Performance enhancer: projecting dynamic digital scenes, props, and characters onto the stage could revolutionize live theater productions.(back drop)(Interview)

Q How did you get started using digital imagery in stage productions?

A I had been using modeling A programs to design traditional stage sets, but when VR software became commercially available, I had the harebrained idea to project views of my models onto a full-stage projection screen so that the director and I could envision how the finished set would look. While viewing one of these presentations, it occurred to me that we could create wonderful new sets if we were to use the VR simulations as part of the production.

Q What kinds of simulations have you been using in productions?

A Mostly scenic simulations. Digital scenery can be very energetic and can depict a broad range of locales often called for in modern plays. We're also doing more experimentation with CG characters and CG-enhanced characters. These can be kind of tricky because when you use them, it is easy to move out of the realm of live performance and into animation.

Q How are such digital scenes and characters changing stage performance as we know it?

A They are bridging the gap between cinema and live performance. By incorporating the new media, we can use many of the storytelling techniques that audiences have become accustomed to in film, and still maintain the immediacy of live performance. This has the potential to increase the pace of a performance and present information from many sources, such as live performers, CG characters, on-video characters, multiple sound tracks, and an array of digital scenic elements. In many of our VR productions, the audience was asked to wear 3D glasses, earphones, or head-mounted displays to help them access all this information.

Q Which techniques and applications have been the most successful?