WHY EVERY LIVE EVENTS TECH NOW NEEDS NETWORK KNOW-HOW - EPISODE 96

THE ROAD AHEAD Episode Topic: The Modern Field Technician Podcast Transcript Host: Les Goldberg Guests: Chris Rodriguez (Lighting Designer / Production Electrician, Chaotic Productions) • Anthony Chicken (Head of Audio, AJC Productions) • Max Tuchman (Director of Technical Project Management, LMG Touring) Topic: The field technician — the growing role of networking and IT knowledge across lighting, audio, and video Note: This transcript has been lightly cleaned for readability (consecutive remarks by the same speaker are combined into single passages). Timestamps mark the start of each speaker’s turn. Bracketed [...] marks indicate portions of the original audio that were inaudible or not captured. Voiceover [0:00] Hello, this is Les Goldberg and welcome to The Road Ahead. The Roadhead podcast is dedicated to the future of the live events business, bringing together industry experts. Les Goldberg [0:14] Hello, production world. This is Les Goldberg and the Road Ahead. Today, I have three amazing guests. I have Chris Rodriguez with Chaotic Productions. He is a lighting designer and a production electrician. I have Anthony Chicken with AJC Productions. He's the head of audio. And I have Max Tuchman. He's the director of technical project management for LMG Touring. Hey guys, welcome to the show today. Max Tuchman [0:45] Hey, thanks for having us. Chris Rodriguez [0:45] Hey, thank you Anthony Chicken [0:46] Thanks. Thanks for having me. Les Goldberg [0:48] So today's show is dedicated to the field technician. All of you all have direct knowledge and experience in this world. [...] And the technician world requires a certain amount of knowledge in the information technology world. And so today I wanna talk about what it's like to be a technician and what are the expectations and maybe where it used to be in the past but where it is now. So my first question is to Chris Rodriguez. I think you go by K-Rod. Is that the technical term sometimes people call you? Chris Rodriguez [1:24] Yes, that's correct. Les Goldberg [1:26] Okay. Anyway, so what are your thoughts for a technician no matter what discipline, audio, video, lighting, LED, scenic to have knowledge of computers and information tech because obviously in the world as you are a lighting person but it used to be you plug the lights in and you had a dimmer and you had a control and everything just worked. Now there's so many other things you have to know. So what are your thoughts? Chris Rodriguez [1:56] Well, I'd say it's definitely gotten a little bit more complex and simplified at the same time. It's simplified in the nature that we can kind of route signals through more common means. So instead of having a one-to-one for fixtures back to different ports before we got back to the console, most things nowadays are kind of network driven. So we're using different protocols. We're simplifying our systems as far as what our control needs are going to be to talk to a multitude of different devices, whether it be fixtures or processing or etc. [...] And so I think the everyday technician now has to learn a little bit more as far as what networking means in a closed system, whether it's with simple switches or even in managed networks. Or even oftentimes, if we need to, when a project scales enough, how to connect into an already existing infrastructure like an arena. Les Goldberg [2:45] Okay, so far you talked about networks, managed switches, you didn't use the IP word IP addresses, but all that stuff is not stuff that when you first started to learn to be a lighting person that stuff you didn't have that knowledge am I correct. Chris Rodriguez [3:03] Correct. Yeah, it's definitely a little outside the original scope of what I thought it would be. Les Goldberg [3:08] Okay, all right, Anthony chicken, could you your thoughts and obviously I think your background is very audio centric but do you have to be a computer genius now to make all the audio pieces work and talk to each other. Anthony Chicken [3:22] Well, it sure feels like that sometimes these days. I think you definitely need to have knowledge. Just like Chris said, we're having to connect devices through simplified means, yet more complicated so we can do things easier than we could before and more versatile, but now you need a lot more knowledge into IPs and DHCP and switches and things like that. Les Goldberg [3:45] when you went to audio school, they didn't have that. Anthony Chicken [3:48] No, no, no the old time is that taught me we didn't have that Les Goldberg [3:52] So being a tech today in audio land is like a whole another subset of knowledge that really doesn't have a lot to do with audio. Anthony Chicken [4:02] Absolutely has nothing to do with audio at all. Bits and bytes moving across the network. Les Goldberg [4:08] Okay, all