# An old newbie



## STEVETERRY (Aug 12, 2007)

Hi, my name is Steve Terry and I just joined Control Booth.

I'm the VP Research & Development for ETC, the co-chair of the ESTA Control Protocols Working Group, and the alternate USITT representative to National Electrical Code Panel 15.


----------



## Sean (Aug 12, 2007)

Steve,

Welcome into the fray. Pull up a chair, have a beer, and stay a while.

Good to have you here!

--Sean

Sean R. McCarthy
Master Electrician
Shakespeare Theatre Company
Washington, DC


----------



## soundlight (Aug 12, 2007)

It's an honor to have you aboard. I assume that you've been keeping up with our recent ION thread?

I usually ask new folks for a website, but I think that it's quite apparent...
www.etcconnect.com

As I said, it's an honor to have you aboard, and I'm sure that others feel the same way.


----------



## Chaos is Born (Aug 12, 2007)

It sure is an honor to have you on board here at the booth. Hope you enjoy your stay and can contribute much information as well as gain as much information as you wish.

Welcome!

-Brian Wussow
Assistant Theatre Technician
Fairfield Community Arts Center
Fairfield OH

Third Generation Photographer


----------



## Grog12 (Aug 12, 2007)

Welcome welcome


----------



## STEVETERRY (Aug 12, 2007)

I will try.

ST


----------



## Capn (Aug 12, 2007)

I'd like to add my two cents worth by welcoming you also. It's great to have you here!


----------



## gafftaper (Aug 12, 2007)

Welcome to the Booth! It's great having some people around who work for the major manufacturers. I hopefully we can help you understand your average customer. There are also a lot of young kids starting out around here who will greatly appreciate your opinions on a variety of topics. So jump in and enjoy. 

Now pleasantries aside, can you do something about getting me a Source Four Fresnel? Sorry, the Parnel is just NOT an acceptable fresnel substitute. I don't want any fancy tricks... just slap an HPL lamp behind a fresnel lens and put it in a decent quality housing that has a nice easy to use zoom. I'll take 48 of them if you can get them to me before December 30th 2007. Otherwise that money's going to Selecon and it'll probably be at least 25 years before they are replaced. No pressure. 

P.S. Please be sure to express your opinion on the Metric System soon. We need to find out who's side you are on.


----------



## Logos (Aug 13, 2007)

Hmmm, recruiting behind my back huh. Mind you, I'm beginning to feel a bit lonely, I haven't heard from Hughsie or Chris15 for a while.
Welcome to Control Booth oh mighty ETC man. WE look forward to the pearls of wisdom that will no doubt drop from your lips.
(See I can kiss butt with the best of them)


----------



## Grog12 (Aug 13, 2007)

gafftaper said:


> Welcome to the Booth! It's great having some people around who work for the major manufacturers. I hopefully we can help you understand your average customer. There are also a lot of young kids starting out around here who will greatly appreciate your opinions on a variety of topics. So jump in and enjoy.
> Now pleasantries aside, can you do something about getting me a Source Four Fresnel? Sorry, the Parnel is just NOT an acceptable fresnel substitute. I don't want any fancy tricks... just slap an HPL lamp behind a fresnel lens and put it in a decent quality housing that has a nice easy to use zoom. I'll take 48 of them if you can get them to me before December 30th 2007. Otherwise that money's going to Selecon and it'll probably be at least 25 years before they are replaced. No pressure.
> P.S. Please be sure to express your opinion on the Metric System soon. We need to find out who's side you are on.



*shakes his head at gaff...* I thought we were supposed to wait for their second thread before the metric wars....guess the rules have changed.


----------



## soundlight (Aug 13, 2007)

Grog12 said:


> *shakes his head at gaff...* I thought we were supposed to wait for their second thread before the metric wars....guess the rules have changed.



No, now there is a strong enough offensive that it's a basic question upon joining the 'Booth, just like where you work and what you do there.


----------



## Van (Aug 13, 2007)

STEVETERRY said:


> Hi, my name is Steve Terry and I just joined Control Booth.
> 
> I'm the VP Research & Development for ETC, the co-chair of the ESTA Control Protocols Working Group, and the alternate USITT representative to National Electrical Code Panel 15.


