Challenges Of The Digital Era

The digital era of the festival started with many questions and unsolved problems—which setup, which tools to use? In the first year, every artist got specs about the recommended software. "But what we found out the hard way was that the timing of shows created with this software on machine A would playback on machine B at a different timing. Sometimes the difference was a few seconds, sometimes longer," remembers Kevin Burtnett.

The timing issue meant that they had to develop all the shows on the one machine that they would use to show them. "We got everything produced, but we had less perfect presentations," Kevin recalled.

What we learned the first year was the critical importance of being able to build shows quickly and without errors.

Jon Golden, Technical Producer

Jon Golden summarized their experiences that first digital year. "What we learned the first year was the critical importance of being able to build shows quickly and without errors—the shows didn't have to be fancy with lots of effects, but just solidly produced, with good results on screen. At the end of the day the goal is to show the crowd great work with no errors on our part."

The following year, the team conducted comprehensive tests to find a better solution. "Although we knew we could use Final Cut Pro, the rendering time, problems with transitions of still frames, and just the plain fact you are presenting a still image at 29.97 frames per second made a video editing suite less than desirable," Jon explained.

FotoMagico To The Rescue

Just in time for the production deadline of the LOOK3 in 2008, Kevin found a solution: "I discovered FotoMagico, and it literally saved our lives. It sped up our production time, and allowed us to team approach development of shows." Apart from some minor issues with the text, "the result was a perfect presentation and a flawless production.”

I discovered FotoMagico, and it literally saved our lives. It sped up our production time, and allowed us to team approach development of shows.

Kevin Burtnett, Technical Advisor

For the LOOK3 Festival in 2009, event organizers wanted to re-create the feel of a backyard party in their outdoor projection venues. They requested that all 50 participating artists consider creating their submissions with FotoMagico. "With the success we achieved using FotoMagico in year 2, we decided to allow participants to build their own shows for submission", said Jon Golden. "FotoMagico is so easy that most good photographers can use it or have a technically minded assistant that can. This helps us immensely."

Behind The Scenes

Who came up with the idea to establish a photo festival in Charlottesville?

Jon: Jon: "It really started as a backyard party. If you knew about the party, you were invited. If you showed up, you were welcome to put 20 slides in a tray on any subject you wanted to share, accompanied by music."

Kevin: "I became involved before the event became digital. The show would start as soon as it became dark and would continue until we ran out of images (1:30—2am). People brought lawn chairs, blankets and something to add to the potluck dinner, and of course something to drink. You would have images from Aunt Nelly, sandwiched between great photographers. You never knew what would be next. Many of the people camped out on Nick’s (Michael Nichols) property."

LOOK3 is an event planned by photographers, for photographers, and about the love of photography. The festival is truly just a celebration of the image, as much as possible.

Jon Golden, Technical Producer

What makes LOOK3 special?

Jon: "LOOK3 is an event planned by photographers, for photographers, and about the love of photography. The festival is truly just a celebration of the image, as much as possible."

How many people work behind the scenes to keep the festival running smoothly?

Jon: "Kevin and I handle 100% of the main productions and projections, with Kevin handling the bulk of the Shots/Works/Masters/Legacy, and me doing Pages, and supporting him with file handling and logistics. There is a team that sets up projectors and screens. There are a bunch of other teams to handle exhibits and other venues. All in all we have a core team of about 10-12, and as we get closer, the numbers swell to 25-30, plus volunteers that staff events."

FotoMagico helps immensely, as it is easy to make changes. FotoMagico allows us to team produce, and shows made in FotoMagico transfer well from the ‘producing’ machine to the ‘show’ machine.

Kevin Burtnett, Technical Advisor

How do you cope with the huge amount of images that have to be prepared for the show?

Kevin: "FotoMagico helps immensely, as it is easy to make changes. FotoMagico allows us to team produce, and shows made in FotoMagico transfer well from the ‘producing’ machine to the ‘show’ machine. From the time of the first digital shows in Nick's backyard, my goal was to have a software that allows us to produce shows quickly, with great quality, and allows us to project with the same top quality in a stable, flawless manner. FotoMagico is the tool that helps us do that."

Jon, you were early beta tester - what are your experiences with FotoMagico Pro 3?

Jon: "I like the multiple tracks for audio, I really like the new interface for text, and I’m glad you now support video. My experience as an early tester was that it was much more stable than I expected at the start. I started producing a show [Dana Romanoff's "No Man's Land: The Women of Mexico"] for a presentation in March, 2009, on version A3, and we made the presentation on version A8."