BBC News: "Vidiots, they sometimes call us," admits Timothy Bird. Some people in the theatre industry don't take kindly to the innovations that Mr Bird and his team at Knifedge are introducing to the stage. Innovations like a computer-generated avatar sword-fighting an actor live on stage in his most recent show Pippin, transporting the audience to the world of a computer game.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Digital Drama: The technology transforming theatre
BBC News: "Vidiots, they sometimes call us," admits Timothy Bird. Some people in the theatre industry don't take kindly to the innovations that Mr Bird and his team at Knifedge are introducing to the stage. Innovations like a computer-generated avatar sword-fighting an actor live on stage in his most recent show Pippin, transporting the audience to the world of a computer game.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
The new technologies which are finding themselves in the theatre world are worth taking a look at. Whether you agree or disagree with the incorporation of video, media, or automation design into traditional theatre pieces, the elements are quickly sneaking their way into the industry. Although I do not believe the meshing of these pieces works well with every production, and that their incorporation cannot be forced without looking as so, there is a space for them. When used correctly, they have a unique ability to both enhance audience experience and expose them to something they may have never seen before.
This company sounds like it is doing very similar things to the Entertainment Technology Center on campus. I am torn on this subject becuause I think that technology can be used very positivly to create really unique theatrical experiences but sometimes technology, specificly media, is just used to solve problems. Solving problems should not be media's goal because then it is just being used as an easy out. But these new means of using media seem to be insperational and they are using media to really create something as opposed to just using media because people think it's cool.
While I am not the first person to knock the media input, I still think that it is something that should be approached carefully. It certainly doesn't ruin a show, especially if you have specialists like the ones we found in this article. They know what they are doing, they have a vision that they want to achieve, it isn't any afterthought. The problems that I have are the projections that have either, little to do with the show because it was just stuffed in there, or projections that did have some relevance yet they still didn't do the show justice because they weren't added properly of creatively.
On another note, I think that work like Sunday in the Park with George is especially intriguing. I had no idea that this even happened and it is exciting for a costume designer to accompany that type of visual performance.
I am curious, we are entering a digital phase in theater, and Pippin inspired by the film Tron won't be the first change. It will be interesting to see what happens to the newer generations entering the theater environment and essentially changing it drastically or keeping it the same.
Many of the points already brought up are exactly what we are all thinking with new technology. As what point is there too much, or when is it used as an easy out? As Kassondra brought up, this is great for some performances and can be a spectacle in itself. Not every performance will be able to be all media, but if the specific experience is desired, then media is a great way to give it that technological edge. I am torn between this too just like Zoe, because it is that easy out. The technological advances create a new world for the entertainment industry as a whole, and also performance art, which can bring not only new ways to act but interaction with the audience. Depending on what type of performance you want, observation or total interaction with media and new technology can create that new spark in our every chaining industry.
As the very wise Larry Shea once told me after a pretty brutal design presentation, "Yes, Media design can be distracting, but it is our job to try and not make that so." This really stuck with me. I was at one time very much anti-media, and still kind of am, but I have had a slight change of heart thanks to shows like Suddenly Last Summer and Mad Forest. I felt that the media was used very effectively in these and actually added to the show rather than being distracting or seeming like an afterthought. I have seen a clip of the Sunday in the Park with George work and it turns that show into one like no other. Once again though, I cannot make up my mind on the subject...
Post a Comment