Research?

We are already aware and inspired by a Cabaret group called '1927' which we will post about at a later date (they deserve their own post) but other than this touring group we don't know many more, so we decided to see if we could find some more.


We've spent a few hours scouring the Internet for Projection based performances. We haven't come up with much; firstly its difficult to know what search terms to use other than a mash up of the words 'projector' 'Animation' 'Theatre' and 'Performance'. We've come across countless examples of 'VJ' style projections and 3D video installation but nothing much along the lines of our project - which is both a good and bad thing. It's exciting that we haven't found anything like what we are working on as it means we are working on something quite original. However we have no one to place ourselves against and work off their mistakes (and triumphs..)

Although.. We did find this...


Projector Cape: Experiment #2 from REGULARMOTION on Vimeo.


But prehaps a little too much person/projector interaction..

Hollyoaks sees us through.

The problem with working with a projector is that the best time to test is when it gets dark, so we find we have to fill the day with something before nightfall.. One of these things is Hollyoaks. Or 'HOLLYOAKS TIEM' as we shout to one another on the strike of 7pm.
Our favourite character is Brendon Brady, played by Emmett J Scanlan (If you're reading this Emmett, as you have googled yourself and ended up reading this post and seeing this fan-art please email us .. We have need of your vocal talents.)

Non-HD Video: Test 4

In our opinion a successful test, even if we can't see it in the HD we'd like - our only current computer is kinda buckling under the strain of 1GB per 10 sec video...

Anyway, using the 180 degree digital painting, the idea was to simply pan the background whist the actor sort of spins around smoothly and slides across a bit. Now, this is considerably more difficult than it sounds, and we got the first idea of what a huge task it would be to rehearse a complete show made up of shots like this. After many takes and lols, we got a few that we were pleased with, including the one below.



Also this video is a bit strange in that the timeline believes it is 22 minutes long. I assure you it will be a very long time until we post a video that is actually 22 minutes long...

Visual Test 4: 180 Degree Pan from Livvy Brewer on Vimeo.

Things to improve for next time: reshape the actor's light spot, increase size of orange spot, decrease contrast, make back of actor's spot black instead of brown and perhaps add another reference point such as a near-closeup object that moves at a different speed to the background.

Also, we made cookies today, full of M&Ms. Jack even time-lapse filmed them. But, we baked them for too long and they ended up as biscuits. And the time-lapse didn't come out very good because they didn't change at all. We better stick to brownies next time.

Test Visuals 3 & 4

This is a still image from another test, yet a pretty unsuccessful one: The aim of the test was create a visual of the actor behind a chain-link fence. We also used prison-bars, but this test was totally unsuccessful.

If you look at the chain-link the visual effect works out reasonably well, however the whole illusion is ruined by the top bar being distorted. The height of the fence is also a problem. However it is not all wasted effort, we will go back to this at a later date and sort out these problems as we feel this technique has definate potential.

This is a preview of a quick panoramic background drawn up on photoshop, The actual resolution is 5720-1080. (Three widescreen HD pictures side-by-side.) Long background is long. We wanted to create the illusion of a 180 degree camera turn but with a live actor.
The brief given for this background was : A darkish night sky (to play with light source), a point of interest and reference(the barn and trees) and the set dimensions.

This background was then taken into AFX to create the turn and the lighting - The video will be up later!

HD Video: Test Visuals 1&2

Here's a short video of 3 selected tests, including white background watering can from test 1, black background watering can from test 2, and headlights on the wall from test 2. Please ignore our random mumblings...


First Projector Tests from Livvy Brewer on Vimeo.

Test Visuals:2

We have made some changes and also created a new test today. The new test was to create moving headlights against a wall, with a white space for the actor to move within the light spheres. 'Rabbit in the headlights' pretty much sums it up.
We have also filmed the experiments using manual settings on the Canon 7D instead of automatic, as this allows us to control focus and exposure. Here are some images from the tests. These pictures are raw 1080p unedited video frames.

