This past Saturday a few of us from Beanywood along with a few hundred other media makers made the trek to New Britain Connecticut for the "2nd annual Media Mixer"organized by Neal Thomassen.  We had no idea what to expect. Being accustomed to  pretty conventional venues for most events of this nature I was taken aback upon first entering.  The Monster Lab Recording Studios are one part warehouse, one part gallery and one part opium den.  There were four main rooms and then maze like halls which kept people wandering and gathering randomly throughout.  They had performances and interviews with local media makers and organizations taping in one of the rooms with live switching cameras.  These recordings were simultaneously broadcasting live through other flatscreens and projection screens throughout the other rooms so people could check them out while mingling in the other rooms.

It was quite an interesting event.  I think it was so effective because this was not a conventional layout, and people had to find new ways to interact. 

I am sure that they will put on another event next year considering that this was only year two and they had hundreds attend.We are hoping to get some of these interviews up on the Beanywood site soon so you can get a better sense of the event if you didn't hear about it, or check out what you missed if you did attend.     

You can check out the organizer Neal Thomassen's Myspace page @ www.myspace.com/producer3  and the party website   @ http://www.nealthomassen.com/Party.htm

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