September 17, 2025 • 49 mins
Ellen Lampert-Greaux is the creative director for Live Design and LDI, an annual conference and trade show for entertainment design and technology professionals. She was on the five-person team that founded LDI in 1988, and has produced the conference and worked on special events for the show since its debut, working on all aspects from programming and promotion to operations, registration, and the attendee experience. She has also produced additional events for the Live Design/LDI franchise such as their Master Classes series for lighting, projection, audio, scenic design; the Envision Symposium; Backstage Las Vegas; and XLIVExLDI. She is also a triple award-winning writer - editor for Live Design (FOLIO: EDDY Award in 2021, 2022, and 2023) who specializes in entertainment design and technology, writing regularly for livedesignonline.com, as well as a freelance writer on technology and architectural lighting. She is also a co-host ( a Lumen sister) on the Light Talk podcast.
She attended NYU where she was an English major, and Temple University for a BFA in television/film production. She earned her MFA in arts administration from Brooklyn College and was the publicity director of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (1979-1986). She is a theatrical press agent and a member of ATPAM/IATSE, as well co-founder in 1996 and co-director of the St. Barth Film Festival in the French West Indies, having run a similar festival in Avignon, France (1984-1993). She speaks fluent French and translates articles for magazines from French to English.
This conversation explores the evolution and impact of LDI since its inception in 1988, highlighting the commitment of Light Switch to enhance experiences through design. The discussion covers various training opportunities, innovative events, and the importance of inclusivity and networking within the entertainment industry. The future of LDI is also addressed, emphasizing its role in fostering mentorship and professional growth.
This Episode is brought to you by Lightswitch
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
It's LEILDILDI. It's been my life actually
since, well, a main part of my life since 1988 when we founded
it, believe it or not. It's a bit of a long story, but
the woman who founded LDI is called Pat Mackay, and she still
comes to LDI every year. And she had a magazine
(00:21):
originally called Theatre Crafts, which she had bought
from another publisher in Pennsylvania.
And in the late 80s, maybe 8687,I'm not exactly sure what year,
she bought another magazine thatwas called Lighting Dimensions.
And that was sort of when the rock'n'roll lighting industry
was getting started and there were two companies that were
(00:42):
advertising high end systems andverilite, which were the big
moving light companies in America.
Having our first Verilites went out on that Genesis tour in the
80s. So by 88, the rock and roll
lighting industry was gearing upand they said, but to Pat, you
know, the magazine is great, butwhy don't you do a trade show?
(01:04):
And that's sort of how it started.
Now here's the leading ladies. But geezers of Gear on tour,
(01:27):
maybe she got some stories to share.
Now here's the leading ladies bythe Geezers of Gear Rock star
ladies with some stories to share because La La La La la
lady. Hello Ellen, welcome to Leading
(02:00):
Ladies Podcast. I was going to say leading lady
sounds a little strange. I feel more like the Dowager on
Downton. Abbey, shut up.
I always say to everybody, it's really strange because like,
we've been the last 20 minutes like before we've even hit
record. So we are here to talk about
(02:22):
LDI. Yes, LEILDILDI, It's been my
life actually since, well, a main part of my life since 1988
when we founded it, believe it or not.
It's a bit of a long story, but the woman who founded LDI is
called Pat McKay, and she still comes to LDI every year.
(02:44):
And she had a magazine originally called Theatre
Crafts, which she had bought from another publisher in
Pennsylvania. And in the late 80s, maybe 8687,
I'm not exactly sure what year, she bought another magazine that
was called Lighting Dimensions. And that was sort of when the
rock'n'roll lighting industry was getting started.
(03:06):
And there were two companies that were advertising high end
systems and their light, which were the big moving light
companies in America having sortof moved away.
The leading there were the Italian companies before that
like Kolomar and Clay Paki, and then it sort of shifted to the
(03:27):
States and we got high end systems and Vera Light.
And the first Vera Lights went out on that Genesis tour in the
80s. So by 88, the rock and roll
lighting industry was gearing up.
And they said to Pat, you know, the magazine is great, but why
don't you do a trade show? And that's sort of how it
started. And the very first year was in a
(03:49):
odd building that wasn't even a Convention Center building
called the Info Mart in Dallas, TX.
And the first day we were sort of standing there wondering if
anybody would show up. And they did.
Actually, about 3000 people cameto that very first show.
And that was 100 and. 88 in Dallas and for the first bunch
(04:10):
of years we moved around Dallas,Nashville, Reno, PAT was very
big on non union places because the union rules in the
convention centers can be very restrictive.
And over the years, LDI has negotiated all kinds of things
so that our production assistance can help, especially
(04:33):
in the conference rooms working alongside with the union people
so that it's a nice mix. Light Switch is a collective of
award-winning lighting, media and visual designers committed
to changing how people experience the world.
For more than 30 years we have been practicing pragmatic design
at Light Switch we believe it's our responsibility to keep our
clients creative, logistical andfinancial objectives in balance.
(04:56):
Light Switches range of expertise is extensive.
From working one-on-one with clients and artists to
multidisciplinary teams collaborate on all visual
aspects of temporary and permanent projects, Light Switch
creates unforgettable moments and powerful experiences.
We celebrate our team, clients and all of our industry's
diverse and talented people. As a part of our commitment to
inclusion in all aspects of entertainment and experience
(05:19):
design, Light Switch is proud tosponsor leading ladies.
Yeah. And we have had a lot of people
in the industry, including, likeour favorite example is Ben
Saltzman, who's the owner of ACTEntertainment, you know, who was
one of our interns many years ago.
Was he really? I didn't know that.
(05:39):
Yeah, he started. He was a college student at the
time, I guess, and there's quitea bit of quite a few people who
have gone through our internshipprogram who have leading roles
in the industry, but Ben is sortof like the poster boy.
Really he is because like, even I remember last year I was like,
like the big start of acting. He was there and he looks
amazing now. Like really like lost loads of
(06:00):
weight. Like he looked.
Really. Yeah.
Yeah, Yeah. He looked good last year.
He's a great guy. He's very smart.
It was very interesting the way he sort of, you know, I don't
know, Bob Gordon had started ACTEntertainment and he before that
he was like the high end hog systems, you know, I used to
(06:22):
call him the happiest hog farmerin America.
This is a great job selling those whole hogs and Bob did a
great job with the company and Ithink Ben has really expanded it
interestingly in a lot of interesting ways.
So they are obviously a huge supporter of LDI and we do a lot
of training, especially pre showtraining, which we call the LD
(06:44):
Institute, which is all the pre show stuff.
So like this year the pre show training opens on Wednesday,
December 3rd and the actual showfloor is open on December 7-8
and nine. So there's a couple days of only
training and then some of it overlaps.
And apartment for example, teaches a lot of hands on Grand
(07:06):
MA training. And as a matter of fact every
year and true already this year they teach a 2 day beginner
class twice and they sell out immediately and both are already
sold out. There's only eight people.
It's 4 consoles, 2 people per console, so it's really intimate
hands on training, which is really great.
And you know, you get the whole LDI experience with it, which is
(07:30):
quite something. Jessie, who is our show director
at the moment, has really expanded the show in a lot of
interesting ways and she's founda lot of cool ways to tie the
conference program, which I've always done, into the show floor
more. So like some of the rigging
stuff that we do is going to be on the show floor this year.
And as a climber, she's gotten someone to sponsor a a climbing
(07:55):
wall, which can be used with, you know, the same kind of
harnesses and stuff that the rigors use.
So there's a lot of interesting stuff going on on the show floor
that makes it more, just like, more than just walking around.
And I mean, you get to look at all the exhibits and all that
stuff. And we've also developed a
wonderful program that's called Battle of the Busk, which is
(08:16):
expanding this year to include asecond night, which is a VJ
challenge. So people can sign up for all
these things for free. It's really so that students get
to learn. Although the VJ challenge will
be sort of audited, people can apply and then certain people
will be selected. And those events will take place
(08:40):
on Monday, I'm sorry, Sunday night and Monday night, you
know, at LDI. And it's great.
It's like a great show to see before you go out, and they'll
probably be a drone show again this year outside.
So there's like a lot of stuff that goes on that surrounds the
traditional exhibit floor with all of the wonderful exhibitors
(09:00):
and all their new technology. And I mean, going back to
obviously use part of it from 88, I mean, what do you remember
most about those early days likeand have you have, did you ever
imagine it would grow into what it is today?
No, probably not, but it was hard to tell because the first
(09:21):
year of success Pat was like, oh, I used to think I ran a
business when I had a magazine and now I know what it is to run
a business. And eventually it just got so
big. And she was like a one man
company and she sort of, you know, eventually sold it because
of the needs of of a show like that.
You know, it will be very hard for her to hire a staff large
(09:43):
enough to run a show like that. And she was interested in other
things by that point. And I think at the end of 1995,
she sold the show to a group that then eventually sold it
again in 2019 to Quest X, which is the current owner of LDI.
And they turned out to be great because the first thing that
(10:05):
happened in 2000 was no show because of COVID.
Well, there they are with this brand new trade show that
they're pinning a lot of hopes on.
And we had a year off, but luckily the next year we sort of
slid in between Delta and Omicron.
You know, we were like able to like slip in and, and we people
(10:27):
had masks and, you know, or there were sanitary stations
everywhere. And it was a smaller show than
recent ones. But we were glad that we
survived the pandemic and that the industry seems to have
bounced back. Yep, for sure.
Last year was a great show, one of our biggest ever and we have
high hopes for this year. Seems to be registrations
(10:49):
perking along and things look good.
That was actually my very first LDI last year.
Really. Well, you know, it's only
because in the old days, um, there was a little more, uh,
freedom to do fun stuff in a waylike the first.
We do a wonderful program that'scalled Backstage Las Vegas,
(11:11):
which is a full day. It has been up to three days,
but at the moment it's one full day program where people get on
a bus at like 8:30 in the morning and we say goodbye to
them at 11:00 at night. And a friend of mine used to
call it the Ellen Lampert death March.
