The Magic Behind the Curtain: Special Effects |
CHAPTER
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IN THIS CHAPTER
We will explore all varieties of effects in this chapter. Effects can fall into any of the departments we’ve already discussed, or the production may add a special effects department if there is a need for many different, specialized effects. A prop may need to explode into flames, it may need to rain or snow for a certain scene, and a character might need to fly through the air. All of these effects can be handled in a variety of ways depending on the theatre space and the budget. Bringing in an expert in special effects is sometimes the only way to safely do these effects. Other times, if the effects are done simply enough, someone already on the production team can supervise them.
Effects are a brand-new concept in theatre, right? Wrong! Let’s pause for a minute and think back into theatre history. Did the Romans and Greeks use special effects? Well, of course they did. Effects are not a new idea. What is new, however, is the implementation of our ideas into effects. New technologies can open up almost limitless possibilities for designing new effects ideas. Some effects become more magical and mysterious, while others become overly realistic.
The interesting thing about stage effects is that using the real thing doesn’t work. Think about it. Your audience is usually at least 20 feet away from the stage and sometimes hundreds of feet away. The effect has to be seen from many distances and still look realistic from every seat. There are many different ways to create the fake effect in order to make it look realistic.
VINTAGE EFFECTS
NATURE
Let’s look at some of the more classic effects in theatre before we move on to the newer generation. The “older” effects were meant to recreate nature. Wind, thunder, rain, snow, and fire are just a few of the effects that come to mind. The techniques used 100 years ago can still work, especially if you are on a small budget. Wind was easy, and it still is. Any ideas? Yup, use a fan! It can be that easy. Of course you want to use a quiet fan, otherwise it will sound like the aliens are landing a spaceship backstage.
Thunder is one of my favorite old-time effects. All you have to do is find a long, thin piece of sheet metal. Drill of couple of holes in the short end and attach a piece of wood that can work like a handle. Drill a couple of holes in the other short end and hang it in the air so that the bottom is right above your head. All you have to do is grab the handle and give it a gentle shake. Once you practice a bit, start it slow, speed up, and slow it down again. It’s a cool effect!
FIG. 15.1
At the moment of explosion, a cross explodes during a production of Laughing Stock.
FIG. 15.2
Markopoulos Affair at New York City Opera in 1971. Director, Frank Corsaro; Scenic Designer, Patton Campbell; Slide and Projection Designer, Gardner Compton and Emile Ardolino; and Lighting Designer, Hans Sondheimer.
FIG. 15.3
Tote Stadt at New York City Opera in 1971. Director, Frank Corsaro; Slide and Projection Designer, Ronald Chase; and Costume Designer, Theoni Aldredge.
Rain was originally a little tougher. A trough would be created with holes drilled in the bottom. The trough was hung in the air at a slight angle to allow gravity to help out. At the high side of the trough a stagehand would be on a ladder with a bucket of water and would slowly pour the water into the trough. The trough changed to either a garden hose or a piece of small conduit eventually, but the idea is the same. The difficulty with this is getting the rain to stop on command!
Snow effects have been around forever. They share the rain problem in that the snow doesn’t stop on command. The original snow bags were long horizontal bags or slings with holes on the bottom. They would be filled with confetti, bleached cornflakes, or any other material that would fall to the floor gracefully. The bag was hung horizontally with strings attached to shake it from the floor in order to release the “snow.”
FIRE
Fire—well, original fire effects actually used real flame. That is why there were so many theatre fires. Once they figured out this was a bad idea, they started to do it with lighting. Three different lights would be hidden in the fireplace, or other appropriate place, with each light gelled to a different color. The colors used were usually amber, orange, and red. Then a small fan with several flame-shaped pieces of fabric would be placed in the middle of the lights. Turn on the fan, and then the lights, which would be turned on and off in rapid succession to make it look like the flame was flickering.
FIG. 15.4
I found this image in a very old book. I can’t believe anyone actually created a rain effect like this!
PROJECTIONS
As the theatre became a little more modern, there were a number of inventions that took effects to the next level. The following are certainly not modern by any stroke of anyone’s imagination, but they were cutting-edge at the time. We’ll call them vintage!
