HOLLYWOOD: Behind the Scenes

Stargate Studios 2010 Virtual Backlot Demo from Stargate Studios on Vimeo.

Ever wonder what everything looks like behind the scenes of your favorite TV show or movie?  This video from Stargate Studios offers a glimpse of the smoke and mirrors that bring the sound-stage to life.  Truly fascinating.

We use the same green-screen technology every night on the news, but obviously on a much more simple level.  Smaller green-screens in television news studios allow us to put the meteorologist in front of full-screen weather maps, and give us the option of putting reporters in front of still or video images.  You have to be careful though - no green clothing at all, or viewers at home will see right through you!

The whole thing works with computers that are calibrated to recognize a particular shade of green.  The computers then replace the green with whatever image is desired, say a weather map for example.  A person standing in front of the screen blocks the green, and therefore appears in front of the image.

I came across this by accident.  About two years ago, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper stopped the presses, cut staff, and went to an all digital format.  I wanted to see what the website, seattlepi.com, and came across this video.

TECH: Motorola's Super Bowl jab at Apple

In a play on Apple's legendary "1984" commercial in which the computer company unveiled the Macintosh, Motorola is now accusing it's tablet rival of having become "Big Brother." It's no secret that Apple's Ipad dominates the tablet PC market. With Motorola gearing up for the launch of it's Google Android-based "Xoom" tablet, the Super Bowl proved the perfect venue for a 1984 rematch. The ad shows the open-source Android tablet as non-conformist, and portrays Apple users as mindless consumers accepting the latest Apple products. To see Apple's classic 1984 commercial, play the video below.

SNOW: Doesn't get in the way of Rochesterians

I saw this leaving my Grandmother's townhouse in Penfield tonight.  The plow left a huge snowbank that blocked the sidewalk to front doors.  Not for long!  Not sure who made the tunnel, but looks pretty cool.  I wouldn't want to be walking under it when it starts to get warmer.  It doesn't look like that will happen any time soon though - the 7 day forecast doesn't show highs anywhere near 32 degrees until next weekend.  Good thing I got a snuggie for Christmas this year.

TELEVISION: Syracuse station now in HD

News Channel 9 (WSYR-TV ABC) in Syracuse debuted it's new HD studio, graphics package, and website this weekend. Above is a clip of the station's morning news "on the go". Channel 9 is the dominate local station in Central New York, and is the first to switch to HD. It's owned by Newport Television, the same owner of 13 WHAM in Rochester - which started broadcasting in HD this past September.

Above is a promo the station has has been running for the past month. Aside from the new studio and graphics, going HD means many other changes. New cameras in the field and in the studio, new broadcasting equipment behind the scenes, new makeup for the on-air talent, and even more limited wardrobes. The amount of white and certain other bright colors needs to be limited on set so the viewer is distracted or blinded by how they come across on the TV.

Included with the other upgrades, Channel 9 got a refreshed logo and new slogan (The Local Station). The logo, the style of the "9" in particular - harkens back to the loco used in the late eighties and early nineties.  Channel 9 had advertised that HD newscasts would begin in February.  As typical when stations debut new sets and graphics, management has elected to roll out a "soft launch" over the weekend to work out the bugs before the more formal debut on Monday.  Click HERE to visit the station's refreshed website.

DEVELOPMENT: Townhomes Coming to Downtown

There's more good news for downtown Rochester.  In a unanimous vote at its January 25th meeting, City Council approved the sale of 116 West Main Street to a developer for $1.  The current site - a city-owned surface parking lot - will be turned into 24 market-rate townhomes and a mixed-use commercial development.

The city is selling the property to Plymouth Terrace, LLC - headed up by John Summers, of Graywood Custom Homes.  This is a departure from the suburban housing tracts that Graywood has already developed in the area - Kensington Woods and Auburn Estates in Pittsford, and Bristol Harbour in Canandaigua.

The Plymouth Terrace project will be going up in what's referred to as "Scott Alley", across the street from the Hochstein School of Music, and two blocks west of City Hall.  The diagram above shows how the plots have been divided up (this could always change).  There are 24 narrow parcels, each containing an approximately 1,850 square foot, two and a half story townhome with a 2-car detached garage. 

So far, the developer has not released any schematics, but with the parcels being so long and narrow, a logical possibility is a row-house look on the front (which I would assume would be the N. Plymouth Ave. side) with patios and detached garages at the back, facing Scott Alley.  This is pure speculation, but it would make sense.  The city is retaining a right of way in the middle of the block, to eventually connect Scott Alley and N. Plymouth.  This would approximately align with Church Street.

A commercial development would anchor the project on the south side, along West Main Street.  That building will be at least two and a half stories as well, and will include office and/or retail space, along with parking space. 

This comes as the City is trying to bring new life into the Cascade District - an area of old warehouses on the west end of downtown inside the inner loop.  Once along the original route of the Erie Canal, the neighborhood has declined in recent years.  It boarders rougher neighborhoods to the west of 490, and an area of downtown that's home to many government buildings.  This development is part of the Cascade Area Urban Renewal District.

The Plymouth Terrace project is the latest announcement in a series of encouraging developments for the area.  Just down the street, Nothnagle - the Rochester area's largest realty firm - is renovating a series of old buildings that will become the company's new headquarters.  There are also reports that the City is close to making an announcement on the former Josh Lofton High School Building, across the street from Nothnagle.

The property being sold to Plymouth Terrace, LLC for $1 has an appraised value of $1,176,000.  The City gives several reasons for the bargain-basement price tag.  While recent housing studies show there is a demand for owner-occupied units in downtown Rochester, the cost of building them is not attractive for developers without incentives.  This tactic of offering "dollar deals" has been used in many large downtown projects, and was key in sealing the deal with Christa Development / Morgan Management to re-purpose Midtown Tower, as well as attracting ESL to build its new headquarters downtown (which also went up on a city-owned parking lot).

Construction on the Plymouth Terrace project is scheduled to begin this spring, and is expected to take about 18 months to complete.