Messages

166

December Madness 2 / SOFTWARE Division semis, Round 2: Photoshop vs Qlab

« on: Dec 18, 2014, 12:02 am »

Pre-production takes on the open run in the "Mac Attack" Software division semi-finals. On the one side of the court we have surprise winner Photoshop, which survived a tight match against Filemaker last week. It remains to be seen if Adobe's most widely pirated moneymaker can hold its own when paired against Qlab, an app made specifically for the backstage industry.

The main question of this tournament - "Which software is the most useful" - takes on a different connotation in this round. These two digital tools may be the most exclusive ones remaining in the tournament with the smallest user base. Rather than "more useful," we may be determining which of the two has been used at all among the users of SMNetwork.

The winner here will take on battered and bruised Excel, fresh from its knock down, drag out rumble against its sibling Excel, in the division finals next week.

167

December Madness 2 / APPS Division Semis, Round 2: Clock vs Camera

« on: Dec 18, 2014, 12:01 am »

Today we have a matchup between two Apps that are often taken for granted. It can be easy to forget that both of these teams are actually apps, as they come pre-installed as part of every smartphone's operating system.

In a way this match is the stage manager's personality test. At stake is the innate split personality of the stage manager: relentlessly orderly, but also extremely creative. Aware of what's coming up in the near future, but focused on retaining archives and preserving what's gone before.

The winning team here will go on to face the other remaining default stock application, Text Messaging, in the division final. Cast your votes well! We'll see you at the close of Sunday.

168

December Madness 2 / Re: SOCIAL Division Semis: Facebook vs Tumblr

« on: Dec 15, 2014, 06:29 pm »

So... anyone who isn't on the SMblr staff want to take a stab at why Facebook is the better tool?

169

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Contracts?

« on: Dec 15, 2014, 06:28 pm »

If they're pulling that kind of stuff repeatedly then they should be replaced. When an actor accepts a role they are making a verbal commitment. The legal contracts simply cover things like liability and payment terms. The verbal contract is a promise that they will be part of a cast, work with the cast to create the production, and make the production a general priority - just like any other social engagement you agree to attend.

Falling back to a contract stipulation is like pulling out an Uzi when you really need a wadded up newspaper. Coming from real estate (my current gig) I can verify that nobody ever reads their contracts anyhow. Besides, verbal/"handshake" agreements have been found to be just as binding in courtrooms. Yes, courtrooms. If you use the contract-enforcement route you're playing the opening bars of the overture to a lawsuit. There is no need to use that tone in most backstage situations.

If they're asking you to change a dressing room litterbox because they're too lazy to go to the lavatory (true story, bro), that's when you start bringing in the legal folk and talking about contracts. Actors have been flaking on rehearsals since the dawn of theatre. I'm sure the audience for Aeschylus' plays had to hold for a few minutes waiting for the guy who plays Prometheus to arrive back in Ancient Greece. Ironing out slacky rehearsal attendance is icky task #1 for community theatre stage managers.

As an SM you need to know how to either a) manipulate the actors so they want to show up or b) manipulate the staff so that they understand that a team member is damaging the process and needs removal. Try carrots, try sticks, try a combination of both. Figure out the tardy actor's hot buttons and push them until s/he bruises.

170

December Madness 2 / WEBSITES Division Semis: Webmail vs Web Calendar

« on: Dec 15, 2014, 12:21 am »

Kicking off the Sweet Sixteen- It's a showdown of two powerhouse Website contenders- Webmail vs. Webcalendar!! This match is going to be quite a nailbiter- our experts judge these teams to be fairly evenly matched.

Webmail has changed the lives of stage managers in the last 2 decades. The increasing polularity and availability of Webmail has decreased the need for rehearsal hotlines, saving SMs the necessiry of recording the call 7 times just to squeeze In the last two lines. It has increased the ability for last minute communiques, and made SM-designer relations increase tenfold. Its offense is not to be stopped!

