Use of video in the theatre

[Nick S]

Hi all

I'm giving a presentation next week about the use of video in theatre, be it projection, live camera feeds, etc. I was wondering if anyone had any good examples of shows that had used video in an innovative way, or just used existing methods to get a great effect (any pictures and I'd be a very happy man). I can think of several myself, but I'm sure there will be things I've never heard of before that people will come out with here.

[blamelewis]

Hi Nick,

 

As you're US based I'd suggest looking to the work of Builder's Association - their show Supervision used video extensively and immersively. It's a huge field so I'd suggest you choose one or a few companies to focus on, or perhaps contrast different styles of video use. The giant of the field is Robert LePage and his work continues to be astounding and innovative.

 

If it's useful to you, I've recently designed video effects for a show about to tour Scotland called "How To Steal A Diamond". We use video effects projected in several places around the stage, onto objects carried by performers and onto performers themselves. I'd be happy to give you pics from the show to illustrate your presentation - perhaps we should talk off list a bit first to see if the effects we used are pertinent to your area of study - mail me at tim at voxmotus dot co dot uk.

 

With best wishes

 

Tim

[mac.calder]

Well, I did a show a couple of years ago which I posted some questions about here - we used a camera with 2.4gHz sender to provide both a live feed, and to mix a montage for the end of the show. The show was a lot like Rent (in fact I am sure that was where the playwrite got the idea) - with a narator who was a camera man. It worked really well - we used two projection screens, one each side of the stage, and an interferance generator to pump out the grainy no signal bit between scenes (due to the fact that the director wanted the projection 'active' at all times).

 

It was fun and provided a number of technical challenges (one of which being the creation of the montage before the show ended.

[paulears]

I saw a piece from one of the unis (I have forgotten which one now)

 

The performance consisted of live action in front of a painted, plain white background. The background was projected on. In one sequence, the image was of a street scene, the camera in the middle of the street, looking into the distance with cars on both sides. Slowly, a traffic warden appeared in the distance walking towards the camera, the actor walked right up to the camera, then a door cut into the background opened, and the traffic warden walked onto the stage. This kind of thing continued - actors climbing up stepladders, then opening a 'projected door' - quite clever, perhaps a little overdone . The wall appeared to be a simple mdf panel matrix with all sorts of shape and size doors cut into it. How on earth they calculated the angles and got the perspective right, I haven't a clue. The projector was a single barco projecting down at a steep angle - so image deformations were done (I seem to remember after effects being the tool here), along with top to bottom intensity compensation. It worked stunningly.

 

I wish I could remember which place did it - I have a feeling it could of been salford - and would have been roland metcalf, but I'm brain dead at the moment (so if it wasn't roland, and was somebody else, then I'm sorry)

[timperrett]

An amazing use of projection in theatre was by Theatre de Complicite in The Elephant Vanishes - check out www.complicite.org for more info on that.

 

You can also read my dissertation on the subject: www.timperrett.co.uk/dissertation.pdf on the use of projection in theatre.

[jewett18]

hello

 

here's a book you can download as a pdf - "Live Movies"

 

I've just started reading it - pretty good so far

 

http://www.avt.gmu.edu/mps/

 

also - look up

 

'House Lights' by the wooster group

 

Trokia Ranch (dance and technology group)

 

you can look at my site as well:

 

www.lostwax.org

 

good luck

jamie

[sven]

If you still need pix from shows mentioned by tim, say "measure for measure" or "woman in white", etc or others I have been involved in let me know. there are some examples on my site (www.mesmer.co.uk) , if you're interested.

good luck with your presentation.

Sven

[Modge]

Most Minimal use I've been involved in:

A clock for on the town, the musical. Could just as easily have been a prop clock but was instead projected on the pros. A bit cleaner and a lot easier than the mechanical version, I'd say on balance a little better than if it had been done by hand.

Most "Full on" use I've seen (as a punter): A gig at Birmingham's custard factory, where the only front light came from a single projector, playing video, which fitted the music. It had a lot of white in the video and it was a beast of a projector (model unnoticed, but at least 10K lumans if I was a betting man). Worked well in my book though I (partially being me) concentrated maybe more on the video than the band would have liked.

[beware]

The latest "We Are Klang" at the Edinburgh Fringe this year (while not really theatre) did some excellent projector play - they had a screen which they went through and then appeared on the video. Yes, it's been done before, but they had it really down to a T, and they did it so often and in different ways, they managed to confuse us all by adding time travel etc. and having the 'older' actors (when they were writing the script) arguing with the actors doing the show.

 

Awesome. sorry no links or pictures.

[Just Some Bloke]

For live camera feeds, the funniest has to be Return To The Forbidden Planet, complete with cheap models of distant planets. Don't know if that ever made it to the US. I suspect it's quite British in humour.

[GridGirl]

KAOS's Richard III used projection very cleverly - single projector sitting on the front of the stage, but various cloths on tab tracks to project onto, the cloth movements were timed in with the projections. They also had a newsreader sitting at a desk holding a piece of paper which had a talking head projected onto it - as the speech ended the newsreader crumpled up the piece of paper, making the head disappear. I can't remember any more details but I was impressed with the way it had all been thought out at the time!

[WillW]

Coast of Utopia (National Theatre), was probably the best example of simple projected backdrop I've ever seen. They had a part-circle projection screen around the back of the revolve in the Olivier. They spent a lot of money have 3D rendered backdrops made, which worked beautifully with what was on stage. E.g. one scene was set up US on the revolve and another DS. The US dialogue happenned to the back drop of a lake, then as the revolve turned to bring the other set of people US the backdrop turned in sync bringing the house the second group were sitting in front of into view.

Again there were doors cut into the backdrop and the doors projected on top.