ToolGuyD: I just watched an interesting Tested video, where they take a thorough look at Adam Savage’s (from MythBusters) homemade tool storage stands. He emptied out a stack of ball bearing storage chests and loaded the tools into his tool stand. I enjoyed the video, but can’t help wondering whether I should build something similar, perhaps with spare 80/20 aluminum t-slot extrusions I have around, or if I should stick with tool drawers.
Monday, August 10, 2015
The Stage World of The Wild West (And How It’s Ready to Ride Again)
SamuelFrench: When I began pursuing the idea of putting the story on stage I thought only about London and a British audience. That American audiences will be watching a Western play writing by an English writer makes me feel like I’ve cheated – I’ve never been to the Wild West. Other than a few days in Missouri, I’ve never been to America. In person that is; for in stories, films, television, and music, I’ve spent nearly every waking moment of the last four years living right at the heart of the Great American West.
Before I discovered the story of Liberty Valance I knew I wanted to create a Western for stage and no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find anything of the sort, other than the big musicals like Calamity Jane or Oklahoma. I wanted to create the world I’d come to love on the screen, a gritty, painful existence in which people fought against poverty, against the elements, and against each other. What makes this period so exciting is that this struggle sits against the constant backdrop of hope.
Before I discovered the story of Liberty Valance I knew I wanted to create a Western for stage and no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find anything of the sort, other than the big musicals like Calamity Jane or Oklahoma. I wanted to create the world I’d come to love on the screen, a gritty, painful existence in which people fought against poverty, against the elements, and against each other. What makes this period so exciting is that this struggle sits against the constant backdrop of hope.
“Hamilton” Makes Musical History
ClydeFitchReport: There’s absolutely no reason to put a fine point on it: Hamilton — brilliantly adapted by Lin-Manuel Miranda from Ron Chernow’s 2004 biography, Alexander Hamilton, and brilliantly directed by Thomas Kail and choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler — joins the ranks of great American musicals.
Sunday, August 09, 2015
Dirty Rigger designs SlimFits for female riggers
ZioGiorgio: Driven by a global social media campaign, female riggers from around the world recently took part in an open discussion to design and brand a new range of Dirty Rigger gloves which would be created from the ground up for women.
“Asking ‘What do women want?’ was key to the success,” said Dirty Rigger designer Jess Morris. “It had been apparent for a while that the colour pink was by many deemed as stereotypical or even sexist, especially in such a male dominated industry. Another common issue of the traditionally bright ladies rigger gloves was their indiscreet nature, often standing out when working backstage where the idea is, of course, to be as unseen as possible during a performance. These issues meant many women were resorting to wearing men’s gloves, often too long and too wide in the finger even in smaller sizes. These areas were all something we needed to address.
“Asking ‘What do women want?’ was key to the success,” said Dirty Rigger designer Jess Morris. “It had been apparent for a while that the colour pink was by many deemed as stereotypical or even sexist, especially in such a male dominated industry. Another common issue of the traditionally bright ladies rigger gloves was their indiscreet nature, often standing out when working backstage where the idea is, of course, to be as unseen as possible during a performance. These issues meant many women were resorting to wearing men’s gloves, often too long and too wide in the finger even in smaller sizes. These areas were all something we needed to address.
I Do Community Theatre
HowlRound: Hi. My name is Eli Keel. I do community theatre.
I grew up in a theatre family. My earliest memories are of falling asleep curled up in a theatre seat, listening to my mom, the director, give notes after a run.
My parents worked in a string of academic and community based theatres throughout my childhood—the Gingerbread Playhouse, Coffee High school's tiny drama program, Paducah Community College, the Youth Performing Arts School, and dozens of other companies and schools.
I grew up in a theatre family. My earliest memories are of falling asleep curled up in a theatre seat, listening to my mom, the director, give notes after a run.
My parents worked in a string of academic and community based theatres throughout my childhood—the Gingerbread Playhouse, Coffee High school's tiny drama program, Paducah Community College, the Youth Performing Arts School, and dozens of other companies and schools.
Bookish Business Card Designs
FlavorWire: Happy Book Lovers’ Day, lit fiends! If you’re looking for an excuse to blow off your responsibilities, this is it. While you’re getting lost in a good book — preferably in bed — keep the bookish theme of your day going by browsing a few business card designs inspired by, well, books. We like to think that book nerds are more clever than the average human. So, get creative with your schmoozing, and try one of these literary designs for yourself.
