The Scoop

One Month Later...A Look Back

4/3/2018

Written by: Melissa Thompson, Annemarie Galeucia, Rebecca Burdette, and Morgan Kastner
Photos by: Heather McClelland, Colby Sterling, Ari Ross, Ian Andrepont, Chris Jeansonne, and Lily LaGrange

Can you believe it has already been a month since TEDxLSU? Yeah, us either! In this recap post, we'll highlight a few things that you might have missed in the excitement of the day. We put things in chronological order to help walk you through the experience.

ATTENDEE CHECK-IN
Upon entering the LSU Union, attendees checked in with the help of our wonderful experience team.

REFRACT PORTAL
After grabbing the coveted TEDxLSU t-shirt (designed by our rockstar graphic design intern Leigh Ann Nugent), attendees stepped into the refract portal. What is a refract portal? Glad you asked...

Our 2018 theme was refract. We know what refraction is — we can define it, we can imagine it, but can we experience it? Communication across the Curriculum's refract portal welcomed attendees with a multi-sensory, multi-modal refract portal to see, hear and be a part of refraction.

#thinkBR
Within the refract portal was an interactive display where attendees could share what they love about our Baton Rouge community. Attendees could "vote" for what stands out to them as the next big part of our community at the interactive string installation.

VIRTUAL REALITY BRAIN BREAK
Our friends from LSU Information Technology Services let attendees take a virtual reality break by putting on a pair of their over-sized goggles and headphones to be transported to a new and relaxing location.

SHIP OF FOOLS
This local indie-rock band energized our dancing souls with their eclectic sound. If you couldn’t get enough, check them out on Spotify or visit their website, shipoffoolsofficial.com.

LEVEL UP
Our friends at the Louisiana Technology Park helped put TEDxLSU attendees' gaming skills to the test at their indie gaming station. Fun fact: All games featured were developed locally in Baton Rouge at the Tech Park’s video game incubator, Level Up Labs.

RECESS!
Whoever said play was just for kids had it all wrong! The playtime experts from the Knock Knock Children’s Museum brought some adult-sized toys to help attendees let off a little steam and maybe learn a little, too!

SESSION ONE
It is SHOW TIME! Here are a few images of our first few speakers. If you want to learn more about each of them, head here. Their official TEDxLSU talks will be added to YouTube soon. We will share as soon as they are posted!

BRAIN BREAK
Our "Brain Break" is the time between sessions where attendees could refuel and recharge. Highlights of the activities and bites included:

Write a note, inspire a stranger- After watching Hannah Brencher’s TED@NewYork Talk in the theater, attendees took a turn crafting their own notes with postcards, compliments of Emprint.
Book bar- Our friends from LSU Barnes & Noble set up a TEDx book bar for attendees to stock their bookshelves with TED-worthy reads.
TEDxLSU photo booth- Attendees said “cheese” at the beCAPTURED photo booth! Check out all the smiles!
Refuel and recharge- After a face-melting first session, attendees were able to refuel with complimentary Community Coffee iced tea and coffee, and bites and treats from Whole Foods, Big Squeezy and Smoothie King.

SHOW TIME, PART 2
The second set of speakers took to the stage and shared their amazing ideas and powerful stories. Which one was your favorite?

POST-SHOW EXPERIENCE
Just because the Talks were over didn't mean the experience was! Attendees were treated to food and beverage demonstrations from our friends from Beausoleil, Cane Land Distilling Company, City Pork, Driftwood Cask & Barrel, Iverstine Farms, Red Stick Spice Company, and Tin Roof Brewing Co.

Did you know...a group of students are created original pieces translating today’s Talks into visual art. They did all of this in real-time, and then displayed their artwork in the Refract gallery during the post-show experience.

BEHIND THE SCENES...
Did you love the stage experience as much as we did?? To reflect the 2018 theme “refract,” Wes Kennison and the Launch Media team crafted a mesmerizing title sequence that gave us a refracted explosion of sights and sounds, along with a frenetic set design that James Hohensee from Boscoyo Studio lent his talents and the LEDs toward.

Smile for the camera- Ideas from TEDxLSU will soon live on the TEDx YouTube channel, thanks to DigitalFX, the region’s leading visual effects and post production studio. Since 2014, they’ve been dedicated to capturing the best side of TEDxLSU speakers and sharing it out with the world.

THE MAKING OF TEDxLSU 2018
Since the inaugural TEDxLSU in 2013, it has become a centrifuge of 100+ team members from all walks of life: creators, makers, students, educators, designers, writers, business leaders, foodies, side hustlers, and jacks/jills-of-all-trades. The team you saw throughout the space and operating behind the scenes dedicated hours, weeks and months to the experience. Their goal - create something that celebrates and elevates the
spirit and ideas of the Baton Rouge community.

Did you enjoy the program? Someone wrote it, someone edited it, and another someone designed it, along with all the other materials you’ve encountered in various settings across the city.
Did you feel the feels or think the things during a Talk? Your speakers practiced for this, and a crew of word wizards and visual communicators supported them.
Are you wowed by TEDxLSU Talk videos you watch online, as well as the set design and all the amazing lounge activities you experienced? Multiple teams collaborated to produce those with you in mind.
Did you admire the enthusiasm and know-how of the people around you wearing red shirts? They trained for this, and other team members signed on specifically to guide them.
Were you inspired by the people you connected with and the conversations you engaged in? This is part of TEDx too — your actions and ideas, today and every day.

Cheers to our rockstar lineup of speakers and brilliant community partners who helped make TEDxLSU 2018 possible! And special thanks to James Hohensee, Caitie Burkes, Becky Carmichael, Kevin DiBenedetto, Pat Fellows, SK Groll, Mimi Guercio, Rachel Henry, Morgan Kastner, Regina Leingang, Leigh Anne Nugent, Erik Scharff, Kimberly Bourque Valliere, Jordan Vernon, and Ashlyn Verrette.

And the biggest thanks goes to YOU, our attendees. Without your support, your applause for the speakers, your engagement with us on social media, your wearing of the TEDxLSU t-shirt long after March 3, your passion for Baton Rouge, and your love of TED and TEDx talks, none of this would be possible.

Thank you from the bottom of our TEDxLSU-filled hearts. We're exhausted, energized and excited.

See you in 2019!

Video: How Jazz-based Cellist and Vocalist Helen Gillet Blends Eclectic Styles to Forge Her Own Sound

2/12/2018

Words by: Jeremy Harper
Picture provided by: Helen Gillet
Video production by: roberthannant.com

Jazz-based cellist, singer, composer and improviser Helen Gillet grew up in Belgium, Singapore, Chicago and Wisconsin, but has set deep roots in New Orleans over the past decade and a half. The TEDxLSU 2018 speaker has has forged a path for the cello in the Big Easy music scene through performing her own eclectic mix of French, contemporary jazz, North Indian, blues and classical styles.

The native of Belgium launched her career as an improviser, singer and cellist with the North Hindustani vocal ragas of the late 90s, which introduced her to the world of improvisational jazz, funk, rock and French music — all of which are major components of her music stylings today.

She has performed extensively across the United States and Western Europe, collaborated with some of the biggest names in popular music and recorded music for several films. Her compelling live performances can shift seamlessly between layered loops of cello lines and rhythms to an understated French song from her Belgian childhood.

“I’m just me now,” she says in this short video. “I’m just playing my own music — and it feels amazing.”

To learn more about Helen or about TEDxLSU 2018, follow TEDxLSU on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Reserve your seat now to listen to see Helen’s performance, as well as the talks of all of the other TEDxLSU 2018 speakers.

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