A guy named Adolf Linnebach originally developed the Linnebach projector in the late 19th century. This was the first time there was a way to project images as part of the scenic design. Here is how it worked. A deep box was made and painted entirely black inside. Then a high-intensity, concentrated filament was placed inside near the back. One side was open and contained a glass “slide.” The slide was hand painted with the image to be projected. That is it. There is no lens; the size of the projection was controlled by the size of the glass in combination with the distance from the surface to be projected on. Due to the lack of a lens, the only way to sharpen or soften the glass image was to move the lamp closer or further away; there was limited room to do this.
The next improvement over the Linnebach was the scene machine. It had a lens! This meant you could control the focus and size of the projected image. The wattage of the lamps got higher and became much brighter as well, which meant you could project denser designs across longer distances. The images were created out of steel patterns or painted on heat-resistant glass. This was needed since the focusable lenses and higher-wattage lamps created more heat. The images were still static though; no movement was added as a part of the new invention. Attachments were invented to create spinning effects, and this was somewhat successful.
FIG. 15.5
Early snow effect.
FIG. 15.6
A very early fire effect, before we got smarter.
FIG. 15.7
Front and side views of a Linnebach projector.
There was a time when the only way to do a projection was to use a regular slide projector. This was the standard for a long time. Then we started using two projectors and developed the ability to crossfade between them. Slowly we added more and more projectors to the design as the ability to control and align them developed. It seems like such a simple concept now, but it was once the state of the art. One thing to always remember is that today’s state of the art is tomorrow’s vintage!
The next vintage effect is the lobsterscope. Think of it as the predecessor to today’s strobe. The idea is to take a focusable light and mount a motor on the front of it. Attached to the motor is a metal disk with two slits cut into it. Turn on the motor and the disk and the light together makes a strobing effect. This was very popular to create the effect of a moving train or a television’s reflected light. The neat thing with this effect is that you could color the light and also dim it. This added a great deal of variability to its look.
FIG. 15.8
GAM Products scene machine.
Let’s look next at a much more complicated effect that has its roots during the same time frame. How do we make a ghost appear and disappear? How do you turn the reflection of one actor into another? Well, a chemist by the name of John Pepper first saw a technique developed by Henry Dircks in the late 19th century. Dircks’s idea was visually successful, but it would never work in the theatre since it was too complicated and large. Pepper instantly knew how to make it much easier to work with and it became known as Pepper’s ghost. Here is how it works.
In order for the illusion to work, the viewer must be able to see onto the main stage, but not into the secret off-stage area that is hidden by a mirror. The trick is to hide the edge of the glass that separates the areas. Both areas should be identical, yet mirror images, of each other. The off-stage area should be painted completely black and use lighter-colored props and furniture. When the light is turned on the secret area, it will reflect in the glass making the reflections appear as ghostly images on the main stage.
Geoff Dunbar used a similar, yet updated, technique during a production of Spirit Lodge.
FIG. 15.9
Dr. Faust at the Metropolitan Opera in 2001. Director, Peter Mussbach; Scenic Designer, Erich Wonder; Costume Designer, Andrea Schmidt-Futterer; and Lighting Designer, Konrad Lindenberg.
FIG. 15.10
Lobsterscope disk.
FIG. 15.11
Geoff Dunbar created this section while working on a production.
A projector was used to project a film loop onto a rear projection screen that was suspended over the heads of an audience. The audience was constrained to a tight viewing angle. All viewers viewed the virtual image in roughly the same position and that image was superimposed over an actual theatrical set and actor. With no lights on the set, the audience would see nothing except a projected image. With lighting, they would see a magical “How did they do that?” show.
The lighting works this way. When smoke rises from the campfire, lights inside some fake logs illuminate the actor and the logs for an appropriate amount of time. Then they dim, and lights at the smoke hole above illuminate the hole as the animated smoke passes through it. And so on. As the crow “flies” around the room, lights in various positions track it so that in the end, when the “crow” lands on the actor’s hand, the hand is illuminated to reinforce the image.
Mixed Media
How Different Disciplines Are Merging in Concert Touring Design
David Barbour
Photography by Todd Kaplan
Excerpt 1:
The rise of video technology has had an enormous effect on most areas of entertainment technology, but it has especially changed the game in concert-touring design. Starting with the addition of IMAG screens, the increasing sophistication of LEDs, media servers, and video switchers has led to a new approach to concert production design, one in which scenery, video, and lighting merge in ways that make it hard to tell where one ends and another begins. October 2007’s cover story, about the recent Rascal Flatts’ tour, was a good example of this, but this summer saw several extremely complex and interesting designs that also blended lighting, video, and scenery to stunning effect. As the following survey of three such projects shows, it’s possible to take this mixed-media concept and spin it many different directions.