PLASA Show takes seminar content to new dimension
ZioGiorgio: With Phase 3 of its seminar sessions finalised, PLASA Show reveals content that is both informative and a little out of the ordinary. From audio as art and colour changing lights, to safety – both electrical and aural – and the importance of apprenticeships, PLASA continues to cover key issues for the entertainment technology industry.
“It’s art, not plant hire.” These words from Tony Andrews, founder of loudspeaker manufacturer Funktion One, will ring true with sound designers and engineers around the world. Having spent his life exploring the higher possibilities in audio, Tony is well placed to discuss his statement further in the ‘audio moment’, the chosen subject for his Audio and Consciousness session at this year’s PLASA Show, where he will doubtless take an audio path less travelled while considering the difference between hearing and listening.
“It’s art, not plant hire.” These words from Tony Andrews, founder of loudspeaker manufacturer Funktion One, will ring true with sound designers and engineers around the world. Having spent his life exploring the higher possibilities in audio, Tony is well placed to discuss his statement further in the ‘audio moment’, the chosen subject for his Audio and Consciousness session at this year’s PLASA Show, where he will doubtless take an audio path less travelled while considering the difference between hearing and listening.
Television Critics Association gives 'The Chair' top honors
Post-Gazette: BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- The Television Critics Association announced its 2015 TCA Awards winners tonight, which included shot-in-Pittsburgh docu-series "The Chair," which took home the award for best reality show.
The series, filmed locally in 2014, followed the production of two films -- “Hollidaysburg” and “Not Cool” -- based on the same original story about college students returning home at Thanksgiving. Viewers got to vote on which film should win a $250,000 prize, giving the award to director Shane Dawson’s “Not Cool” despite “The Chair” executive producer and Greentree native Zachary Quinto disavowing the movie, which he said he found offensive.
The series, filmed locally in 2014, followed the production of two films -- “Hollidaysburg” and “Not Cool” -- based on the same original story about college students returning home at Thanksgiving. Viewers got to vote on which film should win a $250,000 prize, giving the award to director Shane Dawson’s “Not Cool” despite “The Chair” executive producer and Greentree native Zachary Quinto disavowing the movie, which he said he found offensive.
MI:5 Director Talks the Politics of Rebecca Ferguson’s Shoes
TheMarySue: Rebecca Ferguson totally steals the MI:5 show. She’s the Furiosa of the IMF, a believable badass with agency and way more personality than Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt (she also looks like Mariska Hargitay had a baby with the sun, which is obviously besides the point, but holy smokes).
Oddly, one of the simple touches in MI:5 that made Ferguson’s character (Ilsa Faust) believable despite some moments of objectification, was the many scenes in which she either wears flats or removes her heels before/during accomplishing feats of extraordinary daredevilry. It’s a mundane act, so it didn’t occur to me that, in the context of this summer’s blockbusters, a female character removing her heels has become a fraught gesture.
Oddly, one of the simple touches in MI:5 that made Ferguson’s character (Ilsa Faust) believable despite some moments of objectification, was the many scenes in which she either wears flats or removes her heels before/during accomplishing feats of extraordinary daredevilry. It’s a mundane act, so it didn’t occur to me that, in the context of this summer’s blockbusters, a female character removing her heels has become a fraught gesture.
Friday, August 07, 2015
A Light Show Folds In on an Origami Projection Screen
TheCreatorsProject: By applying the rigid principles of origami folding to projection mapping, Vietnamese-American new media designer Steven T. Wong has constructed a new kind of screen in the form of a geometric kinetic sculpture. Known as Memesis, Wong's project utilizes a system of pulleys that shift flat white panels in and out, bending them in tandem with the motion graphics being projected onto the folding screen.
