Cirina Catania, the host of OWC RADiO, talks with Michael Williams, the Godfather of Comedy!

If laughter is the best medicine, the doctor is in!

Imagine living in LA in 1985 and being an African-American fan of stand up comedy but having nowhere to go to see comedians who resonated with you!

Michael Williams had the unique idea to open a comedy club that featured all-black stand up comedians tailored to and reflecting the culture of his African American race. It had never been done before, but the results were pure magic.

This conversation is about what happens when one hard-working person has the courage to try something completely new.

It is about changing the world. It's about giving a voice in the '80s to what, at the time, was an under-represented culture. It is about creating a legacy and passing on wisdom to the next generation. And...it is about having fun, poking fun, healing wounds and finding joy.

If these themes interest you, get ready for another great episode of OWC RADiO as Cirina Catania interviews Michael Williams, the real Godfather of Comedy.

Michael was honored during a celebration of African American history, on the 4th of February, 2020, at the City Hall in Los Angeles. The world has been too quiet for too long about this selfless pioneer. We hope he will continue to get the recognition he so well deserves. The exhibit honoring Michael and several of America's most popular comedians is entitled, "Stand Up: Art and Politics in Comedy" and will remain on display for the entire month of February.

Follow whats next in 2020 here: https://www.comedyactplanet.com

For more about our host, filmmaker, tech maven and co-founder of the Sundance Film Festival, Cirina Catania, visit cirinacatania.com.

If you enjoy our podcast, please subscribe and tell all your friends about us!

We love our listeners. And, if you have ideas for segments, write to [email protected]. Cirina is always up for new ideas!

In This Episode

00:08 - Cirina introduces Michael Williams, the Godfather of Comedy. He opened a comedy club that featured all-black stand up comedians and was tailored to and reflecting the African American culture.04:23 - Michael shares the first time he saw TJ McGee on stage performing at the Comedy Store.07:42 - Michael shares that Robin Harris was his first host and how he was unique to everybody who knew him. 14:21 - Michael shares how he encourages people and gives them chances if they want to be a comedian.18:54 - Michael shares how he inspires comedians to have freedom of expression, allowing them to be themselves.24:21 - Michael shares the story of how he opened his third club in Atlanta, and how he had to rebuild it in less than four months. 27:18 - Michael shares the names of the comedians he helped with their careers, including Chris Rock.32:07 - Michael shares the impact on the audience and the connection to the comedian in watching live comedy.36:01 - Michael shares how some comedians perform on stage to cope up with their life struggles.39:34 - Visit Michael William’s website comedyactplanet.com to learn more and stay updated.

Jump to Links and Resources

Transcript

This is Cirina Catania with OWC Radio, and I'm here at CES, and I ran into Michael Williams. I'm so excited. This man, this young man is the godfather of comedy. That's your Nickname, right?

A lot of people say that.

So why CES? What are you doing here? 

When I first started my business, which was in 1985, technology like it is today, it was just not here. 

Not even close.

I didn't have a computer, I didn't have a cell phone, I didn't have a fax machine. Even though I had access to a fax machine, that was that paper that would soon fade when exposed to the sun. I forgot what it was called.

We all got stuck with thermal paper.

Yeah. Thermal paper, that's what it's called.

And if you didn't file it right, it can get away from the air.

Exactly.

Cirina Catania, OWC RADiO host, talks with Neill Barham, CEO, and the guiding vision behind FiLMiC Inc. and the primary architect behind FiLMiC Pro.

An independent filmmaker from Seattle turned serial entrepreneur, Neill studied at the Vancouver Film School before working on projects large and small in countries all over the world.

With the advent of the iPhone 4 and its ability to shoot high definition video, Neill saw a vision of the future where everyone has the tools to become an artist or storyteller. The company began working on the initial designs of the FiLMiC Pro in 2010 and has been relentlessly updating the app ever since. Under his leadership, FiLMiC Pro has become the pre-eminent high-end video app, used by filmmakers, artists, educators and journalists the world over.

You can find out more about FiLMiC PRO here.

For more about our host, filmmaker, tech maven and co-founder of the Sundance Film Festival, Cirina Catania, visit cirinacatania.com.

If you enjoy our podcast, please subscribe and tell all your friends about us!