Nickelback: Layers of Imagery
In a recording industry increasingly beleaguered by the rise of new technologies, Nickelback has been a rare recent success story. The Canadian band’s last album, All the Right Reasons, has been nothing less than a hit machine, turning out one top-selling single after another. One key to the band’s success has been its heavy live performance schedule; its recent tours have been distinguished by an innovative blend of lighting by Chris Maeder and video by Bob Bonniol and his staff at MODE Studios.
This summer’s Nickelback tour featured a set largely made up of video screens. Upstage center was covered by Barco SLite panels, on which one saw IMAG of the band, plus created content, including original material and a reformatted version of the hit video, “If Everyone Cared.” At left and right, both in high and low positions, were smaller screens made up of Barco MiPiIX, another video screen that makes use of a low-res format. Layered on top of the MiPix were Element Labs Versa TUBES. These elements combined to create a series of complex video looks that meshed seamlessly with the lighting rig’s bold color washes.
Bonniol is arguably best known for his work in opera, especially in collaboration with his wife, Colleen, his partner in MODE Studios. He got to know Maeder when the lighting designer programmed our production of Parsifal for Seattle Opera. We had a setup of moving lights outfitted with glass gobos, which functioned as a backup plan in case the projections failed. It was because of him that we were invited to join Nickelback.
Maeder, who has toured with Nickelback for six years, says his and Bonniol’s combined design process is an organic one, which takes in ideas from the band members. “I come up with the idea for the lighting and work with Bob and Tommy Hague [Mode’s senior production manager] to integrate the video. The band is involved in the set design and stage layout; it’s an informal process, because the guys are really down to earth.” For the previous tour, Maeder adds, “We had just one video wall, a smaller one placed in the middle. We’re hitting many of the same markets this year, so we wanted to change the look of the show. A lot of base looks stayed the same, as far as programming and some of the content, but we added the low-res video; the lighting is quite a bit different this time, too—we have more PARs and fewer movers.” An important aspect of Maeder’s rig was a series of vertical trusses placed between the video screens; in this format, the lighting added yet another layer on top of the already complex video looks.
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(Source: Originally published in Lighting & Sound America, November 2007.)
MODERN EFFECTS
OK, enough of history you say. You want to know about today’s effects. OK! There is so much information out there. Everyday new ideas create need for technology. Don’t let the rest of this chapter limit your imagination. Keep in mind that every piece of machinery or technology was created because someone had an idea. Today there are many choices from the most simple to the most extremely advanced. Let’s start simply by looking at today’s effects that replaced some of the vintage ones.
Interesting Quote:
Theatre used to be about imagination; now if you’re not careful all you look at is the big screen close-up of the star’s face. That’s TV!
—Anne Johnson
NATURE
Wind is still created with fans. However, today’s fans can vary in speed and direction for a more realistic movement across the stage. The sound designer usually is the one to create thunder today. With the advances in speaker placement and mixing boards, thunder can come from a specific location and move across the stage or throughout the auditorium. Lightning was never dealt with very well during the “vintage” times. Today, it can be done very effectively using a combination of strobes and projections. The advances in lighting control boards have allowed for complicated cueing and triggering of various equipment that can give us quite the lightning storm.
FIG. 15.12
Easy diagram for creating a ghost effect when you have some control over the situation.
FIG. 15.13
GAM Products’ Star*Strobe.
Strobes come in many, many varieties. And all have their uses. Diversitronics makes a strobe called Finger Strobes®. These are tiny strobes that can be mounted in scenery or even clothing. Diversitronics makes another strobe called the Superstar Strobe and GAM Products makes the Star*Strobe®. Both of these strobes are about the size of a standard handheld microphone. They are much more powerful than the finger strobes and are usually hung in varying locations as needed.
FIG. 15.14
Diversitronics’ Finger Strobes®.
Moving to bigger units, Diversitronics makes the Mark Series® and Luminys makes LightningStrikes®. These are some of the brightest on the market. They have so much flexibility that you can create almost any effect you can imagine. One channel, two channels, or stand-alone mode; analog or digital control; varying brightnesses; and wide versus narrow beam field modes.
