The 2019 Worm Show

CL and MM
Curtis Loer and Morris Maduro at the Worm Show, June 23, 2019.
Click here to watch on YouTube.

This was the seventh Worm Show to take place at an International Meeting. It is not known if there will be another one. Links to all the shows can be found here. Below are other comments and trivia on the 2019 show.

Worm Show Megamix 2019

megamix screenshot

The 'DJ Mix' that was playing as people filed into Royce was made by Morris using a Pioneer DDJ-SR2 controller. It was made in five separate pieces then edited together. The video is a composite of a view of the mixer plus the top part of the Serato DJPro screen. You can download the video here. It plays fine through Dropbox on a web browser, but the sound quality is much better if it is downloaded and played from a computer. Most song transitions were made by looping the first song, fading in the second, and fading out the first, made simpler by adjusting songs to 128 beats per minute. The DDJ-SR2 and similar are mostly USB controllers - the real work is done by the software in the computer.

  • We had finished up the script and the second half of the 'UCLA tribute' video around 5pm, the closest we have ever worked to the start of the show.
  • First Worm Show to be presented in 16:9 Full HD and also posted to YouTube in 1920x1080.
  • We returned to the "Star Wars" opening and closing as a way to pay tribute to the first Worm Show in 2005 and also because, somewhat fortuitously, Star Wars has re-entered our popular culture. Plus the title "The Farce Awakens" was just too apt to pass up. In another coincidence this was the 7th worm show, making 'Episode VII' make even more sense.
  • 14:11 - "Cs" wine is a real cabernet sauvignon. Search for 'Substance Cabernet Sauvignon'.
  • 28:13 - "What the Fork" is a clever way of saying "what the f**k" and they are real decals for cars.
  • Between Two Worms is copied from "Between Two Ferns" with a lot taken from the interview with Ben Stiller. "This one goes to eleven" is a reference to the Rob Reiner film Spinal Tap (1984) at about 1'20" in this video. We are also reasonably sure that Magenta Fluorescent Protein cannot exist in any practical sense (i.e. derived by mutation from existing fluorescent proteins). It would require emission of high amounts light at two disparate wavelengths, i.e. both blue and red. Fluorochromes typically have one maximal emission peak, and blue and red are very far apart in the visible spectrum. Two fluorescent proteins together could add up to magenta with the right proteins and filter sets, but a single protein would have a FRET problem with emission from the blue fluorochrome getting absorbed by the red one. If someone finds a magenta fluorescent protein in the literature let Morris know (mmaduro@ucr.edu).
  • As alluded to in the 'Posters' video, the Talking Shark in this bit is a knock-off of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, voiced by comedian/writer Robert Smigel. A sample video is here. We think the Shark bit was a bit misunderstood, but he was a lot of fun to do.
  • The Worm Passion Chorale was recorded in a room at the Carnesale Commons using a pair of AKG condenser mics in an 'XY stereo' setup. The recording shown was take 3 of 3. MM and CL recorded additional tenor and bass parts (both singing on each part) in two separate recordings, which were mixed in at low volume to make the final recording.
  • The audience and wide views were recorded with two Canon HFG10 camcorders. The close-up view of CL and MM was recorded with a Canon XC10. A Zoom H6 recorder was used to take direct input from the Shure SM58 mics used by CL and MM, and another small pair of condenser mics was used to record the audience. The XC10 was used for the videos made at UCLA with additional shots from the HFG10s. All recordings were made in 1920x1080x30p. The XC10 records video in 4:2:2 color subsampling which results in much sharper video. All video (including the YouTube post) was edited with Magix Vegas 15 Pro. This is the only Worm Show video (so far) uploaded in full HD (1920x1080).
  • MM played a Yamaha P105 electronic piano and recorded the vocals for the Maroon 5 song "Leaving California" a couple days before the meeting. Synthesized strings and electric bass (also on the P105) were added to the recording.
  • The hit count on any of the worm show videos seems to be inflated compared to the amount of people who would really be interested. Looking at the analytics, only about 20% of the YouTube hits involve watching more than a few minutes of the show. Presumably the hit count is driven by YouTube suggesting the video to non-scientists who click on the link but then quickly realize it is not something they want to watch.

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last updated 9-2-2019