Ignite Phoenix 7
I had another great experience at Ignite Phoenix last Friday night. And, I'm happy to report that the two Ignite virgins that I took with me really enjoyed it, too. Yay! More companions for the next time.
Before I get in to the presentation itself, let me write a few words about the venue. The last Ignite was the Mesa Arts Center. It was good for viewing but not so much for socializing. It was also dang expensive in the cocktail department.
Ignite 7 was at the Phoenix Art Museum. Much better for socialization since they utilized the patio for the pre and post parties and the break. There were also tables set up in the hall for each of the presenters so it was easy to find and chat with them.
Booze was cheaper, too! PBRs were going for $3 and they sold out of them.
I also appreciated that they added the presenters' Twitter logins on the program. Last time, I had to copy them down from the slides and it distracted me from the start of each presentation.
The only knocks on the venue have been mentioned by others. The floor area was flat and the presenters weren't high enough to easily look over the head of the person in front of you. I had to do a bit of move to the left then move to the right to watch it all. Also, the seats were, well, designed for the ideal American butt, not the realistic one. Too damn small and tight in there and having us all so close together made it a tad warm.
Now on to the really important stuff - the presentations! The theme was The Art of...and most of the presenters fully went with it. Each presenter had five minutes and twenty slides for their presentation.
Here's the list of presenters from Ignite's site:
The presentations that really impressed/interested me:
The Art of Creativity in a Prison Wasteland by Sue Ellen Allen was truly moving and the artwork done by the prisoners was incredible.
The Art of the Movie Poster by Victor Moreno and The Art of Videogames, as illustrated by Shadow of the Colossus by Adam 'Pi' Burch were satisfying not only for their level of nerdiness (to which I relate) but also for the enthusiasm of the presenters. They looked like they really put their hearts into it.
The Art of Bad Writing by Sara Dobie didn't exactly follow The Art of theme but it was hilarious thanks to her delivery style. As a reader and a writer, I wanted to cheer some of her strongly worded directions. Actually, they were more like mandates.
The Art of Talking to Strangers by Stephanie Horn and The Art of Wayfaring by Alex Berger both had an adventurous "just do it" attitude that I found engaging and sincere.
I appreciated the efforts that every presenter made. It's not easy to stand up in front of hundreds of people like that and they all looked like they worked on their presentations a great deal. My only suggestion for future presenters is to avoid the note cards. They're a crutch and distract from the presentation no matter how subtly you try to use them.
At $10, Ignite is a bargain. You get several hours of entertainment that can be funny, inspiring and engaging. It sells out in about 20 minutes so my suggestion is to follow Ignite on Facebook, Twitter or sign up for updates from the website so you can get plenty of notice about ticket sales.
The date hasn't been set yet for Ignite Phoenix 8 but they are taking applications for presenters. And, yes, I'm considering applying.
Before I get in to the presentation itself, let me write a few words about the venue. The last Ignite was the Mesa Arts Center. It was good for viewing but not so much for socializing. It was also dang expensive in the cocktail department.
Ignite 7 was at the Phoenix Art Museum. Much better for socialization since they utilized the patio for the pre and post parties and the break. There were also tables set up in the hall for each of the presenters so it was easy to find and chat with them.
Booze was cheaper, too! PBRs were going for $3 and they sold out of them.
I also appreciated that they added the presenters' Twitter logins on the program. Last time, I had to copy them down from the slides and it distracted me from the start of each presentation.
The only knocks on the venue have been mentioned by others. The floor area was flat and the presenters weren't high enough to easily look over the head of the person in front of you. I had to do a bit of move to the left then move to the right to watch it all. Also, the seats were, well, designed for the ideal American butt, not the realistic one. Too damn small and tight in there and having us all so close together made it a tad warm.
Now on to the really important stuff - the presentations! The theme was The Art of...and most of the presenters fully went with it. Each presenter had five minutes and twenty slides for their presentation.
Here's the list of presenters from Ignite's site:
| The Art of Bad Writing | Sara Dobie |
| The Art of Bastardizing Culinary Traditions | Bryan Mok |
| The Art of Comics … Pop Going, Going, Gone? | Kevin E Patterson |
| The Art of Creativity in a Prison Wasteland | Sue Ellen Allen |
| The Art of Cycling | Paul Prosser |
| The Art of Fashioning Technology: Wearable computers and a network of things | James Britt |
| The Art of Food Photography With A Mobile Phone | Stephanie Quilao |
| The Art of Ghost Hunting | Shaun Jacob |
| The Art of Information | Peter Avery |
| The Art of personal maturity through your sketchbook via the catalyst of history | Jeremie Lederman |
| The Art of Postmodern Tarot | Ernesto Moncada |
| The Art of Radical Altruism | Tim Huffman |
| The Art of Spacetime | Andrew Ryno |
| The Art of Talking to Strangers | Stephanie Horn |
| The Art of the Movie Poster | Victor Moreno |
| The Art of Videogames, as illustrated by Shadow of the Colossus | Adam ‘Pi’ Burch |
| The Art of Wayfaring | Alex Berger |
| The Art of Winning the Nobel Peace Prize | Patrick Knauer |
The presentations that really impressed/interested me:
The Art of Creativity in a Prison Wasteland by Sue Ellen Allen was truly moving and the artwork done by the prisoners was incredible.
The Art of the Movie Poster by Victor Moreno and The Art of Videogames, as illustrated by Shadow of the Colossus by Adam 'Pi' Burch were satisfying not only for their level of nerdiness (to which I relate) but also for the enthusiasm of the presenters. They looked like they really put their hearts into it.
The Art of Bad Writing by Sara Dobie didn't exactly follow The Art of theme but it was hilarious thanks to her delivery style. As a reader and a writer, I wanted to cheer some of her strongly worded directions. Actually, they were more like mandates.
The Art of Talking to Strangers by Stephanie Horn and The Art of Wayfaring by Alex Berger both had an adventurous "just do it" attitude that I found engaging and sincere.
I appreciated the efforts that every presenter made. It's not easy to stand up in front of hundreds of people like that and they all looked like they worked on their presentations a great deal. My only suggestion for future presenters is to avoid the note cards. They're a crutch and distract from the presentation no matter how subtly you try to use them.
At $10, Ignite is a bargain. You get several hours of entertainment that can be funny, inspiring and engaging. It sells out in about 20 minutes so my suggestion is to follow Ignite on Facebook, Twitter or sign up for updates from the website so you can get plenty of notice about ticket sales.
The date hasn't been set yet for Ignite Phoenix 8 but they are taking applications for presenters. And, yes, I'm considering applying.