right. So I'm throwing this same question to Max, but I'm going to throw it slightly different max. Could you tell me how you've had to have this knowledge to maybe save a rescuer show? Max Tuchman [4:21] Yeah, for sure. I mean, you know today the lighting desks the front of house and monitor audio desks led processors media servers You name it Essentially everything's a computer now So whatever your discipline is you're working in it whether you signed up for it or not and sometimes things don't necessarily work Right when you plug them in and there may be different IP addresses And at the end of the day, you know part of our role is to troubleshoot those things Figure it out because if we can't you know the show might not happen or there might be a delay or something like that You know in my role on the you know vendor production company side Sometimes we're supporting people out in the field that may not necessarily have those skill sets So it's it's super important that you know somebody on your crew or somebody you can call Has that background and is is able to help when when it seems like things are helpless Les Goldberg [5:14] it seems like someone should have a company called Show Rescue. And for any crazy IT problems, they just call Show Rescue and they come rescue them. I would think in pre-production or in prepping the gear, we're going to do a lot of this configuration, and we're going to try and make sure that devices are talking and they're working. I mean, let me ask this question back to you, Chris. If someone ever plugs something on a network that wasn't supposed to be there and all of a sudden things stop working, has that ever happened to you? Chris Rodriguez [5:49] Oh yes, yes it is. [...] It could certainly be a bit of a challenge too, because you have to go through and really find out where it got plugged into, what was causing the collision. Les Goldberg [5:51] So... But everyone has great intentions when they plug in their devices to the network. But Anthony, you don't want to plug anything that requires a lot of data usage to the audio snake, which is pushing all the audio packets. That's probably not a good idea, right? Anthony Chicken [6:16] No it's not i think of one show somebody wanted to just a harmless wanted to have wireless control so they could monitor microphones but they plugged it into the wrong port. And the whole network went down there was no audio for quite some time. Les Goldberg [6:31] So I think part of this is actually trying to control who has access and who can plug anything in to any ports so you can have some level of control. So my next question is back to Max. Max, [...] you know, everyone's talking about AI these days. I mean, or AI, super intelligence. Do you have to know a lot about AI as well besides the computer networking stuff we've talked? Is AI a thing that everyone has to know today? Or do you have to become knowledgeable about it? You know, is that a need now or is that a future need? Max Tuchman [6:52] Oh yeah. Max Tuchman [7:11] think that is a great question. I don't think it's necessarily a requirement yet. I think in how AI exists in our current workflows, AI can help you get to an answer faster, can maybe help you search through a manual better than Command F or Command S. But at the end of the day, I wouldn't rely on AI to sign off on something. I try to think of AI as advice from a younger technician. It might be helpful, but it's unverified. [...] While AI is useful and I would say reasonably safe today, [...] more so on the paperwork side than application or execution. I think the interesting side of AI is that we're starting to see it in gear. Look at auto-tracking PTZ cameras or elacoustic source intelligence. [...] I I don't think it's necessarily going to mix a show or program lights all the way through anytime soon. [...] But I think the folks that are adopting it and starting to use it in their workflows now, maybe there'll be better text down the road than folks that don't. Les Goldberg [8:21] Got it. So this question is both to Anthony and Chris. Have you ever had to worry about wireless networks and connecting devices into wireless networks? And then maybe someone else, how do I say, cabashing your wireless network? Anthony, any thoughts? Anthony Chicken [8:39] All the time. In fact, so much so that I prefer to have a very close network and nobody gets the password. Les Goldberg [8:46] Okay, so there is no password because you're not getting in Chris your thoughts your thoughts Anthony Chicken [8:50] Because you're not getting it. Chris Rodriguez [8:51] I would say in the lighting space for you typically like to keep our networks closed just because of the amount of packet transmission. We don't want any kind of delay or loss. And oftentimes when we do get squashed, it's usually because we set up a wireless access