 
Oh Great! Just what we need another Newbie, Asking all the dumb questions like, "What's a watt?", "What's a Leko?" , "What's DMX?". Ok You guys break him in. I'm gonna go hide in the corner. 

< Tongue Planted Firmly In Cheek>


----------



## gafftaper (Aug 13, 2007)

Van said:


> Oh Great! Just what we need another Newbie, Asking all the dumb questions like, "What's a watt?", "What's a Leko?" , "What's DMX?". Ok You guys break him in. I'm gonna go hide in the corner.
> < Tongue Planted Firmly In Cheek>



Sorry about that one Steve... Apparently Van's been off playing pirate and enjoying his Ale a little too much again.


----------



## soundlight (Aug 13, 2007)

gafftaper said:


> Sorry about that one Steve... Apparently Van's been off playing pirate and enjoying his Ale a little too much again.



Not ale, RUM! RUM! Gotta get it right. Pirates drink rum.


----------



## Grog12 (Aug 13, 2007)

Van said:


> Oh Great! Just what we need another Newbie, Asking all the dumb questions like, "What's a watt?", "What's a Leko?" , "What's DMX?". Ok You guys break him in. I'm gonna go hide in the corner.
> < Tongue Planted Firmly In Cheek>




Van offically wins this thread.


----------



## Capn (Aug 13, 2007)

soundlight said:


> Not ale, RUM! RUM! Gotta get it right. Pirates drink rum.


This brings up a very important question. WHY is the rum always gone?!?


----------



## gafftaper (Aug 13, 2007)

Sorry just assumed that the rum was already gone and they had moved on to ale.


----------



## STEVETERRY (Aug 13, 2007)

> I'll take 48 of them if you can get them to me before December 30th 2007. Otherwise that money's going to Selecon and it'll probably be at least 25 years before they are replaced.

We might be working on this.



ST


----------



## Foxinabox10 (Aug 14, 2007)

STEVETERRY said:


> > I'll take 48 of them if you can get them to me before December 30th 2007. Otherwise that money's going to Selecon and it'll probably be at least 25 years before they are replaced.
> We might be working on this.
> 
> ST


----------



## gafftaper (Aug 14, 2007)

charcoaldabs said:


> Gaff, already disturbing the peace, in the introduction thread by the VP of R&D at ETC? Shame on you.
> While I haven't used any ETC gear, save our 5 S4s, it's great to have you stop by. There's a wealth of discussion over ETC products here, so if you're looking for feedback, you've found the right place.



Hey I figure everyone else is kissing up to him I might as well show him our true colors. He's going to read a post from one of the Aussies eventually and then what happens? No, it's better for him to know that many of us are insane now. 

By the Way Steve, You're going to like my friend Charc from that last post. He's one of the many great young techs around here working hard without much in the way of training, support or equipment. They ask a lot of tough questions and sometimes we manage to give them good answers. I think that's one of the best things about the booth is that there are a lot of people here who really enjoy giving back to help the future techs. I don't have a great idea of what to do but it seems like ESTA and USITT are both really missing out on the energy these young techs have to offer. There are so many of them out there who would desperately love to do more if they just had some support and training. It's amazing how little most of them know when I first see them as freshmen in college. Like I said, I don't have a grand idea, but there's a huge crowd of eager workers who are hungry for knowledge out there. There must be a way that one of the two major organizations could help fill the need and get something in return.


----------



## STEVETERRY (Aug 15, 2007)

I wonder if the ESTA Essential Skills Training program that is currently being developed would fill that need? Where the ETCP Certification program is aimed at skilled and experienced rigging and electrical supervisors, the Essential Skills Program is targeted at people with less experience.

ST


----------



## gafftaper (Aug 15, 2007)

STEVETERRY said:


> I wonder if the ESTA Essential Skills Training program that is currently being developed would fill that need? Where the ETCP Certification program is aimed at skilled and experienced rigging and electrical supervisors, the Essential Skills Program is targeted at people with less experience.
> ST



That's an interesting idea. I guess I was thinking more on a grand scale. Its great to take a few students and give them some good training, but the need is much larger than that. In a lot of ways it seems more like a project for USITT because there are members everywhere. So many schools just need one person with some knowledge to donate a few hours a year. 

