#325 - Ellen Lampert-Greaux - LEADING LADIES PODCAST

0:00 It's LEILDILDI. It's been my life actually since, well, a main part of my life since 1988 when we founded it, believe it or not. It's a bit of a long story, but the woman who founded LDI is called Pat Mackay, and she still comes to LDI every year. And she had a magazine originally called Theatre Crafts, which she had bought from another publisher in Pennsylvania. And in the late 80s, maybe 8687, I'm not exactly sure what year, she bought another magazine that was called Lighting Dimensions. And that was sort of when the rock'n'roll lighting industry was getting started and there were two companies that were advertising high end systems and verilite, which were the big moving light companies in America.

0:50 Having our first Verilites went out on that Genesis tour in the 80s. So by 88, the rock and roll lighting industry was gearing up and they said, but to Pat, you know, the magazine is great, but why don't you do a trade show? And that's sort of how it started. Now here's the leading ladies. But geezers of Gear on tour, maybe she got some stories to share. Now here's the leading ladies by the Geezers of Gear Rock star ladies with some stories to share because La La La La la lady. Hello Ellen, welcome to Leading Ladies Podcast. I was going to say leading lady sounds a little strange. I feel more like the Dowager on Downton. Abbey, shut up.

2:12 I always say to everybody, it's really strange because like, we've been the last 20 minutes like before we've even hit record. So we are here to talk about LDI. Yes, LEILDILDI, It's been my life actually since, well, a main part of my life since 1988 when we founded it, believe it or not. It's a bit of a long story, but the woman who founded LDI is called Pat McKay, and she still comes to LDI every year. And she had a magazine originally called Theatre Crafts, which she had bought from another publisher in Pennsylvania. And in the late 80s, maybe 8687, I'm not exactly sure what year, she bought another magazine that was called Lighting Dimensions. And that was sort of when the rock'n'roll lighting industry was getting started.

3:06 And there were two companies that were advertising high end systems and their light, which were the big moving light companies in America having sort of moved away. The leading there were the Italian companies before that like Kolomar and Clay Paki, and then it sort of shifted to the States and we got high end systems and Vera Light. And the first Vera Lights went out on that Genesis tour in the 80s. So by 88, the rock and roll lighting industry was gearing up. And they said to Pat, you know, the magazine is great, but why don't you do a trade show? And that's sort of how it started. And the very first year was in a odd building that wasn't even a Convention Center building called the Info Mart in Dallas, TX.

3:55 And the first day we were sort of standing there wondering if anybody would show up. And they did. Actually, about 3000 people came to that very first show. And that was 100 and. 88 in Dallas and for the first bunch of years we moved around Dallas, Nashville, Reno, PAT was very big on non union places because the union rules in the convention centers can be very restrictive. And over the years, LDI has negotiated all kinds of things so that our production assistance can help, especially in the conference rooms working alongside with the union people so that it's a nice mix. Light Switch is a collective of award-winning lighting, media and visual designers committed to changing how people experience the world.

4:46 For more than 30 years we have been practicing pragmatic design at Light Switch we believe it's our responsibility to keep our clients creative, logistical and financial objectives in balance. Light Switches range of expertise is extensive. From working one-on-one with clients and artists to multidisciplinary teams collaborate on all visual aspects of temporary and permanent projects, Light Switch creates unforgettable moments and powerful experiences. We celebrate our team, clients and all of our industry's diverse and talented people. As a part of our commitment to inclusion in all aspects of entertainment and experience design, Light Switch is proud to sponsor leading ladies. Yeah. And we have had a lot of people in the industry, including, like our favorite example is Ben Saltzman, who's the owner of ACT Entertainment, you know, who was one of our interns many years ago.

5:37 Was he really? I didn't know that. Yeah, he started. He was a college student at the time, I guess, and there's quite a bit of quite a few people who have gone through our internship program who have leading roles in the industry, but Ben is sort of like the poster boy. Really he is because like, even I remember last year I was like, like the big start of acting. He was there and he looks amazing now. Like really like lost loads of weight. Like he looked. Really. Yeah. Yeah, Yeah. He looked good last year. He's a great guy. He's very smart. It was very interesting the way he sort of, you know, I don't know, Bob Gordon had started ACT Entertainment and he before that he was like the high end hog systems, you know, I used to call him the happiest hog farmer in America.