point specifically for just focusing, just to make it easier to not have to move a console out with a long snake and we can just kind of get through it a little bit quicker. But usually once the show gets up and running, it gets squashed pretty quick. So it's not strong enough, we just unplug it out of the system. Les Goldberg [9:20] All right. Well, this is my question to Anthony. Anthony, what do you think the client expectations are of you as an audio person and on site having this knowledge? I mean, is that a requirement for every audio check today? I mean, literally, do you think that's one of the things that the clients think you're coming with that knowledge? Anthony Chicken [9:41] Yeah, I think from a producer standpoint, I'm not so sure they're really thinking that through. They just want someone to do the job. But I think once you come down to the vendor level and a team member level, one of us needs to know networking at least better than the rest of us. So we have a safety person. But I think you have no choice at this point. Like you either know networking at like at a basic level. And then if you want to know more, you can go explore that. [...] But every tool requires a network at this point. Les Goldberg [10:11] Got it Chris you're you agree with Anthony Chris Rodriguez [10:15] Oh, I wholeheartedly agree. I think you hit it right on the head with that. It's not necessary on the producer level, but as far as what we have to work with, as far as the connectivity of devices, I'd say lighting now is almost 80 %or more networking. [...] We use it on a regular basis through shows and it's become more paramount that I think the technicians kind of have to start learning how to get through that and how to negotiate that with the systems design. Les Goldberg [10:42] Got it max. Let me ask the same question about networking The devices give real-time feedback on Maybe a control computer So if you networked a light or a control board or something a media server You can actually see if the network connection is active and working Max Tuchman [11:01] Yeah, definitely, you know, I know for some specific switch manufacturers like agora or luminex We have network management tools that also offer some visibility into packet traffic You know whether trunk lines are working properly, you know essentially making sure all the plumbing of a network is working as it should And you know I'll say in terms of client expectations, you know I think everybody kind of expects flawless execution these days with no hiccups as soon as the truck start unloading And in touring, you know, we're loading in the same shows day in and day out and the expectation is that it's faster every single day and you know one of the ways we ensure that happens is just having a good prep, you know making sure that all of our fixtures are where they need to be nodes are where they need to be IP addresses aren't conflicting all all that fun stuff, but [...] Yeah, we're essentially self-contained redundant faster rebuild in a new building every single day and we Carry our own backups and we don't rely on the venues network Les Goldberg [12:03] Got it. Okay. So my next question is to Anthony. [...] Anthony, where does one learn this knowledge and how did you become proficient in this skill set? And where would, if I was a technician and I said, I got to learn this stuff. Do I go on chat, GBT and just say, hey, how do I learn how to do this? Or what advice could you share with everyone? How did you do it? Anthony Chicken [12:27] I don't, chat can be helpful, but I wouldn't trust it as your first protocol. I think a lot of the manufacturers these days have, you know, little accompanying certifications that you can go learn about their specific protocols and products. So that's a great place to start, like doing a Dante certification, you know, that's, in audio, we use that all the time. But I think from there, if you're really into it, Network Plus is a great certification. So it's more of an enterprise, IT enterprise certification, but that will give you the knowledge along with maybe a CCNA of switches, how to manage them, VLANs, we mentioned trunk ports, kind of how to actually set that up and manage that on a daily basis. Les Goldberg [13:08] Chris, he threw out a lot of acronyms there. The CCNA, the this, the that. Do you agree? Are you having any other thoughts of where you gained this knowledge? Did it come to the manufacturers? Did it come via your own self-searching for this knowledge? You figured out at some point I had to have it. Chris Rodriguez [13:11] Mm-hmm Chris Rodriguez [13:26] Yeah, some of it I think you can get from the manufacturers Definitely, especially when you start getting into specific devices and networks like MA lighting has got a pretty good guide for how to get their things Connected but once you want to go beyond