Improvements for next time - Make the white space larger in the headlight test (you can see bricks on my shoulder), and maybe try some lighting and shadows on the extremely vibrant watering can. Other than that, the next tests will be new ones.

Video next...

Test Visuals: 1

For the past couple of days, we have been doing some simple visual tests with the projector, all captured on camera. Here's some frames from the video, soon we'll put a few edited clips on here!

This test was for one actor to lift a watering can and pour water over the other actor. The 'wet' actor would then shake off. Like a dawwg.

The watering can and the pouring water were digitally painted, then given some rough movement in AFX. The head shake water was made with one of the particle systems.

During our testing we have been trying different ways to use colour, brightness and composition. For this test, we created both a black and a white version - there are pros and cons of both, see for yourself. Whilst we both like the white version, we think that being able to create lighting effects and composition with the black background is more ideal. There will be few times in our final project when the lighting is quite as minimal as this, however.

After seeing the results, we have noted the following things to amend for the next test:

Decrease brightness of, enlarge and lower spotlights, also increase blurriness of spotlights, decrease opacity of watering can (it was so bright that the camera received it as orange instead of red when using black background), make watering can animation a bit smoother to help actor move with it.

Next test coming soon...

Projector Time!

So, in a nutshell, we are pursuing an idea which involves live actors performing with projected animation. The action will be highly synchronised, allowing the actors to interact with the animated image. The screen will cover a whole wall surface, but will be used selectively to create composition and lighting effects.

An essential part of this project will be the projector, no doubt about it. We've been doing loads of research and tests regarding projector units, screens, brightness, contrast and resolution amongst other things, it turns out projectors are actually very complicated. That is, of course, if you want the result to look better than a standard office presentation...

Fortunately, Livvy's Dad owns two projectors, one of which is installed here and has been available for our tests all summer. The other will hopefully be with us in Bristol within the next couple of months. The projector we have been using (the Panasonic PT-AE1000E) is very effective, as it is full HD, has a brightness of 1100 Lumens, a high contrast ratio and very quiet fans.

Now would be a good time to say that we plan to use full HD for this project. Utilising a HD projector, a HD DSLR, a PS3 and Blu-Ray media, we're not looking back!

Saying that, our tests are not in HD yet, as we don't currently have access to a Blu-Ray burner. Nevertheless, some of our tests will be on here soon...

Readings.

We want to produce something with story poems, aimed at children. So we trawled the 2nd hand book shops and my attic for poetry books. We did consider writing our own poems.. but that would be a project within itself!

Origins.

In the 2nd Semester of our 2nd year, we worked with Dan Keeble on a project entitled 'Steamwell.' This is due to be entered into the Disney ImagiNations competition in February 2011, before which we still need to produce final materials. When we discovered the competition and first started working out ideas, we shared an excitement of working on a project that is creatively and technically innovative, as oppose to an ordinary film concept.

Having attended animation festivals, screenings and events has shown us what a huge catalogue of media there is - ranging from widely accessible Hollywood-style films to niche art house pieces. We intend to create a project that is widely accessible but is also experimental. At the Encounters Festival and the Stuttgart Animation Festival, we have attended thought-provoking screenings and lectures concerning innovative, interactive and next-gen projects. The projects range from iPhone applications and BBC Big-screens, to interactive experiences and digital theatre/cabaret. The latter are often aimed specifically at niche audiences - young, creatively-minded independent film-lovers. We believe that this audience can be opened up to be more inclusive.

Taking all of this into account, we feel passionate about this type of project - nevertheless, we have never done anything like this before; there will be trial and error, there will be hurdles to overcome but hopefully the end product will be successful!

Plus, Livvy's dad has got a projector. A good one.

Starting Point.

Hello! We're Livvy Brewer and Jack Norris, two animation students about to enter our 3rd and last year of study. This Blog is a gathering of thoughts, concepts and anything else that falls under the umbrella of 'Lumen Soup'!
Lumen Soup is a collaborative project which will eventually form an alternative film piece, exploring animated mixed-media theatre.
More will be revealed in posts to come...