Wong believes his work challenges the notion that screens are passive, static surfaces. In the sculpture’s video documentation (below), Wong explains, “Here, the surfaces dance too, in tandem with the lights, casting their own shadows —both real and virtual—while influencing how the lights cast upon them move too.” The patterns and folding mechanics of the piece are, according to Wong, based on a parametric pattern of Miura-ori and 'V' pleat cell units, folding techniques, and crease patterns that give this sculpture its shape. As evidenced below, these patterns and shapes are revealed through moving panels, and controlled by a small network of nylon strings and suspended counterweights that fold the panels and push them back into place. Check out Memesis below:
Wong believes his work challenges the notion that screens are passive, static surfaces. In the sculpture’s video documentation (below), Wong explains, “Here, the surfaces dance too, in tandem with the lights, casting their own shadows —both real and virtual—while influencing how the lights cast upon them move too.” The patterns and folding mechanics of the piece are, according to Wong, based on a parametric pattern of Miura-ori and 'V' pleat cell units, folding techniques, and crease patterns that give this sculpture its shape. As evidenced below, these patterns and shapes are revealed through moving panels, and controlled by a small network of nylon strings and suspended counterweights that fold the panels and push them back into place. Check out Memesis below:
Software company Autodesk is launching its own game engine
TheVerge: If you play video games, you've probably seen the effects of Autodesk's work. Autodesk owns the Maya and 3ds Max modeling software, the Scaleform rendering engine, and a variety of animation and texture-making tools. But the meat of the game will (usually) be made in an engine like Unity or Unreal, both of which have spent years courting developers with low prices and approachable tools. On August 19th, though, they'll see a new competitor: Autodesk's own engine, called Stingray.
Stingray was first announced in March, but it's technically existed for several years as an engine called Bitsquid, which Autodesk acquired in 2014. Bitsquid is behind, among a handful of other games, chaotic cooperative shooter Helldivers. The core of Bitsquid, says Autodesk's head of games Frank Delise, isn't changing much. But among other things, it's using a different interface and is more tightly integrated with the rest of Autodesk's design tools. "We really liked that the engine was separated from the user interface, so we can make very user-specific versions of the technology," says Delise. It's hard to tell exactly how good Stingray games will look — the major test for any engine — but the screenshots don't look too bad.
Stingray was first announced in March, but it's technically existed for several years as an engine called Bitsquid, which Autodesk acquired in 2014. Bitsquid is behind, among a handful of other games, chaotic cooperative shooter Helldivers. The core of Bitsquid, says Autodesk's head of games Frank Delise, isn't changing much. But among other things, it's using a different interface and is more tightly integrated with the rest of Autodesk's design tools. "We really liked that the engine was separated from the user interface, so we can make very user-specific versions of the technology," says Delise. It's hard to tell exactly how good Stingray games will look — the major test for any engine — but the screenshots don't look too bad.
A&E notebook: Children's Theater Series lineup announced
TribLive: Junie B., The Big Bad Wolf, and a runaway bunny will be among the kid lit celebrities making appearances in the Pittsburgh area as part of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's 2015-2016 Citizens Bank Children's Theater Series.
Now in its 46th season, the series presents live professional theater performances of six familiar tales aimed at audiences ages 3 and up.
Now in its 46th season, the series presents live professional theater performances of six familiar tales aimed at audiences ages 3 and up.
Canadian Filmmaker Fears for Creative Freedom Under the TPP
EFF: Most people's experience with copyright begins and ends with the FBI warnings that play before movies on a DVD. But for those who make a living from creative work, copyright is an everyday reality. It's both a mechanism to help a creator get paid, and a framework that allows them to include the creativity of others within their own work.
In the digital age, being creative is increasingly an act of copying—whether that is sampling music, quoting an article in an online publication, or including a photo or moving image in a YouTube video.
In the digital age, being creative is increasingly an act of copying—whether that is sampling music, quoting an article in an online publication, or including a photo or moving image in a YouTube video.
Broadway Review: ‘Hamilton’
Variety: “Hamilton” was a sensation in a 299-seat house at the Public Theater, where the blazing inventiveness of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop musical tribute to one of our illustrious Founding Fathers played right into the downtown vibe. But this innovative show is shaping up to be just as much of a phenomenon uptown, playing in a Broadway house with four times the seating capacity, and to a more traditional but no less enthusiastic audience. That universal appeal to crossover audiences is one unmistakable sign of a groundbreaking show.
