing her to fall eight feet and sustain injuries that ended her singing career.

Chatham Baroque Presented Twelfth Night Ensemble in ‘Love & Laurels’

onStage Pittsburgh: We have said before that Chatham Baroque consistently offers attractive programs, whether they are performing, or, like yesterday afternoon, presenting guest artists. Either way, early and entrancing music is guaranteed.

Meyer Sound At Heart Of Future-Forward Approach At Toronto’s Great Canadian Casino Resort

ProSoundWeb: The Theatre at the Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto, Canada’s newest and largest casino resort, opened its doors with concerts by Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton supported by the first Meyer Sound PANTHER large-format linear line array loudspeaker system permanently installed in Canada.

Whitney Hoversten’s impactful design features Elation PROTEUS for Bruno Mars

LightSoundJournal.com: Bruno Mars is undeniably captivating, and behind the scenes, lighting designer Whitney Hoversten is shaping the visual spectacle of his shows using Elation PROTEUS series lighting. From his eight-year residency at Park MGM in Las Vegas to selling out stadiums worldwide, Hoversten has employed the market-leading IP-rated PROTEUS lighting to enhance and complement the global superstar’s dynamic performances.

‘& Juliet’s’ Charts New Course for Bard and Jukebox Musicals

onStage Pittsburgh: Corey Mach was on a balcony in Charlotte, N.C., last week, looking out at a cloudless sky and talking about coming to Pittsburgh as William Shakespeare in the hit musical & Juliet. Mach is on tour with the show that boasts nine Tony Award nominations, songs by prolific hitmaker Max Martin, and a new twist on Romeo and Juliet. This version of the tragic love story takes off from an intervention by The Bard’s wife, Ann Hathaway, setting up a less tragic course for Juliet.

Finding Community and Joy in Sharing Lost Queer Plays

HowlRound Theatre Commons: I hear it from my students, my audiences, my colleagues, and my friends: give us queer joy! Give us queer narratives that transcend the typical tragedies of historical queer dramas! Give us queer plays without suicide, without AIDS-related death, without concentration camps, without bashing, without familial rejection. Give us unadulterated joy!

Best Jobsite Table Saws Reviewed and Tested

Pro Tool Reviews: When most people think “table saw”, they’re referring to portable models. Nearly every major brand makes at least one, so what makes the best portable jobsite table saw stand out from the pack? Quite a bit, actually. From power sources to high-tech safety features and plenty of innovation in between, there’s a lot a variation to consider. In this roundup, I’ll walk you through my top picks to help you narrow down the competition.

Chester Zoo stages 360° multi-screen BEASTS experience

www.avinteractive.com: The multi-screen BEASTS experience – part of Chester Zoo’s Super-Natural Halloween event – deploys immersive floor projections and 360° visual displays to take visitors on a journey through a world inhabited by mythical creatures, as well as snakes, frogs, bugs and slugs.

NFTRW Weekly Top Five

Here are the top five comment generating posts of the past week:

Olivia Rodrigo Falls Through Hole in Stage in Melbourne

www.billboard.com: In a video circulating TikTok from one of the “Drivers License” singer’s show at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia, Rodrigo is seen hyping up the crowd by running across the stage. However, there was an opening in the stage she didn’t see and she fell right through, grabbing the ledge and then ultimately pulling herself back up

Posted by David at 10/24/2024 11:37:00 AM

Hollywood Is Moving Away from LA—Where Is Everyone Going?

No Film School: Over the last few year, Hollywood has been dealing with the impact of the coronavirus. In Los Angeles, people moved away. And that moving has not slowed down. We had two strikes in 2023 that shut down work while the AMPTP did nothing to resolve the conflicts.

Posted by David at 10/25/2024 11:37:00 AM

Why Every Live Sound Engineer Should Embrace the Humble Checklist

Sound Design Live: Amidst the chaos and pressure of live event production, who has time for a checklist? There’s just no room for paperwork, damn it! Well, buckle up, because I’m about to convince you that checklists are not just for airline pilots and astronauts. They’re the unsung heroes that can transform your shows from “Survived it” to “Nailed it!”

Posted by David at 10/24/2024 11:39:00 AM

Jonas Brothers Show Stopped After Laser Pointer Flashed at Nick Jonas

www.rollingstone.com: A partial video of the incident shared on social media showed Nick glancing up at the crowd from a piano, then quickly getting up, signaling time out with his hands, and bolting off the stage. Brothers Joe and Kevin reportedly followed and the show stopped as the issue was dealt with.

Posted by David at 10/24/2024 11:22:00 AM

Adobe's new generative AI service has "ethical standards"

Boing Boing: On Monday, October 14, 2024, Adobe launched a public beta for Firefly, the company's new generative AI service, which can be used to generate text-to-video prompts, enhance and expand backgrounds in Photoshop, and more. So far, so standard fare for generative AI software.

Posted by David at 10/22/2024 11:26:00 AM