COSTA MESA, CA - JULY 31, 2009 After hours of carnival games, roller coasters, funnel cakes and deep fried Snickers bars, what could be better than sitting in an air conditioned theater to watch an informative, entertaining 3-D movie? This is what you can do July 10 through August 9 at the OC Fairin Costa Mesa, California. “Al's Brain - A 3-D Journey Through The Human Brain with ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic” is an original, 10-minute 3-D movie about the brain written by, directed by and starring Yankovic. The movie features a new brain-themed song and his first-ever 3-D music video. The 500-seat theater’s custom designed sixteen-channel audio system completes the experience. The Lynx Aurora 16 converter was chosen by Sound Media Fusion for the sound system’s crucial digital to analog audio conversion.

Industry veteran Gary Hardesty of Los Angeles based Sound Media Fusion (www.soundmediafusion.com) designed the video, audio and lighting systems as well as manages the daily production of the show. Installation was aided by Mode Systems of Burbank. The audio/video program is stored and played using an Electrosonic ES9600 HD Player, which outputs sixteen digital audio channels to the Aurora 16 for conversion to analog. The sixteen analog outputs from the Aurora 16 are fed to a Presonus StudioLive 1642 mixer to Media Matrix breakout box and system processor to sixteen powered JBL speakers placed throughout the “Brainitorium”. This provides a truly surrounding audio experience to enhance the 3-D visuals.

“When I left the studio, I needed the ability to do a final mixdown in our theater at the fair. This is not a typical surround application, and since this room is much larger than the studio, this final mix was necessary,”explained Hardesty. “The Aurora 16 came into play, as our Electrosonic ES9600 video server has only digital outputs and our matrix and equalization system can only accept analog inputs.”

“The experience has been excellent – we get about 14,000 people a day coming through and we have had no problems,” Hardesty said. “No one has made a traveling 3-D show of this caliber before.”

The attraction is free with admission to the OC Fair and open to visitors during all operating hours throughout the fair's full run, July 10 - August 9.

Background on “Al’s Brain”

The 2009 OC Super Fair is the debut of a new themed attraction and exhibit on the human brain called “Al's Brain - A 3-D Journey Through The Human Brain with ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic.” In the grand tradition of fairs and expos, “Al's Brain” combines entertainment and education in its exploration of this universal subject.

“This is the first time an attraction of this scope and magnitude has been created for a fair, by a fair,” said OC Fair CEO Steve Beazley. Beazley had been talking to Yankovic for years, trying to collaborate because the performer has been one of the most popular fair attractions. Jay Levey, Yankovic's longtime manager, originally conceived of the attraction and serves as its producer.

More than 400,000 fairgoers are expected to visit the “Al's Brain” attraction at the OC Fair in 2009, after which it will travel to other fairs, festivals and science centers throughout the world.

For more information, visit alsbrain.com or ocfair.com.