I volunteer at a High school near by and do an annual how to use an ETC Express after school workshop. It's no big deal... a couple hours one afternoon. It was amazing the first time I went in there. They had no idea how to record a cue, how to record a submaster, they weren't even using it as a two scene preset. They were running 48 channels per scene by hand. The kids looked like I had just beamed in from outer space when I showed them how to simply record a submaster... and when I taught them to record cues I became a minor deity.


----------



## gafftaper (Aug 16, 2007)

Yeah Charc that's exactly what I'm talking about. The more I think about it the more it sounds like a great job for USITT to just encourage their members... maybe create a way for teachers to easily get in touch with a willing USITT memeber in their city. I bet 90% of the theater techs I know would be happy to donate one afternoon a year to helping a high school out if they knew there was a need and there was a way for someone to contact them for help. 

FYI... for anyone reading this who is confused by USITT and ESTA. USITT is the association for techies and focuses on professional development, training, and safety. ESTA is the association of theater equipment dealers and manufacturers and is responsible for things like setting the standard of how the DMX protocol would work so that every DMX product works together today.


----------



## Grog12 (Aug 16, 2007)

There's a wiki for USITT we need one for ESTA.

I've worked with high schools before. The biggest problem with training on a HS level is that the people who want to learn are typically the ones getting ready to leave. Seniors and some juniors who've been bitten by the virus we call theatre.

That being said I like working with them.


----------



## gafftaper (Aug 16, 2007)

Grog12 said:


> There's a wiki for USITT we need one for ESTA.
> I've worked with high schools before. The biggest problem with training on a HS level is that the people who want to learn are typically the ones getting ready to leave. Seniors and some juniors who've been bitten by the virus we call theatre.
> That being said I like working with them.



Yeah and for those who missed it I used to be a high school teacher so I have a soft spot for helping them out. Yeah you're right while there are a few who come in from jr.high fascinated by tech, most don't get bit until they are about ready to leave. Which again means there's no continuity in training. Because you get one good tech who works hard to read the manual and learn everything. They train someone else before they go... but by the 2nd or 3rd generation, no one can even find the manual. If you've got me for a teacher it isn't that big of a deal because I can train the new kid. However the majority of drama teachers are English teachers who have been drafted and know nothing about tech. For those programs the level of tech is at the mercy of the winds of time. Training then turns into the "telephone game" and we get to see how much information is altered and lost between generations of technicians taught by other students who don't really know anything either.


----------



## STEVETERRY (Aug 16, 2007)

From the ESTA Foundation Website:

About ESET

ESET: Essential Skills for the Entertainment Technician

ESET will be an Internet based educational portal that will enable the user to develop a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental knowledge and skills associated with the entertainment technology industry.

The creation of the ESET program was born of the realization that many current entry-level entertainment technicians lack fundamental knowledge and skills related to the industry. The resulting goal of ESET is to provide technicians with the knowledge and skills they will need to function effectively across all fields of the live entertainment industry and a tool to organize and guide their learning.

The user of the ESET program will be able to focus on self-selected topics utilizing a sequential approach to learning drawn from a database of textual and graphical content related to entertainment technology. Further, ESET will provide tools to better assist the user in organizing selected materials in a meaningful fashion, enhancing the learning experience and providing a ready reference to important data.

* For educators, the availability of in-depth materials and the ability to organize them for students will better enable them to assist and engage student learning while providing the student with the most up to date information available.
* Facility managers will be able to collect venue-specific information to better assist in the training of their workforce.
* Employers will have a new and powerful tool to identify employee skills and readiness for work and a mechanism to support further training of their staffs.
* Individuals will have a vast source of technical support materials literally at their fingertips.

ESET will be a new benchmark of excellence in the entertainment industry and will serve as the principal gateway to knowledge essential for a successful career. Offering educators, managers, employers and individuals the definitive tool by which they can teach, learn and prosper within the industry. 

ESET: Ready for today, prepared for tomorrow.


ST


----------



## gafftaper (Aug 16, 2007)

Wow Steve that sounds great. I'll have to do some looking into it.


----------