the surface and really develop a system out [...] You kind of got got to go a little bit further And I don't think the manufacturers helped too much with that portion So Anthony actually mentioned one that I actually went and dug a little deeper on and it's a lot of the comp TIA certifications and they have a lot of different levels and I'd recommend the even just the foundational ones that they have Excuse me some of the foundational ones that they have which are geared more towards the basics and entry level and starts getting you into some of like the networking plus certifications that have a lot of backbone knowledge to just help identify The different terminology the different ways to connect a system and it gets really deep into it without having to like kind of melt your brain a little bit It's all super in for super helpful information to have and I recommend it to just about anybody I know that wants to get into it Les Goldberg [14:22] I gotta tell you, I've been doing this podcast for a while and I've never had anyone quote say melt your brain. That is a first time on this podcast. So we don't want to melt anyone's brains here. [...] So Max, my question to you is how often do we require internet on show site for a concert tour or any event? Do we require an internet feat? Max Tuchman [14:50] Yeah, no, I would say in the touring and entertainment landscape It's probably a little bit less than my counterparts on the corporate or ballroom side [...] More often than not any kind of internet connection Our teams would need are gonna be geared towards remote support Or maybe there's a new content update that needs to get downloaded to a media server something to that kind but you know our [...] Packaging and our deployments are really geared to keep us as far away from the internet as possible You know any internet access that we do have is pretty targeted to things like you know license validation Well, like I said content updates or remote support The the internet is the boogie man on site Les Goldberg [15:32] Got it The boogeyman. We don't want to have her have the boogeyman, although it is Halloween this weekend. Anthony, I have a question. Have you had to deal with firewalls? That seems to me, you know, if we have to have the internet on site, the firewalls is like the gatekeeper. Anthony Chicken [15:50] Yeah, I mean not as much as I would think I would but I definitely when we've integrated with like big venues for these corporate shows That's where firewalls become a real pain in the butt. I Remember when I say I think Shane was even on a show Shane Smith was with me we were testing our agent I see and We were backstage and he was having a deal with the IT guys trying to get the right ports open to get the thing out to The internet to get to the cloud to come back around and so Being able to talk in IT guys language is really helpful because a lot of the enterprise departments don't understand what we're talking about Les Goldberg [16:25] Got it. So this question is for Chris. Chris, when do you need to know it's time to call in for help? [...] It's not working. I need help How do I know I have a clean internet feed the switches the the firewalls that the Conflicts the IP addresses at what point do you do you pull the fire engine and say help? I need help what we're where does that happen in your sequence of of your day? Chris Rodriguez [16:33] Uh, yeah. Chris Rodriguez [16:52] I think once you've confidently exhausted all of your own resources and your own knowledge and it starts to get beyond I think where you've Hits that point where you're wasting more time trying to find the answer that you may not already know Then it is to just go ahead and call in that's the four I think that's about the time to go ahead and pull that lever there's there's always somebody that is probably in your Rolodex and for those that don't know it's just a contact sheet [...] It's to be able to kind of help you some of that probably got it You're a little bit more on the networking side or whatever that specific device might be that will certainly probably be been in a situation That you're currently in will have an answer for you and to help kind of expedite your troubleshooting workflow Les Goldberg [17:31] Got it. This next question is to Max. Max, in the future, will all all technicians have to be network certified to be able to do whatever job LED, video, audio, lighting? Is that like one box that they have to check when they're going through? They leave whatever school they go to and say, you know, I kind of want to be an audio tech, but I have to have this knowledge. Is that something you would expect from anyone that's working on one of our crews? Max Tuchman [18:04] I would say to a certain extent, yes. I think everything is moving on to ethernet or fiber, [...] lighting, audio and video and automation. They're