We love our listeners. And, if you have ideas for segments, write to [email protected]. Cirina is always up for new ideas!

In This Episode

00:08 - Cirina introduces Neill Barham, CEO pof FiLMiC Inc.04:38 - FiLMiC Pro’s new Multi-cam or DoubleTake features explained by Neill.09:15 - Neill shares his background story and talks about how he ended up going to film school.13:06 - Neill shares the advantages of today’s generation, where they have tools available to create projects without going to film school.16:35 - Neill elaborates on FiLMiC Pro’s mission to democratize media to enable artistic creativity.20:01 - Neill describes how FiLMiC Pro’s Cinematographer Kit works.25:03 - Cirina has her opinion about the LUT/not to LUT argument amongst creatives.28:06 - Neill favorite part of his year is also the most rewarding. It’s the FiLMiC Pro’s contest.35:18 - FiLMic Pro gives $25,000 cash to the grand prize winner for their next FilMiC project.40:35 - Visit www.filmicpro.com to learn more about FiLMiC Pro, view amazing projects from various artistic people, and many more.

Jump to Links and Resources

Transcript

This is Cirina Catania OWC Radio. I spoke to you guys a moment ago about Neill Barham of FiLMiC Pro and how accomplished he is and how much I love all of those apps. And now we are lucky enough to have him on the phone with me. So, Neill, how are you today? 

I'm doing great. Thank you so much for having me. 

Before we get too far down the line, I want to thank OWC for sponsoring the podcast. Without them, I wouldn't be able to be talking to you today. So thank you, Larry, and the team over there in OWC. We're grateful to you. 

Neill, I watched you on stage at the Worldwide Developer Conference, and we won't talk too much about it because I noticed the new version isn't up yet. But we affectionately call that the dub dub. You're on stage at the dub dub talking about a new multi-cam version of FiLMiC Pro. How's that coming? Can you tell us any more about what's happening with that? 

Sure. And just a quick clarification, I was in the venue and may have been seen, but it's Sean Baker and our CTO Chris Cohen, who got the luxury of being on stage. And Chris is probably the best person to articulate the technical underpinnings of what rolled out with iOS 13 on the iPhone 11 Pros that will make the next generation of FiLMiC Pro possible. So multi-cam is a revolutionary capability. Kevin Buonagurio and I were recently at CES last week, and we had a great time testing out the latest FiLMiC beta with the multi-cam on the trade show floor at CES.

I'm jealous. Now I was at CES, why didn't I see this?

And it was fantastic because that made a richer presentation and interaction. We would wander from one booth to the next after we shot an interesting clip of the Sony booth where they unveiled, I'm presuming it's an electric car I had seen on maybe...

OWC Radio Host, Cirina Catania tackles AB5 issues head on in an in-depth interview with entertainment and tech lawyer Jonathan Handel. of counsel with the law firm of TroyGould and a contributing editor at The Hollywood Reporter. Jonathan covers labor, workplace and legal matters and is a reliable and informed source when we need to know the latest on what is happening in the legal side of the entertainment and tech industries.

Do you qualify as an employee or are you a contractor? The answer isn’t so simple, and it may be even more complicated as it applies to those in the music, film, and TV industries. In California, new legislation called AB5 changed the rules effective January 1, 2020.

So how do this impact you? Listen in as we answer those questions.

Transcript

This is Cirina Catania with OWC Radio. I have Jonathan Handel on the line. He's an entertainment technology attorney at TroyGould, and also a frequent contributing editor at The Hollywood Reporter. Jonathan and I have spoken over the years about many issues involving unions and trade and things. Jonathan, you're always the go-to smart guy when I need to know the legal implications of anything that's current, that's happening in the industry. And recently, there's a lot of hullabaloo about this new AB5. So can you explain to our listeners what that is?

Sure, it's a pleasure to be back with you. AB5 changes the legal analysis, the legal criteria in California, for whether someone is considered an independent contractor or an employee when they're doing work for someone else. It's called AB5 because it was Assembly Bill 5, the state assembly, the state representatives. And it passed and was signed by the governor last month or several months ago, and it will take effect January 1st of this year and is now part of the laws of the state of California, the Labor Code. Perhaps the first thing to explain is, why do we care? What's the difference between for a worker and for an employer, the difference between someone being an employee versus being an independent contractor?