Celebrated Actor Comes Home to Star in 'Kinky Boots'
PittsburghMagazine: The national tour for “Kinky Boots” makes a stop this week at the Pittsburgh CLO, and Pittsburgh native Billy Porter says he wouldn’t have missed reprising his leading role here for anything. “[Pittsburgh] will always be the love of my life,” he says. “I’m so grateful to have been able to grow up there and for my childhood there and my training and all of the angels that were present for me in very, very difficult times.” Porter, a graduate of Pittsburgh CAPA high school and Carnegie Mellon University, won a Tony Award in 2013 for his portrayal of drag queen Lola. In the show, Lola befriends the downtrodden owner of a shoe factory and convinces him to revive his business by creating women’s shoes for men. “Kinky Boots” also won the Tony for best musical.
Keep Your Friends Close And Your Tools Closer With This Pegboard On Rollers
HackaDay: There’s nothing that adds more time to building or repairing something than having to walk back and forth to grab the right tool for the job. “Wait, was that a 15/16 inch socket I needed? Nope it’s a 3/4 inch! Rats!”
[Brad Justinen] shares his solution to the problem in this very simple, but well documented tutorial on Instructables. He welded up a metal A-frame, then simply added pegboard to the sides and casters to the bottom. Our first thought was if something like this could be made out of lumber for a bit more of a DIY approach, but if you’ve ever moved a tool box full of tools, you know how their weight really adds up fast. So perhaps it might be best to bribe your welder-owning friend with a 12 pack of his or her favorite adult beverage.
[Brad Justinen] shares his solution to the problem in this very simple, but well documented tutorial on Instructables. He welded up a metal A-frame, then simply added pegboard to the sides and casters to the bottom. Our first thought was if something like this could be made out of lumber for a bit more of a DIY approach, but if you’ve ever moved a tool box full of tools, you know how their weight really adds up fast. So perhaps it might be best to bribe your welder-owning friend with a 12 pack of his or her favorite adult beverage.
Women in Hollywood Are Still Few and Far Between
Jezebel: Hollywood’s still into women in front of the camera, just not behind the lens or of color—but we knew that, right? Ava Duvernay, Kathryn Bigelow, Gina Prince-Bythewood can’t be the only women through the gate guys!
USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism released their annual report parsing Hollywood’s representation by the numbers and concluded that, despite the strides of films like Selma made by women, 2014 was pretty great for dudes—like always.
Here are the report’s takeaways:
- Only 30.2 percent of 30,285 speaking characters were females in the 700 most popular film from 2007 to 2014.
USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism released their annual report parsing Hollywood’s representation by the numbers and concluded that, despite the strides of films like Selma made by women, 2014 was pretty great for dudes—like always.
Here are the report’s takeaways:
- Only 30.2 percent of 30,285 speaking characters were females in the 700 most popular film from 2007 to 2014.
Monday, August 03, 2015
A technician on tour: his suitcase and his tools
ZioGiorgio: Today we would like to give our readers a little bit of light but useful reading for this summer, which despite everything that is happening, seems to be picking up a little, sparking the enthusiasm of tour lovers: real convoys that often become little families, living together day after day and which, for many, become unforgettable experiences of professional exchange and growth.
And who better than ZioGiorgio, always on the lookout for ways of making your lives easier with useful advice, can give you some tips on how to organize the long trips?
And who better than ZioGiorgio, always on the lookout for ways of making your lives easier with useful advice, can give you some tips on how to organize the long trips?
Study: Yes, Student Loans Are Making College More Expensive
Reason: Long have liberals vowed to make higher education more affordable by offering ever more generous loan subsidies, and long have conservatives and libertarians argued that federal aid merely gives colleges license to drive up the price. A study by the New York Federal Reserve offers some new evidence that the latter group is correct. According to the study’s authors:
IATSE Launches Safety Hotline
TheatreSafetyBlog: The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) recently launched its safety hotline so members can report hazards on the job.
When an IATSE member calls the toll free number 844-IA AWARE, (844-422-9273), the caller can either leave a message for or talk to a safety representative who will help handle the issue. Sometimes the safety representative will contact the IATSE Local’s representative and assist them with the issue, or call the employer directly.
When an IATSE member calls the toll free number 844-IA AWARE, (844-422-9273), the caller can either leave a message for or talk to a safety representative who will help handle the issue. Sometimes the safety representative will contact the IATSE Local’s representative and assist them with the issue, or call the employer directly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)