And they said, you know, you have to beg for a bathroom break
somewhere along the way. So it's not quite that bad.
(11:32):
There are definitely meal breaksand you know what are what are
on the bus at all times in case.But you go backstage at a lot of
different places. And we've been backstage and
probably every theater and club in Las Vegas, all kinds of fun
places. And interestingly enough, the
very first backstage Las Vegas, the show hadn't been in Las
(11:52):
Vegas yet. It was in Reno.
It's just one hour away on a plane.
So we actually chartered a private plane.
In Reno. And we put 100 people on that
plane, so it was probably about 90 attendees.
And the designers from me Stare,which was the first resident
(12:14):
Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas, including the sound
designer Jonathan Deans and the lighting designer Luke La
Fortune and Pat and myself. And we had, it was right after
the show closed on the Sunday and we had dinner boxes in the
seats on the plane. And when we landed on the tarmac
in Las Vegas, it was well before911.
(12:34):
You know, it was probably 1994, 1994 if I recall correctly.
And we, the buses were right on the tarmac.
We didn't even have to go into the terminal.
And they took everyone's luggageaway from them and took them
directly to Treasure Island, which had just opened with the
(12:57):
big battleship battle, which I think may be gone at this point.
I don't know what's on the stripanymore, but it was a big
battleship battle. It was the Brits and the
Americans, I think in the beginning.
Then it became some pirate girls.
I don't know, but there was thispirate show and we went
backstage and the pirate show and look with the technology
then inside and saw the evening performance of me stare.
(13:19):
And then people went back to their rooms and their luggage
had been assigned, you know, delivered to their room by the
hotel. And some people called us up and
said, oh, there's a bag here that's not mine.
And we said, yes, it's your backstage Las Vegas backpack.
All your stuff that you need forthe next few days is in there.
We also did these really clever red click cases.
They're like little red plastic briefcases that click open and
(13:42):
closed. And it had the last the LDI Reno
and backstage Las Vegas logos, you know, silk screened on the
outside. How I should have brought mine.
I have it here. And all inside were the copies
of the magazine that we did at the time, Entertainment design.
Or yeah, maybe it was entertainment design by then
(14:02):
with all the articles about all the stuff we were going to be
seeing because, you know, now wejust send people links and they
look at it all online. But in those days we actually
gave them copies of the magazines and printouts of the
gear list of the places they were going.
So that was sort of really a funevent.
And another really fun event waswe used to do a lot of pyro
(14:23):
stuff. And one year we decided to have
a major pyro exhibition outside.And some people that we knew
donated a set of like a little western town.
And these people from Universal Studios in Orlando had shipped
out like all the pyro stuff. And they actually like, drilled
(14:44):
holes in the set and filled it with gunpowder or pyro powder or
whatever it is and then painted over it so it looked fine to the
audience. And then they decided there
should be a car in front of it. And there would be like a cowboy
fight in front of this set, and the car would explode along with
the set turning on fire. So we got all the rules and
regulations for what to do to blow up a car, water car for
(15:07):
$100. It's on junkyard.
But they forgot to tell us two things.
One is you have to put plywood or something under the tires so
that when the car blows up, the tires don't melt into the
parking lot. And we didn't know that.
And the other thing was that cars from the 70s, which is
probably was, did not have shatterproof glass on the
(15:30):
windshield. So we had fire watch for this
little event. And when the car exploded, the
windshield went into about 5000 small pieces of glass.
But luckily it arced up and overthe crowd and landed in the
bushes behind us. And the fire watch, they were
(15:51):
like, Oh my God. And then, of course, when they
dragged this car away and there were burnt tire piles on the
parking lot, Oh my God, are we going to have to pay for that?
But I think the 2000 people who went outside to watch that will
never forget it. No, I'm sure they won't.
My goodness. Event Safety Alliance.
(16:11):
You needed to be there then. Well, yes, they didn't exist
yet, luckily. And, you know, I don't imagine
that companies like Questex would much, you know, humor us
in doing things like that. But it was great fun.
Yeah, the back in the day where you could get away with a lot
more and but. Are.
You did you say that you're still doing the backstage thing
(16:35):
in WE? Do we do?
We're doing it this year. It will be on Saturday, December
6th. And it's another, I know,
another full thing. Oh, there's so much going on
that day. You wouldn't believe it.
But there's a limit. You know, there's two buses, so
only like 90 people can go and there's a little more swap.
So they're going to start out at8:00 or 8:30 in the morning,
(16:59):
probably have a little breakfaston the bus.
And they're going to go over to the Wynn Hotel and have a three
hour backstage tour of Awakening, which is probably the
highest tech show ever on the strip, sadly for me.
I mean, they're probably happy about it.
They had a pool there before, a big pool that they had a show
(17:20):
called The Rev, and I'm very fond of aquatic shows, but they
have filled in the pool. I don't know permanently, if not
temporarily, I don't know. But now they've got this other
show and it's very, very, very high tech.
So what they do is they divide the group of, you know, maybe 50
to 100. Last year we had 80 people.
So assuming there's 80 people onthis tour, they divided into
(17:41):
like four groups of 20 and take them around and they meet with
the crew at four different stations in the theater.
So you get to visit like automation, audio, projection
and lighting, and you get like spiel from each of the
departments. And then they all meet back in
the theater and have AQ and A with everyone before they get
back on the bus. And then the next stop is going
(18:04):
to be this new thing over at Area 15, which is called
Universal Horror Unleashed. And it's for haunted houses.
And what they're going to do is have a lights on tour so they
can see what it is, you know, from the technical side of
things. And then the lights go out.
And at 2:00, you get to be the first people actually through it
(18:25):
for the day to see it with the lights off, which is something
we used to do a lot of Disney inthe haunted house at Disneyland,
which was always, by the time wegot there after LDI, it was
always had it's Christmas overlay.
And going through it with the team with the lights on is quite
amazing because you get to see alot of the, they don't give away
(18:48):
any of their proprietary, you know, magic or tricks or
anything, but you get to see howa lot of the stuff functions.
And then when you go through it again with the lights off, it's
like, Oh my God, that's amazing.So that's what they're going to
do with there. And then we're hoping to visit
like the new theater and the newnightclub at the Fountain Blow
and the new club that's called Club Theater Voltaire over at
(19:11):
the Venetian. Have a little dinner and go back
to Awakening for the 9:00 show with a little Q&A afterwards.
Why is it on the Saturday I'm? Sorry, next year we'll try and
do it on a different day. Who's so who's going to be like
with everyone on the bus and going round like?
(19:31):
Who's We have an extraordinary, extraordinary Double Trouble,
which is the name of their company.
I don't know if you met Bill Dick night last year, who's our
production manager at LDI. He was like the did you go to
the new technology breakfast? He's on stage, usually in
wildflowered pants. Introducing.
(19:53):
Technology Breakfast Well, believe it or not, Bill has a
twin brother, Pal and. And they look exactly like,
except that Pat has longer hair these days, which is good
because when they had the same haircut, people would go up to
Pat looking for an answer for the question they asked Bill an
hour earlier. And he's like, yeah, I've never
seen you before. And they're like, yes, I just
spoke to you. I was like, no, no, it was my
(20:13):
brother. And he is just an ultimate host
and a real, really, really greatguy.
So he has been the host of Backstage for the past several
years. I used to do it but it's way too
much for me anymore to be out walking.
Around a full on day, but just yeah and I suppose.
(20:35):
You remember one time a couple years ago, the evening show was
Cher at whatever theater she wasat, and Pat was wearing like a
gold Lamay jacket. And somebody said to him, are
you Sonny Bono? Or, you know, that's like, no,
he's dead. But with the long hair and
everything, he kind of fit the bill.
He could have been a look alike.But they they're an interesting
(20:57):
team and they have AAV company called Double Trouble.
And Bill also started out as an intern.
I think this is probably his I don't know.
I'm going to say 18th LDI. I'm making that up somewhere
between 15 and 20. And he is now our production
manager. And he used to, because he had
(21:19):
his own AV company in Michigan where he lives.
Sometimes he'd solve some of ourproblems because a normal AV
company really doesn't get like LDI, you know, we don't want
like, you know, the kind of conference room projectors that
other shows might, you know, like we want entertainment
technology in every room. So Bill's company has eventually
become our AV provider, which isgreat.
(21:41):
So he sort of wears 2 hats. He's running the Double Trouble
side, which is the AV provider. And then he's running the, we
have a wonderful. He used to be called an
internship program and now we call them production assistants,
which is what they really are. And they really help with all
the technical set up in the rooms and they really are sort
(22:03):
of the backbone of the technicalside of the conference program,
which is great. And like I said before, them
have grown up to be, you know, big deals in the industry, which
is great. It is amazing.
So what else is you've got that going on on the Saturday.
You've got I believe Riggs is happening on Saturday as well.
Yes, Riggs is on Saturday and Sunday.
(22:23):
This is the second year. It's a 2 day rigging intensive
which is run by two very experienced riggers, Tracy
Nunnally and Eric Rouse. And it's 2 days of in depth
sessions, a little different this year.
The first day is everybody staystogether and there's sessions on
a various, you know, topics for professional readers.
(22:43):
And then the second day, they break out into groups.
So there's two breakouts in the morning and two breakouts in the
afternoon, and they run about 2 1/2 to three hours.
And they're on things like rigging math and how to make
knots and all the stuff that riggers really need to do.
So they're deeper dives so that they can break up into smaller
(23:04):
groups and really have deep dives other than just more, you
know, sort of speaking and listening to people on panels.
They really get to do it. Get involved with it because you
have. That's a very interesting
program that launched. Haven't you?
You've got Roy, Yes, coming in for that.
To stop because he's on your dining.
But dinosaurs, which is another great event.
(23:25):
We've asked him to do a he's adorable.
We asked him to do a, a keynote and I didn't want to like, you
know, burden him. So I sent him the schedule and
he said, oh, I see you've only got 1/2 of an hour.
