Share your thoughts on USITT 2013

gafftaper

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Got home from USITT 2013 last night. Today as I think about the weekend, there's one thing that really stands out more than anything and that thing is YOU the CB community. As I walked around the trade show, over and over I heard things like:
Oh ControlBooth! You are the best! I'm impressed at the speed and accuracy of advice. I'm impressed at how professional and civilized the discussion is. I love how people don't just give a quick answer but dig deeper into the situation to teach and help people learn bigger concepts. There's no where on the internet with better information. I always send my students there. I always send customers there. I use it all the time.
At my first convention (LDI 2008) no one had heard of CB. This time, even the people who said they hadn't heard of CB after describing it a bit would say, "oh that site... yeah I used that a few years ago for blah blah blah." ETC put together a display on the history of lighting instruments for their USITT factory tour. I was talking with [user]Lafalot[/user] and she said as she was doing the research for it, it became a challenge to find a source of information on the internet that WASN'T CB! Over and over, again, people in the industry know and use CB. And said things like, "oh I don't post much but I check it out all the time to see what people are saying about my product". Ladies and Gentlemen You Rock and you should be really proud of the gift to the industry.

We talked with a lot of great people and saw a lot of great products. We shot several videos of cool products you may not know about. #1 on the list is clearly the S4 Mini and as I previously mentioned we'll have a demo video with Fred Foster up as soon as we can. But we've got a bunch of other product demo videos coming for you to check out. We'll give you a quick look at the EOS Ti. You'll get a look at the Pathway Cognito (a small lighting console you may not know but really need to check out). Our old CB buddy [user]andy_leviss[/user] had a booth for his company Duck's Echo Sound and he's got some great gadgets for you to check out. You'll see a couple new things from Apollo. And several new products that we though were awesome that you've probably never heard of but are going to want.

Finally it was great to talk with so many of you: Greenia, Josh, BillConner, Lava, JohnHuntington, Pathway, Starsk, AndyLevis, lafalot, Delo72, rsmentele, SteveTerry and DavidNorth (saw them but didn't get to talk), erichart (buy his prop book it's awesome!), everyone at Apollo, the guys from SML, the great folks of USITT Chesapeake Region... the list goes on. I'm sorry, I know I'm forgetting some people but there were a lot of you! It continues to amaze me that my little hobby of posting on the internet has built so many great friends around the world.

For those who were also there, please use this thread to post your thoughts on things you learned in sessions and saw on the floor.

To get the ball rolling: Hey Greenia! Tell us about that LED vs Incandescent shoot out!

Thanks Foy for making me fly!
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I think I missed out, big time. See you all in Ft. Worth next year. Start working on the comedy now.
 
I heard a few conversations like that too and recommended it to a couple people. Also reading this reminds me I need to go by the book since they sold out (hopefully a good sign) hoping I can afford to get out to Texas next year, but I'll certainly be in Cincinnati after that. I wish I had gotten to one while I was still in college, I may have made some different choices. More than anything the conversations that were had and the beers that were shared made the experience for me.


I had a great conversation with Rachel, the head of cobalt which helped convince me to go further with painting. Also a great talk with the guy who runs sculptural arts (his name escapes me at the moment) and his son at their booth, and told me to call up his wife as the CEO to help me out with something. Great folks.

Also I was really impressed with the products at pulp art (http://pulpartsurfaces.com/) it's something I'm going to look into, durable, bendable, Eco friendly since its all recycled cardboard, and they offer educational discounts. Plus it's only slightly more expensive than the 4x8 brick sheets you get from a box store.


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You're right Josh, Pulp Art Surfaces was really cool. We didn't shoot any video because it's pretty self explanatory. But you scenic people should definitely check it out. It's pretty amazing and priced competitively. Note it comes either pre-painted or as a blank cardboard surface, but it's fairly sturdy. On a scale of rigidity where 1=Cardboard and 10=Masonite, I would call this a 6 or 7.

It was great to meet you too Kmccoy! Don't be a stranger now. (He works with Andy_Leviss)
 
She was pointing out that you can just nail it up or staple, and keep patching it. She had a real old piece that was cracked and worn and it just looks more weathered as it ages, so other than cutting it down you can keep using it for a long time before it breaks down. She also said that they've tested it with wet paint and back wetting it to help it bend and they've just added something like 6 more patterns.


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Also the brick is cut really precisely and weaves together, so there are no visible seams
 
My favorite item at the show had to be the new OSRAM KREIOS FL LED worklight! Only 60 watts to replace (or double) the output of a 300W T3 halogen fixture? That's insane! 40,000hrs. vs 2000 on the halogen fixture. High CRI. IP65 rating for outdoor use too!?! Unreal! And the price point they were mentioning... such a deal! I can't wait for that and the even brighter one that is coming after it!

;-)
 
My favorite item at the show had to be the new OSRAM KREIOS FL LED worklight!

Of course after demonstrating it 10,000 times you were pretty much brainwashed into thinking that. So you aren't partial at all. ;)

Teasing aside, I do have to agree it's a really great product. I have a friend that I'm pushing to replaces his set of 12 mercury vapor work lights, with a set of Kreios LED's. He's very interested. It's just working out the budget, and waiting to see what the bigger 500 Watt unit looks like.

We have a demonstration video of it here.

It was great talking with you Mark!
 
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You as well!
 

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