Remember when I said ideas could generate the technology. Well, remember the musical Singin’ in the Rain? That show forced the issue of how best and most safely to do rain onstage. A full stage deck was built with a drain in it for the rain to pass into. Overhead there was a complicated plumbing setup with multiple pipes to produce the rain. Off stage there was a pressurized water tank that fed the overhead pipes, and recycled the water from the deck. The water was also temperature controlled for actor safety … not too hot and not too cold.
Snow has come a long way! Although we can still use the snow bag idea, there are many other options. You can rent or buy a snow machine. The machine takes a liquid formula and turns it into snow at the same time it blows the snow out of the machine with a fan. Most machines only work when the temperature is over 40 degrees. The nice thing is that once the snow melts, it leaves almost no residue. That means no cleanup either! The newest of the machine can vary the size of the snowflakes, the speed at which they are generating, and the distance that they blow. All of this can be very realistic, if that is what you are going for.
FIRE
Real fire is always a danger on stage, which is why many cities and towns have regulations governing its use and the training you will need to become certified. This is truly a specialized area. There are products you can buy to create flames and smoke but most of them require you to have a special effects license in order to purchase and/or operate them. With all that said, there are still ways to create a simulated fire on stage. Most of the best ones are packaged units that you simply plug in and control via a remote or the lighting control board.
FOG AND HAZE
The developments lately in fog and specifically fog fluids are amazing. Early fog fluids were mineral oil-based. Water-soluble foggers have replaced them. A number of factors went into this transition. First, the oil would often coat the stage when the fog dissipated, leaving it slippery. The oil also didn’t agree with a singer’s voice. Lastly, the oil was combustible. The water-soluble fluids solved all these problems. The basics of any fog machine are relatively simple. Fog fluid is moved into a heater by a pump. The heater maintains a high temperature at which the fluid vaporizes. As the fluid vaporizes, it rapidly expands, and that expansion forces the vapor through the nozzle of the machine. When the vapor mixes with cooler air outside the machine, it instantly forms an opaque aerosol—the effect we call fog or smoke.
FIG. 15.15
Diversitronics’ Mark Series® high-intensity strobe.
FIG. 15.16
Little Blizzard snow machine.
There are many manufacturers today for fog machines. Every machine is a little different and has different features. These features can control the start and end of the fog, overall quantity of flow, and the speed at which the fog dissipates. Some machines even have a timer that you can set for turning them on and off. The other factor is whether the fog hangs in the air or on the ground. What we’ve been discussing is fog that hangs in the air.
FIG. 15.17
Ghosts of Versailles at the Metropolitan Opera in 1991. Director, Colin Graham; Scenic and Costume Designer, John Conklin; and Lighting Designer, Gil Wechsler.
FIG. 15.18
Rosco Delta 6000® fogger.
If you want fog to hang on the ground you’ll need dry ice. First let me say a word of caution. Dry ice can be tricky to deal with. You can’t just pick it up with your hands; you have to use gloves. It will burn your skin with only momentary contact! Dry ice is basically solid carbon dioxide and exists at a temperature of -109.3° Fahrenheit or -78.5° Celsius. That is negative! So be careful. … You put the dry ice in a large container and then pour water over it and it instantly starts to melt, giving off a dense fog. Dry ice machines are typically made from a 55-gallon drum. You put water in the bottom where there is a heater element. There is a basket at the top that you put the dry ice into. When you are ready for fog, you lower the basket into the water and a hole in the side of the drum connects to a hose that points the fog in a specific direction. When dry ice fog dissipates there is no residue left.
Haze is yet another kind of fog that can be created with today’s machines. Haze is about revealing light beams more than it is about being seen on its own. Haze is a water-soluble liquid that when heated turns to haze. Sound familiar? It works just like the foggers; the difference is in the fluid.
Useless Factoid: Limelight
This is not a superstition but instead illustrates the way some theatrical terms enter everyday conversation. You’ve heard of this or that athlete, politician, or rock star having his or her day “in the limelight”? The phrase dates back to 1808 when Sir Humphrey Davy, a British chemist, discovered that a brilliant white light resulted from heating calcium oxide (“lime”) to an extreme temperature. This “limelight” became popular to illuminate the important actors on stage. Think followspot. It follows, then, “in the limelight” came to mean “in the center of attention,” and vice versa.