I thought it would be longer, soI said, oh, I'll make it 45
minutes. Is that better?
He said yes. So that's very exciting.
Roy is really like the godfatherof entertainment rigging.
(23:46):
So it will be great having him kick off rigs and then finish
the day at Dining with Dinosaurs, which is, you know,
obviously presented by Geezers of Gear.
And last year was a lunch, and this year will be a dinner and a
panel. And I think it's a great
opportunity for people to dine and discuss with legends of the
(24:08):
concert touring industry. I think it's very exciting.
Yeah, I'm very. Very proud of this song because
obviously I'm part of that with you, you know, getting, getting
all the Dinos together. And like you said last year, it
was, I think you'd allocated something like an hour and a
half, two hours last year for a.Right.
And this year it's like 4 hours,4 1/2 hours, it's like 5 to 9 or
(24:28):
930, which is great. And, you know, I really applaud
Marcel for bringing it to us because Jesse and I were looking
for something that would be likea really interesting meet up
kind of thing. Everybody's always talking about
mentoring, mentoring, mentoring.They want to meet people, you
know, and getting all these veterans together was a really
great idea. And Marcel, he calls and he's
(24:49):
goes, well, I've got this crazy idea and you're probably going
to shut me down immediately, butit's called Dining with
Dinosaurs. And I'm like.
And. He's like really, I'm like
absolutely. And I called Jesse and I said
our prayers have been answered. You know that mentoring thing we
wanted to do well, we do a different thing.
It's actually called the mentoring meet up.
But that what we wanted to do, like around a meal and, you
(25:10):
know, you know, getting a lot ofpeople involved.
And I said, Marshall just answered our prayers.
And actually it's now the sort of evening keystone to another
full day event that's called X Live, the concert touring
sessions, which Marcel was like,you know, you guys don't really
do enough concert touring. And I said to him, yeah, and
(25:31):
I've sort of got, you know, FOMOabout the concert touring
conference and Lititz because I can't get to Lititz because it's
always during LDI. And we could do our own and sort
of skew it a little differently.Ours is more towards the design
and technology and you. Got Jake Berry helping you with
that as. Well, Jake Berry has come on as
the creative consultant for thatand Marcel and Jake will be
(25:54):
moderating the sessions. And we have great speakers like
Bob Bonio, but Allen Sooner, Rutier, it's a Roy Bickel.
Again, it's a great group of people on there.
So you know, the, the, the, there's a lot of information if
you go to theldiwebsite@ldishow.com and
(26:16):
you'll find everything sort of day by day under our agenda.
And it's really, it's really packed.
I was going to say I've got someof the like the panel discussion
and we've got like the road to Success, which is a great one.
Then what else have we got goingon here?
There's. One with show records like
things that went wrong and how you fixed it.
There's making moments with designers of like their biggest
(26:38):
successes. There are, you know, the show
records is the like the biggest like bad things that happened
and how you fixed it. There's one about the the use of
the media server technology on the Coldplay tour.
That's going to be a good problem.
Yeah. So there's a lot of interesting
stuff going on that day. I think it's really a cool next
(27:01):
live is something that we used to have before now that was
eventually, it was originally a stand alone event and then when
Quest X took us over, they didn't want to run it as a
standalone. So we've melded it into LDI and
it's had like a different theme every year.
One year was the metaverse, one year was AI and XR, and this
(27:23):
year it's the concert touring sessions.
And I hope that sticks and that it's a big enough success that
that becomes, you know, the new X live for the next 20 years,
and then you talk. No, you already said you're not
retiring. Oh yeah?
Well, I promised Jesse I would retire at 97.
Yeah, of course you have a few. Years left.
(27:44):
Yeah, years and years. And like we're saying, so last
year, so it was actually Marcel,obviously he's, he's got his The
Geezers of Gear podcast. And it was Scott DeVos that was
2 years old last year that he came on and he had this idea for
getting everybody together. Marcel loved the idea, then came
to you with it. You love the idea.
(28:06):
The lunch was last year and it was a success last year.
But this year really is, you know, like you said, it's now 4
hours, 4 1/2 hours. Fight starts at 5:30 and
finishes at 9:30. Dinner, more of a panel, round
tables, food. And there's going to be a bar
which, you know, that's going toget everyone's talking.
(28:27):
Right. And and that's one.
Of the things that we wanted to do was, you know, really make
sure that it's inclusive. So not only is it the evening
event for the X Live Day, but it's also open to everyone in
our Young Career Professionals program, which is a special
program that we run for people 18 to 25 who might not be able
(28:47):
to afford to come to the show. So they get a full conference
badge included, while LD Innovation Conference badge with
a choice of about 100 sessions at the conference and it
includes X live and dining with dinosaurs.
And I think they pay somewhere depending on what time of where
in the registration cycle you buy it, it's like 159 or $199.
(29:12):
So it really for the people who are just getting into the
industry, a great way for them to, you know, dip their toes
into everything that we're doing.
Yeah, that's really awesome. And you can also get the Dining
with Dinosaurs. That's the only a la carte one
that you're selling at the moment as well.
Yes, Dining with dinosaurs is a la carte.
I think it's something like $109and it includes the dinner.
(29:37):
Yeah, yeah. 114. Nine, yeah.
So that can be bought a la carteat LDI and the Young Career
Professionals program is actually part of a larger
initiative that we have, what's called Foster the Future.
And other elements of that include this year there's going
to be a career fair. Last year was a career day and
(30:01):
this year we've sort of expandedit, put it on the show floor.
There'll be a stage with a lot of like business oriented
sessions for people who are, youknow, looking to up their career
level up their career. And we also have a diversity
scholarship, the Pat McKay Diversity and Design Scholarship
Program, which is generously sponsored by Light Switch.
(30:24):
Yes, it is. I was just going to say that.
Which is great. We really appreciate, you know,
John Featherstone and everyone at Light Switch for their
support. I think this is the third year
that they've supported it, whichis great.
And it's a really great way to meet a lot of young people in
the industry that come from a lot of different communities,
(30:45):
different walks of life, and they bring a lot to the table.
I remember when like I, I started doing this podcast, it
was, it was just, you know, I just, I don't, I don't even know
how it happened, but it happened.
And I'm doing this little podcast now talking to the
ladies and the first person. I think it was even before I'd
even had a podcast out, John, John basically contacted Marcel
(31:10):
and is like, we want to be part of this.
Like we just love it. And so like John and Colin,
they've just been so supportive of, you know, everything that
I'm doing. And we, and again, I've had some
amazing people, ladies come on the podcast, you know, chatting
about their careers and all the rest of it.
And so I feel very lucky. So, you know, the fact that
(31:30):
they've been part of like the LDI sponsoring this.
I know they're terrific. They're great.
Really, they're really, really wonderful and I was hoping that
John will be coming to LDI, but at the moment I think his
schedule, I think he's going to be out touring or so I know.
I love him. Yeah, me too.
(31:52):
And I mean, we've got some like you mentioned, like for
obviously X live, but even for dining with dinosaurs, you know,
we've got some great Dinos that are coming on board and there's
going to be lots of stuff on yours, your website for, you
know, checking out. The thing about dining with
dinosaurs, it's like, you know, the power that was in that room
(32:16):
last year. And then some of the people who
wandered in, they're like, Oh myGod, my friends are all in this
room. I have to get in there.
You know, Like, no, it was great.
It was really, it was really terrific.
I mean, I look at the some of the people for this year like
Alan Branton, now Jeff Rabbits, John Wiseman, I mean, it's an
amazing group of people. Yeah, the lovely Bob Gordon
(32:38):
again. Yeah, Although so there's a
little bit of Seth Jackson. He's coming here.
He'll be back again. He was.
Kind of like a junior Dino, but he.
Yeah, we all say this. You're a junior one.
But yeah. And at the moment we've got
Nancy Mays come in and there's acouple of other ladies.
(32:58):
I'm trying to get trying to get some more ladies on the panel as
well. And then of course, that's
really going to be this like theSaturday night, like you said,
that's going to be like the opening.
We've got the Golden Diner award.
So that's and we're really. Also just say that at this
point, ETC has come in as a sponsor for X Live and Dining
(33:24):
with Dinosaurs, which is very exciting.
So thanks to them for that and Ithink they'll be more sponsors
as we get closer to the event and it's going to be great.
I think that there's just like something for everyone.
We also have a new thing called the Stage Managers Academy,
which was for the past two yearsjust a series of sessions in the
(33:45):
LDLDI conference. But this year we decided to sort
of make it a stand alone event for two days, kind of like the
rigging event, so that stage managers also have like a
dedicated lunch and a chance to network and.
What days are they on? It's also Saturday and Sunday.
Oh my God. Well, we try not to do a lot of
(34:07):
stuff on the show days because, you know, we don't want to take
people off the show floor. Yeah, true.
You know, so I wouldn't want to run something like Sunday and
Monday, and a lot of people can't get there.
So Saturday's kind of like the Nexus of the show.
But if it turns out to be way too much on the same day, we can
always look at that for next year.
But I think everything will do great.
(34:28):
I mean, you know, there's alwayslike, you know, upwards of
13,000 people at the show, so they sort themselves.
I was going to ask you. You know.
In these like what, what kind ofnumber do you know we look at
for I think. We're helping for, you know, 13
to 15,000 this year. Yep. 15,000 would be a great
number. I always loved last year and
(34:50):
like the the first opening little firework, not fireworks
like little bangers and you remember you standing there and
lapping everyone as they come in.
And so that's really. Nice.
A lot of fun. You know, it never gets old for
some reason. That one moment, that minute
when everybody is like in the lobby waiting to come in, you
know, even the first year after Kovid, some of the Quest X
(35:13):
people were like make sure there's a lot of people in the
lobby. You know, we wanted great
pictures for the ribbon cutting.I said don't worry, we always
have a lot of people. You know, I think they were a
little nervous because it was a smaller show, but everybody was
there. We also kick off the 1st 2
mornings with new technology breakfast, which are free to all
LDI attendees. They usually have some sponsors
(35:35):
attached to them. And you know, it's not really a
Big Breakfast. You get a bagel or a, you know,
a yogurt or less of juice coffee.