all doing that. Today's tech is super focused on one discipline and they know the networking for that discipline, but I think the techs of tomorrow are people that are obviously really good at their craft, let it be audio, video or lighting, but they also understand networking at maybe a medium to high level and they can help other departments integrate better because that's absolutely the direction things are going. Les Goldberg [18:40] Gotcha. And Anthony, where do you continually keep your knowledge fresh? [...] Come on, if you can't be replaced with AI, then we need to make sure you stay fresh on your tech. How do you go back to the well to get more knowledge? Anthony Chicken [18:57] I'm probably more of a tech head than I think I am, so I've actually tempered home with my own home labs. [...] So I kind of do my own continuing education, but a lot of the comp tier tier stuff is great for that. They have updates, little side projects that you can work on. So I think a lot of people in our industry, they can read a manual, but when they go do it and play with it with their own hands, they lend the most. Les Goldberg [19:22] They learn the most. Okay, well, this is my final question and I want to start with Max. Max, what is the latest, coolest technology that you're excited about in our industry that we're starting to deploy that you think is just something super exciting that is going to make a difference for the audience? Max Tuchman [19:44] Um, you know this is a this is a new one for me, but probably cinema camera packages. I know we [...] We we we do we do Les Goldberg [19:51] Oh my goodness, we love digital cinema cameras. We just bought them. Max Tuchman [19:56] So, you know, we recently deployed kind of a side-by-side configuration Of looking at some brand new aria lexa cinema cameras right next to some of our traditional broadcast style cameras And the absolute difference between those two was astounding, you know You look at the cinema camera and you've got something that's essentially ready to go to apple music or netflix or whatever it is And you look at broadcast it's still still beautiful still great But it just doesn't have that softness in the refinement that a cinema camera does So i'm really excited to see where people take that technology as we start seeing it more and more out out in the world Les Goldberg [20:34] Super cool. Okay. So we got the camera systems buttoned up Chris Rodriguez. Tell me what you think is super cool in the industry that is, you know, what keeps you excited about it. Chris Rodriguez [20:48] Well, it's kind of the theme of this this this episode here But I'd say it's probably more of the networking and for fixtures We're we've been inching toward it as an industry trying to get away from just the standard copper DMX 512 standard [...] And we're starting to get more and more devices that are actually networkable to really expand our our Ability to kind of deploy larger projects without being so limited. I'm very excited to see where it goes I know there's there's still a couple of hiccups Making sure that we have our safety nets in place if there any fixtures down in a daisy chain or anything go go wrong But I know that's right around the corner and I'm really excited to see that one take place Les Goldberg [21:26] All right, Anthony, tell me what is exciting you right now about the industry. Anthony Chicken [21:31] Yeah, I think for audio I want to see more of the immersive audio. So like the Elisa system or the source intelligence things like what are using integrating AI and technology to Bring more of an experience because audio has been a very stereo thing for so long I think we could do more there on shows Les Goldberg [21:49] You know what? Anything that makes the surround come from different point sources [...] and makes, I was going to say, makes the audience feel immersed is a win. You know what's interesting about all this? I wish all three of you guys great, incredible working networking solutions and systems. So when you go on your next show in the next couple of days, everything plugs in and works. [...] And ultimately it seems like this technology thing and having to have that knowledge and continue to grow is something where it's going to hang around for a while. And I think all of us will benefit, hopefully, as Chris said, if it makes it easier to do more with this technology, then we all win. So anyway, I want to thank Anthony, Chris, and Max. You guys are amazing. I look forward to seeing you in a ballroom, a convention center, any place where people make noise and put up big LED screens and lights. And this is Les Goldberg and the road ahead. Everybody, great job. Thank you so much. Anthony Chicken [22:01] Yeah Anthony Chicken [22:51] you, Les. Appreciate it. Chris Rodriguez [22:52] Thank you. Max Tuchman [22:52] Thanks for having us.