That would be awesome. Let's explain that.

Great. Okay. And it turns out that there are some pros and some cons on either side, on the one hand, employees are entitled to a variety of protections, protections regarding minimum wage, so-called Wage and Hour laws. The number of hours they can work, if they're not highly paid the number of hours, they can work before being given a rest break and a break for lunch and things of that sort. When people talk about being paid overtime, that's protection from in wage and hour laws, workers compensation and unemployment insurance when they lose their job, discrimination laws in many cases only apply if someone's an employee, not if they're an independent contractor. Social Security payments, when you're an employee, they deduct money for Social Security from your paycheck, but the employer also has to pay a share and additional share towards social security.

So those are advantages of being an employee. Now, the advantages of being an independent contractor are, first of all, that you're not tied to a single employer, whereas often an employee only has one job well, that's not necessarily the case. And the key thing is that if you make use of your home office, make use of your car, and certain other expenses, these things are deductible, for independent contractors are not deductible for employees. In fact, because of the Trump tax reforms, even something like a large expense like a commission to an agent, 10% of your wages going to an agent are not deductible for employees but are deductible if someone is an independent contractor. So I guess I think maybe the next thing to think about is, who falls into what kind of a bucket and can you simply say, "I'm an independent contractor," or "I'm an employee." Even before AB5 assumed that if you were treated as an employee if you were paid wages,

Host, Cirina Catania, catches up OWC’s owner, Larry O’Connor, at CES 2020. The resulting conversation will come at you fast and furious.

Whether you’re an advanced home user or you manage a high-end studio, this podcast gives you an essential overview of this year’s latest upgrades and advancements from Other World Computing that will take you to the next level!

Do you want better storage?

Need serious expanded Mac Pro memory options? Larry tells you what to look for and what to avoid and dives deep. Hint: You don't need to spend $2000 for memory!

He answers questions about NVME's, SSD's, PCIE, SATA, eGPU, Helios, the new Flex 8 for your studio, Akitio, Thunderbay, Envoy, and ThunderBlade, among other solutions currently offered at macsales.com.

Take your gear on the road? Larry tells you why you shouldn’t leave your home (studio) this year without a Travel Doc.

Buckle up and get ready to take notes because this episode of OWC Radio is 37 minutes of non-stop tech talk!

For more about our host, filmmaker, tech maven and co-founder of the Sundance Film Festival, Cirina Catania, visit cirinacatania.com.

If you enjoy our podcast, please subscribe and tell all your friends about us! We love our listeners. And, if you have ideas for segments, write to [email protected]. Cirina is always up for new ideas!

In This Episode:

00:08 - Cirina introduces Larry O'Connor, founder and chief executive officer of OWC.03:45 - Larry shares the OWC ThunderBay 8, replacing the OWC ThunderBay 6.06:01 - Larry explains how NVMe works to enhance your machine's speed.09:20 - What are the risks of handling your memory modules poorly? And, how to avoid them.11:59 - Larry talks about the OWC ThunderBlade, and how studios are their number one customer for that product.14:42 - Larry tells the story of how the OWC Envoy Pro EX is so robust that a race car team tested its capacity by beating up the casing and the media still played correctly20:09 - What are the things you need to consider in purchasing a travel dock?24:00 - How OWC provides solutions for both Mac and PC users.28:16 - How to move from Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 and get the maximum potential of what they offer.32:35 - Larry elaborates how the Mercury Elite Pro Dock is the do-it-all tool that will organize your digital life

Jump to Links & Resources

Transcript

This is Cirina Catania with OWC Radio. I'm in Las Vegas at CES, one of the largest conventions every year sponsored by Consumer Technology Association, and there's no way that I would go to CES and not at least visit the OWC booth, the Renaissance. So I got a chance to pull the owner of the company Larry O'Connor aside and ask him what's under the hood of all these wonderful things I see here. 