FIG. 15.19
A 55-Gallon Dry Ice Fogger.
FIG. 15.20
Rosco X24 X-Effects 3D® projector.
PROJECTIONS
The Rosco X24® projector provides large-scale rippling light effects. The X24 uses an incredibly bright lamp, with a long life, and a high Kelvin temperature. Rotating two X-size glass gobos off center of the optical path creates the effect. This results in a projection that does not appear to have a visible direction or pattern. The lens options are available in 30-, 50-, and 70-degree configurations.
Let’s move on and take projections to the next level. This is where a great deal of the new technology is happening today. What is so amazing is that projections can be both scenery and lighting, yet a new department dedicated to projections has been formed. This makes room for another designer on the team, and one who is focused on the projections and only the projections. Originally theatre productions could not afford the new technology. Musical concerts were the first to use this kind of projection on a regular basis.
The best way to introduce you to this idea is to profile one person’s journey in the part of the business. Anne Johnston is currently the vice president of marketing for the Production Resource Group in New Jersey. She started working for Production Arts (PA) in 1985 and worked in the office. It was supposed to be her “day job” while she stage managed at night. Anne took an instant liking to projections, as it was so different from lighting and 3D scenery. PA was the only shop to have access to Pani projectors, which at the time were the state-of-the-art projectors.
A typical equipment list for a Pani projector included much more than just the projector. Take a look at the next box and see how many other items have to be specified. As the technology advances, the equipment lists get longer. That is not a problem, just something to be aware of. If you will be the one writing the equipment list, make sure you understand the technology and all that it entails. Figure 15.23 shows a flow chart for connecting all the parts.
| 1 | Pani BP 2.5 compact HMI projector |
| 1 | Pani 2500-watt HMI power supply |
| 1 | Pani AMD 32 Random-Access Slide Changer |
| 1 | Pani G405/PCS Gray Scale Dimming Shutter |
| 1 | Lighting control console with DMX 512 outputs |
| 1 | 100-foot power supply extension |
| 1 | 5-foot three-pin XLR analog control cable |
| 1 | 50-foot DMX 512 control cable |
The “Who’s That Girl” tour wanted to use projectors so they came to PA. Anne had to figure out road boxes for shipping, coordinating spare lamps and fixtures, as well as onsite technical support. The new projection department of PA was learning quickly and Anne was now full time. The next call was from the “Steel Wheels” tour, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Remember when I said if you have an idea the technology would be developed to help you create that idea. Well, Pani didn’t make an automatic slide changer for their projectors at this point so PA started developing and building their own accessories for the projectors. The first was the automatic slide changer. They also developed the ability to control the projectors via DMX so the lighting board could control everything together.
FIG. 15.21
Line drawing of a Pani projector, side view.
FIG. 15.22
Line drawing of a Pani projector, top view.
FIG. 15.23
Riser diagram shows how to hook up a Pani projector.
The next major development in projectors came from a different manufacturer, PIGI. PIGI projectors added a new feature, film. This had never been seen before and it was amazing to witness for the first time. The rotating double scroller added the ability to change the orientation of your projection at will. The PIGI system could also be controlled through computer software. This became a major step in the process toward today’s projections.
Enter the world of video projection! Most dedicated projectors have slowly been phased out. They are still in use, but the larger shows are going all digital with their projections. It gives them way more control and, in combination with moving lights, they get the best of both worlds. Most technicians from the projector departments are being crosstrained onto digital equipment. It is the inevitable next step.
The toughest part of new technology for the rental shops is to know which equipment to invest in. Think about it … If your laptop computer becomes obsolete in 18 months, doesn’t the same happen with higher-end equipment? Of course it does! European theatres are different in that they tend to own the equipment, as opposed to American theatres that tend to rent it. If you own, you keep using it until it stops working. European theatres also have stagehands on staff so it is easier to get familiar with the equipment.
So now we have moved almost completely to video. Let’s talk about that. It is simple and yet not. Huh? Well it can be simple. You can use a PowerPoint slide show connected to a projector and be done if that is all you need. I designed a production of Personals that used this method. We built a large back wall that was framed to look like the columns from a newspaper. I imported the design drawing into Photoshop to create the template or matte. Then all the graphics were inserted into it.
