ALT students build a highlight of THE Conference at Rock Lititz

Taking a final exam can make a student nervous enough.

Now make it a hands-on group project with other students having input. Oh, and not only will your professor give you feedback and a grade, but you also have a client who is setting the parameters of your work. … and hundreds of industry professionals who will be giving your completed project a look, too, offering suggestions and critiques.

It’s about as close to a real-world learning experience as a student can get, and it’s what was tasked to 20 Live Experience Design & Production (LiveX) students. These second-year PCA&D students attend classes at the Academy of Live Technology (ALT) on the Rock Lititz campus to help prepare them for creative careers in live entertainment design and production. And THE Conference – Live at Lititz, a gathering of nearly 1,300 live experience pros, was just the setting for LiveX students to show what they’d learned this semester. 

As part of THE Conference’s three-day event, several companies on the Rock Lititz campus host activities each evening to entertain the attendees, according to Tricia Fackler, Director of Production, Live Events, at 4Wall Entertainment. 4Wall, which provides lighting, video, and rigging to the entertainment industry, has been working closely with ALT, Fackler added. “To help showcase the school to this group, we decided to host (our conference event) in the studio of the ALT building and have the student work be the primary focus,” Fackler said. 

Students said it offered a great experience in learning how to collaborate on a giant project while still letting their individual skills shine. 

“We’re thankful for all the people who helped when problems came up,” said Armen Trask ‘27. The LiveX major added, “everyone in the group was a content creator for at least one part of the overall project.”

Caleb Olson ’27 works on some last-minute programming before THE Conference attendees arrive.

Here’s how it worked

There were about 20 PCA&D students involved in all aspects of the 4Wall final project commission, said Sharon Huizinga, Program Director for ALT at Rock Lititz. They were divided into four “zones”, or projects, with a 4Wall design prompt for each: four phases of the moon, four elements, four seasons, and four cardinal compass directions. 

Each one then served as a final grade project for Staging 1, Staging 2, or Visuals 1 students. 

“The overall prompt was to create an industrial vibe art installation for participants to walk through,” Huizinga said. “Each group knew their form factor, be that a video tile cube, rear projection picture frames, kinetic sculpture using TAIT Navigator,  or a showcase of transparent LED tile, and it was up to them to create the narrative.”

That, said PCA&D Asst. Prof. SK Watson, meant working with loads of software programs and other technology that sometimes was new to the students: TAIT Navigator, TwinMotion, Blender,  Disguise (formerly D3), Isadora, Adobe Premiere, After Effects, and more. 

“Once we started going, it got easier the longer we went,” said Hailey Langley ‘27. “The biggest skill I learned was working with some of the technology; it was our first time using it as a group.”

“There were three points of learning to emphasize” when developing these four projects, said Huizinga: Understanding artistic briefs and how to interact with the client, how to program what the client wants, and the physical setup of the equipment. “The students got all three aspects, and that is hard to come by … they really got to use high-end equipment courtesy of 4Wall and having access to top equipment and mentors is very usual in an academic setting, and (LiveX students) have it from Day One.”

Those mentors stretched beyond academics to the client 4Wall as well. In addition to the review by Fackler, the students’ work was also reviewed by Bob Suchocki, 4Wall’s Vice President of Live Events, and RJ Thomas, the firm’s Director of Live Events, who worked closely on the projects’ installation. 

“The challenges,” said Caleb Olson ‘27, came down to “problem-solving as a team. But it all came together to have one thing we’re all happy with now.”

And the client, 4Wall, was happy with the end results, too. 

ALT students work on last-minute tweaks to their final project before THE Conferenece participants arrive.

It’s showtime

The 4Wall evening event was designed to provide a creative space to mingle and unwind after a full day of conference sessions, without being a typical happy hour. Huizinga said as the live event industry grows and brings in new talent, “there’s an increased focus on addiction avoidance and recovery, as well as mental health.”

“In conjunction with the other events on campus, this student-run, alcohol-free location is an amazing experience. We’re thrilled to be part of that as well — creating interesting and engaging opportunities that have a different focus.”

“I would say we had about 250 event professionals come through, and we got such great comments,” said Fackler of 4Wall. “Many, including designers for international acts like Pearl Jam and Carrie Underwood, took a lot of time talking with the students, giving them feedback and advice on their career paths. 

“It’s exactly why having this school integrated into the Rock Lititz campus is so important,” Fackler added “The access students get to the industry is unparalleled.” And, she said, that’s great for an industry that’s actively looking for its next generation of creatives. 

“The event industry as a whole is growing incredibly fast. In the past people found their way to it as a career path but it took a while to get here. We don’t have that kind of time anymore.”

Top photo: THE Conference participants review work by ALT students, completed as part of their final exam projects. Photo by Zach Spadaccia.