| Contino is technical director of The Tempest and has an extensive background, 11 years experience in television and 7 years in motion picture production, worked with instructors at HFCC in reference to the radio station, building the studio, live TV program, and helping with students in the program. He is attending school for Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications (TV, radio, and film). His goal is to achieve degrees in both and is close to graduation. He splits his time between his dedication on the show and works as an electrical engineer. The entire process up until present took about 5-6 years. "Like starting from scratch," Popovich said. "It was like a murder mystery trying to figure it out." He adjusted himself in his chair to upright. The office lights flickered several times. "Yeah!" he said excitedly and laughed and put both hands on either side of his head with his fingers tensely spread, "Like flashbacks." Popovich had a wide variety of shows he could have chosen. His choice for The Tempest was heavily due to the magic in the show and so much of that show had been used already that seemed to fit in the vision he had. It will resemble the 1950's film Forbidden Plant. The Tempest tells a story of people shipwrecked where they encounter fairies on an island. Instead of a ship battling a huge storm, this VR version puts the group on a space ship that crashes. The show will be viewed by the audience through 3-D glasses instead of the common seen plug-in headsets. The polarized glasses will not wipe out the colors on the film like many other glasses would. Seeing that an great deal of money would be needed for any of this, in 1994 he put the grant process in motion. He wrote out a his first grant and brought it to the Technology Investment Fund board on campus. Since they didn't understand where he was coming from or what he wanted to do, they denied him. He went a second round in 2001 and put together a demo for the board to grasp and they said go ahead. The third round, they said yes to more money. Both grants totaled $130,000.00. "We're doing pretty good being a theater and being able to do this," he said. "Trying to convey the technical aspect to people, who have never been exposed to this," Contino explained. "Even George hasn't been exposed to it." He found himself constantly having to bite his lip and step back at rehearsals while working with all the "novices", Contino said and laughed. In the winter of 2001, Nick Riley joined the team as VR Technologist. He wanted to help with the show in any way he could. His background started in high school with backstage work. Being backstage was comfortable for him. He is attending HFCC for theater and computer informational systems as a double major. He saw this show as an ideal fit for him. "I do whatever needs to be done," he said about what his jobs are. "This is a new and emerging art form." So he had to be a part of it. They set up a green room for their use in a trailer for college use behind the Fine Arts building. A small room painted in a chroma-key reeking of fresh paint smell. A single row of lights adorned the middle of the ceiling. The floor laid with green Astroturf; numerous cords of all sizes lay haphazardly everywhere that were connected to cameras on several tri-pods. Contino nearly tripped on a rather bulky cord as he explained about the need for the room to film images for certain scenes. Riley's phone beeped in his leg pocket, he left the room to answer it. Contino stood facing the lights pointing in demonstration of lighting, problems they had, hot spots on the wall behind him, convergence points, and bad camera/small lenses. Riley returned and sat on the floor against the wall. Dressed in monochromatic tan shorts and shirt with black ankle tennis shoes, he stood out against the color of the room. "(Big sigh) Working with George has really been an experience," he said. "When George learned enough about this, the project took on a new life, George's vision." As with any show many changes have happened throughout the entire process and script changes was a big one. "It can either be order or chaos," Riley commented about Popovich. "I adapted myself well to his current state of mind." Everyone involved has given their all to Popovich and the show. One without the other wouldn't work. Even one small missing piece would be like trying to walk with one leg. People support each other and work well together even through rough spots. Which is the exact chemistry needed to piece it all together. "The tech guys are hardcore," Popovich emphasized. "There's nothing that doesn't get by him (Contino). If we didn't have him we'd be screwed." "We're the backbone of the show," Contino said referring to him and Riley. He has plans for another show like this one. He will continue to do this until he retires and will explore new ways to expand stage and screen. He would like to use animation and body motion capture in the future. The next choice will be a children's show or something abstract and surreal. Production dates are April 2-26, 2003 at 8pm. Tickets are on sale November 18, 2002 and can be reserved at 313-845-6475. For more information, go to http//:theater.hfcc.net/vtl/index2.html | 
