A few months ago the time was nearing for BlackTrax 2015th show. CAST announced that we would give one of our passionate users a chance to see the system at its full potential in an incredible destination trip experience. That moment came for Teo Lanerva, he was selected in a draw as the winner of the BlackTrax 2015th show promo to enjoy the full BlackTrax experience.
Over 2000 shows in 2 years is quite the number and the team here at CAST wanted to share in that excitement with our great community. So we offered Teo the chance to go out to Muse’s Drones tour and see a show wherever he wanted and be accompanied by a guest.
Teo (centre) andUpi(right) meet with CAST President and CEO Gil Densham (left).
Teo invited his friend Ukko-Pekka “Upi” Itäpelto to join him and they chose to watch the show in Montreal, close enough to Toronto so that he would have the chance to pay a visit to CAST’s office and spend a day with the CAST team.
Teo couldn’t believe the news when he first found out he had won. “At first I couldn’t even process the email as I had just finished the last performance of Vanitas at Baltic Circle festival,” said Teo. “I had just finished the teardown and was heading to the after party when I read the email. It’s definitely the coolest thing I’ve ever won!”
Upi was just as excited to join Teo even though he didn’t understand the whole thing at first. “Honestly, when Teo told me about winning the promo I first thought it was a joke. I was at the backstage of our Paino nightclub in Turku with him at around 3am and I think he had to explain the “situation” for a couple of times before I actually got it,” he said.
CAST booked Teo and Upi’s tickets and they set out to Toronto before heading to Montreal for the big show.
Teo holds up a tracking LED and “take the lights for a walk” while testing BlackTrax
At CAST’s office Teo and Upi enjoyed a full tour of the office and stopped by the BlackTrax lab for a hands on demo. In the BlackTrax lab they saw what our team has been working on and got the ins and outs of what makes BlackTrax tick. On top of that they met and socialized with CAST employees including some face time with CAST’s Founder and CEO Gil Densham and finally they had a one-on-one time with wysiwyg product manager Dino Mazza who walked them through the brand new wysiwyg R36. After their day at CAST they got to see and experience what Toronto downtown has to offer before heading out to Montreal for their BlackTrax 2015th show prize.
“Visiting CAST was my favorite part of the trip. It was great to meet the people who are behind one of the most important design tool, wysiwyg, which I’ve been using for years,” Teo says. “Discussing ideas and critics with the people there encouraged me to send them more of my wishes and questions in the future.”
After a train ride to Montreal it was time to relax a bit and get ready for the Muse’s Drone show. A few hours before the show they met up with Muse’s lighting designer Oli Metcalfe to discuss the show and how BlackTrax works into the production of such a technical display of visuals and sound.
Teo (centre) andUpi(left) meeting with Muse Drones tour lighting designer Oli Metcalfe (right) before the show in Montreal.
The shows on Muse’s Drones tour use a BlackTrax system consisting of 38 cameras that cover the entire stage form floor to ceiling and 19 different trackables on the band’s players and set pieces, BlackTrax drives moving lights that act as automated follow spots and help keep the band illuminated every night. In addition, BlackTrax connects with Moment Factory’s X-Agora media server and provide real-time position information which the server uses to create interactive projections. This makes sure the show achieves the desired experience for each audience.
Once it was time for Muse to hit the stage Teo was not disappointed. “BlackTrax was reliable and precise in action on a bigger scale. Using the zones to change key light was smooth and BlackTrax was really precise on even the smallest movements,” he said.
Upi also had a great time saying, “I think systems like these can save money and will do great things even though many people see these things as pretty expensive at first, especially in Finland where the markets are quite small. At the Muse concert so many things are now possible that used to be impossible (or at least very hard) and needed lots more manpower before.”
Teo andUpisatisfied after their day at CAST.
After getting to take a tour in the city of Montreal for a couple of days Teo and Upi returned home to Finland after getting a one of its kind experience from CAST.
CAST thanks everyone who entered this promotion and we hope to create more opportunities to engage with our great community in the future!
About Teo Lanerva
Teo Lanerva is a freelance lighting designer based in Helsinki, Finland. Teo studied lighting design in the department of Lighting and Sound Design of the University of the Arts Helsinki.
“I work mostly with contemporary performances, music and events ranging from small underground clubs to bigger festivals. Nothing lights me up as working with music. Although I couldn’t make it without the precision and small details of performing arts. I guess that’s the main reason why I’ve chosen to work constantly on both fields. Recently I’ve also started to work with video, which interests me more as an intelligent light source and set element than source of information.”
Check out Teo’s project gallery!
http://teolanerva.com/msh2015/2015/11/23/87r3vh7e1zghu8k8s9r0pu81ojv1go
