i have become the tornado
Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I'm back in Nashville for a couple days and I'll try to remember what I can from the last of rehearsals.
Monday, we came in, rehearsed the show all the way through and got ready to do our first full performance in front of an invite-only crowd. It was looking a little rough as the video crew (mainly Kevin and Jody) were hassled for sync problems. The ProTools rig that runs backing tracks wasn't triggering the video that runs on the screens. This is a pretty big deal, especially during numbers like "Status Quo". You absolutely have to have the lips on screen move in time with the audio coming from the speakers. The general consensus was that hum from the cables around the XLR sync cable was causing jitter and interference. A blackburst generator was called in by Steve (using Nocturne connections) and we had what we needed by 10 o'clock or so that morning.
People started gathering in the soundstage around 3:30. Tons of excited kids and their very patient and supportive parents. The show started a little late but ran almost flawlessly. We missed a couple cues but nothing serious. One of the female leads, however, was sick (the flu, I think) and couldn't finish her second showcase song. They did her third with just dancers and the track playing. Her part in a duet later was filled in by Chucky, the choreographer. It made for a pretty funny performance. You know what, though? The kids didn't really seem to mind and instead showed complete support for the sickly performer. When the final confetti blast hit and I was able to turn around a little, I saw tons of little kids scampering for their own confetti souvenirs. I almost stepped on a couple of smaller ones trying to get back from the front of the stage.
Oh. Speaking of smaller kids...
At the airport on Tuesday, I saw one of the funniest looking baby/toddlers I've ever seen. She was toddling around with her mom in tow. The mom wasn't especially awful looking. I just had to see the dad. Lo and behold, he steps around the corner and I understand completely. It wasn't that the father/daughter combo was super ugly. Just a little funny looking. I'm awful, I know. It was just surprising. So many cute kids out there, there has to be an ugly duckling.
Back to the show...
We finished what I thought was a pretty awesome show and began to break down the set. I took to the jib (for what I hope is the last time) and set to breaking it down into its two road cases. I had a great stagehand, Jerome, helping me and it didn't take quite as long as I thought it would. While we were working, Jerome told me more history of the soundstage where we'd been rehearsing. Stage 15 was the first and biggest of the soundstages on the Sony lot and was used quite exclusively for the bigger films of the thirties. If Jerome was right, it still had water under the floor from any scenes that required aqua action. After packing the jib away, I started working on cables. Tracing them down. Wrapping them up. Storing them away. I had a little break after that and grabbed some pizza backstage. We were waiting for the stage to be disassembled so we could bring the huge LED wall down. This wall had previously been on a Madonna tour. Pretty huge. Tait Towers worked on the design and couldn't have done a better job on it. It breaks down in sections that you then clamp the cases around for transport. Oh! I also learned that Nocturne (who provided the wall and people working it) was one of the first, if not THE first, company to do concert video. It was started by one of the guys in Journey about 20-30 years ago to do one of their tours. Maybe I could do a little work for them in the future. Anyway. Load out took about 4 hours, I think, which is simply too long. It needs to be a lot faster than that. We have to get to the next city to set it up again!
Flew out of LAX Tuesday morning. Sat crammed in between a large-ish man in a tweed coat and a talkative fellow with bladder control problems. And "restless knee syndrome", he told me. I. Don't. Care. Just let me sleep. I woke up at one point in the flight with my head kicked back and my mouth open more than slightly. I thought I was swallowing my gum and began to swallow over and over. I then proceeded to cough a little. After a couple minutes of this, I realized that I had actually spit my gum out way before my nap, sometime before I ate those delicious cheese Handi-Snacks. Ugh...
Kayla picked me up around 4:30 and we gave Kevin a ride back to his truck.
It's good to be home for a bit. I missed my wife, my guitar and the comfort of my bed. I briefly hung out with Jesse today and played with his medium format camera. After that, I went to see a movie. Stranger Than Fiction is one of the best movies I've seen in a long, long time. Beautiful shots, flawless storyline and perfect musical cues. I don't know why but I was really emotional all throughout the movie. I'll need to see it again to determine if the movie was really that moving... or maybe I was still suffering a bit of exhaustion. See this movie. It's not the comedy the trailer makes it out to be. I wish someone had told the people around me who seemed determined to laugh at Will Ferrell's every move.
Kayla and I ate at Olive Garden then came back to watch a movie and drink some wine. (Red Truck may be my favorite wine yet.) We watched a copy of the sidescreen feed from HSM. I had to purchase a copy of Toast to burn it off, but I think it'll be worth it in the long run. The show looks pretty good so far. I was pretty proud of my shots, too. Maybe I'm cut out for this stuff after all.
We're off to Camden for Thanksgiving tomorrow. I may not update for a couple days. When I get back, though, I'll post the last of my pictures from rehearsals.
I leave for San Diego on Sunday.
