INNOVATOR PROFILES
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DAVID KASZYCKI Job title CEO Company Beam Dynamics
How did you get into AV? You could say that I was born into it. My father started one of the first digital kiosk companies in the early nineties and I was always surrounded by the latest technologies and tools that were coming out. I remember hearing that, one day, there would be a full-colour screen that fit into your hands to watch movies on, but as a young kid I did not believe this could ever happen. Fast forward another ten years, the iPhone came out. As I grew up, I had internships at several digital signage manufacturers and media companies, eventually starting my first AV company in college, installing digital signage across college campuses. I installed one of the first digital screens on a college campus that displayed university information, local advertisements and emergency alerts. What are you currently working on? I am currently the founder of Beam Dynamics and creating a new way to manage AV assets across multiple locations, vendors and workflows, which we call Asset Intelligence. It’s changing
the way companies manage their AV infrastructures and significantly increases the ROI of AV deployments. Favourite project? I am interested in the interaction between digital signage and mobile devices. I love looking at projects in public spaces that use digital signage to its full advantage in an elegant way, seamlessly fitting into all of the other information an individual is fed on a day-to-day basis. What does the future hold for the AV industry? I believe that there will be a unified communication layer between owners of AV technology and the vendors or manufacturers that support them, which will save the industry billions of dollars for both buyers and sellers. What advice would you give to someone starting a career in AV tech? Get out into the field, ask loads of questions – and do not be afraid to challenge the status quo. There are many
problems that AV has still yet to solve, and the only way that you are going to solve them is by engaging with users of the technology as well as those who rely on it for valuable information. This will set you up to be successful in your current domain, as well as help you see what you need to build to deliver the future for the AV industry. and the only way that you are going to solve them is by engaging with users of the technology” There are many problems that AV has still yet to solve, doing so demonstrated its commitment to providing tangible opportunities for young people. What does the future hold for the AV industry? I believe we will continue to see a convergence of IT into everything – as more technologies become networkable and more processing can be done in the cloud. Speaking about virtual production, I think more universities will look to the huge success at Sunderland and take the opportunity to assess and modernise their own media courses to incorporate VP. I also think that we’ll see corporates turning to VP, where they’ll install their own studios which will enable them to increase content output and respond quickly to market conditions to gain a competitive advantage. What advice would you give to someone starting a career in AV tech? Go for it – and take every training opportunity you can!
STEPHEN GALLAGHER Job title Marketing director Company Mo-Sys Engineering
How did you get into AV? That’s my dad’s fault. He bought me a twin tape deck which got me into audio recording. He was an early adopter of new technology in an era when VHS and hi-fi was booming. He also ran the family business, a small domestic electrical firm, and had found a niche installing some of the first pressure
mat burglar alarms. I guess that’s where playing with wires and understanding signal paths all began. I later joined Canford and worked with some really amazing people who gave my curiosity space to flourish. So I got into pro AV, broadcast and IP comms before joining Mo-Sys, which has a long history of pushing boundaries and being at the forefront of virtual production and image robotics. What are you currently working on? We’re preparing for ISE in Barcelona, where we’ll push the limits of what’s possible on a trade show floor. Favourite project? As a proud northern lad, I’d probably go with the University of Sunderland. The team there have great vision and an incredible desire to ensure students have access to the very best media and TV production training. With the support of CJP (a Mo-Sys partner), the university invested in a state-of-the-art LED virtual production studio and in
We’re now preparing for ISE in Barcelona, where we will be pushing the limits of what’s possible on a trade show floor”
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