6:24 This is a great job selling those whole hogs and Bob did a great job with the company and I think Ben has really expanded it interestingly in a lot of interesting ways. So they are obviously a huge supporter of LDI and we do a lot of training, especially pre show training, which we call the LD Institute, which is all the pre show stuff. So like this year the pre show training opens on Wednesday, December 3rd and the actual show floor is open on December 7-8 and nine. So there's a couple days of only training and then some of it overlaps. And apartment for example, teaches a lot of hands on Grand MA training. And as a matter of fact every year and true already this year they teach a 2 day beginner class twice and they sell out immediately and both are already sold out. There's only eight people.

7:19 It's 4 consoles, 2 people per console, so it's really intimate hands on training, which is really great. And you know, you get the whole LDI experience with it, which is quite something. Jessie, who is our show director at the moment, has really expanded the show in a lot of interesting ways and she's found a lot of cool ways to tie the conference program, which I've always done, into the show floor more. So like some of the rigging stuff that we do is going to be on the show floor this year. And as a climber, she's gotten someone to sponsor a a climbing wall, which can be used with, you know, the same kind of harnesses and stuff that the rigors use.

8:00 So there's a lot of interesting stuff going on on the show floor that makes it more, just like, more than just walking around. And I mean, you get to look at all the exhibits and all that stuff. And we've also developed a wonderful program that's called Battle of the Busk, which is expanding this year to include a second night, which is a VJ challenge. So people can sign up for all these things for free. It's really so that students get to learn. Although the VJ challenge will be sort of audited, people can apply and then certain people will be selected. And those events will take place on Monday, I'm sorry, Sunday night and Monday night, you know, at LDI. And it's great.

8:46 It's like a great show to see before you go out, and they'll probably be a drone show again this year outside. So there's like a lot of stuff that goes on that surrounds the traditional exhibit floor with all of the wonderful exhibitors and all their new technology. And I mean, going back to obviously use part of it from 88, I mean, what do you remember most about those early days like and have you have, did you ever imagine it would grow into what it is today? No, probably not, but it was hard to tell because the first year of success Pat was like, oh, I used to think I ran a business when I had a magazine and now I know what it is to run a business. And eventually it just got so big. And she was like a one man company and she sort of, you know, eventually sold it because of the needs of of a show like that.

9:39 You know, it will be very hard for her to hire a staff large enough to run a show like that. And she was interested in other things by that point. And I think at the end of 1995, she sold the show to a group that then eventually sold it again in 2019 to Quest X, which is the current owner of LDI. And they turned out to be great because the first thing that happened in 2000 was no show because of COVID. Well, there they are with this brand new trade show that they're pinning a lot of hopes on. And we had a year off, but luckily the next year we sort of slid in between Delta and Omicron.

10:23 You know, we were like able to like slip in and, and we people had masks and, you know, or there were sanitary stations everywhere. And it was a smaller show than recent ones. But we were glad that we survived the pandemic and that the industry seems to have bounced back. Yep, for sure. Last year was a great show, one of our biggest ever and we have high hopes for this year. Seems to be registrations perking along and things look good. That was actually my very first LDI last year. Really. Well, you know, it's only because in the old days, um, there was a little more, uh, freedom to do fun stuff in a way like the first.

11:07 We do a wonderful program that's called Backstage Las Vegas, which is a full day. It has been up to three days, but at the moment it's one full day program where people get on a bus at like 8:30 in the morning and we say goodbye to them at 11:00 at night. And a friend of mine used to call it the Ellen Lampert death March. And they said, you know, you have to beg for a bathroom break somewhere along the way. So it's not quite that bad. There are definitely meal breaks and you know what are what are on the bus at all times in case. But you go backstage at a lot of different places. And we've been backstage and probably every theater and club in Las Vegas, all kinds of fun places. And interestingly enough, the very first backstage Las Vegas, the show hadn't been in Las Vegas yet. It was in Reno.

11:55 It's just one hour away on a plane. So we actually chartered a private plane. In Reno. And we put 100 people on that plane, so it was probably about 90 attendees. And the designers from me Stare, which was the first resident Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas, including the sound designer Jonathan Deans and the lighting designer Luke La Fortune and Pat and myself. And we had, it was right after the show closed on the Sunday and we had dinner boxes in the seats on the plane. And when we landed on the tarmac in Las Vegas, it was well before 911. You know, it was probably 1994, 1994 if I recall correctly.

