Still A Hobbyist

[Alan Brown]

Hi, all! My home theater roots go back to being taken regularly by my mom to see movies throughout my childhood. The earliest film I remember seeing was the 1956 'The Ten Commandments' by Cecil B. DeMille. I was 6 years old, but it made a huge impression. Cinema is my dominant artistic interest.

Now that I am a home theater professional, I am no longer a hobbyist.....NOT! I entered this career 8 1/2 years ago because I wanted to merge my decades of construction and AV experience with my hobby. Why not get paid to do something I loved? I still love every aspect of this endeavor and am constantly learning and exploring. I've been to Skywalker Ranch; listened to recordings in the big control room at Skywalker Sound; sat in George Lucas' chair in his state of the art digital cinema 'The Stag' theater to watch 'Star Wars: Episode II;' sat in the sweet spot chair in Widescreen Review's holosonic reference theater for an hour of 'Terminator 2;' ridden with Sam Runco in one of his classic cars; regularly consult with Joe Kane, Dr. Raymond Soneira and Joel Silver; been instructed for hours by Theo Kalomirakis, Tomlinson Holman, Anthony Grimani and Dr. Floyd Toole; toured the THX testing labs; I'm a 56 year old kid in a candy store!

Now that I am a home theater professional, I'm no longer a consumer......NOT! I still understand what it means to have a limited budget, because mine is limited. I still understand what it means to be frustrated by poorly designed gear, badly engineered recordings, inept customer service, arrogant retailers, inarticulate owner's manuals, etc., etc.

Now that I am a home theater professional, I have my dream system.......NOT! I don't make the kind of money most of my clients do. I'm still upgrading, tweaking, dreaming and waiting.

I'm anticipating being an engaged participant and contibutor in the HTShack community. I know a lot about some things but likely not as much about other things the other moderators and members may know. You all will likely benefit me as much or more as I can be of benefit to the membership. See you around the boards.

Best regards and beautiful pictures,
Alan Brown, President
CinemaQuest, Inc.
ISF, THX, SMPTE, CEDIA

"Advancing the art and science of electronic imaging"

[Sonnie]

Certainly glad to have you at the Shack Alan and hope to learn a lot from you.

[Danny]

Hey Alan
Look forward to learning all i can from you. Welcome to HTS

Dan

[bighitter]

I don't think I have ever seen a post that exactly resembles my own feelings...

Alan, I fully understand where you are coming from and feel just about exaclty the same as your post describes, although I am only 26 and came from 6 years of Computer / Sys Admin before jumping into the A/V industry which I did 2-1/2 years ago now. Currently I am Cedia I certified along with THX Tech Level I. Trying to find the time and availability to go to the ISF/HAA/RTI training/cert course.

Look forward to talking to you and everyone else here.

Nick

[Sonnie]

Hey Nick and we welcome you to the Shack as well.

Sounds like you and Alan might have a few things in common.

[Alan Brown]

I would recommend Greg Loewen's ISF calibrator training at CEDIA EXPO this year. Contact LionAV.com.