Using this simple method you can project still images or video or video with audio. You will need someone to run the computer and advance the slides on a cue from the stage manager. You can also use a Rosco Keystroke®. The Keystroke hooks up your computer to your lighting board and gives the light board control of the slide show. Regular cues in the light board can advance the slides. Pretty cool, huh?
FIG. 15.24
Production Resource Group’s video projections for an industrial show.
FIG. 15.25
Template created of the projections for a production of Personals.
FIG. 15.26
Graphics inserted into template of the projections for a production of Personals.
I got a little ahead of myself. Let’s talk about creating the images for this new video technology. There are a variety of ways to come up with content. First, there are stock images and video clips that can be purchased from a variety of places. These images are very high quality, but they are stock. That means they are not specific to your show. And stock images usually can’t be altered even after you’ve purchased them. But they are a good way to create content quickly.
FIG. 15.27
A production at the1869 Bardavon Opera House using super title projections.
FIG. 15.28
Rosco Keystroke®.
Mixed Media
How Different Disciplines Are Merging in Concert Touring Design
David Barbour
Photography by Todd Kaplan
Excerpt 2:
The addition of video posed new questions, Mike Swinford, the tour’s production designer, adds: “We had never generated video for Kenny before. I didn’t know what his tastes were—but I found out pretty quick. We had our vision and graphics machines set up in rehearsals for five weeks, and we’d load new material onto the servers right there.”
The video was under the supervision of Stuart White, of Control Freak Systems (CFS), which is a part of the design firm Artfag. White notes that Screenworks came to him with Swinford’s design; the company also consulted with him on the control and video-processing systems. For the tour, White created custom CFS servers, which he describes, in terms of functioning, as being like “a cross between a [Coolux] Pandora’s Box and a Hippotizer. [There were two SD servers and one HD unit.] We’ve added some features of our own, including color blocks. With this, we can zone out many different regions on our screen and map a separate DMX color to it. This allowed us to treat the [Barco] MiTrix [LED modules] like lights and do color chases using the grandMA’s effects engine. With most other media servers, we would need 28 layers to do this. On our system, we had a custom source, which functioned like a plug-in. For example, when we did The Beastie Boys’ tour, they liked the Mondrian look, so we designed a Mondrian plug-in for the media server.” Thus he contrasted abstract, highly colored looks with IMAG and content on the Daktronics screen; the MiTrix became kinetic scenic pieces.
To control and process the video, White had four Barco Folsom Encores chained together in A and B systems. “One system fed the Daktronics screen and the other fed the MiTrix,” he says. “We had four units, because the show had so many screens and we had so many different tasks. Each Encore has six PIPs [picture in picture]; they all had these little blocks of video so we could do PIPs on each video black. That gave us 24 layers for all the video stuff.”
Using the Encores, White worked over the IMAG, colorizing it and creating other effects as well. “It was like having a media server on the video channel of our IMAG,” he says. “In one song, the entire set went red and blue—the lights were red and blue, the screen was red and blue, even the cameras were tinted red and blue from the video.”
The arrangement allowed the lighting and video systems to function with an unusually high level of coordination. “When we use the Encore,” White says, “the video is always in program. Usually, on a video switcher, you preset a look and then take it. Here, the video system was literally following the lighting, in real time. All of it, all the positional information, was controlled from the grandMA.” In fact, he adds, “We found that it was faster to edit the show from the lighting console than from the Encores. We could select fixtures and use the built-in effects engine to spread the image out evenly. Using the video controller, it would have taken ten times as long.” Swinford adds, “The Encore controlled the screen, but Control Freak’s DMX bridge allowed us to dial in all the variables at the lighting console and control them as cues. It gave us a flexibility and made our programming tight, so, when you hit ‘go,’ all the lights and video did their stuff at the same time.” This took the pressure off the show’s video director, Jay Cooper, leaving him to concentrate on getting the best possible images of Chesney in performance.
White is notably undogmatic about his working process. “Some things are great to do from the lighting consoles—others are better done the traditional way,” he says. As if to underline the importance of that last statement, White adds, “There’s no cookie-cutter way of doing things. If you are doing it that way, you’re not giving the client the best service. I’m not married to any one media server or any process. I use what’s best for the client.” That doesn’t mean he doesn’t like to experiment, however. “We’ve started controlling the lighting console with audio,” he says. “We get 8–16 channels from the sound guys and have an audio analyzer that spits out DMX data to the lighting console, to do cues. That way, the kick drum can set off a wiggle light—or the media server.”