12:45 And we, the buses were right on the tarmac. We didn't even have to go into the terminal. And they took everyone's luggage away from them and took them directly to Treasure Island, which had just opened with the big battleship battle, which I think may be gone at this point. I don't know what's on the strip anymore, but it was a big battleship battle. It was the Brits and the Americans, I think in the beginning. Then it became some pirate girls. I don't know, but there was this pirate show and we went backstage and the pirate show and look with the technology then inside and saw the evening performance of me stare. And then people went back to their rooms and their luggage had been assigned, you know, delivered to their room by the hotel. And some people called us up and said, oh, there's a bag here that's not mine.

13:28 And we said, yes, it's your backstage Las Vegas backpack. All your stuff that you need for the next few days is in there. We also did these really clever red click cases. They're like little red plastic briefcases that click open and closed. And it had the last the LDI Reno and backstage Las Vegas logos, you know, silk screened on the outside. How I should have brought mine. I have it here. And all inside were the copies of the magazine that we did at the time, Entertainment design. Or yeah, maybe it was entertainment design by then with all the articles about all the stuff we were going to be seeing because, you know, now we just send people links and they look at it all online. But in those days we actually gave them copies of the magazines and printouts of the gear list of the places they were going.

14:14 So that was sort of really a fun event. And another really fun event was we used to do a lot of pyro stuff. And one year we decided to have a major pyro exhibition outside. And some people that we knew donated a set of like a little western town. And these people from Universal Studios in Orlando had shipped out like all the pyro stuff. And they actually like, drilled holes in the set and filled it with gunpowder or pyro powder or whatever it is and then painted over it so it looked fine to the audience. And then they decided there should be a car in front of it. And there would be like a cowboy fight in front of this set, and the car would explode along with the set turning on fire. So we got all the rules and regulations for what to do to blow up a car, water car for $100. It's on junkyard.

15:10 But they forgot to tell us two things. One is you have to put plywood or something under the tires so that when the car blows up, the tires don't melt into the parking lot. And we didn't know that. And the other thing was that cars from the 70s, which is probably was, did not have shatterproof glass on the windshield. So we had fire watch for this little event. And when the car exploded, the windshield went into about 5000 small pieces of glass. But luckily it arced up and over the crowd and landed in the bushes behind us. And the fire watch, they were like, Oh my God. And then, of course, when they dragged this car away and there were burnt tire piles on the parking lot, Oh my God, are we going to have to pay for that?

16:03 But I think the 2000 people who went outside to watch that will never forget it. No, I'm sure they won't. My goodness. Event Safety Alliance. You needed to be there then. Well, yes, they didn't exist yet, luckily. And, you know, I don't imagine that companies like Questex would much, you know, humor us in doing things like that. But it was great fun. Yeah, the back in the day where you could get away with a lot more and but. Are. You did you say that you're still doing the backstage thing in WE? Do we do? We're doing it this year. It will be on Saturday, December 6th. And it's another, I know, another full thing. Oh, there's so much going on that day. You wouldn't believe it.

16:48 But there's a limit. You know, there's two buses, so only like 90 people can go and there's a little more swap. So they're going to start out at 8:00 or 8:30 in the morning, probably have a little breakfast on the bus. And they're going to go over to the Wynn Hotel and have a three hour backstage tour of Awakening, which is probably the highest tech show ever on the strip, sadly for me. I mean, they're probably happy about it. They had a pool there before, a big pool that they had a show called The Rev, and I'm very fond of aquatic shows, but they have filled in the pool. I don't know permanently, if not temporarily, I don't know. But now they've got this other show and it's very, very, very high tech.

17:32 So what they do is they divide the group of, you know, maybe 50 to 100. Last year we had 80 people. So assuming there's 80 people on this tour, they divided into like four groups of 20 and take them around and they meet with the crew at four different stations in the theater. So you get to visit like automation, audio, projection and lighting, and you get like spiel from each of the departments. And then they all meet back in the theater and have AQ and A with everyone before they get back on the bus. And then the next stop is going to be this new thing over at Area 15, which is called Universal Horror Unleashed. And it's for haunted houses.

18:13 And what they're going to do is have a lights on tour so they can see what it is, you know, from the technical side of things. And then the lights go out. And at 2:00, you get to be the first people actually through it for the day to see it with the lights off, which is something we used to do a lot of Disney in the haunted house at Disneyland, which was always, by the time we got there after LDI, it was always had it's Christmas overlay. And going through it with the team with the lights on is quite amazing because you get to see a lot of the, they don't give away any of their proprietary, you know, magic or tricks or anything, but you get to see how a lot of the stuff functions.

