Author Topic: ARTICLE: Technology in Theater (projections)  (Read 8323 times)

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MatthewShiner

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Anything posted here as in my own personal opinion, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of my employer - whomever they be at a given moment in time.

Maribeth

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Re: ARTICLE: Technology in Theater (projections)
« Reply #1 on: Mar 27, 2012, 11:47 am »
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qExGC7Lpc7g

Here's a clip of a production that uses projections and video to interact with the actors and create a 3D effect. I think the effect is pretty astonishing- I can only imagine the planning and prep that went into creating it!

loebtmc

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Re: ARTICLE: Technology in Theater (projections)
« Reply #2 on: Mar 27, 2012, 01:01 pm »
wow. that is really amazing, and magnificent! And a little terrifying - wonder what the SM is calling!?

Bwoodbury

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Re: ARTICLE: Technology in Theater (projections)
« Reply #3 on: Mar 29, 2012, 05:44 pm »
wonder what the SM is calling!?

This. I'm also really curious as to what the op situation is.

Mac Calder

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Re: ARTICLE: Technology in Theater (projections)
« Reply #4 on: Mar 29, 2012, 06:57 pm »
Something like that would most likely be run using a system like watchout - which is a linear timeline based playback system and the cues would all be regular "go" cues to advance between pause points on the timeline. It would be much like a dance, where timing and blocking is crucial on the actors part because you cannot adjust the projections on the fly.

It was hard to tell from the clip whether there is orchestration involved - but if there was any live music, normally you would place click inside the playback program - and often any of the "fill" music as well. If it was all playback, then everything would sit inside the video playback program to ensure that the music timing and projection matched 100%.

The biggest problem with interacting with projection is the fact that live theatre can start to be a lot less "live" due to the rigid nature of projections. It is something that Cirque du Soliel and a number of other innovative companies are really keen on experimenting with using various sensors and motion capture systems to make projection dynamic.

Maribeth

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Re: ARTICLE: Technology in Theater (projections)
« Reply #5 on: Mar 29, 2012, 07:37 pm »
Mac, thanks for the info. Someone showed me this clip a while ago and I've been curious about how much flexibility there is in such an intricately timed show.

The biggest problem with interacting with projection is the fact that live theatre can start to be a lot less "live" due to the rigid nature of projections. It is something that Cirque du Soliel and a number of other innovative companies are really keen on experimenting with using various sensors and motion capture systems to make projection dynamic.

A projection designer I worked with recently wanted to experiment with this- he wanted to try using the same technology that the Xbox Kinect uses to interact with projections.

missliz

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Re: ARTICLE: Technology in Theater (projections)
« Reply #6 on: Mar 29, 2012, 10:20 pm »
Wind-Up Bird Chronicles used it too, and it looked amazing. Really added to the feel of the play, I think.

http://youtu.be/-YkCB4Z5GG8
I personally would like to bring a tortoise onto the stage, turn it into a racehorse, then into a hat, a song, a dragon and a fountain of water. One can dare anything in the theatre and it is the place where one dares the least. -Ionesco

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Re: ARTICLE: Technology in Theater (projections)
« Reply #7 on: Mar 30, 2012, 06:57 pm »
newbielink:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qExGC7Lpc7g [nonactive]

Here's a clip of a production that uses projections and video to interact with the actors and create a 3D effect. I think the effect is pretty astonishing- I can only imagine the planning and prep that went into creating it!
Thant is incredible! I loved it on video, I imagine how would the effect be while watching it live. You get captivated, but is yet a thrilling and strange sensation. I have seen some mapping process on buildings that create the 4D projection effect for an audience, but mixing this with live actors is a hard to accomplish. Thanks for sharing!