But it's a great way to see a lot of the technology that's on
the show floor. So all the manufacturers get
like a three to five minute slotand they can say, this is my new
product, come see it at my boothand get a live demo of it.
(35:56):
And it's, it's really quite nice.
It's a lovely events. Did I read as well there was
something like the LDI after dark?
Was that in? LDI After Dark is a fun program
too. It's working with the clubs in
town, mostly the ones from the tower group, and they give
anybody with an LDI badge free admission.
(36:17):
So there's usually a, there's a schedule that will be online
before LDI, of which night, which club will welcome, you
know, all the LDI people. So that's a good way for anybody
over 21 to kind of end the day, although it's past my bedtime.
You will. Not, you know what, last year it
was really embarrassing. Like the the jet lag just got me
so badly. I mean, the only event that even
(36:40):
Marcel and I managed to go to was the UP stadium, which was
amazing. And then after that I think we
left at midnight and I was shattered because I was like I
was a zombie. Because the time difference
really is quite brutal for me. Yes, I can imagine.
Yeah, but I said. To most several days to get in
the swing of a new place you know.
It does. I mean, this year I am literally
(37:01):
just going to fly in and fly out.
Whereas last year, because I'd never been to Vegas before, I
stayed, you know, a couple of extra days before.
But I think that didn't really do me any good because like, I
was up at 4:00 in the morning, 3-4 in the morning.
I was awake, but I was going to bed at six or seven before, like
Marcel and everyone arrived. It really didn't do me any good
because I just needed to get outthere and see people.
(37:23):
But I'm really looking forward to coming back this year, really
looking forward to coming back, looking forward to.
Yeah, just doing getting it all organized.
Did you feel now that because itwasn't LDI at a different time
of the year and then Formula Onecame along it?
Was in November, Yeah, it's beenin October.
It's been in November and now December, November for a long
(37:46):
time. Like the week before
Thanksgiving was always a great date for us.
And then this little thing called the Formula One car race
decided to go to Las Vegas on our dates and everybody's in
Vegas said you don't want to be here when it's here.
And even though I hear that, youknow, over where the Convention
(38:11):
Center is is not bad, the Strip is like completely blocked off.
Then I don't get the people wantto be in Vegas and not be able
to go, you know, the strip or cross the Strip or whatever.
I haven't been there during F1, but we in our wisdom, we decided
it was probably better to move to December, which does not
(38:33):
please everyone. Some people think it's a little
too close to the holidays. And there's always there's a
little bit of a question about, you know, shipping gear by the
end of the year if people order it in December because it is so
close to the holidays. But it's turned out to be a
great date for us. And especially, I mean, like
looking at the dinosaurs and some of the other events that
(38:56):
we're having, a lot of these people may have been on the road
during December and by, I'm sorry, November, and by December
they're back. So we've actually had, I think,
more designers at the show on the December dates and the
numbers are holding. So I think that in spite of a
few people who are not loving it, it's turned out to be great
(39:17):
dates for us. But even in December when we
arrived, they were still pullingdown, you know, all the
artificial like, you know, the, the F1 structures.
It was still chaotic when we were there.
So you can imagine. And it's hard to tell.
I mean, it might be exciting, itmight not be.
But our feeling was that, you know, I mean, like even like
backstage Las Vegas, how would we get around?
(39:40):
How would we get people to hotels?
How would we, you know? And also like, especially that
time, the hotel prices would go up even more.
And you know, I mean, I, I talk about F1 as an experience
because like I was saying like that was, that's where I started
was Formula One. And really we, you know, we used
to go there and just take over like, you know, and, and that,
(40:01):
that was it. So I think it's a good decision
to move it away from that. And December is a good, it's a
good day. It's the start of December, like
you said, and hopefully. Now, once, once, yeah, once
people get used to the idea thatit's there's a change, you know,
that's, that's. How it gives people enough time
(40:23):
between, you know, like there used to be like one year we were
practically back-to-back with Plaza, like like less than a
month after Plaza. And it was hard for some of the
European companies, for the English companies to get their
stuff, you know, from one show to another or get that organized
because I'm sure that some people don't even think about
LDI until after applause is over, which is after Labor Day
(40:45):
in the States. So that seems like the beginning
of September. Like right now, everybody's
ramping up. They're like, oh, LDI, you know,
And then like now it's like on their the front burner.
Yeah, on the radar for everything.
Exactly. Well, I love hearing about all
of this. Is that I can't wait to come
back and and yeah, it should. Be a very, very exciting show
(41:06):
this year. There's a lot going on and.
Should be. I was quite surprised actually.
But like everything on the Saturday, there really is
There's so much going on A. Busy day, yeah, yeah.
There's also a lot of other stuff in the LD Institute and
the LD. The LD Innovation Conference
starts that day too. But basically it's the art of
(41:26):
programming, which are for back-to-back lighting
programming sessions that are very popular.
So people are just going to haveto sort themselves out.
Like I say, like going to a Chinese restaurant, 1 from
column A1, from column B. You can't have everything on the
menu. And tickets now they're flowing
there. You can go and register online
(41:47):
now the. Prices, you can go on there and
one thing that's a little different this year is that we
did not offer free exhibit hall passes at the get go.
Usually we do in the summer and then in the fall it goes up.
But there's so much that you gotfor the $49.00 floor pass, which
(42:08):
includes the three new technology breakfast, all kinds
of content and sessions on the floor, the two parties, the one
on Monday, Sunday night for Battle of the Bus, Monday night
for the new VJ challenge, the LDI Awards ceremony, which also
includes breakfast on Tuesday morning.
So there's so much that goes into this package.
(42:29):
And as a little secret to your listeners, every exhibitor at
LDI has a code for a free pass. So keep your eye on your
exhibitors, social media and hopefully we'll be promoting
their code because that way theyget to get people to come see
(42:50):
them. That's awesome.
That is awesome. Well, I think that that's a
watch out for your social media,watch out for your free code or
pay the money because it's stillreally cheap for what you get.
Yeah, $49.00, it's a great deal.And there are occasional sales
where it's 50% off. So like over Labor Day, there
(43:10):
was a there was a sale, it was 2450.
I mean, you can barely get dinner on the strip for 2450.
You know, you can't breakfast. We're giving you 3 now.
I mean, it is a really good deal.
So it's much more than just, youknow, the exhibits.
Definitely. When will you be arriving?
Because yeah, on the 1st. December 1st, right?
(43:32):
When do you come? In I think it will be on the 4th
because I think my flag, yeah, Ithink it's the fourth, yeah.
So we'll have to, we'll have to catch up on.
Absolutely dinner. Yeah, dinner.
Dinner. We'll go for dinner.
That would be great and but thank you so much.
I don't know if there's anythingelse that's great, not probably
(43:54):
you'll. Wanna know from me but if I
forgot anything major I'm sure someone will tell me.
Yeah, no, I'm gonna do be doing a lot of stuff on the social
media for geezers and just promoting a lot as well.
That's going to be coming up in the next couple of weeks for
sure. And just what what I always say,
spreading the word about everything.
(44:16):
I think I should just add that like for the LD Institute, which
starts on the third, whatever you're interested in, there's
probably a class there for you. There's a lot of audio training
on the show floor that's free later in the week.
But starting on the third, there's hands on lighting
console training, there's hands on media server training,
there's a lot of vector works training, there's AI, there's
(44:36):
content creation, there's Netgear switching, there's haze
based fog, there's follow me automation, there's like all at
whatever you're looking for. There's ILDA laser training,
there's pangolin laser training,there's all kinds of stuff.
So I think people who are interested in really high
(44:58):
quality professional training aspart of the the experience
should take a look at the institute.
And just because I love her loads it.
Laurie is going to be there withbehind the scenes as well, isn't
she? She normally has a booth there
as well. Behind the scenes, yes, they
they definitely have added a very nice aspect to LD.
I think this is the third year, 4th, that they're doing a
(45:19):
Wellness lounge right on the show floor and they have a
series of sessions in there thatstarts with morning yoga, cup of
coffee, yoga and all sorts of sessions about people that I've
done touring could be interestedin.
Like nutrition, sleep deprivation, all sorts of things
that go along with the behind the scenes mental health.
(45:40):
And it's a safe spot on the floor, a great quiet area where
people can go and just sort of kick off their shoes, use and
relax. Yeah, that's really and they are
they doing the run this year as well.
I know last year they. Five Ki think it's on Sunday
morning and that can also be registered online.
If you have a badge already, youcan go back into the
(46:00):
registration portal and update. You can buy but dining dinosaurs
a la carte and you can buy the 5K run.
Maybe I'll call it this year. Let's see.
There you go. I haven't got my running shoes
on for a long time, but yeah, you never know.
That'll be fine. It depends how your jet lag is
going, but if you're up at 3:00 in the morning anyway, I think
(46:20):
they started 6630 or 7. Seriously, that's what I said.
You know, every day it was like 3330I was like, I'm wide awake
now. Like so yeah, maybe I'll maybe
I'll join I. Know it's not golf, but you
should get Marcel to go with you.
I don't think does Marcel play golf?
I don't think he he, yeah. But all the industry people went
(46:40):
out on these charity golf things, but maybe not.
No, yes, Yeah. Well, actually last year as well
was the 1st, the first time I'd actually met Marcel in person as
well, which was quite interesting.
I've been working for him for like Gear Source and all the
rest of all these years. It was the first time I actually
met. How interesting.
And he was just so funny. The very first moment, he was
(47:02):
like, well, we have to, you know, we have to have a Bloody
Mary. And I was like, what?
I. Was like 9:00 AM.
I didn't know it was, it was a little bit later.
It was like 1030. And I was like, you know, like,
because you don't know, you're like, you're you're my boss.
And he was like, oh come on, let's do it properly.
(47:22):
Evening, Like, yeah, why is the show at London?
