July 5, SF Opera Simulcast

I am ready for the simulcast at AT&T tomorrow, Saturday, July 5 at 8pm.  We will have 11 cameras  covering the the opera, La Traviata.   At 10:30 AM, I am heading out with Jess and Mark  to check the playback of the rehearsal capture in 29 x 9 and see how the lighting looks and how the scoreboard is color balanced. After that we will head back to have a meeting with our camera crew and go over the many notes for this live broadcast to the thousands at AT&T Park.  The screen is 101 feet high and 31 feet wide, so it is wider than cinemascope.  We have special masks installed on our camera viewfinders so the camera operators will frame properly.  It will be a challenge tomorrow because there are 3 new principles playing Alfredo, Violetta and Alfredo's dad, Germont.  In our scratch tape, they all move differently and act differently than the former cast we rehearsed with.  It's good that I am going in early tomorrow to talk to the crew and update the shot sheets.  I have given notes to the stage AD and lighting director and makeup and wig department.  It's going to be fun!

This will be my 7th, Simulcast for SF Opera and my 9th overall (Seattle Opera May 2012 and Opera Company of Philadelphia Oct. 2012)

Goldman Prize and Michael Pollan

April 27-28. It started with the load in at the SF Opera House for the 25th Anniversary of the Goldman Prize.  This  world wide prize honors six individuals who have taken an environmental  stand for Mother Earth and their communities http://www.goldmanprize.org/blog/celebrating-25-years-environmental-activism-2014-goldman-prize-ceremony.  They are selected from around the world and flown in for the ceremonies, where the audience members have the honor of seeing their stories through short documentaries. Each recipient is given $175,000 each and presented with the Goldman Prize at the event.  I had the pleasure of directing the Prize's first live webcast on You Tube and Image Magnification screens for the capacity audience at the SF War Memorial Opera House.  CNN journalist Soledad O'Brien was the host and the keynote speaker was Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  Another highlight was the special performances of  Bonnie Raitt and Graham Nash.  Covering these two musicians were one of the highlights for me as I have always been big fans.

We covered the two hour event with 6 cameras and it was flawless.  Thanks so much for the crew and the Goldman Prizes' Lorrae Rominger, producer Marika Holmgren and event maestro Jim Schelstrate.
When the gig was over I ran into Ms. Raitt on her way to the reception for the recipients and found out that she has attended two operas, one here and one in Germany.  I mentioned that I worked on a TV show in 1975 called "Went Like It Came,"  in which she and Arlo Guthrie performed a few tunes.  It aired in the SF Bay Area.  She didn't remember - no matter.  It was great just walking with her for a block.

April 29 - May 1 had me directing and production consulting another live event at the Nourse Auditorium in San Francisco for Kikim Media and City Arts and Lectures. The journalist and author, Michael Pollan was speaking on his latest book, "In Defense of Food."

 I did a warm up with our audience, before I sat in the director's chair asking for reactions and applause.  (See photo: That's me standing behind the table)  We captured this presentation that will be part of a documentary on PBS that airs later this year.  The audience was fantastic and Michael Pollan had a great night presenting lots of  food facts, discussing what's in processed and fresh foo and a lively Q&A session ended the show.  Michael Pollan was great to work with  and he felt it was his best presentation ever. We covered Pollan's presentation with 4 cameras that included a jib/crane. We used Sony F55 and F5  cameras.  The crew was headed up by DP John Chater, sound and video was masterfully done by Conrad Slater and lighting by Alan Steinheimer and Eric Blum.  The set was designed by Acme Scenery Company.

It was a great week of creativity, good vibes and good tips on food!

Gramophone gives Moby-Dick DVD Annual Classic Music Awards 2014

Just heard that San Francisco Opera’s “Moby-Dick”  has been selected by prestigious Gramophone magazine (based in London) as the opera DVD  for their “Annual Classic Music Awards 2014.” This special edition of the magazine will come out in early February 2014.  We are the only opera DVD to receive this distinction by the editor.  This is great news and I am proud to be a part of the creative team gaining this recognition by Gramophone.

Directors Guild of America

I am honored to be on the DGA Awards  entries (Specials) list  for Moby-Dick, the opera that aired on PBS this November with 32 other directors, especially Don Mischer and Matthew Diamond.  Don brought me into the DGA in 1983 and I worked with Matthew briefly a few years ago.

Barber for Families Opera Vision at San Francisco Opera

This last Sunday(Nov.24) during the Barber for Families intermission Doug Hunt(camera operator) and I visited the balcony for an impromptu survey regarding opera vision .  We have never  spoken to families so this would be new territory for us.  

We had 20 minutes and here is what we found:

One family made up of 2 children commented that the screens really help.   Though a grandmother of one of the group really was upset that the Count's serenade from Act 1 was cut out.  

Another elderly patron who had not liked opera vision in past visits was very happy with it on Sunday.  I asked her what was different.  She said that there was so much action that opera vision really helped her follow the action.

Two other families loved opera vision and their children said it really helped because the people are small on stage. From the mouths of babes.

One woman did mention that the screen projection did not reflect the same colors as the stage.  We have gotten this feedback over the last two years.  Could be the bulbs in the projector need replacement, most likely because the stage is using various lights and they have different  color temperatures our shader is always shading for skin tones so some colors of costumes and overall lighting looks, especially the deep blues will be slightly off.

Tomorrow (Nov. 30) will be our last opera vision of the season.  It will be fun.

One more big Splash! Moby-Dick!

Last call - If you missed the national broadcast of Moby-Dick it is on the PBS website at

http://video.pbs.org/video/2365112413/   Thanks for watching!

Thanks - More operas to capture!

Thanks for the comments regarding the PBS broadcast of Moby-Dick.  It was fun watching it at home last night.  Tomorrow (Sunday) I will be directing an opera vision capture of the Flying Dutchmen at SF Opera.  This opera has excellent projections to go along with a great cast and outstanding music.