Webcalendar has strong foothold in the Website round- its ability to track multiple shows and easy comparison to one's personal calendar lead to a strong defense for this team. The ease of sharibility amongst production staff makes it a strong contender.

VOTE for your favorite Website! Polls open through midnight 12/17.

-Maribeth

171

December Madness 2 / SOCIAL Division Semis: Facebook vs Tumblr

« on: Dec 15, 2014, 12:19 am »

In the Social division, the ever popular Facebook faces off against the up-and-comer Tumblr. This match is going to be all about the fans!

Tumblr's got the “loud and rowdy sixth man” advantage in this match- its fans have been lining up to get tickets for days. Facebook does have a solid fan base itself- can it compare to the enthusiasm of the Tumblr crowd? Facebook did have a more solid win in the first round, but the Tumblr fans may carry their team to the top!

Vote here! Polls close Wednesday at midnight.


- Maribeth

172

December Madness 2 / SOFTWARE Division semis: Word vs Excel

« on: Dec 15, 2014, 12:09 am »

It could be said that this match is happening too early in the tournament. After all, Word & Excel (and their open source doppelgangers) may well be the most heavily used digital items across the entire league. Unfortunately, this tourney ain't big enough for the both of them.

In the previous round Word struggled to find its footing against the Web Browser while Excel breezed through its game with Acrobat. We might be able to predict a similar outcome here, but Word has been known to run circles around Excel in prior years. Only the stage managers will be able to determine the winner of this highly anticipated pairing.

You have until the end of Wednesday, midnight EST, to make your choice.

173

December Madness 2 / APPS Division Semis, Round 1: SMS vs Google Drive

« on: Dec 15, 2014, 12:06 am »

It's the featherweight vs the heavyweight in this first match of the Apps division semi-finals.

Tiny and fast text messaging has just a couple hundred characters in its arsenal but makes every abbreviated word count. It landed the TKO against fan favorite Dropbox last week but it was far from a shutout match.

Across the court it faces the monster from Mountain View, Google Drive. Drive brings some very similar features to the game as Dropbox did. We know SMS has the game to take on a cloud sharing game strategy. Does Drive's defensive line of office suite products have what it takes to hold off the SMS onslaught? Your vote will tell the story at the end of Wednesday, midnight EST.

174

December Madness 2 / Re: December Madness 2: Digital Boogaloo (Starts 12/1/2014!)

« on: Dec 15, 2014, 12:03 am »

Wow, that was easy! Some lightweight matches in Round 4. 3 out of 4 pairings were pretty much no contest.

In the apps division, Camera handily trounced newcomer Pushbullet 24-3. It looks like Pushbullet needs a little more practice time to build up a fan following before it can compete with the likes of the heavy hitters in this tournament. Camera will take on Clock in the battle of the stock phone apps next week.

Over in Software, we had another near shutout as Qlab darkened Lightwright's day 29-3, setting it up to take on Photoshop in the sweet sixteen. Can it survive another round or will PS cut & paste it?

Maribeth, you had an at-the-buzzer point in one of your matches. Did it help at all?

175

December Madness 2 / Re: WEBSITE, Round 4: Offstagejobs vs. AirBnB

« on: Dec 13, 2014, 05:58 pm »

Lots of runaways in this round. I think 3 out of 4 matches will be pretty close to shut outs.

176

December Madness 2 / APPS Round 4: Camera vs Pushbullet

« on: Dec 11, 2014, 01:18 am »

A groundbreaking piece of technology and an underdog newcomer battle it out in this round of the Apps division.

On the one hand we have Camera, the cause of Blackberry's survival and downfall. Easy access to instant digital imaging on portable devices has brought us some wonderful things, some fantastic and some not as much. Assign as you will such novelties as selfies, cat videos. It allows us to record choreography and take instant snaps of the prop table. Of course it also can show us things we don't want to see, such as the events that led to ongoing race protests & riots in the US. Regardless of its output, one cannot deny that Camera is a mighty force to be reckoned with.