A lot of the booths have bars built right into them.
Some of them used to even have like a second story and they go,
oh, come up to our pub and have a beer.
It's like, you know, show just opened.
Give me a break. Well, Ellen, thank you so, so
much. And come on, I look forward to
(47:43):
seeing you and everyone at LDI. Amazing.
Me too. Thanks, Ellen.
Thanks. Bye.
Now here's the leading ladies byGeezers of Gear on tour.
(48:10):
Maybe she got some stories to share.
Now here's the leading ladies bythe Geezers of Gear, Rockstar
ladies with some stories to share because La La La La la
(48:30):
ladies. La La La La La La ladies.
Yes, she's a high. Now here's the leading ladies by
kizzers of kids Rockstar ladies for some stories to share.
(48:57):
Now here's the leading ladies bythe kizzers of.
It's LEILDILDI. It's been my life actually
since, well, a main part of my life since 1988 when we founded
it, believe it or not. It's a bit of a long story, but
the woman who founded LDI is called Pat Mackay, and she still
comes to LDI every year. And she had a magazine
(00:21):
originally called Theatre Crafts, which she had bought
from another publisher in Pennsylvania.
And in the late 80s, maybe 8687,I'm not exactly sure what year,
she bought another magazine thatwas called Lighting Dimensions.
And that was sort of when the rock'n'roll lighting industry
was getting started and there were two companies that were
(00:42):
advertising high end systems andverilite, which were the big
moving light companies in America.
Having our first Verilites went out on that Genesis tour in the
80s. So by 88, the rock and roll
lighting industry was gearing upand they said, but to Pat, you
know, the magazine is great, butwhy don't you do a trade show?
(01:04):
And that's sort of how it started.
Now here's the leading ladies. But geezers of Gear on tour,
(01:27):
maybe she got some stories to share.
Now here's the leading ladies bythe Geezers of Gear Rock star
ladies with some stories to share because La La La La la
lady. Hello Ellen, welcome to Leading
(02:00):
Ladies Podcast. I was going to say leading lady
sounds a little strange. I feel more like the Dowager on
Downton. Abbey, shut up.
I always say to everybody, it's really strange because like,
we've been the last 20 minutes like before we've even hit
record. So we are here to talk about
(02:22):
LDI. Yes, LEILDILDI, It's been my
life actually since, well, a main part of my life since 1988
when we founded it, believe it or not.
It's a bit of a long story, but the woman who founded LDI is
called Pat McKay, and she still comes to LDI every year.
(02:44):
And she had a magazine originally called Theatre
Crafts, which she had bought from another publisher in
Pennsylvania. And in the late 80s, maybe 8687,
I'm not exactly sure what year, she bought another magazine that
was called Lighting Dimensions. And that was sort of when the
rock'n'roll lighting industry was getting started.
(03:06):
And there were two companies that were advertising high end
systems and their light, which were the big moving light
companies in America having sortof moved away.
The leading there were the Italian companies before that
like Kolomar and Clay Paki, and then it sort of shifted to the
(03:27):
States and we got high end systems and Vera Light.
And the first Vera Lights went out on that Genesis tour in the
80s. So by 88, the rock and roll
lighting industry was gearing up.
And they said to Pat, you know, the magazine is great, but why
don't you do a trade show? And that's sort of how it
started. And the very first year was in a
(03:49):
odd building that wasn't even a Convention Center building
called the Info Mart in Dallas, TX.
And the first day we were sort of standing there wondering if
anybody would show up. And they did.
Actually, about 3000 people cameto that very first show.
And that was 100 and. 88 in Dallas and for the first bunch
(04:10):
of years we moved around Dallas,Nashville, Reno, PAT was very
big on non union places because the union rules in the
convention centers can be very restrictive.
And over the years, LDI has negotiated all kinds of things
so that our production assistance can help, especially
(04:33):
in the conference rooms working alongside with the union people
so that it's a nice mix. Light Switch is a collective of
award-winning lighting, media and visual designers committed
to changing how people experience the world.
For more than 30 years we have been practicing pragmatic design
at Light Switch we believe it's our responsibility to keep our
clients creative, logistical andfinancial objectives in balance.
(04:56):
Light Switches range of expertise is extensive.
From working one-on-one with clients and artists to
multidisciplinary teams collaborate on all visual
aspects of temporary and permanent projects, Light Switch
creates unforgettable moments and powerful experiences.
We celebrate our team, clients and all of our industry's
diverse and talented people. As a part of our commitment to
inclusion in all aspects of entertainment and experience
(05:19):
design, Light Switch is proud tosponsor leading ladies.
Yeah. And we have had a lot of people
in the industry, including, likeour favorite example is Ben
Saltzman, who's the owner of ACTEntertainment, you know, who was
one of our interns many years ago.
Was he really? I didn't know that.
(05:39):
Yeah, he started. He was a college student at the
time, I guess, and there's quitea bit of quite a few people who
have gone through our internshipprogram who have leading roles
in the industry, but Ben is sortof like the poster boy.
Really he is because like, even I remember last year I was like,
like the big start of acting. He was there and he looks
amazing now. Like really like lost loads of
(06:00):
weight. Like he looked.
Really. Yeah.
Yeah, Yeah. He looked good last year.
He's a great guy. He's very smart.
It was very interesting the way he sort of, you know, I don't
know, Bob Gordon had started ACTEntertainment and he before that
he was like the high end hog systems, you know, I used to
(06:22):
call him the happiest hog farmerin America.
This is a great job selling those whole hogs and Bob did a
great job with the company and Ithink Ben has really expanded it
interestingly in a lot of interesting ways.
So they are obviously a huge supporter of LDI and we do a lot
of training, especially pre showtraining, which we call the LD
(06:44):
Institute, which is all the pre show stuff.
So like this year the pre show training opens on Wednesday,
December 3rd and the actual showfloor is open on December 7-8
and nine. So there's a couple days of only
training and then some of it overlaps.
And apartment for example, teaches a lot of hands on Grand
(07:06):
MA training. And as a matter of fact every
year and true already this year they teach a 2 day beginner
class twice and they sell out immediately and both are already
sold out. There's only eight people.
It's 4 consoles, 2 people per console, so it's really intimate
hands on training, which is really great.
And you know, you get the whole LDI experience with it, which is
(07:30):
quite something. Jessie, who is our show director
at the moment, has really expanded the show in a lot of
interesting ways and she's founda lot of cool ways to tie the
conference program, which I've always done, into the show floor
more. So like some of the rigging
stuff that we do is going to be on the show floor this year.
And as a climber, she's gotten someone to sponsor a a climbing
(07:55):
wall, which can be used with, you know, the same kind of
harnesses and stuff that the rigors use.
So there's a lot of interesting stuff going on on the show floor
that makes it more, just like, more than just walking around.
And I mean, you get to look at all the exhibits and all that
stuff. And we've also developed a
wonderful program that's called Battle of the Busk, which is
(08:16):
expanding this year to include asecond night, which is a VJ
challenge. So people can sign up for all
these things for free. It's really so that students get
to learn. Although the VJ challenge will
be sort of audited, people can apply and then certain people
will be selected. And those events will take place
(08:40):
on Monday, I'm sorry, Sunday night and Monday night, you
know, at LDI. And it's great.
It's like a great show to see before you go out, and they'll
probably be a drone show again this year outside.
So there's like a lot of stuff that goes on that surrounds the
traditional exhibit floor with all of the wonderful exhibitors
(09:00):
and all their new technology. And I mean, going back to
obviously use part of it from 88, I mean, what do you remember
most about those early days likeand have you have, did you ever
imagine it would grow into what it is today?
No, probably not, but it was hard to tell because the first
(09:21):
year of success Pat was like, oh, I used to think I ran a
business when I had a magazine and now I know what it is to run
a business. And eventually it just got so
big. And she was like a one man
company and she sort of, you know, eventually sold it because
of the needs of of a show like that.
You know, it will be very hard for her to hire a staff large
(09:43):
enough to run a show like that. And she was interested in other
things by that point. And I think at the end of 1995,
she sold the show to a group that then eventually sold it
again in 2019 to Quest X, which is the current owner of LDI.
And they turned out to be great because the first thing that
(10:05):
happened in 2000 was no show because of COVID.
Well, there they are with this brand new trade show that
they're pinning a lot of hopes on.
And we had a year off, but luckily the next year we sort of
slid in between Delta and Omicron.
You know, we were like able to like slip in and, and we people
(10:27):
had masks and, you know, or there were sanitary stations
everywhere. And it was a smaller show than
recent ones. But we were glad that we
survived the pandemic and that the industry seems to have
bounced back. Yep, for sure.
Last year was a great show, one of our biggest ever and we have
high hopes for this year. Seems to be registrations
(10:49):
perking along and things look good.
That was actually my very first LDI last year.
Really. Well, you know, it's only
because in the old days, um, there was a little more, uh,
freedom to do fun stuff in a waylike the first.
We do a wonderful program that'scalled Backstage Las Vegas,
(11:11):
which is a full day. It has been up to three days,
but at the moment it's one full day program where people get on
a bus at like 8:30 in the morning and we say goodbye to
them at 11:00 at night. And a friend of mine used to
call it the Ellen Lampert death March.
And they said, you know, you have to beg for a bathroom break
somewhere along the way. So it's not quite that bad.
(11:32):
There are definitely meal breaksand you know what are what are
on the bus at all times in case.But you go backstage at a lot of
different places. And we've been backstage and
probably every theater and club in Las Vegas, all kinds of fun
places. And interestingly enough, the
very first backstage Las Vegas, the show hadn't been in Las
(11:52):
Vegas yet. It was in Reno.
It's just one hour away on a plane.
So we actually chartered a private plane.
In Reno. And we put 100 people on that
plane, so it was probably about 90 attendees.
And the designers from me Stare,which was the first resident
(12:14):
Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas, including the sound
designer Jonathan Deans and the lighting designer Luke La
Fortune and Pat and myself. And we had, it was right after
the show closed on the Sunday and we had dinner boxes in the
seats on the plane. And when we landed on the tarmac
in Las Vegas, it was well before911.
