How did QLab come to be made? What is its origin story?

After my year at Actors Theatre of Louisville I went back to graduate school to get some more edumacation about dem computers. Some of my buddies from the apprentice program went off to start a small theater company. They dropped me a line one day asking for a playback application that ran on a Mac. I thought I could just do a Google search and find them something, but it didn’t turn out to be that easy. I wasn’t really enjoying my research at the time, and I thought, hell, how hard could this be? So I took it on as a side project with a friend (Jesse Kriss). We churned that thing out in a matter of weeks. You’d never want to use that version now, but hey, it did the job at the time.

QLab 1 was incredibly successful very quickly what do you attribute that to?

Three reasons:

- It filled a massively unsatisfied need in the market.

- Much of the functionality was free.

- The quality of the product was pretty good.

What do you consider your biggest accomplishment is with QLab?

The speed with which it was adopted as a standard tool in the industry.

(I was initially going to say the biggest accomplishment is the close-knit user community, but that wasn’t my accomplishment, that was you guys.)

The much anticipated QLab 2 recently launched to many designer’s glee, what do you hope to accomplish with this version?

To keep kickin’ butt? Seriously, though, version 2 is bringing in a whole new wave of users. I think it’s going to be the cornerstone of a healthy company, and will let me build Figure 53 into a slightly larger small company.

QLab has been accepted in the community theatre level all the way to Broadway and the West End who is your biggest demographic and why do you think that is?

My biggest demographic right now is live theater. I don’t know the breakdown within that category because so many people use it for free.

You made some great changes and additions to QLab with version 2 and I know you just shipped it however looking into the future what would QLab 3 hold?

I never know how to answer that question either. It’s impossible to predict software that far in advance. I’m lucky if I can accurately predict what I’ll get done by the end of the week. Do I have a few big things I’d like to see in the next big update? Sure. But whether I ultimately add those particular big things, or some completely different set of big things, I don’t yet know. And if I set one expectation today and it ends up being something else next year, someone would be mad at me.

I would like to thank Chris for taking the time to provide some extremely thoughtful answers to my questions. I am very much looking forward to what Figure 53 has in store for us in the future. Please come back here soon to see what I have in store for the future. Hint: more interviews and more about my life as a sound designer.

Why do you use a Mac and what got you started in programming?

I started using a Mac because that’s what my dad bought. I didn’t want him to buy it; I desperately wanted a computer that would play video games. I was really disappointed when he went with the Mac. In my old room back home I’ve got his old Tandy, an Apple II, a Mac Plus, and down in the basement is an LC 475, a Performa…you get the idea.

My first programming experience was in BASIC on the either the Tandy or the Apple–I forget which one. It was basically a pastiche program where I started mindlessly writing lines of code, adding anything I could at whatever point I happened to think of it. So, you know, start with a PRINT statement, and then a little choose-your-own-adventure style action, and oh, hey, now let’s play a little synthesized tune because I got to that part in the manual. I left that computer plugged in for a few days because I didn’t want the program to die and we didn’t have a disk drive.

What is your favorite piece of software?

The software that runs my digital watch. I don’t wear a watch anymore except when I run, but even when I wore it daily it had *exactly* the features I wanted, and zero bugs. It’s as close to perfect as any piece of software I’ve ever used.

What kind of Windows programming knowledge and experience do you have?

I have zero experience programming on Windows.

Any particular reason why not?

I’ve just never had any reason to learn. I used Macs at home and Linux machines at work and school.

What is the best thing you like about developing for the Mac?

Cocoa. Objective C.

Why is that?

They allow me to focus on solving my own problems, because they have most of the basic cookie-cutter problems already solved.

What is the worst thing you hate about developing for the Mac?

Quicktime. Exciting but buggy new APIs.

Is that related to Quicktime X? Are there any new features in Quicktime that have you really excited for QLab’s future development?

No, it’s not related to Quicktime X. (And I couldn’t tell you about it if it was!)

Quicktime X is supposed to clean up Quicktime, and I hope they succeed. Quicktime has been around a long, long time, and although it is very powerful it is also a monstrous beast of a framework, hairy warts and all.

