It's not just about the spill. To preserve the illusion, each scene in front of the projection needs to be lit to look natural against the background while simultaneously conveying the mood called for in the script. That requires a truly talented lighting designer and serious coordination with a talented scenic artist to make it work seamlessly.You'd also need a decent lighting designer to make sure not an once of light spills and ruins the projections.
From the way I was reading - once it is setup it's pretty much a press of a button to go from slide to slide. Getting it setup might be a little hard (making sure the projectors line up, etc) - but most of the matching can be done in the computer with pretty basic video software.it looks like you'd need a really talented projectionist to do that kind of thing
This is true. You'll notice in that clip that they kept most of their lighting design to specials rather than wash's. When they did do a few washes, they really did not fit in with the background. The Nighttime Garden scene looked good, but dark blue is more forgiving than some colors.It's not just about the spill. To preserve the illusion, each scene in front of the projection needs to be lit to look natural against the background while simultaneously conveying the mood called for in the script.
Setting up the projectors is easy. Building screens is easy. Building content is very difficult. When people talk to projected scenery, they always go to the tech first. When in reality, if the content is crap, it all goes down the tubes. You can't just pull images off of corbis and project them. The projections need to be painted just like a drop would be painted. This type of design is a whole new world. Its one that very few theatre programs are teaching. Its a skill set that no other area of design currently posses.
You'd be surprised what equipment is more readily available to smaller theater companies. As the cost on projectors is coming down and the availability of used equipment, I am finding more and more companies who have the ability to do this, they just don't know how. However, I do not recommend companies to go out and purchase video equipment without having some experience with it first. Salesmen love ignorance.
I still think renting is going to be the better option long term especially if only being used for a couple of shows a year. There is also no maintenance to worry about, no expensive lamps to replace and when one pj dies a couple of years later your not looking everywhere for one that will match the others since they will no longer be available new.
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