(12:34):
You know, it was probably 1994, 1994 if I recall correctly.
And we, the buses were right on the tarmac.
We didn't even have to go into the terminal.
And they took everyone's luggageaway from them and took them
directly to Treasure Island, which had just opened with the
(12:57):
big battleship battle, which I think may be gone at this point.
I don't know what's on the stripanymore, but it was a big
battleship battle. It was the Brits and the
Americans, I think in the beginning.
Then it became some pirate girls.
I don't know, but there was thispirate show and we went
backstage and the pirate show and look with the technology
then inside and saw the evening performance of me stare.
(13:19):
And then people went back to their rooms and their luggage
had been assigned, you know, delivered to their room by the
hotel. And some people called us up and
said, oh, there's a bag here that's not mine.
And we said, yes, it's your backstage Las Vegas backpack.
All your stuff that you need forthe next few days is in there.
We also did these really clever red click cases.
They're like little red plastic briefcases that click open and
(13:42):
closed. And it had the last the LDI Reno
and backstage Las Vegas logos, you know, silk screened on the
outside. How I should have brought mine.
I have it here. And all inside were the copies
of the magazine that we did at the time, Entertainment design.
Or yeah, maybe it was entertainment design by then
(14:02):
with all the articles about all the stuff we were going to be
seeing because, you know, now wejust send people links and they
look at it all online. But in those days we actually
gave them copies of the magazines and printouts of the
gear list of the places they were going.
So that was sort of really a funevent.
And another really fun event waswe used to do a lot of pyro
(14:23):
stuff. And one year we decided to have
a major pyro exhibition outside.And some people that we knew
donated a set of like a little western town.
And these people from Universal Studios in Orlando had shipped
out like all the pyro stuff. And they actually like, drilled
(14:44):
holes in the set and filled it with gunpowder or pyro powder or
whatever it is and then painted over it so it looked fine to the
audience. And then they decided there
should be a car in front of it. And there would be like a cowboy
fight in front of this set, and the car would explode along with
the set turning on fire. So we got all the rules and
regulations for what to do to blow up a car, water car for
(15:07):
$100. It's on junkyard.
But they forgot to tell us two things.
One is you have to put plywood or something under the tires so
that when the car blows up, the tires don't melt into the
parking lot. And we didn't know that.
And the other thing was that cars from the 70s, which is
probably was, did not have shatterproof glass on the
(15:30):
windshield. So we had fire watch for this
little event. And when the car exploded, the
windshield went into about 5000 small pieces of glass.
But luckily it arced up and overthe crowd and landed in the
bushes behind us. And the fire watch, they were
(15:51):
like, Oh my God. And then, of course, when they
dragged this car away and there were burnt tire piles on the
parking lot, Oh my God, are we going to have to pay for that?
But I think the 2000 people who went outside to watch that will
never forget it. No, I'm sure they won't.
My goodness. Event Safety Alliance.
(16:11):
You needed to be there then. Well, yes, they didn't exist
yet, luckily. And, you know, I don't imagine
that companies like Questex would much, you know, humor us
in doing things like that. But it was great fun.
Yeah, the back in the day where you could get away with a lot
more and but. Are.
You did you say that you're still doing the backstage thing
(16:35):
in WE? Do we do?
We're doing it this year. It will be on Saturday, December
6th. And it's another, I know,
another full thing. Oh, there's so much going on
that day. You wouldn't believe it.
But there's a limit. You know, there's two buses, so
only like 90 people can go and there's a little more swap.
So they're going to start out at8:00 or 8:30 in the morning,
(16:59):
probably have a little breakfaston the bus.
And they're going to go over to the Wynn Hotel and have a three
hour backstage tour of Awakening, which is probably the
highest tech show ever on the strip, sadly for me.
I mean, they're probably happy about it.
They had a pool there before, a big pool that they had a show
(17:20):
called The Rev, and I'm very fond of aquatic shows, but they
have filled in the pool. I don't know permanently, if not
temporarily, I don't know. But now they've got this other
show and it's very, very, very high tech.
So what they do is they divide the group of, you know, maybe 50
to 100. Last year we had 80 people.
So assuming there's 80 people onthis tour, they divided into
(17:41):
like four groups of 20 and take them around and they meet with
the crew at four different stations in the theater.
So you get to visit like automation, audio, projection
and lighting, and you get like spiel from each of the
departments. And then they all meet back in
the theater and have AQ and A with everyone before they get
back on the bus. And then the next stop is going
(18:04):
to be this new thing over at Area 15, which is called
Universal Horror Unleashed. And it's for haunted houses.
And what they're going to do is have a lights on tour so they
can see what it is, you know, from the technical side of
things. And then the lights go out.
And at 2:00, you get to be the first people actually through it
(18:25):
for the day to see it with the lights off, which is something
we used to do a lot of Disney inthe haunted house at Disneyland,
which was always, by the time wegot there after LDI, it was
always had it's Christmas overlay.
And going through it with the team with the lights on is quite
amazing because you get to see alot of the, they don't give away
(18:48):
any of their proprietary, you know, magic or tricks or
anything, but you get to see howa lot of the stuff functions.
And then when you go through it again with the lights off, it's
like, Oh my God, that's amazing.So that's what they're going to
do with there. And then we're hoping to visit
like the new theater and the newnightclub at the Fountain Blow
and the new club that's called Club Theater Voltaire over at
(19:11):
the Venetian. Have a little dinner and go back
to Awakening for the 9:00 show with a little Q&A afterwards.
Why is it on the Saturday I'm? Sorry, next year we'll try and
do it on a different day. Who's so who's going to be like
with everyone on the bus and going round like?
(19:31):
Who's We have an extraordinary, extraordinary Double Trouble,
which is the name of their company.
I don't know if you met Bill Dick night last year, who's our
production manager at LDI. He was like the did you go to
the new technology breakfast? He's on stage, usually in
wildflowered pants. Introducing.
(19:53):
Technology Breakfast Well, believe it or not, Bill has a
twin brother, Pal and. And they look exactly like,
except that Pat has longer hair these days, which is good
because when they had the same haircut, people would go up to
Pat looking for an answer for the question they asked Bill an
hour earlier. And he's like, yeah, I've never
seen you before. And they're like, yes, I just
spoke to you. I was like, no, no, it was my
(20:13):
brother. And he is just an ultimate host
and a real, really, really greatguy.
So he has been the host of Backstage for the past several
years. I used to do it but it's way too
much for me anymore to be out walking.
Around a full on day, but just yeah and I suppose.
(20:35):
You remember one time a couple years ago, the evening show was
Cher at whatever theater she wasat, and Pat was wearing like a
gold Lamay jacket. And somebody said to him, are
you Sonny Bono? Or, you know, that's like, no,
he's dead. But with the long hair and
everything, he kind of fit the bill.
He could have been a look alike.But they they're an interesting
(20:57):
team and they have AAV company called Double Trouble.
And Bill also started out as an intern.
I think this is probably his I don't know.
I'm going to say 18th LDI. I'm making that up somewhere
between 15 and 20. And he is now our production
manager. And he used to, because he had
(21:19):
his own AV company in Michigan where he lives.
Sometimes he'd solve some of ourproblems because a normal AV
company really doesn't get like LDI, you know, we don't want
like, you know, the kind of conference room projectors that
other shows might, you know, like we want entertainment
technology in every room. So Bill's company has eventually
become our AV provider, which isgreat.
(21:41):
So he sort of wears 2 hats. He's running the Double Trouble
side, which is the AV provider. And then he's running the, we
have a wonderful. He used to be called an
internship program and now we call them production assistants,
which is what they really are. And they really help with all
the technical set up in the rooms and they really are sort
(22:03):
of the backbone of the technicalside of the conference program,
which is great. And like I said before, them
have grown up to be, you know, big deals in the industry, which
is great. It is amazing.
So what else is you've got that going on on the Saturday.
You've got I believe Riggs is happening on Saturday as well.
Yes, Riggs is on Saturday and Sunday.
(22:23):
This is the second year. It's a 2 day rigging intensive
which is run by two very experienced riggers, Tracy
Nunnally and Eric Rouse. And it's 2 days of in depth
sessions, a little different this year.
The first day is everybody staystogether and there's sessions on
a various, you know, topics for professional readers.
(22:43):
And then the second day, they break out into groups.
So there's two breakouts in the morning and two breakouts in the
afternoon, and they run about 2 1/2 to three hours.
And they're on things like rigging math and how to make
knots and all the stuff that riggers really need to do.
So they're deeper dives so that they can break up into smaller
(23:04):
groups and really have deep dives other than just more, you
know, sort of speaking and listening to people on panels.
They really get to do it. Get involved with it because you
have. That's a very interesting
program that launched. Haven't you?
You've got Roy, Yes, coming in for that.
To stop because he's on your dining.
But dinosaurs, which is another great event.
(23:25):
We've asked him to do a he's adorable.
We asked him to do a, a keynote and I didn't want to like, you
know, burden him. So I sent him the schedule and
he said, oh, I see you've only got 1/2 of an hour.
I thought it would be longer, soI said, oh, I'll make it 45
minutes. Is that better?
He said yes. So that's very exciting.
Roy is really like the godfatherof entertainment rigging.
(23:46):
So it will be great having him kick off rigs and then finish
the day at Dining with Dinosaurs, which is, you know,
obviously presented by Geezers of Gear.
And last year was a lunch, and this year will be a dinner and a
panel. And I think it's a great
opportunity for people to dine and discuss with legends of the
(24:08):
concert touring industry. I think it's very exciting.
Yeah, I'm very. Very proud of this song because
obviously I'm part of that with you, you know, getting, getting
all the Dinos together. And like you said last year, it
was, I think you'd allocated something like an hour and a
half, two hours last year for a.Right.
