LSi talks to Laura Frank of frame:work
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What led to frame:work becoming established within the professional video / entertainment technology industry? Did you feel there was a gap in the market for a sector-specific education and networking event?
Laura Frank: “Creative video professionals have spent years at conferences that speak to only part of the challenges faced in our work. My co-founders and I wanted a forum where someone who works across film, broadcast and live performance could talk about producing content and managing screens control for those very different production spaces. frame:work creates the opportunity to learn from a wide range of experiences focused on this narrow and technologically rich topic.”
As a community-led conference for creatives working in the ‘live pixel’ arena, what do you feel will really put frame:work on the map?
LF: “One of frame:work’s missions is to foster client education. To accomplish that, we first need to educate each other on the intricacies of what we each do. So many of us are self-taught, trailblazing new paths with each technical advancement in our field. A better understanding of ourselves as a community will allow us to advance as a cohesive professional body to our clients. Gathering in person is an initial step to creating a professional society for our community.”
The very first in-person frame:work event is taking place in London. Why was England/UK your choice for the first host country in such a global industry?
LF: “Our inaugural gathering was scheduled to take place in Los Angeles in October 2020. Instead, like so many others, we shifted to online events. Finding the right moment to pursue our original goal has been a challenge. Not only do we need motivated attendees, we are dependent on our sponsors to be in a position to support our efforts. Gratefully, David Bajt suggested that London was ready for such a gathering. His support along with his team at Bild Studios, has been instrumental to bringing this event to London.”
There’s a great blend of talent and specialisms on the line up. How did you curate the programme and what can we expect?
LF: “David and I worked together to create two days of presentations that touch on the many facets of our profession. Our goal was to let recent projects and current industry topics guide the schedule, while we also made sure we represented an even distribution of perspectives from engineering, to design, to producing and operations. We have book-ended the programme with a historical look at how we’ve arrived at this moment and what we can expect from here for the future. I am very excited to share these presentations with the community.”
There’s a lot of emphasis on nurturing new talent and welcoming students and young professionals at frame:work. Tell us why having a multi-generational attendance and speaker panel is so vital to its success?
LF: “When I look back at my own career, I started programming moving lights on a Vari*Lite Artisan or ETC Expression 2X. I had to solve the logic of managing 22 motors using a control surface that delivered information in values of 0-255. The complexity of the controls evolved at a pace that matched my developing experience. I can’t imagine what it must be like to have something as complex as a grandMA 3 as your entry point. Compare that learning a modern media server on a project with a 20K wide pixel canvas across 40 screens. We have to participate in passing on our knowledge to the next generation. We have to provide pathways to gain experience. Representing young professionals and providing insight into career development is essential for community wellness and longevity.”
You’ve got big plans for the frame:work community going forwards, as a collective, what are some of your goals for the wider video industry?
LF: “I want to create a better industry understanding of the professions and responsibilities that make up the creative video community. We are often immersed in problem solving or hidden in the dark behind a wall of screens. That leaves us without the time to build the alliances that make us good partners to our associates in scenic, lighting, audio and production, as well as multitudes of other video disciplines. frame:work first seeks to elevate the larger creative video disciplines through community interaction, and long term we intend to support a professional society that shapes wider industry awareness of our practice. frame:work:london is just the beginning.”
frame:work:london will be held at CodeNode on 3 & 4 November from 9AM – 5PM. Sponsors include disguise, 4Wall Entertainment, Neutral Human, Notch, Brompton Technology, PRG, TAIT and many more. To buy tickets and to confirm your attendance, please visit: https://framework.video/london2022/
