Projection content from Live Design: V Squared Labs has earned a reputation for groundbreaking, mind blowing, and bar-setting experiential visual designs. This design team has created some of the most epic projection mapping in the industry, according to Ill.Methodology.
CEO and creative art director Vello Virkaus has headed productions with big names like Krewella, Skrillex, and Amon Tobin.
4 comments:
I was really impressed with the skrillex set up mostly because of the live interaction with skrillex and the projections. Obviously a less accurate system then a motion capture with several hundred points of reference where as this system appears to concentrate on joint movement.
The issues with this system makes me curious to an issue that is increasingly being brought into live entertainment and that is lag time from input to output. Even with just setting up a live feed for operas, up until a couple years ago we had to use analogue TV's because they had the most minimal lag time and now with the digital tv's there is 3-5 frame lag. When you watch skrillex's video the projection is significantly behind what the performer is doing which to most is perfectly acceptable but it makes me curious what it will take to cut out the lag in these systems.
I really loved the "volcano" they created that looked almost like diamonds. It was a beautiful mix between lighting and media that was very striking. However, in the final composition, there was so much happening between the lighting, the volcano, and other media that it was almost hard to fully enjoy any one of the elements because so much was going on.
The avatar linked to the Skrillex performance was very engaging and easily captivated my attention. IT reminds me of the mirror test. We are so captivated by our own image, one of the earliest steps in our development, that any new technological advancement that can allow us to extend our own movement into another form amazes us.
I found in many of the videos the collaboration between different minds and disciplines very encouraging. It was incredible how lighting designers, programmers, artists, draftspeople, fabricators, etc it took to cohesively create the final product.
As a side note, I was happy to see how many women were in the videos. Often heavy tech fields don't show such diversity.
I've become indelibly more interested in media because of these five videos. As the theater industry progresses into the technological sphere, I've seen productions using more and more media design to add dimension to their projects. I would have to say the Krewella Crystal Volcano would have to be my favorite video out of the five. I really enjoyed how each geometric shape had LEDs that could be singly operated (or so it seemed). When lit up, the shape looked like a mountain of hard, iridescent crystal--all thanks to the combination of light, color, and physical production of material goods. I would like to know how long it takes from beginning to end to install each project. I'd also like to know how many people were involved in the full production, just because it seems so uncomplicated yet it must have taken so, so many long hours. V Squared Labs seems like a really cool organization to be involved in; it would be an intense experience to work for them on one of their projects. Media, true to its name, seems like a huge combination of all the large branches of Stagecraft. It's a nice way of putting every skill you've learned to use.
I had never heard of V Squared Labs before, but I wish I had, because they have some crazy cool stuff out there. It was incredible to see how well the projections and the physical sets could interact. It's something that I had never thought about as a single unit before, but even if the product is comprised of those two very different parts, the two are equally necessary. I really liked seeing a little bit of the process behind designing and making the setups, and would love to know more about it all, too.
I agree with Michael that the final compositions, what with their exceedingly flashy lighting, could be a little distracting, but I do wonder if that's more or less the nature of the show given the type of music. Also, it was seen most obviously in the first video, but some of those shows were done in huge spaces. From a distance, the stage was tiny, and the lighting at least made it a bit more visible from the back.
Post a Comment