sightlines.usitt.org: Projections of one form or another have been a part of performance for as long as theatre has existed, but relatively recent advancements in technology have led to an explosion of activity in the field of projection design. Along with these advancements have come opportunities for learning. USITT's Annual Conference has seen an expanding role in projection for its major events, paralleling what is happening within the industry. Sessions on the topic keep expanding.
3 comments:
Projections/media design is amazing...not only because of the projections themselves, but the thought and design that goes into the technology that produces them. I will disagree with the idea that projections 'have been a part of performance for as long as theatre has existed', because theatre has been around since the dawn of mankind, and I don't think cavemen were projecting their art onto the cave walls. But I love that they are working to make projection design so accessible. I went through Sven Ortel's website and, in addition to the hundreds of brilliant production pictures, there are tutorials and articles breaking down the work. Anyone who wants to make this happen for themselves can. That is a wonderful approach to theatre: knowing that your work is going in a direction that people will want to use, and instead of resisting, aiding it. I mean, I'll be taking advantage of it.
I found this article very interesting because it is the first time I have read anything formally about the history of projections in theatre. It reminds me of a designer who was telling me she used to do slide projections for dance but stopped projection designing when the technology changed. I think it is wonderful how USITT is making projections an important part of their conference.
This article didn't really tell me anything that I didn't already know about, but I thought it did a really nice job of summing up what media in theatre is all about. I may show this article to people that ask me what media is. I can definitely see my self going to classes on media at something like USITT in the future. It's very cool that we have classes on media in theatre here at CMU. From what I understand not a lot of schools have that sort of program yet. I'm sure that in the next ten or so years media will become a giant part of what we do. And it's nice to know that I go to a school that is making that happen by being on the cutting edge.
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