PROJECTION DESIGN A NEW FOCUS FOR THEATRE DEPARTMENTS

by Lisa Gibbs, Ed.D

Photos courtesy Theatre Avenue A live theatre performance is the culmination of actors rehearsing lines and spacing, costume designers dressing them for the part, scenic designers drafting and building sets and backdrops, lighting designers creating the visual mood, properties designers providing the smaller items handled by the actors, and sound designers adding aural nuances to the action, all under the guidance of a director. Projection Design continued

Digital Tech Enhances and moving images that assist in telling the story. can take live action visual effects to another Live Performances Some projectors are made with lasers, which level. Projections increasingly are becoming part In the past 20 years, advances in digital technol- allows for intricate and complex designs. of plays, musicals, ballets, operas, and music ogies have affected all areas of live performance, concerts and the demand for people with specific including dance, drama, and music, perhaps most Flexibility in Creating Visual Effects training in projection design has increased. dramatically in the realm of visual effects. Specific computer programs allow designers flexi- Performing arts companies and venues include In the not too distant past, visual effects were bility as they create visual effects. Images can be specific skills and education in job descriptions created with stationary lights and colored gels, projected onto something as simple as a sheet or related to projection design. Proficiency in plastic sheets that slid into a frame placed in front a cyclorama, or as specific as a projector screen projection, video, and editing technology must of a lamp, typically housed in a Fresnel lantern. or LED wall. With the use of projectors, special be combined with the ability to create original art. Manipulating the intensity and placement of the screens and specific software, a live action play or An understanding of the stage action, whether it lights was organized to match the feelings and musical can look almost like a movie. be dance, drama, or music provides context for actions taking place on the stage. Stagehands In 2007, the United Scenic Artist’s Union the holistic nature of producing a live stage show. could change the gels in the sidelights, usually Local 829 added Projection Design to its Therefore, the ability to collaborate with the during a pause or intermission in order to change membership category. According to the USA team of designers, directors, and technicians is the mood to match the action on stage. 829, projection design is “the use of image as also important. The projection designer must In the more recent past, moving lights, also a means of enlightening or complimenting the know how to use specialized software tools such called intelligent lighting, have mostly replaced text of a production.” The Projection Designer as QLab, Final Cut, Avid, ProTools, Vectorworks, static lights hanging from overhead or placed on is “responsible for overseeing the design of the and the myriad of Adobe products available today. poles for side lighting. Moving lights are program- system, specifying equipment, sequencing the The designer must also know the functions, mable and speedily change color without physical material in co-ordination with the other design specifications, rigging, cabling and set up of manipulation, as was the case with gel lighting. departments and the production at large, and projectors, screens, and computer networks. In the even more recent past, the use of supervising the production of original content.” Often, the projection designer is also responsible projectors has nearly replaced the painted Recent Broadway hits such as Frozen and for the maintenance, repair, replacement, and backdrop. Projectors can be used to display still Anastasia are examples of how projection design upgrading of equipment over time.

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Projection Design continued

Project Design in and implement their designs by collaborating and it emphasizes that in telling the human story Technical Theatre Curricula with directors, dramaturgists, technicians, other for theatre, all elements of design are an integral designers, and professional production staff.” part of the whole and cannot be conceived Private colleges and universities are including From the first year studying principles of design independently.” Students use specialized projection design in their technical theatre and history of dramatic literature to the fourth year software, such as Adobe and Vectorworks, along curricula. Samford University in Birmingham, putting together a portfolio and interning at The with specialized hardware such as pen or graphics Alabama, offers a Bachelor of Arts in Production Theatre School, projection design majors learn to tablets and digital cameras to increase their digital Design and Technology. At Samford, students use technology to enhance the action on stage. The skills and execute a projection design. learn “the skills necessary to design lights and department provides software and hardware to Digital technology is transforming the way projections” and “gain the communication skills bring the designs to the stage with projectors, video audiences experience a live performance, whether necessary to engage with directors and other walls, LED walls, and other new technologies. in a small black box theatre, a medium sized designers in the collaborative process.” At the Yale School of Drama in New Haven, proscenium stage, or at a large outdoor concert. Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, Connecticut, a student can attain a Master of Broadway productions in recent years have introduces theatre majors to “the fundamentals Fine Arts in Design with a focus on projection included projection technology, and United of stage design, projection design/technologies, design. The department takes a holistic approach Scenic Artist’s Union Local 829 added projection set construction, scenic painting and stage and to design, requiring classes in costume, lighting, design as a membership category. Private college production management” in order to learn the set, and projection design in the first year, with and university theatre departments are offering tools and techniques needed to “create the visual lighting and projection designers also studying their students the tools and experiences needed world of performance.” sound design. In the second and third year, to be part of this new field of design. Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, students focus on their primary interest. offers practical experience in the design areas For projection designers, this includes ABOUT THE AUTHOR: PUPN staff writer Lisa of lighting, set, costume, sound, and projection animation, film production, advanced problems Gibbs earned her Ed.D. in Higher Education within their Bachelor of Fine Arts with an in projection and scene design, and a thesis project Administration in 2018. She is an advocate for arts, emphasis in production design. in which projection content is integrated into the DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, offers a performance as an essential part of telling the particularly dance, in education, and for increasing Bachelor of Fine Arts in projection design. Their story. Yale’s approach “provides students with the the financial well-being of artists through financial program encourages students “to visualize, create, common ground of core knowledge of the field; education.

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