Spotlight on Projection and Media Design

By LIO KAMMUELLER

In recent decades, the technological aspects of entertainment have rapidly advanced. This is very visible in high-production movies or TV series, but the technology available for live performances and theater is also presenting new creative possibilities. These past two weeks, media designer Mike Tutaj has hosted workshops on projection design for live performances. This technology can be used to create new environmental elements of a set, such as a background projection, and it allows for the use of interactive elements that are projected onto performers or costumes or can respond to sound, for example. The workshops have focused on the use of the software Isadora, which was developed by a dance company with the intention of creating interactive projections.

One of the most helpful things Isadora can do in regards to scenic elements of live performance is projection and video mapping. The software allows projected images to be broken up into smaller pieces which can be individually manipulated. This makes it much easier to cleanly project onto surfaces that are not flat, smooth, rectangular projector backgrounds, like scenic pieces with angles and multiple faces. Projections can also add and accentuate colors and textures, and can be adjusted in real time through the software.

Using this technology is, admittedly, a bit tedious for those unfamiliar with it. Mike says that Isadora “can do anything, but you have to teach it to walk.” Essentially, each function needs to be individually adjusted at first, but once they have been created, it is easy to copy and reuse them on different media. A lot of what the software does is rather simple — it can change the color and dimensions of images, set transitions and cues, or apply filters over images and video — but this opens up lots of creative territory. Projection mapping can add textures, colors, and motion to the set of a live performance that have previously been much more difficult to achieve, especially in theater.

Mike and his colleague Erin Pleake are working on projection design for Beloit’s student-written fall show, “Guiding Spirit.” More workshops will be held as the show’s November opening approaches, open to anyone interested in learning more about media design for theater.

Featured Image: Programming in Isadora, ISADORA WORKSHOP