Lab 3

What does multiple viewpoints mean?

Research into the use of Digital Media Projection to provide multiple viewpoints in live theatre performance.

What does multiple viewpoints mean?

Traditionally in theatre, the audience sits in front of the stage and the action is played out in front of them, and they have single viewpoint on this action throughout the performance. Theatre-in-the-round offers different seating arrangements, but still each audience member can only see the action from one fixed viewpoint. During some performances, the audience may move around, but still they have only their single view on the action.

Using projection of film and video, the audience can have more than one view on the action at any one time. As a simple example, if a camera films from the back of the stage, and this image is projected on a screen, than an audience member can see the action from both the front and the back at the same time.

An important note – projection can be used to provide the setting of the scenes or play e.g. the projection of a scenery backdrop. This is not an example of using projection to provide multiple viewpoints.

What can multiple viewpoints offer?

1 A different angle or view of the same action at the same time (close-ups, double, VOP shots)

e.g. the close up on an actor

the view from a different position relative to the stage

2 The introduction a different space or time, which can be either one or many different still or moving image(s) with a same or various perspectives.

e.g. the past

action in another location, at either the same or different time

3 A perspective on emotional and inner states of characters

e.g. representation of the character’s mood, thoughts and dreams

4 A contextual atmosphere or tone

e.g. This would not be a new viewpoint on the characters inner state, but a view on the mood or feeling of the play or scene as a whole

Is this last point really about multiple viewpoints, or is it more similar to scenery projection?

Apart from these physical aspects, multiple viewpoint work also changes, or increases, the classic sense of dramatic irony that theatre, film and narrative provide to the audience. What is dramatic irony. This describes the fact that the audience knows things which the Characters do not. For example we see in one seen that a bomb has been planted under a table. In the next scene, some characters sit around the table. The audience knows there is a bomb there, but the characters do not.

This happens all the time in narrative. Basically, the audience has privileged information; they know something that the actors don’t.

Multiple viewpoints offer many chances to work with this concept, as the characters usually do not see what is happening on the screens. (In fact, this is an interesting area of research – has anyone done a performance in which the actors do see the information on the screens?)

It would also be interesting to look for performance where not all the audience have the same multiple viewpoints, so people know different things etc., so they have different senses of dramatic irony.

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an amazing area to explore for digital performance

Decode, a digital media exhibition, which showed various types of digital installations was exhibited at V&A (2010). ). The exhibition not only exhibited high technologies, but also manipulated our daily life to engage in experience through these technologies and presented the results as art forms, which was amazing.

The usage of sensors, like, sound, touch and light, in these pieces, the audience can interact with the moving images. For example, in a corridor, there were two lines of plants which were made out of plastic and each one had a light. When the audience passed these plants, the lights lit up in different speed depending on the audience’s speed. Like this, in the exhibition images’ shapes and colours being changed by interaction of audience’s touch, sound and movement.

An impressive piece, picture below. Here, a digital painting is created by hundreds of sensors and screens which interact with the audience, which means the images of each time are different. It is more than a picture, it is like a performance. A performance needs the audience’s engagement, and in this piece the audience also automatically becomes a performer as soon as they interact with the technology.

Digital media involving live performance is my research area. This exhibition opened my eyes to the way that digital technology can bring the audience into a performance as a kind of performer, not just a viewer. The audience interaction affected the art appearance in this exhibition. In theatre, interaction through digital sensors could be used as part of the performance to affect what is on a screen, for example. Art that works in a range of digital ways is a rich area to explore for influence on performance in theat

Questions & aim--Lab 3

My research area mainly focus on:

How can digital media communicate in live theatre which shows multiple viewpoints?

Questions of Lab 3:

What is the definition of multiple points of view?

Why use digital screens in my performance?

How to balance the usage of digital screens and live acting in a performance?

What is film language in theatre?

How can video or film be used to convey emotion in a performance?

How can video or film be used to work with time and space in live performance?

What kind of theory be concerned?

Plan & Aim

A few min performance involving both live and recorded video.

In Lab 3, I am trying to combine video with live performing, which to issue story and rising emotion.

Video:

Two screens will be engaged, front and side, in Lab3.

Different viewpoints:

I am trying to using close-ups, double and VOP shots through screens.

I will try to present moving or still images in different perspectives and sizes

I also try to illustrate inner stage, obstract conception, through projections.

photos--Lab 1

GET THE BALL

----Cherry's performance

Against by Dora

Lab show

Lab show --1th group

Because I missed some discussions, I'd like talk about some of my thinking after Lab show.

The first show, He Jung's, I like the story she chose, which was mainly about an acting which is moving from a bed to a chair. And is different from plays performed by normal actors. From get up to sit on a chair can take her such a long time, comparing with a normal person who might never understand such suffering. And during the play, it does rise my awareness that there are some people whom suffering pain, physical and psychical, live positive.

I do love Esteban 's piece . I' d like to say the usage of projections is brilliant, which projected on three materials with 3 different sizes and shapes, especially the projection on a magic ball which do rise the atmosphere. What is more, do you guys notice that how many tipy of lighting had been used in his show, some of them we use in our daily life.

To Cherry's performance, the whole idea is great. She performed in a water walking ball, 2m x 2m, which she had half control of her acting. she could controlled the ball where to go, also audience could control it by pushing it. I think it is a good idea using the ball, when audience push it and she lose control, and the role change as well.

The last piece --Dora's

Since we had already discussed after she show, like how did the sound, chinese communicate with audience who do understand it? She can sing but talk, the relationship between she and a bulb rising the whole story...Its a well constructed piece. So I only want to add that I do love the part which she talked to the bulb without sound, which transported a powerful visual effect.

PS. I didnt had chance to watch Charanjct's show due to helping others'.

Butterfly Dream

video piece--Butterfly Dream

Me dream of butterfly...

... or

Butterfly dreams of me?