Venetian vs Google
Comments (3) Cause the Venetian’s PR department so diligently pokes google and all known employee websites for stuff, here’s a friends-only locked post![Update: Screw it, show is gone, but I'm still really proud of the work I did on the production.]
My image gallery from last night
Shows an example of the camera I have built into the table, looking up at Don Johnson and Phil Hellmuth. The graphics on-screen are provided to me in real time, and I decide upon the location of the graphics and when they’re displayed to the audience. Literally, as I cut shots live, I key the graphics to make the image look pretty. Behind the players you can sorta make out a 13-foot tall display board that is tracking the audience’s participation with their little hand-held computers.
Opening night’s curtain open introducing the ten “Poker Pros”, with blasts of Co2 behind them, lights going nuts, audience applauding.nbsp; The effect was pretty great. This whole opening was special for the one night, but it really got the audience going. You can see the 8-screen leaderboard, the 4-screen live cut, the table screen, and 4 of my HD robotic cameras on poles surrounding the table.
Jennifer Tilly and Bob Newhart playing at the table, camera shot from a pole-mounted robotic camera on-stage. The camera shoots over the shoulders and heads of the players sitting between the camera and table. Considering the tight angle and height of the camera, I can get some really nice shots! In this shot you can make out the “card reader” devices built into the table so we can know what the cards are for graphics. USB webcams built into the table look up, see barcodes printed on the playing cards, and transmit the card information to my video mixer. There are a dozen cables that make the poker table “go”, including digital HD video lines, lighting, computer, and camera data, and a 20-amp electrical circuit.