And this year it's like 4 hours,4 1/2 hours, it's like 5 to 9 or
(24:28):
930, which is great. And, you know, I really applaud
Marcel for bringing it to us because Jesse and I were looking
for something that would be likea really interesting meet up
kind of thing. Everybody's always talking about
mentoring, mentoring, mentoring.They want to meet people, you
know, and getting all these veterans together was a really
great idea. And Marcel, he calls and he's
(24:49):
goes, well, I've got this crazy idea and you're probably going
to shut me down immediately, butit's called Dining with
Dinosaurs. And I'm like.
And. He's like really, I'm like
absolutely. And I called Jesse and I said
our prayers have been answered. You know that mentoring thing we
wanted to do well, we do a different thing.
It's actually called the mentoring meet up.
But that what we wanted to do, like around a meal and, you
(25:10):
know, you know, getting a lot ofpeople involved.
And I said, Marshall just answered our prayers.
And actually it's now the sort of evening keystone to another
full day event that's called X Live, the concert touring
sessions, which Marcel was like,you know, you guys don't really
do enough concert touring. And I said to him, yeah, and
(25:31):
I've sort of got, you know, FOMOabout the concert touring
conference and Lititz because I can't get to Lititz because it's
always during LDI. And we could do our own and sort
of skew it a little differently.Ours is more towards the design
and technology and you. Got Jake Berry helping you with
that as. Well, Jake Berry has come on as
the creative consultant for thatand Marcel and Jake will be
(25:54):
moderating the sessions. And we have great speakers like
Bob Bonio, but Allen Sooner, Rutier, it's a Roy Bickel.
Again, it's a great group of people on there.
So you know, the, the, the, there's a lot of information if
you go to theldiwebsite@ldishow.com and
(26:16):
you'll find everything sort of day by day under our agenda.
And it's really, it's really packed.
I was going to say I've got someof the like the panel discussion
and we've got like the road to Success, which is a great one.
Then what else have we got goingon here?
There's. One with show records like
things that went wrong and how you fixed it.
There's making moments with designers of like their biggest
(26:38):
successes. There are, you know, the show
records is the like the biggest like bad things that happened
and how you fixed it. There's one about the the use of
the media server technology on the Coldplay tour.
That's going to be a good problem.
Yeah. So there's a lot of interesting
stuff going on that day. I think it's really a cool next
(27:01):
live is something that we used to have before now that was
eventually, it was originally a stand alone event and then when
Quest X took us over, they didn't want to run it as a
standalone. So we've melded it into LDI and
it's had like a different theme every year.
One year was the metaverse, one year was AI and XR, and this
(27:23):
year it's the concert touring sessions.
And I hope that sticks and that it's a big enough success that
that becomes, you know, the new X live for the next 20 years,
and then you talk. No, you already said you're not
retiring. Oh yeah?
Well, I promised Jesse I would retire at 97.
Yeah, of course you have a few. Years left.
(27:44):
Yeah, years and years. And like we're saying, so last
year, so it was actually Marcel,obviously he's, he's got his The
Geezers of Gear podcast. And it was Scott DeVos that was
2 years old last year that he came on and he had this idea for
getting everybody together. Marcel loved the idea, then came
to you with it. You love the idea.
(28:06):
The lunch was last year and it was a success last year.
But this year really is, you know, like you said, it's now 4
hours, 4 1/2 hours. Fight starts at 5:30 and
finishes at 9:30. Dinner, more of a panel, round
tables, food. And there's going to be a bar
which, you know, that's going toget everyone's talking.
(28:27):
Right. And and that's one.
Of the things that we wanted to do was, you know, really make
sure that it's inclusive. So not only is it the evening
event for the X Live Day, but it's also open to everyone in
our Young Career Professionals program, which is a special
program that we run for people 18 to 25 who might not be able
(28:47):
to afford to come to the show. So they get a full conference
badge included, while LD Innovation Conference badge with
a choice of about 100 sessions at the conference and it
includes X live and dining with dinosaurs.
And I think they pay somewhere depending on what time of where
in the registration cycle you buy it, it's like 159 or $199.
(29:12):
So it really for the people who are just getting into the
industry, a great way for them to, you know, dip their toes
into everything that we're doing.
Yeah, that's really awesome. And you can also get the Dining
with Dinosaurs. That's the only a la carte one
that you're selling at the moment as well.
Yes, Dining with dinosaurs is a la carte.
I think it's something like $109and it includes the dinner.
(29:37):
Yeah, yeah. 114. Nine, yeah.
So that can be bought a la carteat LDI and the Young Career
Professionals program is actually part of a larger
initiative that we have, what's called Foster the Future.
And other elements of that include this year there's going
to be a career fair. Last year was a career day and
(30:01):
this year we've sort of expandedit, put it on the show floor.
There'll be a stage with a lot of like business oriented
sessions for people who are, youknow, looking to up their career
level up their career. And we also have a diversity
scholarship, the Pat McKay Diversity and Design Scholarship
Program, which is generously sponsored by Light Switch.
(30:24):
Yes, it is. I was just going to say that.
Which is great. We really appreciate, you know,
John Featherstone and everyone at Light Switch for their
support. I think this is the third year
that they've supported it, whichis great.
And it's a really great way to meet a lot of young people in
the industry that come from a lot of different communities,
(30:45):
different walks of life, and they bring a lot to the table.
I remember when like I, I started doing this podcast, it
was, it was just, you know, I just, I don't, I don't even know
how it happened, but it happened.
And I'm doing this little podcast now talking to the
ladies and the first person. I think it was even before I'd
even had a podcast out, John, John basically contacted Marcel
(31:10):
and is like, we want to be part of this.
Like we just love it. And so like John and Colin,
they've just been so supportive of, you know, everything that
I'm doing. And we, and again, I've had some
amazing people, ladies come on the podcast, you know, chatting
about their careers and all the rest of it.
And so I feel very lucky. So, you know, the fact that
(31:30):
they've been part of like the LDI sponsoring this.
I know they're terrific. They're great.
Really, they're really, really wonderful and I was hoping that
John will be coming to LDI, but at the moment I think his
schedule, I think he's going to be out touring or so I know.
I love him. Yeah, me too.
(31:52):
And I mean, we've got some like you mentioned, like for
obviously X live, but even for dining with dinosaurs, you know,
we've got some great Dinos that are coming on board and there's
going to be lots of stuff on yours, your website for, you
know, checking out. The thing about dining with
dinosaurs, it's like, you know, the power that was in that room
(32:16):
last year. And then some of the people who
wandered in, they're like, Oh myGod, my friends are all in this
room. I have to get in there.
You know, Like, no, it was great.
It was really, it was really terrific.
I mean, I look at the some of the people for this year like
Alan Branton, now Jeff Rabbits, John Wiseman, I mean, it's an
amazing group of people. Yeah, the lovely Bob Gordon
(32:38):
again. Yeah, Although so there's a
little bit of Seth Jackson. He's coming here.
He'll be back again. He was.
Kind of like a junior Dino, but he.
Yeah, we all say this. You're a junior one.
But yeah. And at the moment we've got
Nancy Mays come in and there's acouple of other ladies.
(32:58):
I'm trying to get trying to get some more ladies on the panel as
well. And then of course, that's
really going to be this like theSaturday night, like you said,
that's going to be like the opening.
We've got the Golden Diner award.
So that's and we're really. Also just say that at this
point, ETC has come in as a sponsor for X Live and Dining
(33:24):
with Dinosaurs, which is very exciting.
So thanks to them for that and Ithink they'll be more sponsors
as we get closer to the event and it's going to be great.
I think that there's just like something for everyone.
We also have a new thing called the Stage Managers Academy,
which was for the past two yearsjust a series of sessions in the
(33:45):
LDLDI conference. But this year we decided to sort
of make it a stand alone event for two days, kind of like the
rigging event, so that stage managers also have like a
dedicated lunch and a chance to network and.
What days are they on? It's also Saturday and Sunday.
Oh my God. Well, we try not to do a lot of
(34:07):
stuff on the show days because, you know, we don't want to take
people off the show floor. Yeah, true.
You know, so I wouldn't want to run something like Sunday and
Monday, and a lot of people can't get there.
So Saturday's kind of like the Nexus of the show.
But if it turns out to be way too much on the same day, we can
always look at that for next year.
But I think everything will do great.
(34:28):
I mean, you know, there's alwayslike, you know, upwards of
13,000 people at the show, so they sort themselves.
I was going to ask you. You know.
In these like what, what kind ofnumber do you know we look at
for I think. We're helping for, you know, 13
to 15,000 this year. Yep. 15,000 would be a great
number. I always loved last year and
(34:50):
like the the first opening little firework, not fireworks
like little bangers and you remember you standing there and
lapping everyone as they come in.
And so that's really. Nice.
A lot of fun. You know, it never gets old for
some reason. That one moment, that minute
when everybody is like in the lobby waiting to come in, you
know, even the first year after Kovid, some of the Quest X
(35:13):
people were like make sure there's a lot of people in the
lobby. You know, we wanted great
pictures for the ribbon cutting.I said don't worry, we always
have a lot of people. You know, I think they were a
little nervous because it was a smaller show, but everybody was
there. We also kick off the 1st 2
mornings with new technology breakfast, which are free to all
LDI attendees. They usually have some sponsors
(35:35):
attached to them. And you know, it's not really a
Big Breakfast. You get a bagel or a, you know,
a yogurt or less of juice coffee.
But it's a great way to see a lot of the technology that's on
the show floor. So all the manufacturers get
like a three to five minute slotand they can say, this is my new
product, come see it at my boothand get a live demo of it.
(35:56):
And it's, it's really quite nice.
It's a lovely events. Did I read as well there was
something like the LDI after dark?
Was that in? LDI After Dark is a fun program
too. It's working with the clubs in
town, mostly the ones from the tower group, and they give
anybody with an LDI badge free admission.
(36:17):
So there's usually a, there's a schedule that will be online
before LDI, of which night, which club will welcome, you
know, all the LDI people. So that's a good way for anybody
over 21 to kind of end the day, although it's past my bedtime.
