“Gig City Roots,” a ground-breaking music special featuring the first use of gigabit-per-second connectivity and new video conferencing technology, nabbed two Emmy nominations (Technical Achievement, Audio) for the 28th Midsouth Regional Emmy Awards on January 25, 2014 in Nashville. The performance was facilitated by the USC Annenberg Innovation Lab (AIL).
Grammy winning producer/musician T-Bone Burnett performed with legendary rockabilly singer/guitarist Check Mead before a live audience of 4,000 people in Chattanooga, Tenn. The cutting-edge LOLA technology (LOw LAtancy audio-visual streaming system), developed with USC’s AIL, enabled Burnett to play with Mead as if he was sitting right beside him.
In addition to the real-time coast to coast jam session, engineers deployed an eight-camera HD production facility on the riverfront in Chattanooga with live streaming, 128 mixed audio channels, full HD ISO video recording and matrix intercom throughout Chattanooga’s Coolidge Park.
Professor Jonathan Taplin, director of USC’s AIL, said: “We’re proud to have played an integral role, working with partners who had the vision to execute a truly innovative event and special that is justly reaping recognition.”
Producer Todd Mayo said, “A confluence of great folks at the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga (EPB), the Annenberg Innovation Lab team, RiverRocks organizers and others allowed us to do something singular: a live cross-country duet in real time, over 3000 miles of distance and in only .66 milliseconds of time, literally a blink of an eye. We look forward to doing more with Chattanooga’s ‘Gig’ as it relates to music and technology.”
“We’re always excited when we see smart people doing interesting things with ultra high-speed Internet connectivity like we have here in Chattanooga. We look forward to being involved in more innovative demonstrations like Gig City Roots,” said Jim Ingraham, Vice President of Strategic Research for EPB, an electricity distribution and telecommunications company owned by the city of Chattanooga.
The show aired live online and was also broadcast on WTCI, the PBS affiliate in Chattanooga and across the state on The Tennessee Network, which includes Tennessee PBS stations: Memphis, Nashville, Jackson, Cookeville, Chattanooga, Knoxville and Tri Cities.
The long-distance duet was a collaboration among the Annenberg Innovation Lab at the University of Southern California, The Thornton School of Music at USC, EPB Fiber Optics, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, River Rocks and Heng Dai Media.
About EPB
In 1935, the City of Chattanooga, Tennessee established EPB as a nonprofit agency to provide electric power to the greater Chattanooga area. Today, EPB remains one of the largest publicly-owned electric power distributors in the country, serving roughly 170,000 homes and businesses. Using a 100% fiber optic network as its backbone, EPB has built, a next-generation electric system that includes communication capabilities designed to reduce the impact of power outages, improve response time and allow customers greater control of their electric power usage. This same fiber optic backbone is allowing EPB to offer high-speed Internet, TV and phone service to business and residential customers community-wide. In September 2010, EPB became the first company in the United States to offer one gigabit-per-second Internet speed to the entire service territory. www.epb.net
About the Thornton School of Music
Led by Dean Dr. Robert A. Cutietta, the USC Thornton School of Music brings together a stellar faculty chosen from a broad spectrum of the music profession and musically gifted students from around the globe. Founded in 1884, and today the oldest continually operating cultural institution in Los Angeles, the Thornton School consistently ranks among the top one percent of the nation's music schools and conservatories. Graduates of the school attain positions with major orchestras, ensembles, recording studios and music industry firms and perform on stages and in studios around the world. www.usc.edu/schools/music/index.html
About the Annenberg Innovation Lab
The University of Southern California's Annenberg Innovation Lab (AIL), located at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, is a Think and Do Tank that creates prototypes, publications, and participatory learning experiences to explore emerging challenges and opportunities in media and culture. The Lab combines leading domain experts from across USC’s campus and thought leaders from our sponsors, some of the world’s most innovative global companies and public sector entities. www.annenberglab.com