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(Source: Originally published in Lighting & Sound America, November 2007.)
If you want something more specific or original to your show then you’ll need to create it from your own material. This means you’ll have to have a good working knowledge of a variety of software. There are four programs that are really useful for this. They are Photoshop®, Illustrator®, Painter®, After Effects®, and Final Cut Pro®. The first three programs allow you to create and manipulate images. The last two add motion. There are other programs out there that will work. Two others worth mentioning are Avid® and Premiere®. They do very similar things to Final Cut Pro®. It’s a mater of preference, your budget, what computer platform you are working on, and what you are familiar with. The ultimate goal in creating content is to create the highest resolution images and video possible. The better the resolution, the better the projection will look in the end.
If you will be renting equipment from a rental shop, you may end up renting a media server. This is a fancy name for a computer with a massive hard drive and a great graphics card. If you rent a media server from a rental shop, it may come with some of the software I’ve just mentioned. The media server will be easy to integrate into the projection equipment you will also most likely be renting. If you rent everything you will need, you know it will work together. This is great for bigger shows and more complicated designs. Keep in mind the design is the key to how everything is done.
If the design is figured out before you get to the space, you will need less equipment. Sometime things can’t be figured out in advance. This means you will need to have lots of extra “cover your butt” stuff. If you bring the right stuff to begin with it makes the whole process easier. A lot of people say they’ll figure it out when they get there. That is the equivalent of “we’ll fix it in post,” which usually means more money will be needed and potentially wasted. Once you are in the theatre, never ignore the “Hey, what if …” comments as they are a very creative part of the process. You don’t want to do everything that way, but some amount of experimentation and “happy accidents” can really add to the production.
Now here is a bit of twist on everything we’ve discussed so far. As the audiences’ expectations go up, so must the shows’ expectations. In today’s culture you really can’t ignore all the influences from other art forms. The audience is savvier today. They want a show to look high tech and modern. All the energy in what we look at everyday has affected us. It has to have a slickness and modernism to the design. It can’t look dated. Current movies are the pulse of today. The technological advances of other areas—film, television, and even video games—all influence our audience. We have to adapt to those expectations or at the very least acknowledge them. However, we should not, I repeat, should not try to compete with those medias.
OK, so we’ve talked about video projection. And you assume that means you need a video projector. Right? Wrong! The latest technology is the advancement of LED lights. LEDs are still in their infancy, but the options are amazing. Picture a whole wall of LEDs that are controlled by the media server! The possibilities are endless. And I mean that! With any new technology, you have to be willing to make a leap of faith. That doesn’t mean you jump with your eyes closed. You have to do your research and be informed about the technology. It is only a tool. And any tool, as we know, is only as good as the person who uses it!
Let’s talk about high definition for a moment. HD is all the rage now. Television sets and video monitors are available in HD. The 16 × 9 format is perfect for theatre as it is a similar proportion to most proscenium arches. The projectors for HD are larger than standard-definition ones, so that is a consideration that should be dealt with. Space in the theatre is always at a premium; if a projector is going to be used it has to be accounted for early on in the process. If you are going to use LEDs in some configuration instead of a projector, then that too has to be incorporated into the design and budget.
Interesting Quote:
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should!
—Curt Ostermann
The projection world has gone in two different directions. We’ve discussed a little of this, but let’s go into more depth. There is still the concept of traditional projection and then there is fully digital scenery. Still projections to an RP screen or TV set are still possible and used frequently. These can include a static backdrop, a skyline, a grotto, etc. The computer technology that is available today can create all sorts of projection effects. At a very high level, this replaces the lobsterscope effect. Digital projections have come so far that they are now amazing and beautiful, and can be used in abstract ways as well as realistic ones. The projections have become more of a lighting effect when used this way.
The first try with almost any new technology is not a good experience. The key to much of the success is working with the manufacturer. If the manufacturer’s responsiveness to our needs is good, then the technology can continue to develop and become a great tool for us in the theatre. One of the first huge successes on Broadway with LEDs was on a musical called Ring of Fire. The scenery was made of LED panels that were controlled by a media server. This allowed the scenic images to change on a moment’s notice. It was very impressive from a technology standpoint, and even more important from a design standpoint.