It is certainly a good sign that Apple decided to spend an entire release cycle fixing bugs. OS X is chock full of amazing features right now, but they don’t all work as advertised. It is exactly the right time to focus on smoothing out the wrinkles. I’m very pleased they made that move. Now I just hope it works.

Do you read any Mac community blogs or websites?

No.

Why not?

Because it’s just a computer company. In the grand scheme of things, news about Apple is not very interesting news.

My blog reading falls into these categories:

- Friends

- Baltimore

- Programming / Design / Entrepreneurship

- Politics

- XKCD

- Theater

There are a multitude of Mac audio applications from all sizes of companies for all skill levels, that do all kinds of things to audio like Amadeus, Fusion, MaxMSP, WireTap Studio, soundflower, etc what do you attribute that to?

OS X is a great development environment for audio. The CoreAudio team really did a fantastic job, and developing on OS X is, in general, a really rewarding experience. You can get a lot done in a very short period of time.

Apple’s App Store has caused quite the “gold rush” and has brought developers from all over the world with all kinds of backgrounds to Cocoa and mac development how do you see this affecting the desktop apps that will be developed for the Mac in the future?

You can already see design lessons from the iPhone coming into desktop applications. For example, look at the desktop version of Tweetie: that’s a great desktop app that has many iPhone influences.

In general I think we’ll see a certain re-commitment to deep simplicity. Mac culture has always had that in its genes, but I think all the work on iPhone apps will reconfirm that philosophy.

Do you see yourself entering the iPhone/iPod Touch development world? If so in what way would it be related to QLab or a new product all together?

Not until Apple opens up the platform. They’ve got a beautiful platform, but as long as I can’t be sure that my hard work would actually show up in the App Store, I’m not touching it.

Along those same lines what are some of the other apps in the Figure53 development pipeline?

Oh, I’ve got a few ideas in the works.

Many consider programming an art from in and of it self how do you see it? Are Java, Coca, .Net etc. the oil paints of the 21st century or are they the nuts and bolts that help make time saving appliances like a dishwasher or other items like that?

If I had to pick one or the other, I’d call it an art that requires engineering. Because the end goal is an artistic goal: the creation of an artistic vision. A highly functional artistic vision, but still an artistic vision.

I love it when a museum curates a show on the design of functional things. They’ll have irons and scissors and cars all up on display. Those things are functional art, which is especially interesting to me because it is art that must exist in service to something else. You could see that as a limitation, or you could see that as a way to keep you honest. I prefer to see it as the latter.

Finally Where do you come down on the Macbooks without firewire? Is this something Apple will stick to? Or do you think we will see firewire return with the next refresh? Do you think it was a good idea to remove it in the first place?

I’ve never really wanted to purchase a MacBook, so I don’t have a strong personal reaction to it. I always prefer to buy as much computer at any one time as I can afford, and then I hold on to it for awhile.

The next post will cover the program that changed sound design as we know it; QLab and its origins.

Give us a little bit of a bio for the man behind QLab.

I’m a Louisville Kentucky kid. In college I intended to be a computer science major but found I was spending more time doing theater, so I made it official and got a double major. Then I went back to Louisville as an apprentice at Actors Theatre of Louisville for a year. After that I decided I wanted health insurance so I went back to grad school to get a masters in CS.

Do you come from an artistic family or are they more the analytical type?

Very artistic. My dad is an amazing musician, musicologist, and teacher. We have pictures of me and my sister in pajama-onesies (that kind with the feet built in, where you had to zip up the side), and we’re dancing while he plays the harpsichord after dinner. That was a pretty typical after-dinner activity for us. My sister got his talent, and she is also an amazing musician. My mom might be the most analytical–she’s always investigating the world around her, collecting information, picking it apart, analyzing it. She’s a scientist at heart.

What are your 3-5 desert island discs or gear and why?

I never know how to answer that question.

Who is your mentor/idol and why?

