This week was so amazing. I think that sounds cliche, but that's really the only way to explain it.
My company, Stargate Studios, was brought on board for the grand opening of the new YouTube studios in La Playa California. We were contracted to use our Previzion System to put on a live show for Lindsey Sterling, the hip hop violinist on YouTube. She's incredibly popular, getting millions of hits on her videos, and was surprisingly down to earth and sweet. As were all of the YoutTubers that I met this week.
So the team at Stargate began building an incredible 3D world based on a final fantasy like request from Lindsey. It took three weeks to build the world, and test it in my previzion system. I learned so much about the system in the process of testing the world. It was a big world, with 8 high definition videos playing, real time green screen keying, and 3D rendering all at once. Too many videos, and the system crashes, wrong settings on my machine and it crashes, so many things could (and did) go wrong.
But we ironed out the bugs and got to where we were comfortable.
Then we moved into the stage at the YouTube studio, called YouTube space LA, and started putting up our tracking markers and green screen. This is where the fun starts, orienting the virtual world, lighting, final testing of videos, and walking through the scene. It really is like magic when you see it all come together and work. It still amazes me.
When Lindsey came in, she was obviously blown away by the world we created, and were able to have her interact with. We practiced a few times, got her marks, and recorded a few takes for use later on. She's quite a talented performer. She hit her marks all the time, played very consistently, and really just trooped her way through the whole thing. I was impressed, I thought she'd be a diva.
The following night, we went live. The top YouTubers were invited to the event, and were outside waiting and watching. We were being broadcast to a jumbo screen outside, and I think being streamed live online. So we couldn't have any mistakes. I wasn't given much info on where it was going to be streamed. And I still haven't seen it. Everything on our end went according to plan, and we wound up being the stars of the show. Every one was excited to see what we could do and play in our world. From 8-11:30 we had a constant flow of intrigued content creators asking us questions and trying to find out how they can get a hold of us for their channels. It was very exhilarating.
Meeting some of my YouTube heros was so cool. Among the impressed crowd was Freddie W and Brandon Laatsch, Joe Penna (Mystery Guitar Man), Corridor Digital, Sam Tsui and Kurt Schneider, and Tony Hawk.
Funny thing about Tony Hawk, that's who he is. It's not just Tony, or Mr. Hawk. It's only ever Tony Hawk. But he's a really nice guy for a super star.
The point of this post is to talk about the event a little, and also it talk about NO.
During the set up process, working with the talent, directors, and our own VFX supervisors, I never heard the word "no." There were definitely requests for things that could be be delivered. But no one ever said no. They gave political answers, like "Hmmm. Let me check on that and get back to you." Or,"The way that we have our system configured right now, that's not possible. But if we break it down, we can reconfigure in two hours. Is that something you want to do?"
Very crafty, and it reminds me of a lesson that I learned in high school, when I was the coach of the school's improv team. never say no, because nothing kills creativity faster. No eliminates options. Just like Sam Jackson's speech in "The Negotiator." He's talking the new negotiator through how to talk down a hostage taker. "Can I see a priest?" Answer: "I'll see what I can do."
Saying no also makes you sound like a dick. Like you don't care enough to even explore their creativity as an option.
I need to work on this. My first thought is to say no, when I know that something can't be done. Or at least can't be done easily. I need to be more open to trying. I don't know why my first reaction is to say no, but it has been lately. I really need to take my own advice, and be more political.
My company, Stargate Studios, was brought on board for the grand opening of the new YouTube studios in La Playa California. We were contracted to use our Previzion System to put on a live show for Lindsey Sterling, the hip hop violinist on YouTube. She's incredibly popular, getting millions of hits on her videos, and was surprisingly down to earth and sweet. As were all of the YoutTubers that I met this week.
So the team at Stargate began building an incredible 3D world based on a final fantasy like request from Lindsey. It took three weeks to build the world, and test it in my previzion system. I learned so much about the system in the process of testing the world. It was a big world, with 8 high definition videos playing, real time green screen keying, and 3D rendering all at once. Too many videos, and the system crashes, wrong settings on my machine and it crashes, so many things could (and did) go wrong.
But we ironed out the bugs and got to where we were comfortable.
Then we moved into the stage at the YouTube studio, called YouTube space LA, and started putting up our tracking markers and green screen. This is where the fun starts, orienting the virtual world, lighting, final testing of videos, and walking through the scene. It really is like magic when you see it all come together and work. It still amazes me.
When Lindsey came in, she was obviously blown away by the world we created, and were able to have her interact with. We practiced a few times, got her marks, and recorded a few takes for use later on. She's quite a talented performer. She hit her marks all the time, played very consistently, and really just trooped her way through the whole thing. I was impressed, I thought she'd be a diva.
The following night, we went live. The top YouTubers were invited to the event, and were outside waiting and watching. We were being broadcast to a jumbo screen outside, and I think being streamed live online. So we couldn't have any mistakes. I wasn't given much info on where it was going to be streamed. And I still haven't seen it. Everything on our end went according to plan, and we wound up being the stars of the show. Every one was excited to see what we could do and play in our world. From 8-11:30 we had a constant flow of intrigued content creators asking us questions and trying to find out how they can get a hold of us for their channels. It was very exhilarating.
Meeting some of my YouTube heros was so cool. Among the impressed crowd was Freddie W and Brandon Laatsch, Joe Penna (Mystery Guitar Man), Corridor Digital, Sam Tsui and Kurt Schneider, and Tony Hawk.
Funny thing about Tony Hawk, that's who he is. It's not just Tony, or Mr. Hawk. It's only ever Tony Hawk. But he's a really nice guy for a super star.
The point of this post is to talk about the event a little, and also it talk about NO.
During the set up process, working with the talent, directors, and our own VFX supervisors, I never heard the word "no." There were definitely requests for things that could be be delivered. But no one ever said no. They gave political answers, like "Hmmm. Let me check on that and get back to you." Or,"The way that we have our system configured right now, that's not possible. But if we break it down, we can reconfigure in two hours. Is that something you want to do?"
Very crafty, and it reminds me of a lesson that I learned in high school, when I was the coach of the school's improv team. never say no, because nothing kills creativity faster. No eliminates options. Just like Sam Jackson's speech in "The Negotiator." He's talking the new negotiator through how to talk down a hostage taker. "Can I see a priest?" Answer: "I'll see what I can do."
Saying no also makes you sound like a dick. Like you don't care enough to even explore their creativity as an option.
I need to work on this. My first thought is to say no, when I know that something can't be done. Or at least can't be done easily. I need to be more open to trying. I don't know why my first reaction is to say no, but it has been lately. I really need to take my own advice, and be more political.
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