Inaugural Digital Media Symposium To Feature Ana Herruzo and Finn Ross

USITT brings digital media giants Ana Herruzo and Finn Ross to Binghamton, N.Y., to headline the inaugural Digital Media Symposium in association with the LUMA Festival; the nation's leading projection arts festival. The Digital Media Symposium will take place Sept. 5-6, offering two exciting days of digital media creation, education, and artistry to attendees.

Herruzo's keynote starts the morning on Thursday, Sept. 5, focusing on her world of video, projection, and programming design and it concludes with a sponsor-driven session before lunch. A full afternoon of content follows, including two USITT Digital Media Commission-curated workshops Dig Deep - An In-Depth Look at Creating Content for Projection Mapping and the Live Events Industry and, A 3D World...A Deep Dive into Content Design for 3D Surfaces.

Thursday evening finds us in downtown Binghamton for a boozy "tech crawl" - our industry spin on the traditional pub crawl! Experience local spirits and fare while discussing the work and installations in progress on the surrounding streets.

Educational content will continue on Friday with two sponsor-driven sessions preceding an informative and in-depth address by the inestimable Drama Desk, Olivier, and Tony Award-winning Finn Ross. The afternoon rounds out with a panel discussion by the artists involved in the LUMA Festival. To close the symposium, we will gather for a light reception before participants head out to experience the wonder that is the LUMA Festival.

Ana Herruzo is an architect, designer, and programmer working at the intersection of art, technology, and architecture. She has worked on projects for high-profile companies such as Samsung, Nike, Google, and NASA. Her focus is on the combination of lighting, audio and video with the physical environment, materials, and human interaction.

Synthesizing disciplines, she creates spatial experiences for wide-ranging applications such as art installations, live music events, film, robotics, and architecture. Herruzo is the co-founder of art collective NaiveLaser, and interactive agency VIRTULABS performing Creative and Technical Direction for diverse projects.

Finn Ross is a Tony Award-winning video designer for live performance and co-creative director of London-based FRAY Studio. He specializes in integrating live and pre-recorded images, animations, or anything else you can imagine, into a live performance environment. He has worked in all facets of digital media from fringe to Broadway and pop to opera.

Some of Ross' most recent projects include video design for Broadway's Frozen, Mean Girls, and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two. He delivers both the content and the systems by which it is realized, ensuring a fluid process from conception to production.

Digital Media Symposium pricing is as follows: USITT Member: $350, USITT Student Member: $150, Non-Member: $450. Prices include events, sessions, access to speakers, and breakfast and lunch each day.

The symposium hotel, DoubleTree by Hilton, is offering symposium participants a rate of $139 per night. Deadline for reserving rooms at this rate is Aug. 4.