Survey about projection

[Melanie]

Hi guys, I was wondering if you could help me out with my uni-project (How did multimedia stage performance develop and where is it headed?) again, I got a few questions for those of you who have used projection in plays/performance, they are pretty basic and it would help me a lot if some of you could answer them. I'm not looking for huge essays (though if you would like to write a long answer I won't stop you). I will credit you with your full name and position unless you would rather I don't.

 

When I say 'multimedia' in the questions I mean mainly projection. Here it goes.

 

1.When was the first time you considered using projection in theatre and who inspired you to use it?

 

2.How many multimedia plays (including projection) have you staged? What were they and which was technically most challenging?

 

3.Which problems did you encounter and how were they resolved?

 

4.What is your position on theatre getting more cinematic, have you discussed this with your colleagues and did they voice an opinion?

 

5.Do you think cinema and theatre will merge and if so will it eventually just be one and the same?

 

6.Have multimedia elements enhanced the story telling and set design and what has it added to the play?

 

7.Which of the multimedia plays you staged was the:

- most successful?

- most talked about?

- most successful for you?

 

8.What future do you predict for multimedia theatre/where do you think it is headed in the future?

 

Thank you so much for your help.

Melanie

[Johnno]

I'm a secondary school technician and we use front-projected backdrops for our school plays. Does that count in your definition of multimedia?

 

I mention it because the reason we do it is that the drama teacher thinks that opening and closing curtains and manipulating scenery detracts from the flow of the play. So our props are changed in the dark but in full view of the audience, and large shadows flit prominently across the cyc wall's pictures when actors traverse the projection beam. The "scenery" itself is just pictures from the internet though I nearly persuaded the teacher to hold a competition to design some. I'll probably win that battle eventually as some scenes are hard to find.

 

I think that at our rudimentary level of expertise projection detracts somewhat from the childrens' experience of theatre.

 

I leave it to you to figure out who is right :biggrin:

 

John.

[Ynot]

Hi guys, I was wondering if you could help me out with my uni-project (How did multimedia stage performance develop and where is it headed?) again, I got a few questions for those of you who have used projection in plays/performance,

Well, you've scored one with me for a starter - so many college/uni students post here without making it clear it's a project and also expecting reams of feedback which amounts to us actually doing the thing!

Your approach is in fact refreshing in that you're up front and have asked specific questions - ie more of a survey.

 

So - here goes....

 

1.When was the first time you considered using projection in theatre and who inspired you to use it?

We've used projection many times for different projects. The prime driver for the regular use was the fact that we have a freelance video cameraman/producer in our ranks which has encouraged us to experiment.

2.How many multimedia plays (including projection) have you staged? What were they and which was technically most challenging?

Many - mostly with a projection as part of the show. Including:

Panto - Aladdin - projected the lips of the genie of the ring onto a circular screen (within, you guessed it - a large ring!) which was mounted front of the prosc.

Stars in their eyes type thing - screen above the smoky doors with live camera when the acts were on, plus the recorded intro's.

Forbidden Planet - rear projection USC for within the spacecraft

Panto again - Jack & Beanstalk - this one had a narrator in the form of a newsreader complete with 'newsreel' screen above his head.

Panto - (see the thread here..?:)) - Pied piper - this is one in the planning/execution stage at the mo - next month we'll be projecting a moving image of hunderds of rats onto the stage floor as the piper sends them to the river - this could well be the most challenging as we've needed to work out the angles of the projection differently.

 

3.Which problems did you encounter and how were they resolved?

As we use projection simply, we don't encounter too many problems. One obvious one is keystoning the image, but with a decent LCD proj that's not a huge issue. Another is achieving a proper full blackout of the projection, but with a DMX shutter (as is being built by one of our team as I type) that sorts that one out.

4.What is your position on theatre getting more cinematic, have you discussed this with your colleagues and did they voice an opinion?

Projections are just another tool in the box for theatre, and as a 'special' they should really be used sparingly. It soon gets boring if you have the same sort of thing every time.

In one of the panto's, as a change from the norm, we had the song sheet projected onto a drop-down screen. But before that, and with a pretty stretched plot (it was Robinson Crusoe after all), we showed an 'in-flight safety film' as the cast were picked up from the desert island by the ship's captain's brother's airplane :D

5.Do you think cinema and theatre will merge and if so will it eventually just be one and the same?

Nope - not at all.

There's a potential for crossover in the mediums that are used, but there's a HUGE difference between live acting and movies. Film actors can't always hack it on stage and vice versa - the disciplines are in many ways very different.

6.Have multimedia elements enhanced the story telling and set design and what has it added to the play?

Yes - in every case we used the projections to enhance the show - otherwise we wouldn't use it! I'm not in favour of using technology just cos we have it!

 

7.Which of the multimedia plays you staged was the:

- most successful?

All of our uses of mm were succesful in what they set out to achieve.- most talked about?

I suspect that the floor full of rats may well become the most talked about if it works as well as planned!- most successful for you?

See above.

 

8.What future do you predict for multimedia theatre/where do you think it is headed in the future?

There is room for better use of projection, with the increasingly bright machines that are emerging.

I know some places have used this in place of backdrops, though as a FP, this has obvious pitfalls. RP backdrops would be better in a way, but that is restricted to those theatres with adequate space behind them.

I prefer to think of projections as part of the toolbax, for specific gags/uses etc.

 

Anyway - hope this helps.

TD

[Colin in the UK]

Im a bit of a pioneer of this idea, so I couldnt resist (though Im from conference and event background rather than plays/stage etc)

 

1.When was the first time you considered using projection in theatre and who inspired you to use it?

When video projectors first came out - thought to myself "wow, we can have moving scenery, interaction with cartoons etc"

 

2.How many multimedia plays (including projection) have you staged? What were they and which was technically most challenging?

4 conferences with projected images as the virtual set

 

3.Which problems did you encounter and how were they resolved?

Lighting on the screens and subjects, brightness of the projectors, image quality, synching and animation formats

We had a good lighting guy, but took a few to get it bang on. Projectors just keep getting brighter and cheaper :)

Computers get more powerful and projectors higher res

We bought a Watchout and used that for synching and control etc. We have just sold the Watchout and are now writing our own software to do exactly what we need for the next event this Feb 07.

 

4.What is your position on theatre getting more cinematic, have you discussed this with your colleagues and did they voice an opinion?

It is happening and will happen more as projectors get cheaper and better (brighter/definition) I believe that projection and LED walls may eventually replace painted sets in some shows as it becomes cheaper and easier and quicker to change scenery. My guess will be someone invents flats with giant plasmas built in so that it can "become" anything.

 

5.Do you think cinema and theatre will merge and if so will it eventually just be one and the same?

No, but more technology will be used to create film like experiences on stage I think. if you visit Florida and experience the Terminator or Muppets 4D experience you will see it at its current best.

 

6.Have multimedia elements enhanced the story telling and set design and what has it added to the play?

We have stars from TV shows talking on stage about their work. The multimedia backgrounds enhance the situation by reminding the audience of the work, the situations they have been in, clips etc. Not really that relevent to my events.

 

7.Which of the multimedia plays you staged was the:

- most successful? All of them

- most talked about? Last one

- most successful for you? Last one

 

8.What future do you predict for multimedia theatre/where do you think it is headed in the future?

see 4 :)

[Melanie]

Hey again, thank you for replying. It's muchly appreciated.

Sorry it took me so long to say thanks but it's crazy at the moment.

 

Take care

Melanie