Hog Factor Contest Triumphs at LDI 2018

	Team Sola Tartan

Three teams of lighting programmers battled at the Hog 4 console in High End Systems' annual Hog Factor USA Collegiate Competition at LDI 2018, with team Sola Tartan from Carnegie Mellon University winning first place. The action took place live on Friday, October 19 in the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Each team performed their programmed show to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," using the latest in HES LED technology in the booth rig, while throngs of industry professionals attending the trade show head-nodded along with the three interpretations of the classic anthem.

Winning team Sola Tartan, under the leadership of Prof. Todd Brown, was awarded a Road Hog 4 console for Carnegie Mellon University. Second place team Brown Sugar from Southern Methodist University under Prof. Steve Woods received a HedgeHog 4X console for their school, and third place team The Pig Ears under Prof. David Jacques took home a Hoglet console for California State University - Long Beach. Each student received an ETC Student Nomad software package and dongle.

A panel of celebrity judges -- Howard Ungerleider, Seth Jackson, Scott Barnes, and Patrick Hayes -- scored on skills from technical wizardry to the "wow" factor.

Howard Ungerleider is a lighting industry veteran whose talents also include video and laser design and architectural lighting. Rush, Rod Stewart, and Van Halen are a few of his clients, as are corporate giants and pro sports teams through his company Production Design International.

Seth Jackson is a creative director and production designer whose touring career includes Barry Manilow, Toby Keith, Carrie Underwood, among many others. He's currently pursuing his Master's degree, and as an educator, he's sponsored two student teams in Hog Factor contests -- one team placed second, the other one first.

Scott Barnes, a Hog console programmer since 1999, has worked on more than 50 films including the Marvel series of Iron Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Avengers.

Finally, Patrick Hayes has the honor of being on the first winning team in Hog Factor history. He is currently carrying his Hog 4 on tour as LD/programmer with The Decemberists.

Since its origin in 2015, HES has held Hog Factor competitions at LDI and globally at other trade shows including the Production Futures in the UK on November 7, 2018.