Analysing Three Pieces of Multimedia Performances

Piece 1: Another World - Freckled Sky

This dance performance is a production by Freckled Sky, a multimedia company that specializes in shows and events with digital special effects, including projection mapping.  In this specific performance, they utilized projection mapping and water on the stage to create an immersive experience for the audience in this dance performance. 

Timestamp: 0:29

In this image, we can see the dancer sliding on the floor, with water splashing up from the surface. This creates a real sense of rain on the stage, enhanced by the projection of rain. The combination of the physical water and the digital projection immerses the audience, making them feel as though they are part of the dancing performance. This immersive experience helps the audience to connect more deeply with the dancers, enhancing their emotional engagement and making the performance more impactful and memorable through their storytelling. 

Timestamp: 0:37

In this image, 37 seconds into the performance, the dancer appears from behind the projection, creating an interaction between the projection which is a digital element, and the dancer which is a physical element. I believe that there is a very interesting design of the cyclorama for the projections which has a small opening in the middle, allowing the dancer to come through the cyclorama onto the stage. 

Timestamp: 4:05

In this image, the dancer interacts with the projection on the stairs as he disappears behind the stairs and turns into a projection of a person on the stairs, which then creates a very interesting effect between the digital projection and the physical actor. This blurs the boundaries  This makes the projections come to life for the audience. 

Overall summary

In this multimedia dance performance, the interaction between the actor and the projections creates an illusion for the audience, which makes the audience sort of not know what is real and physical and what is being projected. The combination of the use of actual water and the projection of rain makes the performance come to life and helps the audience to immerse in the dance performance. 

Piece 2: THE CODE - NEMO (EUROVISON 2024)

This dance and music performance is the song "The Code" by Nemo, which was performed on Eurovision 2024. There is a very interesting use of multimedia of camera angles, the spinning dance floor which can change angles and spin around on an axis, as well as screens to display images.

Timestamp: 0:28

At the beginning of the song, the singer climbs onto the special platform, which right now at 28 seconds is tiled at a 45-degree angle, with the cooperation of the camera angle and the music itself, this makes the whole song and dance performance come to life. It is as if the singer is actually climbing up a steep hill and taking rapid breaths.   

Timestamp: 2:32

At this moment of the song, the mood reaches its climax, with the singer singing very high notes. Then the singer works with the tilted platform to be at the highest point on that platform and the stage. This creates a sense of power through the height of the singer. The combination of the screen in the back displaying projected linear swooshes, the camera rotating around the spinning platform, and the singer singing long high notes creates a continuous flow that is very pleasant to the audience. 

Overall summary

In this performance, the addition of the spinning and tilting platform adds a lot more complexity to it, and the cooperation between the camera angles and the platform position, as well as where the singer stands on the platform makes a very interesting performance that really brings the mood of the song to the audience, both through audio and visuals.

Piece 3: ABBa VOyage

This is a virtual band performance that creates the illusion that it is actually performed in real life thanks to the special design of the stage, which utilizes the effects of Pepper's ghost.

The singers first wear these tracking suits so that their movements can be accurately tracked with the reflective dots and cameras, which then allow the technicians to apply different clothes and textures on the singers after they record the video with the singers using the tracking devices.