360° video stroll in Central Park New York

Here's an immersive 360° video from Central Park in New York City. I entered the park at Columbus Circle and just took a leisurely stroll with my camera on a selfie stick. It was overcast and the quality of the first generation Insta 360 is what it is, but at the end of the day, I think the video provides a pretty good experience of walking through the Central Park on Thanksgiving weekend this year. I exited the park near the Simón Bolívar statue at 6th and 59th street and it started to rain on my way back to the hotel in midtown.

360° Video of Time Square in New York City

Here are a couple of 360° immersive videos from Time Square in New York City. There are plenty of places to take pictures, but they've added several convenient platforms to the northern and southern ends of the area for taking photos and it's easy to get to the highest point and lift your selfie stick high in the air. It was a good day with mild weather and blue skies peeking through here and there too. The atmosphere in Time Square is very international and a good place to capture the diversity and culture in New York.

"WYSIWYG Finale" released

Here's a master track for the "WYSIWYG Finale". It's the last 5 minutes of the show and closes the loop for all the character threading. We even included an upbeat curtain call that rocks. The finale starts with April lamenting Carl's initial reaction to meeting her in the real world. Ron emerges and serenades the audience at the piano with a closing soliloquy. Denise turns to Ron and lets him know that she's willing to work things out with him.

Ron searches for the answer through song and April breaks down and starts to cry when Carl returns to give her some support and advice. He tells her that she is a real as anyone he has ever met and she deserves love, but that she can't go around living her life defined by others, then suggests that they all logout and login to life, she closes her laptop and they all sing together. (What You See Is What You Get).

It's sung by Blake Nawa'a, Carolyn Jordan, Tony Domenick with a cameo from yours truly. (October/2022) Here's a link to download the Sheet Music for the "WYSIWYG Finale" to follow along. Use the icons below to listen to the song on your favorite streaming service. 

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Concept Album for the WYSIWYG Soundtrack Complete

That's a wrap! We've finished the concept album for the WYSIWYG soundtrack (21 songs - 67 minutes). It's been a little over two years now. We completed the first track (August 2020) as the pandemic was hitting full stride and now the soundtrack is complete (November 2022) as the virus slows to a crawl. The project was orchestrated, recorded and mastered remotely with participants from all across the country. Thank you everyone! 🎭

April Alsup · WYSIWYG Show

NOTE: also available on the major streaming sites on 11/11/22

Here's a list of all the people who participated: David Traugh, Blake Nawa'a, Antonio Domenick, Jessie Sotwick, Sienna Stocky, Joe Columbo, Luke Columbo, Joe D. Castro, Jody Haught, Kelsie Bedard, Carolyn Jordan, Anne Jennes, Brandon Bill.

"Mañana" released

Here's a master track of "Mañana". It closes out the prologue and it's a classic music theatre "want" song. It's similar to how Ariel sings "Part of Your World" to express her desire to become human in the beginning of Little Mermaid. WYSIWYG's main character (April) wants to get off the Internet and be accepted as a woman in the real world, She wants to fall in love with a man and take on the same sort of challenges that all women face. It's sung by Blake Nawa'a, Carolyn Jordan and Tony Domenick (October/2022). Here's a link to download the Sheet Music for "Mañana" to follow along.

SoundCloud

Spotify

Apple

Amazon

YouTube

360° Video of Jet Skiing Lake Powell Canyon

Here's a couple of 360° immersive videos from Lake Powell in Southern Utah. It's in the Glen Canyon National Park near the Bullfrog Marina. We rented a couple of jet skis and explored the lake and the wonderful canyon scenery. I used the Insta 360 One X camera and these two videos are from Eden Canyon across from Halls Landing. It was a fun day, but the water level has really dropped a lot over the last few years.

Lake Powell water level over 12 years

I was living in the valley (Los Angeles) when Dassault Systèmes asked me to manage their regional office in Denver. I agreed and during the move I spent the night in Green River, Utah. I was taken back by the beauty of the canyon landscape and the amazing lightning storms and I've visited the area a half a dozen times since then. Now, I stay at the Defiance Hotel in Glen Canyon National Park because it's the only lakeside hotel near Bullfrog and it's relatively inexpensive. It overlooks the Marina and is about six (6) hours from Denver.

Lake Powell water level (Bullfrog Marina)  2010-2022 

In any case, the hotel only has 48 rooms and it's in the middle of nowhere. I always like getting a room with a view and I happened to line up a couple of "before and after" pictures from several visits to the lake. The change in the water level is really quite dramatic so I thought I'd share it for everyone to see.

Immersive 360° image above Defiance Hotel (September 2022)

Immersive 360° image above Bullfrog Marina (September 2022)

My guess is the water level crisis at Lake Powell has something to do with climate change, but I'm not a scientist or anything. My observations are only anecdotal, my hope is that information like this can be used to make a better world for all of us.