In an instant.

What is in an instant?  How much information is there?  Any of the particles you capture will not be there the next instant.  But why don't you capture them.  As best as you can.

I'd have to choose carefully my instant.  I have to censor myself in certain instances.  Otherwise, I will not say what I think.  And mistakes are all intentional.

When I don't censor myself, things go much smoother.  By censor, that means not going for the first reaction, those are boring.  Those are the ones that trick you in the high number questions on the SAT.  They are deceptive.  But the true answer?  What a true answer, how lost in obscurity of knowledge, to be greeted with such esteem as to be in my memoir.

My moment then, is the moment on stage.  Which moment, what's the first thing that comes to mind?

Um, first time on stage in front of an audience?

Bingo, Except not so.  That's impossible, it's a subtle moment when the singing/performing one does is first overheard by another person.  That's probably so early in life you can't pin it down.  What size of an audience matters?  I'd say, yes, I hadn't performed in front of more than 30 people before.  So, in that way, it was a first.  Because even the trials before hand, were at most 30 people (that I could see, meaning, far more—but out of sight, out of mind).

I was on stage in front of at least 400 visible people.  All contestants or family/friends of contestants.  They can be a hard group.  Imagine, all of them, sitting in a theatre.  You've never performed on a theatre.  (You meaning me, of course.)  I've never performed in front of a crowd nearly that big before.  But I was going to give it a shot…  A poorly executed shot, but a shot.

I knew even before I opened my mouth, that it was going to go bad.  I should have done something in front of an audience before.  But there aren't too many opportunities to do that anymore—or at least it seems.  Be in front of a camera at the same time?  No biggie.  Cameras are fucking everywhere and you know it.  You get used to it.  That's no big deal.  But have you ever had to talk or do anything in front of more than 30 people?

Maybe you have.  Good for you, you should try out for a talent show.  Me, I shouldn't have tried out…  Well, we'll see the results of this whole experience, then we'll decide whether I should have or shouldn't have.  But I think I  will always agree that I should have somehow managed to get some experience in front of a large audience.  Check it…  Here's a scoop.  For these shows, it would be way better if they had all the contestants come to watch all the contestants.  You videotape the whole thing.  They all get to perform, they get to perform in front of a large group, so they get that over with.  In a sensitive, controlled environment.   (I should be recording my keystrokes, fuck.  Oh, that's pretentious…  Naw, we're just lazy.)

Damn, I feel an urge to email Microsoft and tell them to make that easier in Word 2010.

Anyway, the sensitive part means the place is free of anyone getting booed off stage, or forced to end their routines.  Then, you take them in front of the same audience, with the judges, in a week.  Then you video tape them performing in front of their audience (should they still want to… you can weed out a lot of unhappy people), along with the judges, who can buzz as needed.  But check it.  The judges get to watch the entire act.  They only buzz when they see it a second time, and it isn't moving the audience in a positive way.

That's when they buzz, not when they think they can't stand it, but when the audience can't stand it, first and foremost.  Ah yes, an audience buzzer.  How wonderful.  So, check it, this will make things go so much faster.  Forget what I said about the judges having to buzz for the audience.  The audience can buzz for itself.  Should it get more than 50% buzzes, or rather, whatever the percentage of buzzes a person normally gets (i.e. start with 50%, then see what people do, should it need to change, then so be it).  There would be an indicator over the stage saying how many people have buzzed, as soon as one buzzes, which one can do at any time.  (There are ushers that out-number the number of contestants, everyone gets a buddy.)  The buddy will make sure the voter isn't forced into a buzz by, say, another contestant.  Just keeps out rude behavior.  There's no booing.  Booers will be asked to leave.  There are no plants.  Plants are not allowed, and the audience will know that they are all real audience.

So, you're already working hard to create a positive environment.  Ushers will do all the necessary applauding at all "applause" moments.  Contestants, family of contestants, and friends of contestants, won't be expected to act in any way.  They can be casual, they can be exuberant.  But all their reactions will be caught on camera.  (This will make the editor's job that much easier.)  Just as there's a human buddy for each contestant, there's a video buddy for each contestant.  You don't have to have as many cameras as there are contestants, just make sure that every contestant is being watched by virtual tracking technology.  Simply put, you take each person, and you convert them to a 3-d avatar, and you work the cameras to go off of programs already used in video games to direct footage of every person.  Thus, ushers will have an easy time, so they won't be needed to paid much—they get to be on TV, after all, you could probably get all interns for ushers.  Yeah, that's a great idea.  If you pass internship, you become a "professional usher" and your pay goes up significantly.  But as soon as one goes, an usher spot comes around.  And who, pray tell, chooses how a person passes the internship?  Grades of course!  And…  Viewers opinions.  First they get graded by producers for their ability to work with contestants, contestants families, contestants friends.  These are put online, along with video that comes along with every contestant.

