WorldStage is opening The LAB in San Francisco as an extension of its core business focusing on emerging media server and interactive technologies for live events and happenings. The LAB enhances the bicoastal presence of WorldStage, which has offices in New York City, Orange County and Nashville, and gives the company its first office in northern California.
WorldStage President Josh Weisberg explained, "The LAB allows us to get a little more creative in our technical approach for clients with customized hardware, software and control solutions. We'll be taking advantage of the latest and greatest media server and interactive technologies as well as projection mapping, tracking and creative LED installations. Clients can see and experience the technologies we offer: The WorldStage LAB will have on site examples of different media servers, video projection, pre-visualizations systems, and software programming for them to explore."
Jane Ewert will head up The LAB as director of business development. Tech guru Josh Silverman has joined the start up as the Director of Technology. They will be collaborating and partnering with creatives, designers and producers in the Bay Area to offer innovative new approaches to corporate events, theater, trade shows and marketing installations.
According to Silverman, "The WorldStage LAB is a unique space where we merge the arts of programming and live event production. We will create one-of-a-kind designs with custom applications and emerging technologies to transform live and interactive shows for clients worldwide."
Ewert comes to the WorldStage LAB with a 20-year background as a producer and account executive for live events, digital media and broadcasting in the Bay Area. She has managed and driven sales for a number Bay Area creative agencies, overseeing live events and presentations for Apple, Sun, Cisco, Intel, Hitachi, and Yahoo. Prior to her career in business development, Ewert was an executive producer with the Washington Post Interactive division and a news journalist in Florida, Washington, D.C. and Michigan.
"As a producer and account executive in the Bay Area I hired WorldStage exclusively for our live events," she says. "WorldStage pushed the limits with their technical creative engineering expertise, and I knew the process would be seamless with no mistakes. I couldn't be more pleased to help build WorldStage's presence here."
Josh Silverman brings ten years of design, audio/video integration and software development experience to an industry increasingly focused on combining these disparate fields to create innovative systems and experiences. He has been the principal of Pretty Extreme, Inc. since 2007. The New York City-based company creates exciting interactive experiences and develops custom software for brands and individuals. He was also the principal of Three Byte Intermedia, Inc. from 2007-2010. Prior to that he was a senior software engineer with Show and Tell Productions, a commissioning engineer with Electrosonic and a systems programmer with Scharff Weisberg, the company that merged with Video Applications Inc. to form WorldStage.
His work has included projects for Sprint, HP, Sony, Oracle, ABC, Singapore's Visionarium, Prada Epicenter Stores in Beverly Hills and Tokyo, and the Jazz Hall of Fame at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
The WorldStage LAB will introduce itself to the Bay Area with a series of open house events as well as in-depth, one-on-one sessions. On Wednesday September 24 and Thursday September 25 from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM, the WorldStage LAB will welcome clients and collaborators to meet the principals, see the facility and enjoy some refreshments. Private walk-throughs can also be scheduled any time during the week of September 22. Those interested in either of the open houses or a private walk-through should contact clientservices@worldstage.com
WorldStage Inc., the company created by the merger of Scharff Weisberg Inc and Video Applications Inc, continues a thirty-year legacy of providing clients the widest variety of entertainment technology coupled with conscientious and imaginative engineering services. WorldStage provides audio, video and lighting equipment and services to the event, theatrical, broadcast and brand experience markets nationally and internationally.
