Engineering in the World of Entertainment

Last week, I spent my first week taking a bit of a deep dive into AEC and the content that I manage here at LinkedIn. I shared a few postings highlighting how this world of work has impacted my own learning, as well as a few postings featuring creatives in the field. One of the posts that I didn't share was a TED talk by LinkedIn instructor of the popular course, Practical Engineering, Grady Hillhouse. Grady Hillhouse is a Civil Engineer from Texas who also shares his content on YouTube via his channel. He has a TEDx Talk called "Through the Eyes of an Engineer" that speaks to how he views the world by opening his eyes to the constructed environment. I connected deeply with this video as someone who also views the world beyond what most eyes see through a mathematical lens. The video is worth a watch, and you should check it out!

Last week, I attended a concert by the artist Agust D(Suga of BTS) in Chicago. Aside from the music, I found myself paying much more attention to the constructed details, not just of the venue but of the stage itself. Until last week, I hadn't really considered the scope of viewers of the courses that I manage beyond those who design, build, and construct residential or commercial properties. It took me learning to pay more attention to see more of the art behind the technical and into the world of entertainment—stage and event design.

The stage where the artist performed, on the surface, seemed simplistic, but as the show progressed, panels of the stage would lift into the sky to conclude segments, allowing new performance areas or effects to remain in their place.

One by one, a panel would leave, lessening the stage area for the performers but also coordinated to fit the storyline of the show itself. At some point during the show, it hit me that someone likely modeled this stage digitally.

Upon further investigation, including speaking to my own former student who works in the theater industry, I learned that it is common practice to learn programs like Vectorworks or AutoCAD in theater/film school and that specifically, programs like Vectorworks are used not just to design and model 3D digital versions of the stage but to create light plots for lighting design. I also learned that many of these skills are self-taught or learned through YouTube, but acquiring these skills, along with experience, can create pathways in this field.

The lightbulbs are, of course, moving!

To sum things up—through a concert experience and further research, I learned about stage/production designers and teams who also design, build, and create while leveraging the tools that up to this point, I had only associated with residential/commercial infrastructure.

This, I think, is an important development in my learning for this content area.

Here are a few more links that might be of interest:

Autodesk's page on their tools in concert, event, and stage production

From 2011 but still cool: Bon Jovi's The Circle Tour Stage Designed Using AutoCAD and 3ds Max Design

A Virtual Approach to Practical Set Lighting for Avatar: The Way of Water (Rhino and Vectorworks)

Vectorworks

Learning Vectorworks on LinkedIn Learning (Expect an update soon)