Creating a multi media performance

Multimedia performance 1

Introduction: 

In this lesson, we have decided to create a simple tech multi-media performance, after watching the video Practitioners in Practice by Katie Mitchell. We aim to recreate a simple performance we saw on video where a person is driving a car in the rain. The link to the video we watched is down below.  

Practitioners in Practice : Katie Mitchell (film)  

To achieve this we utilized day-to-day materials, for example, we used a piece of acrylic for the window of the car, some paper towels soaked in water, a blow dryer for blowing on the acrylic, a flashlight from a phone, and Zoom meeting with a computer which is projected on to the big screen of the stage and a phone camera to capture what is going on. 

Setup: 

First, we set up the stage, we have a flap which is covered with black cloth to simulate the inside of the car at night. Then we have a chair in front of the flap with a table covered in black cloth in front of it. We located the phone camera in front of the table, with a piece of acrylic in front. We then set up a Zoom call meeting with a laptop (projected onto the screen on stage) and the phone that is recording in front of the setup.  

Then we turned off the house lights of the auditorium and had one person standing on each side of the camera. The person on the right squeaks the water from the wetted paper towels onto the acrylic. The person on the left side of the camera uses the hair dryer to blow on the water. Then a person on the far right turns the phone flashlight on and off to mimic the passing light when traveling on the road. Finally, a person sits in a chair acting like he is driving. 

Final product: 

Evaluation: 

Things that I think could be improved are the lights in the auditorium, although we turned off all the lights, there were still reflections of the emergency exits on the acrylic. So next time we could do this in a completely dark room for a better effect. Secondly, the water drops are not moving across the acrylic a lot. This could be improved by getting a more powerful hairdryer, or a piece of acrylic that has a smoother surface. The last thing that could be improved is how frequently the flashlight is flashing, which is a bit uneven in the intervals and not flashing fast enough. What we could do next time is to cover the phone's flashlight instead of turning it off on the software system. The use of this technique is a unique approach with a combination of both naturalistic and non-naturalistic elements. In this case, there are stage hands on stage with the actor, which breaks the audience away from the performance thus making the audience "think" about what is going on rather than emotion. However, the projected close-up of the actor is naturalistic, which the audience connects with the emotion of the actor. So this could make the audience think and feel at the same time. 

Multimedia performance 2

Introduction: 

In this multimedia performance, we utilized a shadow screen with a light shining in the back to cast shadows of the actors performing behind the shadow screen. We also utilized a speaker playing music during this small performance.  

Setup: 

First, we have a shadow screen resting between two pillars, we covered the bottom half with a black cloth so only the top half of the shadow screen is visible. Next, we cut out buildings and a UFO out of paper to cast shadows to use as a prop. We choose the song "English Men in New York" by Sting. And then we set up a camera with a tripod in front of the shadow screen to record this performance. The actor on the left has a headband with two wobbly antennae. And the actor on the right has a hat on. 

Final product: 

Evaluation: 

The shadow screen used in this performance gives the audience watching the performance a lot of space to imagine what is happening because all the audience can see is the silhouette of the actors performing. The audience could imagine the expressions of the actors and the conversation they might have etc. The use of props on the actor's heads gives the audience an idea of what they are. The antennae show that the actor is an alien, and the hat shows that the actor is a very respectful man. The lyrics of the song also add to this idea of English men and aliens. 

Multimedia performance 3

    

Introduction/setup: 

    In this multimedia performance, we used two different camera angles with a performer doing a monologue. We used similar methods in achieving the two perspectives mentioned above in Multimedia Performance 1. We have a laptop that is projecting its screen onto the backdrop. The laptop has a Zoom meeting set up with two other phones (used to film the two perspectives).

Final product:

Evaluation: 

 This way the audience is not only able to focus on the actor on the stage performing the monologue but also have two other perspectives to focus on. Which in this case is a closer lower-down perspective and a side perspective of the whole chair and the actor. The lower-down perspective helps the audience focus on the small expressions of the actor as the actor is performing the monologue, but also the lower-down camera angle causes the actor to have more power, which could come in handy when the actor tries to convey something to the audience. The side camera view provides the audience with another perspective of the actor's posture on the chair, as well as the subtle movements of the actor on the chair. 

Comparison between the different types of digital technologies and artifacts/materials used in live performance: 

The use of a shadow screen and the light is very easy to set compared to the use of projections with different camera angles. We need a long time to set up the Zoom meeting turn on the projector and join the Zoom meeting with all of the phones. There is also a big disadvantage to using Zoom calls and projections, it's not always reliable. Sometimes the internet might lag out on one of the phones filming (which we could spot when watching the video of performance 3 above) or some other technical issues might happen. There are also different effects when we use different types of technologies and materials, with the light and the shadow screen in performance 2, make the audience picture the expression of the character, and have more space to imagine what is happening. The different camera angles in Performance 2, it make the audience focus on the tone and the expression of the actor, making it easier for the actor to convey a message. Finally, in Performance 1, with the camera visible to the audience and the stagehands on stage breaks the audience away from the emotions of the scene and helps them to think rationally about what is going on.