Thanks! Any advice as I get started?
Sorry it has taken me so long to answer your question. I was working on a big show and ended up injuring my back while on it. I am slowly catching up on the forums and New Members forum is generally the last one I check.
Anyhow, when you are considering projection design for live performance, there is the content design which you have mastered, there is the display (projectors and screens and what not), and then there is all the stuff in the middle. The first thing you really need to focus on is the stuff in the middle, which works directly with the content. This is going to be mainly a
media server/player of some sort. Each one works better with a certain file type or
carrier type. However, understanding the physical medium that your content will be displayed with and on will ultimately help you to stand out from your competition. At some
point, you will be the one telling the production what type of
screen or resolution and brightness of
projector (potentially even light source of the
projector). All of these components work together to make a projection design (not just content as some may have you believe).
I would first off start cold calling all of your regional and also national AV and staging companies to freelance as a content designer. A friend of mine started a media company right out of college and within the first couple of years had already designed for Ceelo Green, Cirque du Soleil, and American Idol as well as some mega churches and corporate events. At 21, he already has sold off his half of the business and has already taken on a new business in a related field. My
point is that it will definitely take you some time to
call the various companies that need your services and start up taking on their extra business when the people that are already doing this for them are already booked. This will help your portfolio. You will learn through these companies, who have a fixed
stock of gear, including media servers/players, how to best create content for them (they may already have much of this information already and request the content to be provided in a certain way. As you get better, you will start having the option to request specific equipment to make your ideas reality.
If you can,
drop by some conventions like the upcoming
NAB next month in Las Vegas or InfoComm in June in Orlando. This way, you will have the opportunity to talk to various manufacturers and get some hands on experince with their gear. Plus, there are tons of great learning opportunities through their classes that they offer. Possibly of use to you will be the Broadway Master Classes offered by Live Design. They will offer them in New York during the summer and then at the
LDI conference in the late fall.
If you have some specific questions on getting started, please feel free to visit the multimedia forum and ask away. You will get much more of a response than a continuation here.