You will. Not, you know what, last year it
was really embarrassing. Like the the jet lag just got me
so badly. I mean, the only event that even
(36:40):
Marcel and I managed to go to was the UP stadium, which was
amazing. And then after that I think we
left at midnight and I was shattered because I was like I
was a zombie. Because the time difference
really is quite brutal for me. Yes, I can imagine.
Yeah, but I said. To most several days to get in
the swing of a new place you know.
It does. I mean, this year I am literally
(37:01):
just going to fly in and fly out.
Whereas last year, because I'd never been to Vegas before, I
stayed, you know, a couple of extra days before.
But I think that didn't really do me any good because like, I
was up at 4:00 in the morning, 3-4 in the morning.
I was awake, but I was going to bed at six or seven before, like
Marcel and everyone arrived. It really didn't do me any good
because I just needed to get outthere and see people.
(37:23):
But I'm really looking forward to coming back this year, really
looking forward to coming back, looking forward to.
Yeah, just doing getting it all organized.
Did you feel now that because itwasn't LDI at a different time
of the year and then Formula Onecame along it?
Was in November, Yeah, it's beenin October.
It's been in November and now December, November for a long
(37:46):
time. Like the week before
Thanksgiving was always a great date for us.
And then this little thing called the Formula One car race
decided to go to Las Vegas on our dates and everybody's in
Vegas said you don't want to be here when it's here.
And even though I hear that, youknow, over where the Convention
(38:11):
Center is is not bad, the Strip is like completely blocked off.
Then I don't get the people wantto be in Vegas and not be able
to go, you know, the strip or cross the Strip or whatever.
I haven't been there during F1, but we in our wisdom, we decided
it was probably better to move to December, which does not
(38:33):
please everyone. Some people think it's a little
too close to the holidays. And there's always there's a
little bit of a question about, you know, shipping gear by the
end of the year if people order it in December because it is so
close to the holidays. But it's turned out to be a
great date for us. And especially, I mean, like
looking at the dinosaurs and some of the other events that
(38:56):
we're having, a lot of these people may have been on the road
during December and by, I'm sorry, November, and by December
they're back. So we've actually had, I think,
more designers at the show on the December dates and the
numbers are holding. So I think that in spite of a
few people who are not loving it, it's turned out to be great
(39:17):
dates for us. But even in December when we
arrived, they were still pullingdown, you know, all the
artificial like, you know, the, the F1 structures.
It was still chaotic when we were there.
So you can imagine. And it's hard to tell.
I mean, it might be exciting, itmight not be.
But our feeling was that, you know, I mean, like even like
backstage Las Vegas, how would we get around?
(39:40):
How would we get people to hotels?
How would we, you know? And also like, especially that
time, the hotel prices would go up even more.
And you know, I mean, I, I talk about F1 as an experience
because like I was saying like that was, that's where I started
was Formula One. And really we, you know, we used
to go there and just take over like, you know, and, and that,
(40:01):
that was it. So I think it's a good decision
to move it away from that. And December is a good, it's a
good day. It's the start of December, like
you said, and hopefully. Now, once, once, yeah, once
people get used to the idea thatit's there's a change, you know,
that's, that's. How it gives people enough time
(40:23):
between, you know, like there used to be like one year we were
practically back-to-back with Plaza, like like less than a
month after Plaza. And it was hard for some of the
European companies, for the English companies to get their
stuff, you know, from one show to another or get that organized
because I'm sure that some people don't even think about
LDI until after applause is over, which is after Labor Day
(40:45):
in the States. So that seems like the beginning
of September. Like right now, everybody's
ramping up. They're like, oh, LDI, you know,
And then like now it's like on their the front burner.
Yeah, on the radar for everything.
Exactly. Well, I love hearing about all
of this. Is that I can't wait to come
back and and yeah, it should. Be a very, very exciting show
(41:06):
this year. There's a lot going on and.
Should be. I was quite surprised actually.
But like everything on the Saturday, there really is
There's so much going on A. Busy day, yeah, yeah.
There's also a lot of other stuff in the LD Institute and
the LD. The LD Innovation Conference
starts that day too. But basically it's the art of
(41:26):
programming, which are for back-to-back lighting
programming sessions that are very popular.
So people are just going to haveto sort themselves out.
Like I say, like going to a Chinese restaurant, 1 from
column A1, from column B. You can't have everything on the
menu. And tickets now they're flowing
there. You can go and register online
(41:47):
now the. Prices, you can go on there and
one thing that's a little different this year is that we
did not offer free exhibit hall passes at the get go.
Usually we do in the summer and then in the fall it goes up.
But there's so much that you gotfor the $49.00 floor pass, which
(42:08):
includes the three new technology breakfast, all kinds
of content and sessions on the floor, the two parties, the one
on Monday, Sunday night for Battle of the Bus, Monday night
for the new VJ challenge, the LDI Awards ceremony, which also
includes breakfast on Tuesday morning.
So there's so much that goes into this package.
(42:29):
And as a little secret to your listeners, every exhibitor at
LDI has a code for a free pass. So keep your eye on your
exhibitors, social media and hopefully we'll be promoting
their code because that way theyget to get people to come see
(42:50):
them. That's awesome.
That is awesome. Well, I think that that's a
watch out for your social media,watch out for your free code or
pay the money because it's stillreally cheap for what you get.
Yeah, $49.00, it's a great deal.And there are occasional sales
where it's 50% off. So like over Labor Day, there
(43:10):
was a there was a sale, it was 2450.
I mean, you can barely get dinner on the strip for 2450.
You know, you can't breakfast. We're giving you 3 now.
I mean, it is a really good deal.
So it's much more than just, youknow, the exhibits.
Definitely. When will you be arriving?
Because yeah, on the 1st. December 1st, right?
(43:32):
When do you come? In I think it will be on the 4th
because I think my flag, yeah, Ithink it's the fourth, yeah.
So we'll have to, we'll have to catch up on.
Absolutely dinner. Yeah, dinner.
Dinner. We'll go for dinner.
That would be great and but thank you so much.
I don't know if there's anythingelse that's great, not probably
(43:54):
you'll. Wanna know from me but if I
forgot anything major I'm sure someone will tell me.
Yeah, no, I'm gonna do be doing a lot of stuff on the social
media for geezers and just promoting a lot as well.
That's going to be coming up in the next couple of weeks for
sure. And just what what I always say,
spreading the word about everything.
(44:16):
I think I should just add that like for the LD Institute, which
starts on the third, whatever you're interested in, there's
probably a class there for you. There's a lot of audio training
on the show floor that's free later in the week.
But starting on the third, there's hands on lighting
console training, there's hands on media server training,
there's a lot of vector works training, there's AI, there's
(44:36):
content creation, there's Netgear switching, there's haze
based fog, there's follow me automation, there's like all at
whatever you're looking for. There's ILDA laser training,
there's pangolin laser training,there's all kinds of stuff.
So I think people who are interested in really high
(44:58):
quality professional training aspart of the the experience
should take a look at the institute.
And just because I love her loads it.
Laurie is going to be there withbehind the scenes as well, isn't
she? She normally has a booth there
as well. Behind the scenes, yes, they
they definitely have added a very nice aspect to LD.
I think this is the third year, 4th, that they're doing a
(45:19):
Wellness lounge right on the show floor and they have a
series of sessions in there thatstarts with morning yoga, cup of
coffee, yoga and all sorts of sessions about people that I've
done touring could be interestedin.
Like nutrition, sleep deprivation, all sorts of things
that go along with the behind the scenes mental health.
(45:40):
And it's a safe spot on the floor, a great quiet area where
people can go and just sort of kick off their shoes, use and
relax. Yeah, that's really and they are
they doing the run this year as well.
I know last year they. Five Ki think it's on Sunday
morning and that can also be registered online.
If you have a badge already, youcan go back into the
(46:00):
registration portal and update. You can buy but dining dinosaurs
a la carte and you can buy the 5K run.
Maybe I'll call it this year. Let's see.
There you go. I haven't got my running shoes
on for a long time, but yeah, you never know.
That'll be fine. It depends how your jet lag is
going, but if you're up at 3:00 in the morning anyway, I think
(46:20):
they started 6630 or 7. Seriously, that's what I said.
You know, every day it was like 3330I was like, I'm wide awake
now. Like so yeah, maybe I'll maybe
I'll join I. Know it's not golf, but you
should get Marcel to go with you.
I don't think does Marcel play golf?
I don't think he he, yeah. But all the industry people went
(46:40):
out on these charity golf things, but maybe not.
No, yes, Yeah. Well, actually last year as well
was the 1st, the first time I'd actually met Marcel in person as
well, which was quite interesting.
I've been working for him for like Gear Source and all the
rest of all these years. It was the first time I actually
met. How interesting.
And he was just so funny. The very first moment, he was
(47:02):
like, well, we have to, you know, we have to have a Bloody
Mary. And I was like, what?
I. Was like 9:00 AM.
I didn't know it was, it was a little bit later.
It was like 1030. And I was like, you know, like,
because you don't know, you're like, you're you're my boss.
And he was like, oh come on, let's do it properly.
(47:22):
Evening, Like, yeah, why is the show at London?
A lot of the booths have bars built right into them.
Some of them used to even have like a second story and they go,
oh, come up to our pub and have a beer.
It's like, you know, show just opened.
Give me a break. Well, Ellen, thank you so, so
much. And come on, I look forward to
(47:43):
seeing you and everyone at LDI. Amazing.
Me too. Thanks, Ellen.
Thanks. Bye.
Now here's the leading ladies byGeezers of Gear on tour.
(48:10):
Maybe she got some stories to share.
Now here's the leading ladies bythe Geezers of Gear, Rockstar
ladies with some stories to share because La La La La la
(48:30):
ladies. La La La La La La ladies.
Yes, she's a high. Now here's the leading ladies by
kizzers of kids Rockstar ladies for some stories to share.
(48:57):
Now here's the leading ladies bythe kizzers of.
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