Sure. Well, I mean, in a nutshell, it's all fast, it's all purposeful, it'll all work really well, and it'll make your Mac or PC's workflow and everything smooth and efficient. Across the board, if I have to just pick a couple of items that are super important that we've got here at the show today, the new Accelsior 4M2 for the Mac Pro 2019, a huge game-changer in my opinion for that product. I mean, the Apple Mac Pro is really taking off strongly based on customer interest and just the amount of sheer volume of the product they're shipping. The 4M2 cost is substantially less than the Apple factory flash, and it gives you the opportunity to transfer it between machines. So if you need to move it to another system, it is not soldered inside or not those two blades that really don't work anyplace else. And it's also over twice as fast as the factory SSD, exceptionally high performance. You put multiple cards inside the software monitors and is actually the only application that enables TRIM on external and PCIe connected SSDS, which is really important at high speed. Otherwise, you'd get inconsistent data rates and other little problems and glitches that you just don't want in the Pro machin...

Puget Systems is based in Seattle and specializes in building high quality, custom-built desktops, workstations, and servers. OWC Radio Host, Cirina Catania, talks to Matt Bach, Senior Labs Technician, for an in-depth conversation about the latest trends in computing and how to get the perfect hardware for your workflow.

Puget Systems emphasize customization with a laser focus on understanding each customer’s specific needs and offer personal consulting and support that they believe is becoming quite rare in the industry. Puget Systems' goal is to provide each client with the best possible computer for their needs and budget.

We spoke about building PC's for video production, gaming and other high-end needs!

For more information, please visit: https://www.pugetsystems.com/

For more information on OWC, see below and visit MacSales.com to find your perfect workflow solution!

For more about our host, Cirina Catania, visit cirinacatania.com.

If you enjoy our podcast, please subscribe and tell all your friends about us! We love our listeners. And, if you have ideas for segments, write to [email protected]. Cirina is always up for new ideas!

In This Episode

00:32 - Cirina introduces Matt Bach, senior lab technician of Puget Systems.05:53 - Cirina asks Matt the common causes of Premiere Pro crashing on PCs.10:37 - Matt describes the competition of Intel and AMD when it comes to CPU performance.16:24 - The things you have to consider in building your system unit based on your work demands.23:02 - Matt’s recommendation for an essential and sufficient CPU for general use. 28:27 - What is the difference between a CPU and a GPU?33:03 - What are the advantages of upgrading your SSD, and what is the most recommended brand? 41:40 - Matt shares Puget System’s interesting clients and partners they work with.46:20 - How can Puget Systems help you make your computer a fit to your workflow needs and preferences.53:22 - Visit Puget Systems’ website pugetsystems.com to check out how you can make your own machine.

Jump to Links and Resources

Transcript

This is Cirina Catania with OWC Radio. I have been talking with Matt Bach at Puget Systems is their senior labs technician. And he has written lately this amazing series of technology articles that caught my eye, and I think I want to get real geeky with him for a minute. Sit back, relax and listen in as we kind of do a deep dive into what you need to do and what you need to look for when building the best computer for the type of work you do. Before we really get into that, Matt, can you tell our listeners, what is Puget Systems? Where are you? What do you do? And who do you do it for?

Yeah, so Puget Systems is a workstation manufacturer. So we build computers, and we've been around for close to 20 years, we're just south of Seattle. So we're in a big tech hub near Amazon, and Microsoft and all those kind of guys. And yeah, we really focus on high-performance workstations, but at the same time workstations that just work. There's a lot of companies out there that really push the overload like really, really push the overload and get into like overclocking and crazy parts that they put into their computers. And we take things a little bit step back, we're a lot more about reliability, stability, and just getting the exact right components for what you're doing. I mean, like you mentioned like we do all these hardware articles. And that's not just for fun, it's because that's what we actually need to do ourselves in order to figure out like, oh, what processor should we sell for a Premiere Pro user, or a DaVinci Resolve user, or After Effects user because they all act just a little bit differently.

So how long have you been at the company?

I've actually been here for going on 17 years, I believe. My brother is actually the company president. So he started it in our parent's garage, and I got involved pretty early, well,

Workflow for the Netflix feature documentary, "The Pursuit" is revealed in this fast-paced and interesting conversation between OWC host, Cirina Catania, and Josh Meyers, Lead Editor on the film.

Kevin Bourke is the founder and principal of BourkePR, a PR and communications consultancy. He specializes in the media/entertainment, production, post-production and music tech space. Kevin talks with OWC RADiO host, Cirina Catania, about the lessons he’s learned throughout his PR career and how it all started with a passion for music.

As principal and founder of BourkePR, Kevin Bourke is a consultant to some of the most interesting and innovative companies in the entertainment media tech, music tech, VFX, post-production and production technology markets.

