FRONT OF HOUSE
CHEESE GAMES : ADAPTABILITY IN TECH WORLD | Kent Morris
The classic 1998 book , Who Moved My Cheese ? by Spencer Johnson set in motion the adoption of change in the continual sense ; that is , the cheese doesn ’ t get moved once , but over and over . Change , as the old saying notes , is the only constant . For techs , change is welcomed and feared simultaneously due to the unique nature of technology . New tech is generally better than old tech , but it requires a learning curve and a novel approach which may succeed or fail . In tech , the old way of doing things is under constant assault as new people and new ideas hit the market . Sometimes the new tech works and is applauded as genius while at other times it fails and is cast aside . No one running a console wants to be at the helm when a new mixer dies , but everyone wants to be the person to introduce something cool to the world .
For most of us , the best approach to evolving tech is to ride the second wave , not the first or third . The first wave , or bleeding edge , tends to either go down in history or just go down . The third wave represents mass acceptance where there is little opportunity for innovation and offers no growth potential . The second wave , in contrast , allows the initial issues to be resolved beforehand while granting users the ability to manipulate and improve the process before it settles into cemented standard practice .
Early tech adopters are often left holding the bag when the promised functions fail to materialize or when the company behind it goes bankrupt . However , without these failures the tech world could not move forward . If Carl Bader had not sold Ensoniq to Creative Labs , he wouldn ’ t have received the funds to build the original Aviom A16 personal mixing system which reached tremendous heights of success . However , if he had not developed the ill-fated Pro64 network on his own , it wouldn ’ t have allowed time for competitors to enter the market with more channels and better features . But , if Aviom had stayed with only 16 channels and not pursued the Pro64 network , the current A360 system wouldn ’ t be the success it is today . Product development is a tangled , unpredictable jungle fraught with unseen obstacles and challenges that arise from nowhere . It is not for the faint of heart or stomach .
Beyond the viability of new tech , media pastors must weigh the stewardship aspects of buying an unproven product when industry standard equivalents are available . The counterbalance here , though , is an industry standard is already on the backside of its bell curve of life by virtue of the fact it is widely accepted . Outside Shure SM58 mics and Radial Pro direct boxes , most audio tech has a limited lifespan . A Soundcraft Vi6 console was a wonder in 2008 , but it is
almost a liability in 2023 due to component age and little to no factory support or service . It is stunning how poorly a Yamaha M7CL- 48 console , which once was state-of-the-art , sounds next to a current Yamaha Rivage PM5 . The technology is so far removed as to be a different concept . Weighing the costs and benefits of new tech is one of the more difficult tasks of the media pastor .
The best approach then , is to balance the audio , video and lighting systems to each other and within each other to achieve macro and micro systems with similar performance and age across the signal chain . New speakers will not reach their potential output if the DSP before them is twenty years old . New wireless mics require antenna distribution and antennas made for their application . A single new camera cannot be made fully effective because its performance must be intentionally degraded to match the other two older units still in service . All of these parameters weigh against one another and demand diligent research and study if they are to be used to their fullest potential .
Kent Morris Kent is a 44-year veteran of the AVL arena driven by passion for excellence tempered by the knowledge all technology is in a temporal state .