Happy Thanksgiving, friends. May God bless you and everyone around you.
Monday, we came in, rehearsed the show all the way through and got ready to do our first full performance in front of an invite-only crowd. It was looking a little rough as the video crew (mainly Kevin and Jody) were hassled for sync problems. The ProTools rig that runs backing tracks wasn't triggering the video that runs on the screens. This is a pretty big deal, especially during numbers like "Status Quo". You absolutely have to have the lips on screen move in time with the audio coming from the speakers. The general consensus was that hum from the cables around the XLR sync cable was causing jitter and interference. A blackburst generator was called in by Steve (using Nocturne connections) and we had what we needed by 10 o'clock or so that morning.
People started gathering in the soundstage around 3:30. Tons of excited kids and their very patient and supportive parents. The show started a little late but ran almost flawlessly. We missed a couple cues but nothing serious. One of the female leads, however, was sick (the flu, I think) and couldn't finish her second showcase song. They did her third with just dancers and the track playing. Her part in a duet later was filled in by Chucky, the choreographer. It made for a pretty funny performance. You know what, though? The kids didn't really seem to mind and instead showed complete support for the sickly performer. When the final confetti blast hit and I was able to turn around a little, I saw tons of little kids scampering for their own confetti souvenirs. I almost stepped on a couple of smaller ones trying to get back from the front of the stage.
Oh. Speaking of smaller kids...
At the airport on Tuesday, I saw one of the funniest looking baby/toddlers I've ever seen. She was toddling around with her mom in tow. The mom wasn't especially awful looking. I just had to see the dad. Lo and behold, he steps around the corner and I understand completely. It wasn't that the father/daughter combo was super ugly. Just a little funny looking. I'm awful, I know. It was just surprising. So many cute kids out there, there has to be an ugly duckling.
Back to the show...
We finished what I thought was a pretty awesome show and began to break down the set. I took to the jib (for what I hope is the last time) and set to breaking it down into its two road cases. I had a great stagehand, Jerome, helping me and it didn't take quite as long as I thought it would. While we were working, Jerome told me more history of the soundstage where we'd been rehearsing. Stage 15 was the first and biggest of the soundstages on the Sony lot and was used quite exclusively for the bigger films of the thirties. If Jerome was right, it still had water under the floor from any scenes that required aqua action. After packing the jib away, I started working on cables. Tracing them down. Wrapping them up. Storing them away. I had a little break after that and grabbed some pizza backstage. We were waiting for the stage to be disassembled so we could bring the huge LED wall down. This wall had previously been on a Madonna tour. Pretty huge. Tait Towers worked on the design and couldn't have done a better job on it. It breaks down in sections that you then clamp the cases around for transport. Oh! I also learned that Nocturne (who provided the wall and people working it) was one of the first, if not THE first, company to do concert video. It was started by one of the guys in Journey about 20-30 years ago to do one of their tours. Maybe I could do a little work for them in the future. Anyway. Load out took about 4 hours, I think, which is simply too long. It needs to be a lot faster than that. We have to get to the next city to set it up again!
Flew out of LAX Tuesday morning. Sat crammed in between a large-ish man in a tweed coat and a talkative fellow with bladder control problems. And "restless knee syndrome", he told me. I. Don't. Care. Just let me sleep. I woke up at one point in the flight with my head kicked back and my mouth open more than slightly. I thought I was swallowing my gum and began to swallow over and over. I then proceeded to cough a little. After a couple minutes of this, I realized that I had actually spit my gum out way before my nap, sometime before I ate those delicious cheese Handi-Snacks. Ugh...
Kayla picked me up around 4:30 and we gave Kevin a ride back to his truck.
It's good to be home for a bit. I missed my wife, my guitar and the comfort of my bed. I briefly hung out with Jesse today and played with his medium format camera. After that, I went to see a movie. Stranger Than Fiction is one of the best movies I've seen in a long, long time. Beautiful shots, flawless storyline and perfect musical cues. I don't know why but I was really emotional all throughout the movie. I'll need to see it again to determine if the movie was really that moving... or maybe I was still suffering a bit of exhaustion. See this movie. It's not the comedy the trailer makes it out to be. I wish someone had told the people around me who seemed determined to laugh at Will Ferrell's every move.
Kayla and I ate at Olive Garden then came back to watch a movie and drink some wine. (Red Truck may be my favorite wine yet.) We watched a copy of the sidescreen feed from HSM. I had to purchase a copy of Toast to burn it off, but I think it'll be worth it in the long run. The show looks pretty good so far. I was pretty proud of my shots, too. Maybe I'm cut out for this stuff after all.
We're off to Camden for Thanksgiving tomorrow. I may not update for a couple days. When I get back, though, I'll post the last of my pictures from rehearsals.
I leave for San Diego on Sunday.
Happy Thanksgiving, friends. May God bless you and everyone around you.
posted by Josh at 10:21 PM
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