How many people can say they got to play hooky from work for a day to go to a College World Series game?! I never thought I would be so lucky, but on Monday, June 22, as a Keyframe Intern accompanied by my supervisor and another co-worker, off I went.  

So it wasn’t exactly playing hooky, but it felt like it when we arrived in Omaha – the atmosphere was wild. The temperature was in the upper 90’s with a heat index nearing 110. We had to drive around the stadium a few times until we got our parking situation figured out, but that gave us a great opportunity to check out the tail-gaiting parties. These were the die-hards determined not to let the intense sun spoil their good time. One group even had a small swimming pool under their tent to beat the heat where they dipped their feet and sipped their beverages. Others were not so lucky, and had to fight their way into the general admission area where they waited for hours in long lines. Their dedication amazed me. There was no shade in sight for these committed fans as we listened to repeated announcements that if we “started to feel dizzy, please head towards one of our emergency tents.” We headed up to the control room (equipped with A/C) to visit our Daktronics/Keyframe colleagues who run the scoreboard for the games, dropped off our bags and went back out into the heat to tour the stadium before the game started. On our way back up through the press elevator, I bumped shoulders with Erin Andrews, one of ESPN’s sportscasters who is no stranger to the College World Series. I couldn’t resist doing a little bragging as I sent out a mass text message to some of my sports-minded friends back home.

Out of the heat and back in the sanctity of the control room, I got a run-down of the equipment and did my best to stay out of the way as the operators went to work after the first pitch. This wasn’t always easy since I’m sometimes known to get a little camera happy! Lambert, the organ player, got us in the mood with “Take me out to the Ball Game,” and really got the crowd going with “God Bless America,” during which four jets flew directly above the stadium. He was entertaining to watch with his 70 year old sheet music that he doesn’t really use…he plays from memory. Lambert has been around since the very beginning and has seen multiple renovations to the facility. He is as much a part of the College World Series as the stadium itself.

Unfortunately, we had to cut the game short, say goodbye to the operators in the booth and start the long drive home. We kept track of the score on the way and realized we missed some pretty exciting moments. In the end, LSU took the prize. It was a good fight, a great game and an incredible day.

(Post By Jessie Wienhold, Keyframe Intern)

I’m not sure how many people are familiar with bowling beyond the occasional visit to the local alley (I know I wasn’t until recently), but in the past year, I have learned more about that sport than I ever could have dreamed about.  It’s really quite fascinating.

Things all started about a year ago when US Bowling Congress (USBC) contracted with Daktronics to replace their flip dot scoring system with LED technology.  I was challenged with the task of helping the client bring their new display to life, adding an entirely new atmosphere and dimension to their tournament in Las Vegas this year. Since bowling is not a sport Keyframe typically designs content for, grasping the full scope of the project was a bit of a challenge.  On top of that, the display they purchased was huge - about 7.5’ tall by about 350’ wide (see the picture above).  Picture a 60 lane bowling alley with that LED video display on the wall above the pins from one end to the other, broadcasting your scoring results for all to see.  With the way I bowl, this seems a bit overwhelming.

Myself and a number of other individuals from Daktronics spent an early November week in Albuquerque, New Mexico to perform testing with the client.  While Daktronics set up the support structure, display, and control system, we were able to test some of our content on the actual display. I will be the first to admit how surprised I was by how much cooler it looked on the display compared to what we had been seeing on our computer screens. Some of the graphics produced included a one minute video highlighting the game of bowling and last year’s tournament (which will run as the bowlers enter the “grand stage” to start the competition), multiple logo treatments, an animated graphic that will be used to display Champion bowlers, a very large national anthem treatment, sponsor graphics, and five sets of scoring layouts. There is more to be done before the tournament in February, but after seeing the display come together I look forward to more production and am happy to report that everyone’s hard work paid off. The content looked great and all of the stats and scoring information functioned wonderfully.

It all seems a bit much for bowling, doesn’t it?  But to these guys it is a big deal, and rightfully so. This year the organization expects about 17,400 teams participate in the USBC Open Championship Tournament, making it the largest bowling tournament in history.  Just to give you a little more background on the Open Tournament and USBC here is how it works each year. The tournament moves to a different location each year, and they have to find a city with a convention center and hotel inventory large enough to accommodate them. Here’s the most unbelievable (but true) part:  once they decide on a location, they start the three month process of building an entire bowling center within the facility (that includes all the lanes, pin setters, office space for USBC personnel, spaces for vendors and concessions as well as seating for the fans).  The tournament itself lasts for about five months (7 days as week, 22 hours a day), and once the winners are declared, they tear it all down until the next year.  Crazy huh?!?!

(post by Trisha Schuver)

Here is the winner of our office Halloween costume contest, Justin Ochsner, dressed as Jim Halpert from The Office dressed as a 3 hole punch.

Note:  Justin MAY have been the only person to rock a costume today.

(post by Ryan Pederson)