Using projection or LED walls as a backdrop, it becomes possible to make imaginative transitions from one scene to another, and create scenery that would be difficult or impossible to create using traditional methods.
For Immersion Theatre's tour of The Little Mermaid, I animated the vibrant scenery created by illustrator Alison Collantine including underwater scenes filled with sealife, created special effects such as a storm on board a ship, and produced lively moving backdrops for the musical numbers.
Scenic visuals for Immersion Theatre's tour of The Little Mermaid.
The We Will Rock You visuals below were commissioned by DDE Ltd, and are supplied as part of a theatre set hire service. These visuals are now available for hire with QLab & a rear projection system exclusively through DDE.
Scenic visuals for We Will Rock You.
In the example below I was asked to create a street scene and the interior of a record store as an extension to the physical scenery that had been created for a cruise ship show. The visuals are played on a large LED wall at the rear of the stage, and include animated elements such as a sunrise/sunset, moving clouds, rain and transitions between scenes.
Scenic visuals for Soul'd musical show on a Marella cruise ship, produced for RWS Global.
Scenic visuals for Soul'd musical show on a Marella cruise ship, produced for RWS Global.
By adding motion to a background scene, we can create the illusion that actors on the stage are in motion, whether that be flying through clouds, sailing on an ocean, or driving in a car for example.
In the first example below, created for a touring production of Alice In Wonderland, a video projection filling the rear of the stage creates the illusion that "Alice" is shrinking and then travelling under a doorway into a magical forest
Character shrinking illusion for Immersion Theatre's production of Alice In Wonderland
In this second example, set on "Eric's ship" from Immersion Theatre's production of The Little Mermaid, a thunderstorm takes place. The animation is designed to make it feel like the ship is rolling and eventually flips over, sending the characters overboard and underwater.
Thunderstorm animation from Immersion Theatre's production of The Little Mermaid
The example below demonstrates how I can create abstract animated compositions to fit a specific theme, timed to match the nuances of a piece of music. See also the Music Industry section of my website for lots more examples of my style
Performance background visuals for aerialist Dan De Lion's Chinese-themed aerial hoop act.
With careful rehearsal it's even possible to have real actors on stage seemingly 'interacting' with a video backdrop which can be a great way of achieving effects which would otherwise be impossible.
The example below demonstrates this at the beginning, and also features a wide range of pyrotechnic effects.
Performance background visuals for Cloud Aerial Arts' fire-themed group aerial hoop act, featuring Maria Stutt.
Perhaps you want to have an actor grow into a giant or dissolve into sand – I can film actors and manipulate the footage to achieve these effects which would be impossible by other means.
In this first example, part of the way through the performance a male performer drops down and is spinning on a rope before being turned to stone by 'Medusa'
Performance background visuals for aerialist Amber Kelsey-Woodward's Medusa-themed aerial silks act.
In this second example, a second performer appears on the backdrop, mirroring what the live performer is doing on the stage.
This is followed by the Demon Queen's flashbacks to her victims that she's spent the day torturing – this footage was giving a grungy texture and I played around with the speed of the footage to make it feel surreal.
(Please note this video contains adult content of a sexual nature – NSFW.)
Performance background visuals for Porcelain's hell-themed aerial straps act.
I can create atmospheric effects such as bolts of lightning, snow, clouds, wind and rain. These could even be projected onto painted cloths. I can also add magical effects such as sparkling glitter and colour effects.
The example below also includes a scene inside the neural network of a brain, an example of the kind of unusual scenery that can be created with video.
Performance background visuals for aerialist Sarah Denise Cordery's 'Face Your Fears' dance trapeze act.
In all of the examples above, a full-stage backdrop projection was used, but video can also be used in other ways – for example you might have a set which includes a window, and rather than having a painted cloth behind the window, you could have a projection of an animated scene outside the window. An alternative to projection would be using LED screens, which could be built into scenery or props.
Please note that you will probably need a video technician to specify/install/operate video display and playback equipment in your production.
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