Kevin works exclusively with companies whose ideas and accomplishments deserve their moment in the spotlight. With 30 years of experience in technology-related PR and communications, he has worked closely with companies of all sizes. From startups to Fortune 500 brands, Kevin helps them navigate the markets in which they play, including brands such as GoPro, FiLMiC Inc., Luma Touch, Red Giant, Frame.io and many more.

Follow Kevin on Twitter and Facebook. Learn more about his business and reach him on LinkedIn. And don't miss Kevin's #TheDailyRiff guitar performances on YouTube like this one.

In This Episode

00:39 - Cirina introduces Kevin Bourke, founder, and principal of BourkePR, a public relations and communications consultancy specializing in the media/entertainment, production, post-production, and music tech space.05:50 - Kevin shares how during college he became interested in marketing.12:20 - Kevin talks about what made him stand out among the group applying for his first job.16:46 - Kevin describes PR's true meaning and shares his experience when he started back in the 90s.22:50 - Cirina compares the changes in doing PR now vs. 20 years ago, and Kevin gives his advice on things to know about PR nowadays.27:31 - Where and how you should focus on doing your PR to reach prospects and potential clients.33:03 - Kevin shares his vision of the tech business for filmmakers and how it evolved, especially now with the mobile filmmaking being one.39:55 - Cirina and Kevin talk about Frame.io's success story sharing, where it all started as a tiny startup company.47:31 - Kevin shares his passion for music, and tells the story of how he began filming himself playing Pink Floyd's, Comfortably Numb, in his first video.53:42 - Follow Kevin Bourke on his social media accounts and visit bourkepr.wordpress.com, to learn more about BourkePR's business and services.

Jump to Links and Resources

Transcript

Kevin Bourke is the founder and principal of Bourke PR. I've known Kevin for a long time, and he runs a public relations and communications consultancy that specializes in media entertainment production, post-production, and music tech space. He's awesome at what he does. He has a lot of talents, and we're going to talk about your music, but before we go, hi, Kevin, thank you for doing this in the middle of all of your craziness.

Hi, Cirina, thanks for having me. It's always fun talking to you.

Yes, you have had over the years, some of the most amazing and interesting clients. But before we get into that, I want to set the scene a little bit. Tell me about your background and your education and where you come from so people can understand how your background contributes to your success with all of these companies. 

Sure. So going way back to the 80s. I am a graduate of Boston University. Ultimately, I graduated with a degree in Business Administration and Marketing, but I didn't start out that way. I actually went into college, thinking that I was going to be a rock and roll and a music star, and I entered college as a music major. And after about a year of studying classical guitar performance, I realized, I don't think I'm cut out for this exactly, so maybe I should try something different. And I'm kind of glad that I had that realization at that very young age, I think I was 18 when I made that decision.

"Come and Learn the True Power of the Dark Side!"

"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker," launches December 20th and FXhome has a lead on SFX secrets! Head of Marketing, Kirstie Tostevin, talks to OWC Host, Cirina Catania, about the company’s new updates to HitFilm Pro, including additional support for After Effects Plug-Ins from Video Copilot and Red Giant.

To show off the new capabilities Kristie announces the release of an original, Star Wars themed trailer-style fan film. Organic 3D particle effects, realistic lens flares, 3D planets, realistic heat waves… this film and the accompanying tutorial has it all. And yes, FXhome will even show you how to make your own lightsaber. 

Find out why over 4.5 million users love FXHome as Kristie and Cirina talk about this fascinating company and some of it’s coolest new products. 

For more information, please visit:

 www.fxhome.com

Watch the new Star Wars trailer-style video and tutorial here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP-WmmxTyuA

For more information on OWC, see below and visit MacSales.com to find your perfect workflow solution!

For more about our host, Cirina Catania, visit cirinacatania.com.

If you enjoy our podcast, please subscribe and tell all your friends about us! We love our listeners. And, if you have ideas for segments, write to [email protected]. Cirina is always up for new ideas!

Transcript

This is Cirina Catania with OWC Radio. Kirstie Tostevin is on the line with me, and she is head of marketing at FXhome. We're going to talk about them quite a bit. Kirstie, I'm really excited about you because you bridge marketing, technology, and creativity. It's wonderful. So welcome on the show, we have a lot to talk about, and I can hardly wait. 