Across the court we find tiny Pushbullet, (pushbullet.com) possibly the least well-known competitor in this entire tournament. Much like the SM facilitates communication between production departments, Pushbullet allows your many devices to talk to each other via a shared wifi connections. Need to keep your phone in your bag in rehearsal? PB will send your incoming text messages to your laptop screen. Want to know when your ASM has finished the backstage checklist? PB can pop up a notice wherever you like when they save their copy of the list. A small feature, perhaps, compared with what Camera has done for us. However, sometimes a small feature can make all the difference, and it only takes one point difference to win a match.

Match runs through midnight EST at the end of Sunday Dec 14.

177

December Madness 2 / SOFTWARE Round 4: Qlab vs Lightwright

« on: Dec 11, 2014, 01:07 am »

Round 3 of the Software division featured some teams that courted the elite and skillful members of the industry who are willing to master some pretty dense software. Round 4 features similarly challenging digital tools, but in this case they are targeted specifically at the performing arts industry: Lightwright and Qlab. Of note, these teams are also the only two that do not have any true free alternative available for the services they provide.

As much as we would like both of these unique snowflake teams to continue on in the competition, only one will survive. Which will it be?

Lightwright
While some may call Lightwright more of an electrician's tool, understanding how it works is critical for canny stage managers on long runs. Its concise rendering of all the parts and movements of LX rig makes it a major part of any show, especially those on tour. When it comes to electrics Lightwright is the ultimate team manager, but can it hold its own against the overall managing power of....

Qlab
This Baltimore-based little robotic wonder may raise some hackles as the sole Mac-only team competing in December Madness. Nevertheless, its power has made it possible for stage managers to singlehandedly (or even single-fingeredly) execute complicated tech for productions without the assistance of board ops. With the power to consolidate calling the show into a single "Go," Qlab's timecoding may eventually make that part of the gig obsolete. However, until it does, we can all enjoy its ability to get the mechanicals out of the way and let us pay attention to other aspects of show maintenance.

Match runs through midnight EST at the end of Sunday Dec 14.

178

December Madness 2 / Re: December Madness 2: Digital Boogaloo (Starts 12/1/2014!)

« on: Dec 11, 2014, 12:56 am »

Well, Maribeth, of our two matches in the Software and Apps divisions, we had one definitive victory and one hard-fought battle. Clock wiped its face, hands and several other body parts on Evernote like it was an old gym towel, cleaning up 26-2. Not quite the same shutout you had over in Social, but pretty close. Looks like stage managers are willing to relinquish their stopwatches to digital substitutes after all!

The surprising match was in the Software division, where low turnout had been expected due to the elite nature of the two teams competing. Fan support was strong, but the debate was hectic as to whether orderly databases or frisky photo editing would dominate. Totally contradicting last week's Excel vs. Acrobat match, artsy Photoshop's stylish layers piled on to Filemaker's slow queries to come out on top, 15-10.

Round 4 runs through the end of Sunday. It will wrap up our initial elimination and set us up to enter the Sweet Sixteen next week. Our eight final new teams are entering the courts to start their matches.

179

December Madness 2 / Re: SOCIAL, Round 3: SMNetwork vs Pinterest

« on: Dec 09, 2014, 03:28 pm »

I'm hoping folks who are voting for SMNet are doing so because they legit think it's the better site. I can't see who has voted unless you openly confess to it afterwards, so it's not like I'm gonna ban you for liking Pinterest more.

180

December Madness 2 / Re: December Madness 2: Digital Boogaloo (Starts 12/1/2014!)

« on: Dec 08, 2014, 12:16 am »

Coming up in Round 3, the match to watch is in the Social division where Pinterest takes on our very own SMNetwork. SMNet has the home court advantage here, although per the IDMC rules this announcer will be spending the match on the bench.