Oh, are you getting crazy and suggesting that if the show is going to go so far as to have the audience entirely mirrored by a virtual avatar for tracking purposes, and you'll have all this footage, you might as well put it in public domain?  You mean, being able to watch anyone in the audience—provided the audience member allows the public to see that footage—that would be a check-mark on your application to watch your contestant in the audience.  Some people, like kids, will be up to the guardian.  If you don't check-mark public domain, you can't have a URL to send your footage of yourself to others.

If you do check-mark public domain, people will get to rate you, not just your contestant friends.  Oh, and the camera follows the contest, since they might want to leave the audience, but still during "taping hours" only unless there is reason for interest.  There will be lots of "taping hours" as all the contestants will have a chance to perform their entire routine (up to ten minutes).  So, you figure you'll get about 60 contestants.  You're talking 600 minutes.  Which is ten hours.  You can track everyone in the audience for 10 hours.  Yeah, that's the ticket.  No one will want to leave their seats, because they will be followed by the software, just so everyone is accounted for.  Oh, and how will they keep track of everyone as being unique?  RFID bracelets.  You have cameras in every inch of the studio except the bathroom and health area (the smoke area, there should be one, is not exempt from video tracking).

So, in other words, you make it simple, if you want to be on the show, even have footage of yourself to share with people, you need to wear one of these radio-frequency identification bracelets (I assume that's what RFID stands for, that is, if it is RFID in the first place).  But for ten hours (over three days—the judges performances are over two days), everyone in the pre-show will be watched and videotaped.  Then they will be watched and video taped during the real show, which can take up to 10 hours as well.  This is only the people who are friends and family.  For contestants, they will be watched the entire five days they are expected to be there, not just those 10 hours, and maybe before or after.  And all that footage, during the 10 hours of pre-show and 10 hours of post-show, are available for public domain…  In a week.  Everyone will get a week to change their mind and decide not to make their 20 hours in public domain.  Or, for the contestants, their 100 hours.  As, again, they will be videotaped the whole day, 5 hours, either performing for camera crew, or being interviewed, or watched silently prepare for the show, whatever—anything that happens in the health booth or the bathroom is exempt from public domain.  People will really get an appreciation for the work that goes on behind the scenes.  That stuff is almost as fascinating as the actual performances.

So, you've got tons of footage.  Now you have to let the editor sift through all that…  No, you have users who get access to this not-yet public domain video vote on footage they think is worth being on tv.  This footage is available to the users given by the contestant/family/friend in the sign up process, everyone must give at least two non-same-person users—this will also help the people decide if they want it to go full public domain—but it is available to view (not download—besides you want to encourage them to put markers) for only one week.  A user watches the video and is encouraged to Marker In and Marker Out, moments they consider particularly good.  All these markers are aggregated and gives the editor video to sift through.  Then the editor takes /that/ and puts together the show.  That will be considered User Selected Content, and will have a U in the corner when people watch at home (very small, very unobtrusive).  Anything that is not user selected content will have no icon in the corner at all.

Now the judges, they don't have it as easy as the contestant/family/friend, on the two-days they are expected to show, their 10 hours will be entirely viewable by the world at large.  Public domain, all 10 hours of the judges, will be available for viewing /and/ downloading.  And, again, people can make markers if they view it, thus getting people interested in seeing what the contestants will be like.  This is just 10 hours of them reacting to people.  And if they are short their 10 minutes, the footage of the judges talking should be interesting as well.

I got the title for it too.  U Decide.  The U is trademark, as of now.  It stands for User.  User is in the term User Selected Content, which is also trademarked.  As of now.  Unless, it requires something more than putting it …  Well, I haven't yet decided where to put this first chapter of my memoir.  Yes, I will put it online as separate from my blog (http://www.awbvious.com/thegreenroom.htm).  I'll try me some of that Office 2007 html filtered.

Oh, and who gets to go on after the 60 contestants?  Simple, each of the judges puts in their vote—which, like the users, will be open to a week long debate before it is public domain.  The audience buzzing off someone is an automatic strike against them.  Thus they need two of the three human judges to disagree with them.  This will be difficult.  What happens after one week?  Well, the votes are tallied, if it is split 2-2, it goes another week, etc.  This continues until there is only one contestant.  That is the show.  U Decide.