Thank you so much. I'm so pleased to be on your show. I'm really excited.

Of course, you're not going to tell me anything different. 

I can be quite blunt. Yeah, you're right.

There you go. For those of you listening, Kirstie and I met during NAB in April when we were just launching OWC, and we had the founders of FXhome on the show at that time. Kirstie, you and I bonded immediately, I love smart people and creative people, so it's just so nice to reconnect with you. And it just happens to come also on the heels of this monstrous press release that I got about, and I didn't even know where to start, there was a lot in there. So I don't know whether I should thank or curse Kevin for everything that's in here. So let's talk about how as a marketing person, for a tech company, you really do need to know a little bit of everything, right? So what is your background, and how did you get into all of this?

Well, that is quite a question. I remember you speaking to Josh, our CEO, in the last interview, and he kind of gave you an answer you didn't quite expect because he started in the history of art. I started in English literature, which was fantastic, but it was very much the case that touch a computer at your peril, you really should be writing with a fountain pen type situation. So I was actually very non-techie. And I was working in marketing because that's what I love, and I was doing some just kind of general marketing research for the university I was at. Then I saw this opportunity come up with FXhome, and they said they made visual effects software for filmmakers, and I was like, Oh my God. I have to apply for this job. It sounds amazing. And it was a complete baptism of fire because would you believe I didn't know that Mac and PC were different distances when I started, it was that bad. 

Oh my gosh, you are forgiven.

Thank you. I really don't know whether I should have said that, now I think about it. I think that probably gives you an idea of just how bad I was with tech. But this particular company, you've talked to them already, they're fantastically fun, they're very generous with their knowledge. And I've been here for about seven years now,

Ed Lantz, Mark Laisure, and Kate McCallum from the team at Vortex Immersion Media join Cirina Catania, OWC RADiO host, and share their experiences about working with Dr. Jancy McPhee, and Larry O'Connor of OWC, to help bring the Humans in Space Art Competition to the world.

We also go under the hood with Vortex Immersion Media as Ed, Mark and Kate explain how they have created next-generation immersive entertainment journeys with a focus on a deeper, more meaningful experiences and positive social impact. Their every-popular "Mesmerica" immersive visual musical journey features the music of James Hood and has been playing to sold-out audiences since its inception.

Ed Lantz is the Founder, President and CTO, Vortex Immersion Media, an entertainment technology engineer and immersive experience designer. He designs 360 digital dome venues and produces and directs those experiences. According to Ed, "It is a visual musical journey with poetic narrative." It most certainly leaves audiences happier when they leave than when they arrived.

Joining him is Mark Laisure, the CEO of Vortex Immersion Media. He is one of the world’s leading designers of transformative 360 immersive entertainment and an inspirational speaker, producer and C0-Host of The Life Changes Radio Show and Live Event Series. Mark focuses on sharing and embracing "change" in order to "do life better."

Kate McCallum is a Producer, Content Strategist, Writer, supporting Vortex Immersion Media with business and creative development.

James Hood's Mesmerica 360 experience has been playing to sold-out audiences since its inception. This unique event enables guests to share an immersive experience that is truly out of this world.

In This Episode

00:39 - Cirina introduces Mark Laisure, CEO of Vortex Immersion Media. Ed Lantz, Founder, President and CTO, Vortex Immersion Media, and Kate McCallum, a Producer, Content Strategist, Writer, supporting Vortex Immersion Media with business and creative development.05:25 - Mark talks about the involvement of Vortex with Humans in Space Art.09:24 - Ed shares the vision of Vortex Immersion Media and the story of how it began.13:36 - Kate shares her experiences in being a producer, writer, and consultant, and how she decided to work with Ed.19:50 - What is Mesmerica?23:56 - Kate explains how they produce James Hood’s Mesmerica in various domes and planetariums in the country.28:13 - On a stage director’s standpoint, Ed elaborates on directing a live immersive performance being projected in a dome.34:17 - Ed points out the challenges of filmmakers in producing stories in a dome format.39:08 - Kate shares how they researched the science of happiness and positive psychology while making Mesmerica.43:02 - Visit Mesmerica 360’s website at mesmerica.com to learn more about the show.