The new title in the theatre is projection designer. It is becoming more of a standard and is recognized by other designers who understand what the projection designer will do. It is not just about making pretty pictures. You will have to do all the math to figure out the types of equipment needed, then specify equipment, and then oversee the installation of both computers and projection equipment. Working closely with the director as well as both the scenic and lighting designers means often creating a storyboard of the images so that everyone understands what the images will eventually look like. During technical rehearsals, the projection designer will be in the theatre continuing to revise and create images, alter the cueing with the computer, and troubleshoot any technical issues with the projection system.
FIG. 15.29
Main Light Industries’ Hard-LED Series® panels.
There are many different ways to work with directors. It is mostly about the director and what he or she brings to the production as well as his or her background. Some directors have a visual concept for exactly what they want. Others are unsure and may just want a traditional background. Some directors may even shoot a short film themselves, and then want it projected. In terms of the kind of productions that use projections, they are mostly new plays. Classic plays that are completely reinterpreted may also use projections as opposed to being done more traditionally.
I interviewed Michael Clarke, who is a Broadway projection designer, about his process and he had the following to say. “A truly successful production is when collaboration happens and no one makes assumptions. … Then work can be more unified—or not depending on what the team is going for. If everyone does their homework, and shares their ideas … the work is done and you go to the theatre and ‘plug it all in’ … until script changes—the work is done.”
Michael uses email, FTP, and his web site to the fullest. He gives the director a Web link for him or her to see his process. It is a more environmentally friendly and less costly way to work. Directors can comment right on the web site, or call, email, fax, or whatever. He said he doesn’t find the potential color shift of the web site a hindrance. “You don’t really know what you’re going to get into until you’re in the theatre, due to ambient lighting, reflections of scenery and props.”
FIG. 15.30
The Theatre de la Jeune Lune production of Amerika in 2006.
Arizona State University now has a projection designer program. The New School is trying to start one. As more colleges recognize the need to have a specialized program for projections, it will help everyone to get the job that they love to do. Keep in mind that you need to understand art and theatre history, just like all the other designers. Computer skills are important, but they are secondary to the design. Software is a tool!!
SOFTWARE
I haven’t talked yet about 3D software and image creation. This could obviously be a whole book on its own, and it is. Let me address some of the basics here. There are a number of software programs for creating 3D images. They all have their specialties. Maya, 3D Studio Max, Cinema 4D, LightWave, and Softimage are just a few. All of these programs work amazingly well for creating content. They do have a much higher learning curve than other software, mostly because of their capabilities. There are demo versions of most of these and student versions as well. My recommendation is to try a couple of them, if you have an interest, and see which one “fits” you and your needs.
Now that you have all this information, how do you use it? Well, I spoke with Curt Ostermann who designs a lot of industrials. He had some interesting things to say about his process.
The work I do has no script. The show must be designed before there is a rundown or even a show flow. The hardest thing about those shows is to understand how it looks for the audience. Corporate clients have their own very distinct look. The tone and color palette are already set by the company’s logos.
The client will buy a set and use it for up to five years. You have to critique your own work, and then make notes to try and fix things for next year. Always keep in mind the client has “bought” the set designer’s rendering, it is the key. The client wants it to look like that and they will refer to the rendering during rehearsals.
When I asked Curt about his career and whether he misses doing theatre he said,
I started out my career in Europe, opera, and ballet. I have also designed television and amusement parks. It’s all about art when you start out. I don’t miss theatre; I don’t feel I’ve missed anything. I’ve been very lucky.
I love working in television, you get to work in the close-up. You never get to do that in theatre. That’s what Rembrandt did his whole life. With industrials, you have the theatrical wide shot, and the television extreme close-up. Designing for television is not selling out! It’s the art that you know and making it work is the key. Your attitude is everything, if you think it’s selling out, then you are. I haven’t sold out, I’ve cashed in!
FIG. 15.31
The Minnesota Opera’s production of Lucrezia Borgia. Designers, Tom Mays and Gail Bakkom.
FIG. 15.32
Tom Cariello’s Photoshop® rendering for an industrial.
FIG. 15.33
Photo from the same industrial. Scenic Designer, Tom Cariello; and Lighting Designer, Curt Ostermann.