I try not to idolize anyone too much. That doesn’t mean I haven’t had some extraordinary teachers in my life–I have, and I’m grateful for it. I feel like teachers are terribly undervalued. That saying “if you can’t do, teach” is nonsense. In college I saw a stunning production of Hamlet on a trip to London with the National Theatre Institute. It was the kind of performance that helped define my relationship to theater. It was amazing. In a talk-back after the performance, one of the actors pulled out that saying. He said it while standing next to some of the most incredible teachers I’ve ever had the luck to know. It pissed me off something awful. I think teaching is probably the most common act of selflessness that human beings exercise on a day-to-day basis, and that makes it one of the most remarkable things we do as humans.

What was the best theatrical experience you’ve seen or been a part of?

It’s hard to pick favorites, so I won’t. In the interest of not completely dodging the question, I’ll say I was proud of the production of Art I contributed to for my senior project. The three guys played all three roles, and we switched it up so it was a new permutation each night. It was pretty cool.

Please walk us through your average work day.

The first part of the day is pretty clear-cut. I wake up somewhere between 5:30 and 8:00 AM and immediately check my email for any urgent questions. Even if there’s nothing urgent, there are usually a few inquiries that have rolled in from Australia and Europe overnight.

After that, every day can be different. Some days I spend coding. Some days will be working on the website. Some days will be designing. Some days will be filing taxes. Some days will be developing ideas for new applications. Some days will be nothing but writing emails. Some days will be a mix of all these things.

The one constant is keeping an eye on the support mailbox. Every day, all day long, I’m constantly checking to see if anyone needs help. That’s the one thing every day has in common.

What was the moment or event that made you leave your previous job to work at Figure53 full time?

There was one specific meeting at my last day job that triggered it. I had been thinking about going full time for months and months: planning, saving money, talking about it with my wife, talking about it with a financial advisor, considering the alternatives, fretting about health insurance and job security. But I knew the time was coming. The pressure had been mounting for a long time. Working two full time jobs was burning me out.

There was one particular day, a kickoff for a new project that I was supposed to lead. I sat in that meeting thinking: “This project is exactly what this company should be working on. And it is exactly the last thing in the world that I want to spend any amount of my life doing.” So I came in the next morning and handed in my notice.

By the time I went full time I had very little to fear. I jumped with care, and didn’t jump too early. It was a joyous moment, and I suddenly had twice as much energy to invest in my own work. I can’t imagine doing anything else now.

How did your family react to you leaving your old job and becoming your own boss

They were very excited and supportive. It’s funny, my dad secretly reads the QLab mailing list almost every day. When we talk on the phone he’ll ask me if I was able to solve the problem of Mr. Such-and-such, and it’ll take me a second to think “wait, how do -you- know about Mr. Such-and-such?!” Maybe I should hire him as tech support when he retires from teaching.

Where do you see Figure53 in 5 years and then 10 years?

In five years I expect Figure 53 to be a small team of developers and designers, working on a variety of products.

In ten years I expect it to be similar. I don’t want the company to get too big.

Describe your design process for a piece of software.

Designing, for me, usually means working away from a computer. It may mean I’m working entirely on paper for a day, or it may even mean I’m lolling about looking very lazy.

I don’t like to jump in to write code until I have a very specific idea of exactly what I’m going to write. So when creating something new I’ll spend time running, walking, eating, whatever. The functional pieces need to get carved out in your imagination before you start representing them in code.

In contrast, if I’m in the thick of implementing an idea, or if I’m chasing a nasty bug, I may be glued to the machine for a week or two at a time. That’s when the obsession kicks in, when you stop shaving and forget to eat, because by god you’re going to build this thing or kill this bug, and you can’t step away because the minute you step away from the computer a piece of the puzzle falls out of your mind.

My design process is also tightly tied to user feedback. I don’t see how you can design good software without a tight feedback loop. But the early stages, where I need to set down the overall vision, philosophy, and architecture, are a very personal period. That period can be very odd to watch from the outside.

Who do you consider your direct competitors and why?

Stage Research is obviously a very strong and very admirable competitor in this market. There are others, but I think SFX is my most direct competition.

I’m grateful that they are the competition; they are good guys and they do good work. I think we are engaged in a very healthy kind of competition which benefits us and benefits our customers.

Stay tuned for the next post when Chris and I talk about developing for the Mac and other OS X platforms.