la weekly

Four screenings and talks in LA last week, each with its own flavor.

The Tiki Room at Rhythm & Hues on Tuesday. H264 full-res version on a projector with probably the worst audio of the series, but the screening was really just meant as an introduction to Helga. So the quality was perfectly acceptable. Had the wonderful opportunity to speak with developers at the studio about Helga and about their own in-house solutions to similar problems. I found it notable how the scales at which they work so dominate the decisions they need to make; to wit, our browser-based system would quickly be crushed by the volume they have to support. At the same time, our single-system solution has its attractiveness. Audience of 12-15.

Thursday night at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood for the Hampshire Alumni Reel. A little too much last-minute projector tweaking for my comfort, and even then it was less vibrant than I hoped it could be. DVD. Big ol' screen in a room that held 160 or so. Not sure the surround sound was working. Audience of just over 50. Great seats, great fun catching up with alums and crew members. Jordy's 8th birthday, too!

Friday noon: DreamWorks. In some room that doubles as a mocap stage. DVD again, but a nice bright projector. Small screen. Stereo sound, but nice and loud. Full house of approximately 50, shared the intro speech with producer Daniel. A very welcoming crowd with lots of questions. Hated getting there on the 405 (LA traffic! Oh how I did not miss it!) but the campus was idyllic and the lunch was tasty.

Friday pm: screening at the end of the R&H company meeting. A brief intro to the film followed by the biggest projection of the week. The screen and image were beautiful (I think they have a TI system). The sound was, sadly, a few frames ahead of the pic. Guess there was a delay. But I saw every bit of detail, including every little flaw that I suppose only a few of us still see. But it was big, bright, and a fitting ending to the week. Probaly another 50-80 at that screening.

Time will tell why the hell I'm bothering to blog these screenings. Right now I'm just remembering them fondly and hoping that they will help promote the film, Helga, and what we're doing at Hampshire.