Born Old - IzzyMap/white floor/2 UST projectors
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I just made an english version of the trailer for our new show: Born Old. Its our first dance show aimed specifically at kids, and the first one with a proper script.
I wanted to make it tour-able to non-theatre spaces, so i've got 2 ultra short throw projectors on stands, one on each side of a 4.5m diameter circular floor. its pushing these projectors to their max, and the image isn't super-crisp, but it works, and bleaches out shadows nicely. since this footage was shot i upgraded one of the projectors to a decent Sony model and its much cleaner. we're currently trying to get funding to upgrade the other machine and develop an international version of the show.
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Wow! Looks really nice. Can you tell a bit more about how the projectors and how they are set up?
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The projectors seen here are Epson EB-470. they are on stands about 1.5m from the floor, tilted slightly so that the far edge of the image goes slightly soft focus, but necessary to get the full 4.5m. i've upgraded one of the machines to a Sony VPL-SW535C which is brighter and can actually focus pretty cleanly across the full 4.5m, but its pushing it to its limit. there's not too much of an issue using different projectors because everything is lined up in IzzyMap, although the different lenses cause distortions in different areas of the image. also the Sony is faster than the Epson, so moving images are a frame or two out of sync. a pair of Sonys would be ideal.
here's my tech diagram of the setup.
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Thanks for sharing. It looks pretty natural, how the player "stands" and moves in the pictures... And obviously enough lighting (?) I guess it is for small audience like 30-50kids max?
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nice work!! I've linked your trailer to my boss, may be she can be interested to have you here! finger cross
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thanks Iro. we're making an international version this Autumn - the plan is to work with a local performer who tells the story in the local language, whilst our performer sings the original text from the poem. we have a gig in Norway in November and we're planning to iron out the creases during the development of the Norwegian version. its a nice way to tour, rather than just turn up and do the show, we make more of a connection with the local performance sector.
@tomthebom - lighting was a headache. when projecting from overhead, you tend to get plenty of projected light onto the performer, so it doesn't need too much from the side, and i can't light from overhead without bleaching the image. also - i need infrared for the camera that lights the body without spilling onto the floor.
having 40 kids sat around the floor was an issue as well because they obstruct sidelight. in the end we compromised the audience position to having them on 2 sides and i built some floorstands for little LED floods that sit at the base of the lighting stands, with an IR flood on each one - wide angle on the camera side and standard on the opposite side. I've used some ND filter on the floods, but they are still a bit pokey into people's eyes. the kids are so focussed on the storyteller that they don't seem to notice.
with the projectors so low, you tend to get an edge cutting across the body, but its not usually in focus and its not too distracting. as long as there is a bit of light in the room, but not shining directly onto the floor, we can set up anywhere without being restricted to theatre spaces.