18:54 And then when you go through it again with the lights off, it's like, Oh my God, that's amazing. So that's what they're going to do with there. And then we're hoping to visit like the new theater and the new nightclub at the Fountain Blow and the new club that's called Club Theater Voltaire over at the Venetian. Have a little dinner and go back to Awakening for the 9:00 show with a little Q&A afterwards. Why is it on the Saturday I'm? Sorry, next year we'll try and do it on a different day. Who's so who's going to be like with everyone on the bus and going round like? Who's We have an extraordinary, extraordinary Double Trouble, which is the name of their company.

19:40 I don't know if you met Bill Dick night last year, who's our production manager at LDI. He was like the did you go to the new technology breakfast? He's on stage, usually in wildflowered pants. Introducing. Technology Breakfast Well, believe it or not, Bill has a twin brother, Pal and. And they look exactly like, except that Pat has longer hair these days, which is good because when they had the same haircut, people would go up to Pat looking for an answer for the question they asked Bill an hour earlier. And he's like, yeah, I've never seen you before. And they're like, yes, I just spoke to you. I was like, no, no, it was my brother. And he is just an ultimate host and a real, really, really great guy.

20:23 So he has been the host of Backstage for the past several years. I used to do it but it's way too much for me anymore to be out walking. Around a full on day, but just yeah and I suppose. You remember one time a couple years ago, the evening show was Cher at whatever theater she was at, and Pat was wearing like a gold Lamay jacket. And somebody said to him, are you Sonny Bono? Or, you know, that's like, no, he's dead. But with the long hair and everything, he kind of fit the bill. He could have been a look alike. But they they're an interesting team and they have AAV company called Double Trouble. And Bill also started out as an intern.

21:04 I think this is probably his I don't know. I'm going to say 18th LDI. I'm making that up somewhere between 15 and 20. And he is now our production manager. And he used to, because he had his own AV company in Michigan where he lives. Sometimes he'd solve some of our problems because a normal AV company really doesn't get like LDI, you know, we don't want like, you know, the kind of conference room projectors that other shows might, you know, like we want entertainment technology in every room. So Bill's company has eventually become our AV provider, which is great. So he sort of wears 2 hats. He's running the Double Trouble side, which is the AV provider. And then he's running the, we have a wonderful. He used to be called an internship program and now we call them production assistants, which is what they really are. And they really help with all the technical set up in the rooms and they really are sort of the backbone of the technical side of the conference program, which is great. And like I said before, them have grown up to be, you know, big deals in the industry, which is great. It is amazing.

22:14 So what else is you've got that going on on the Saturday. You've got I believe Riggs is happening on Saturday as well. Yes, Riggs is on Saturday and Sunday. This is the second year. It's a 2 day rigging intensive which is run by two very experienced riggers, Tracy Nunnally and Eric Rouse. And it's 2 days of in depth sessions, a little different this year. The first day is everybody stays together and there's sessions on a various, you know, topics for professional readers. And then the second day, they break out into groups. So there's two breakouts in the morning and two breakouts in the afternoon, and they run about 2 1/2 to three hours.

22:54 And they're on things like rigging math and how to make knots and all the stuff that riggers really need to do. So they're deeper dives so that they can break up into smaller groups and really have deep dives other than just more, you know, sort of speaking and listening to people on panels. They really get to do it. Get involved with it because you have. That's a very interesting program that launched. Haven't you? You've got Roy, Yes, coming in for that. To stop because he's on your dining. But dinosaurs, which is another great event. We've asked him to do a he's adorable. We asked him to do a, a keynote and I didn't want to like, you know, burden him. So I sent him the schedule and he said, oh, I see you've only got 1/2 of an hour.

23:36 I thought it would be longer, so I said, oh, I'll make it 45 minutes. Is that better? He said yes. So that's very exciting. Roy is really like the godfather of entertainment rigging. So it will be great having him kick off rigs and then finish the day at Dining with Dinosaurs, which is, you know, obviously presented by Geezers of Gear. And last year was a lunch, and this year will be a dinner and a panel. And I think it's a great opportunity for people to dine and discuss with legends of the concert touring industry. I think it's very exciting. Yeah, I'm very. Very proud of this song because obviously I'm part of that with you, you know, getting, getting all the Dinos together. And like you said last year, it was, I think you'd allocated something like an hour and a half, two hours last year for a. Right.