Jump to Links and Resources

Transcript

This is Cirina Catania with OWC Radio. I'm back again, and we have been talking in the previous few minutes with Mark Laisure and Ed Lantz about their involvement with this wonderful challenge called Humans in Space Art, and we're able to get Kate on the phone Kate McCallum, which I'm really excited about. Kate is a writer-producer, and she was on this team. The Vortex team was one of the major sponsors of this event. So, Kate, I want to ask you because you weren't here earlier. What was your involvement, and how do you feel about this project? 

KM: I work with Vortex in the capacity of creative development kind of business strategy from a more interpersonal level with the artist and the creative community, as well as heading up a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that we launched back in 2004, called the c3: Center for Conscious Creativity. So Vortex generously has been a supporter of our nonprofit as well. And we are able to kind of have our headquarters here, and also host events and support artists through our 501(c)(3) nonprofit doing work that is exploratory or more on the social impact s...

Ed Lantz and Mark Laisure, from the team at Vortex Immersion Media, join OWC RADiO host Cirina Catania. They share their experience working with Dr. Jancy McPhee, and Larry O'Connor of OWC, to help bring the Humans in Space Art Competition to the world.

Go under the hood with Vortex Immersion Media as Ed and Mark explain how they have created next-generation immersive entertainment journeys with a focus on more profound and meaningful experiences with positive social impact. Their ever-popular "Mesmerica" immersive visual and musical journey features the music of James Hood and has been playing to sold-out audiences since its inception.

Ed Lantz

Ed Lantz is the Founder, President and CTO, Vortex Immersion Media, an entertainment technology engineer and immersive experience designer. He designs 360 digital dome venues and produces and directs those experiences.

Mark Laisure

Joining him is Mark Laisure, the CEO of Vortex Immersion Media. He is one of the world's leading designers of transformative 360 immersive entertainment and an inspirational speaker, producer, and C0-Host of The Life Changes Radio Show and Live Event Series. Mark focuses on sharing and embracing "change" to "do life better."

In this interview, you will learn how Vortex collaborated with Jancy and Larry O'Connor to create the Humans in Space Arts awards ceremony. This unique event enabled guests to share an immersive experience that was indeed out of this world.

In This Episode

00:40 - Cirina introduces Ed Lantz, the Founder, President and CTO of Vortex Immersion Media, and Mark Laisure, the CEO of Vortex Immersion Media.04:27 - Ed talks about the Humans in Space Art Celebration event.10:16 - Mark points out how Jancy McPhee, the executive director of SciArt, made the Humans in Space Art event happen.15:40 - Mark shares the interests and vision that him and Ed both share since the day they started working together at Vortex.21:10 - Visit vortexdomes.com to check out Vortex’s transformative 360º immersive entertainment experiences.

Jump to Links and Resources

Transcript

OWC Radio is sponsored by Other World Computing, delivering perfectly tailored workflow solutions for every tech user with trusted storage, connectivity software, and expansion products and 24 seven us base technical support. OWC believes in making a better world where technology inspires imagination, and everything is possible. Find your solution at macsales.com.

This is Cirina Catania with OWC Radio. We are part of the Vortex team with me today. We've got Ed Lantz, who is the founder, president, and the CTO and Mark Laisure, who is the CEO. Now, Ed Lantz is an entertainment technology engineer and immersive experience designer. He designs the digital dome venues and produces and directs these 360 experiences. And we're going to talk a little bit more about what the dome is. And Mark, you are the CEO, and I was sleuthing around about you, and you have another life. You're an inspirational speaker and a producer, and you co-host The Life Changes Show. I just think it's wonderful that both of you are such positive, caring people in an industry that can sometimes be tough. And I was actually watching some of the exit interviews with people that had seen Mesmerica, and they were talking about how much it just changed their lives. So let's talk for a minute though, and this is part one for those listening in, this is part one of a two-part interview with Vortex, and I want to start out by talking about how we all met through OWC and the Humans in Space Art Celebration. Vortex was one of the major sponsors as well as OWC, so can you guys tell us how you met Larry O'Connor and the folks OWC?

ML: Absolutely. I wanted to follow up on that question. We've been very excited about this relationship that's growing with OWC and with the SciArt team. [Satori Pon], who has been working with OWC, actually is a longtime friend of mine and friend of Vor...