24:24 And this year it's like 4 hours, 4 1/2 hours, it's like 5 to 9 or 930, which is great. And, you know, I really applaud Marcel for bringing it to us because Jesse and I were looking for something that would be like a really interesting meet up kind of thing. Everybody's always talking about mentoring, mentoring, mentoring. They want to meet people, you know, and getting all these veterans together was a really great idea. And Marcel, he calls and he's goes, well, I've got this crazy idea and you're probably going to shut me down immediately, but it's called Dining with Dinosaurs. And I'm like. And. He's like really, I'm like absolutely. And I called Jesse and I said our prayers have been answered. You know that mentoring thing we wanted to do well, we do a different thing.

25:06 It's actually called the mentoring meet up. But that what we wanted to do, like around a meal and, you know, you know, getting a lot of people involved. And I said, Marshall just answered our prayers. And actually it's now the sort of evening keystone to another full day event that's called X Live, the concert touring sessions, which Marcel was like, you know, you guys don't really do enough concert touring. And I said to him, yeah, and I've sort of got, you know, FOMO about the concert touring conference and Lititz because I can't get to Lititz because it's always during LDI. And we could do our own and sort of skew it a little differently. Ours is more towards the design and technology and you. Got Jake Berry helping you with that as. Well, Jake Berry has come on as the creative consultant for that and Marcel and Jake will be moderating the sessions. And we have great speakers like Bob Bonio, but Allen Sooner, Rutier, it's a Roy Bickel.

26:03 Again, it's a great group of people on there. So you know, the, the, the, there's a lot of information if you go to theldiwebsite@ldishow.com and you'll find everything sort of day by day under our agenda. And it's really, it's really packed. I was going to say I've got some of the like the panel discussion and we've got like the road to Success, which is a great one. Then what else have we got going on here? There's. One with show records like things that went wrong and how you fixed it. There's making moments with designers of like their biggest successes. There are, you know, the show records is the like the biggest like bad things that happened and how you fixed it. There's one about the the use of the media server technology on the Coldplay tour.

26:54 That's going to be a good problem. Yeah. So there's a lot of interesting stuff going on that day. I think it's really a cool next live is something that we used to have before now that was eventually, it was originally a stand alone event and then when Quest X took us over, they didn't want to run it as a standalone. So we've melded it into LDI and it's had like a different theme every year. One year was the metaverse, one year was AI and XR, and this year it's the concert touring sessions. And I hope that sticks and that it's a big enough success that that becomes, you know, the new X live for the next 20 years, and then you talk. No, you already said you're not retiring. Oh yeah?

27:39 Well, I promised Jesse I would retire at 97. Yeah, of course you have a few. Years left. Yeah, years and years. And like we're saying, so last year, so it was actually Marcel, obviously he's, he's got his The Geezers of Gear podcast. And it was Scott DeVos that was 2 years old last year that he came on and he had this idea for getting everybody together. Marcel loved the idea, then came to you with it. You love the idea. The lunch was last year and it was a success last year. But this year really is, you know, like you said, it's now 4 hours, 4 1/2 hours. Fight starts at 5:30 and finishes at 9:30. Dinner, more of a panel, round tables, food. And there's going to be a bar which, you know, that's going to get everyone's talking.

28:27 Right. And and that's one. Of the things that we wanted to do was, you know, really make sure that it's inclusive. So not only is it the evening event for the X Live Day, but it's also open to everyone in our Young Career Professionals program, which is a special program that we run for people 18 to 25 who might not be able to afford to come to the show. So they get a full conference badge included, while LD Innovation Conference badge with a choice of about 100 sessions at the conference and it includes X live and dining with dinosaurs. And I think they pay somewhere depending on what time of where in the registration cycle you buy it, it's like 159 or $199.

29:12 So it really for the people who are just getting into the industry, a great way for them to, you know, dip their toes into everything that we're doing. Yeah, that's really awesome. And you can also get the Dining with Dinosaurs. That's the only a la carte one that you're selling at the moment as well. Yes, Dining with dinosaurs is a la carte. I think it's something like $109 and it includes the dinner. Yeah, yeah. 114. Nine, yeah. So that can be bought a la carte at LDI and the Young Career Professionals program is actually part of a larger initiative that we have, what's called Foster the Future.

29:54 And other elements of that include this year there's going to be a career fair. Last year was a career day and this year we've sort of expanded it, put it on the show floor. There'll be a stage with a lot of like business oriented sessions for people who are, you know, looking to up their career level up their career. And we also have a diversity scholarship, the Pat McKay Diversity and Design Scholarship Program, which is generously sponsored by Light Switch. Yes, it is. I was just going to say that. Which is great. We really appreciate, you know, John Featherstone and everyone at Light Switch for their support. I think this is the third year that they've supported it, which is great.

30:37 And it's a really great way to meet a lot of young people in the industry that come from a lot of different communities, different walks of life, and they bring a lot to the table. I remember when like I, I started doing this podcast, it was, it was just, you know, I just, I don't, I don't even know how it happened, but it happened. And I'm doing this little podcast now talking to the ladies and the first person. I think it was even before I'd even had a podcast out, John, John basically contacted Marcel and is like, we want to be part of this. Like we just love it. And so like John and Colin, they've just been so supportive of, you know, everything that I'm doing. And we, and again, I've had some amazing people, ladies come on the podcast, you know, chatting about their careers and all the rest of it.

31:27 And so I feel very lucky. So, you know, the fact that they've been part of like the LDI sponsoring this. I know they're terrific. They're great. Really, they're really, really wonderful and I was hoping that John will be coming to LDI, but at the moment I think his schedule, I think he's going to be out touring or so I know. I love him. Yeah, me too. And I mean, we've got some like you mentioned, like for obviously X live, but even for dining with dinosaurs, you know, we've got some great Dinos that are coming on board and there's going to be lots of stuff on yours, your website for, you know, checking out. The thing about dining with dinosaurs, it's like, you know, the power that was in that room last year. And then some of the people who wandered in, they're like, Oh my God, my friends are all in this room. I have to get in there.

32:21 You know, Like, no, it was great. It was really, it was really terrific. I mean, I look at the some of the people for this year like Alan Branton, now Jeff Rabbits, John Wiseman, I mean, it's an amazing group of people. Yeah, the lovely Bob Gordon again. Yeah, Although so there's a little bit of Seth Jackson. He's coming here. He'll be back again. He was. Kind of like a junior Dino, but he. Yeah, we all say this. You're a junior one. But yeah. And at the moment we've got Nancy Mays come in and there's a couple of other ladies. I'm trying to get trying to get some more ladies on the panel as well. And then of course, that's really going to be this like the Saturday night, like you said, that's going to be like the opening.

33:09 We've got the Golden Diner award. So that's and we're really. Also just say that at this point, ETC has come in as a sponsor for X Live and Dining with Dinosaurs, which is very exciting. So thanks to them for that and I think they'll be more sponsors as we get closer to the event and it's going to be great. I think that there's just like something for everyone. We also have a new thing called the Stage Managers Academy, which was for the past two years just a series of sessions in the LDLDI conference. But this year we decided to sort of make it a stand alone event for two days, kind of like the rigging event, so that stage managers also have like a dedicated lunch and a chance to network and.

34:00 What days are they on? It's also Saturday and Sunday. Oh my God. Well, we try not to do a lot of stuff on the show days because, you know, we don't want to take people off the show floor. Yeah, true. You know, so I wouldn't want to run something like Sunday and Monday, and a lot of people can't get there. So Saturday's kind of like the Nexus of the show. But if it turns out to be way too much on the same day, we can always look at that for next year. But I think everything will do great. I mean, you know, there's always like, you know, upwards of 13,000 people at the show, so they sort themselves. I was going to ask you. You know. In these like what, what kind of number do you know we look at for I think. We're helping for, you know, 13 to 15,000 this year. Yep. 15,000 would be a great number. I always loved last year and like the the first opening little firework, not fireworks like little bangers and you remember you standing there and lapping everyone as they come in.

34:59 And so that's really. Nice. A lot of fun. You know, it never gets old for some reason. That one moment, that minute when everybody is like in the lobby waiting to come in, you know, even the first year after Kovid, some of the Quest X people were like make sure there's a lot of people in the lobby. You know, we wanted great pictures for the ribbon cutting. I said don't worry, we always have a lot of people. You know, I think they were a little nervous because it was a smaller show, but everybody was there. We also kick off the 1st 2 mornings with new technology breakfast, which are free to all LDI attendees. They usually have some sponsors attached to them. And you know, it's not really a Big Breakfast. You get a bagel or a, you know, a yogurt or less of juice coffee.

35:44 But it's a great way to see a lot of the technology that's on the show floor. So all the manufacturers get like a three to five minute slot and they can say, this is my new product, come see it at my booth and get a live demo of it. And it's, it's really quite nice. It's a lovely events. Did I read as well there was something like the LDI after dark? Was that in? LDI After Dark is a fun program too. It's working with the clubs in town, mostly the ones from the tower group, and they give anybody with an LDI badge free admission. So there's usually a, there's a schedule that will be online before LDI, of which night, which club will welcome, you know, all the LDI people. So that's a good way for anybody over 21 to kind of end the day, although it's past my bedtime.

36:32 You will. Not, you know what, last year it was really embarrassing. Like the the jet lag just got me so badly. I mean, the only event that even Marcel and I managed to go to was the UP stadium, which was amazing. And then after that I think we left at midnight and I was shattered because I was like I was a zombie. Because the time difference really is quite brutal for me. Yes, I can imagine. Yeah, but I said. To most several days to get in the swing of a new place you know. It does. I mean, this year I am literally just going to fly in and fly out. Whereas last year, because I'd never been to Vegas before, I stayed, you know, a couple of extra days before. But I think that didn't really do me any good because like, I was up at 4:00 in the morning, 3-4 in the morning.

37:12 I was awake, but I was going to bed at six or seven before, like Marcel and everyone arrived. It really didn't do me any good because I just needed to get out there and see people. But I'm really looking forward to coming back this year, really looking forward to coming back, looking forward to. Yeah, just doing getting it all organized. Did you feel now that because it wasn't LDI at a different time of the year and then Formula One came along it? Was in November, Yeah, it's been in October. It's been in November and now December, November for a long time. Like the week before Thanksgiving was always a great date for us. And then this little thing called the Formula One car race decided to go to Las Vegas on our dates and everybody's in Vegas said you don't want to be here when it's here.

38:06 And even though I hear that, you know, over where the Convention Center is is not bad, the Strip is like completely blocked off. Then I don't get the people want to be in Vegas and not be able to go, you know, the strip or cross the Strip or whatever. I haven't been there during F1, but we in our wisdom, we decided it was probably better to move to December, which does not please everyone. Some people think it's a little too close to the holidays. And there's always there's a little bit of a question about, you know, shipping gear by the end of the year if people order it in December because it is so close to the holidays. But it's turned out to be a great date for us. And especially, I mean, like looking at the dinosaurs and some of the other events that we're having, a lot of these people may have been on the road during December and by, I'm sorry, November, and by December they're back. So we've actually had, I think, more designers at the show on the December dates and the numbers are holding. So I think that in spite of a few people who are not loving it, it's turned out to be great dates for us. But even in December when we arrived, they were still pulling down, you know, all the artificial like, you know, the, the F1 structures.

39:27 It was still chaotic when we were there. So you can imagine. And it's hard to tell. I mean, it might be exciting, it might not be. But our feeling was that, you know, I mean, like even like backstage Las Vegas, how would we get around? How would we get people to hotels? How would we, you know? And also like, especially that time, the hotel prices would go up even more. And you know, I mean, I, I talk about F1 as an experience because like I was saying like that was, that's where I started was Formula One. And really we, you know, we used to go there and just take over like, you know, and, and that, that was it. So I think it's a good decision to move it away from that. And December is a good, it's a good day. It's the start of December, like you said, and hopefully. Now, once, once, yeah, once people get used to the idea that it's there's a change, you know, that's, that's. How it gives people enough time between, you know, like there used to be like one year we were practically back-to-back with Plaza, like like less than a month after Plaza. And it was hard for some of the European companies, for the English companies to get their stuff, you know, from one show to another or get that organized because I'm sure that some people don't even think about LDI until after applause is over, which is after Labor Day in the States. So that seems like the beginning of September. Like right now, everybody's ramping up. They're like, oh, LDI, you know, And then like now it's like on their the front burner.

40:56 Yeah, on the radar for everything. Exactly. Well, I love hearing about all of this. Is that I can't wait to come back and and yeah, it should. Be a very, very exciting show this year. There's a lot going on and. Should be. I was quite surprised actually. But like everything on the Saturday, there really is There's so much going on A. Busy day, yeah, yeah. There's also a lot of other stuff in the LD Institute and the LD. The LD Innovation Conference starts that day too. But basically it's the art of programming, which are for back-to-back lighting programming sessions that are very popular. So people are just going to have to sort themselves out. Like I say, like going to a Chinese restaurant, 1 from column A1, from column B. You can't have everything on the menu. And tickets now they're flowing there. You can go and register online now the. Prices, you can go on there and one thing that's a little different this year is that we did not offer free exhibit hall passes at the get go.

41:59 Usually we do in the summer and then in the fall it goes up. But there's so much that you got for the $49.00 floor pass, which includes the three new technology breakfast, all kinds of content and sessions on the floor, the two parties, the one on Monday, Sunday night for Battle of the Bus, Monday night for the new VJ challenge, the LDI Awards ceremony, which also includes breakfast on Tuesday morning. So there's so much that goes into this package. And as a little secret to your listeners, every exhibitor at LDI has a code for a free pass. So keep your eye on your exhibitors, social media and hopefully we'll be promoting their code because that way they get to get people to come see them. That's awesome.

42:52 That is awesome. Well, I think that that's a watch out for your social media, watch out for your free code or pay the money because it's still really cheap for what you get. Yeah, $49.00, it's a great deal. And there are occasional sales where it's 50% off. So like over Labor Day, there was a there was a sale, it was 2450. I mean, you can barely get dinner on the strip for 2450. You know, you can't breakfast. We're giving you 3 now. I mean, it is a really good deal. So it's much more than just, you know, the exhibits. Definitely. When will you be arriving? Because yeah, on the 1st. December 1st, right?

43:32 When do you come? In I think it will be on the 4th because I think my flag, yeah, I think it's the fourth, yeah. So we'll have to, we'll have to catch up on. Absolutely dinner. Yeah, dinner. Dinner. We'll go for dinner. That would be great and but thank you so much. I don't know if there's anything else that's great, not probably you'll. Wanna know from me but if I forgot anything major I'm sure someone will tell me. Yeah, no, I'm gonna do be doing a lot of stuff on the social media for geezers and just promoting a lot as well. That's going to be coming up in the next couple of weeks for sure. And just what what I always say, spreading the word about everything.

44:16 I think I should just add that like for the LD Institute, which starts on the third, whatever you're interested in, there's probably a class there for you. There's a lot of audio training on the show floor that's free later in the week. But starting on the third, there's hands on lighting console training, there's hands on media server training, there's a lot of vector works training, there's AI, there's content creation, there's Netgear switching, there's haze based fog, there's follow me automation, there's like all at whatever you're looking for. There's ILDA laser training, there's pangolin laser training, there's all kinds of stuff. So I think people who are interested in really high quality professional training as part of the the experience should take a look at the institute.

45:03 And just because I love her loads it. Laurie is going to be there with behind the scenes as well, isn't she? She normally has a booth there as well. Behind the scenes, yes, they they definitely have added a very nice aspect to LD. I think this is the third year, 4th, that they're doing a Wellness lounge right on the show floor and they have a series of sessions in there that starts with morning yoga, cup of coffee, yoga and all sorts of sessions about people that I've done touring could be interested in. Like nutrition, sleep deprivation, all sorts of things that go along with the behind the scenes mental health. And it's a safe spot on the floor, a great quiet area where people can go and just sort of kick off their shoes, use and relax. Yeah, that's really and they are they doing the run this year as well.

45:50 I know last year they. Five Ki think it's on Sunday morning and that can also be registered online. If you have a badge already, you can go back into the registration portal and update. You can buy but dining dinosaurs a la carte and you can buy the 5K run. Maybe I'll call it this year. Let's see. There you go. I haven't got my running shoes on for a long time, but yeah, you never know. That'll be fine. It depends how your jet lag is going, but if you're up at 3:00 in the morning anyway, I think they started 6630 or 7. Seriously, that's what I said. You know, every day it was like 3330I was like, I'm wide awake now. Like so yeah, maybe I'll maybe I'll join I. Know it's not golf, but you should get Marcel to go with you.

46:34 I don't think does Marcel play golf? I don't think he he, yeah. But all the industry people went out on these charity golf things, but maybe not. No, yes, Yeah. Well, actually last year as well was the 1st, the first time I'd actually met Marcel in person as well, which was quite interesting. I've been working for him for like Gear Source and all the rest of all these years. It was the first time I actually met. How interesting. And he was just so funny. The very first moment, he was like, well, we have to, you know, we have to have a Bloody Mary. And I was like, what? I. Was like 9:00 AM. I didn't know it was, it was a little bit later. It was like 1030. And I was like, you know, like, because you don't know, you're like, you're you're my boss.

47:19 And he was like, oh come on, let's do it properly. Evening, Like, yeah, why is the show at London? A lot of the booths have bars built right into them. Some of them used to even have like a second story and they go, oh, come up to our pub and have a beer. It's like, you know, show just opened. Give me a break. Well, Ellen, thank you so, so much. And come on, I look forward to seeing you and everyone at LDI. Amazing. Me too. Thanks, Ellen. Thanks. Bye.

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