Crafting the Backdrops

   One of the elements of a stage presentation ( for "I Am Alpha & Omega" ) is the Backdrops used from scene to scene. In a drama, musical or opera, that can be composed of one or many settings. 

   In this piece, the Backdrops for Act One: the Creation needs to be an active part of the progress of the storyline. 

   The initial stage presentation (in numerous revisions) was intended to use puppetry much like "Bread & Puppet Theatre". This concept was put aside when Disney used that effect in Lion King. 

   Now there is a new concept for expressing the creation. Much of this new concept comes from an earlier concept for a presentation in "Hemispherical Theatre", which may still be viable, as a new Cinema 360 facility was constructed within the last few years.

   The progress of the Revisions of "I Am Alpha & Omega" was such that, wanting to engulf the audience in the experience, I was thinking away from the standard proscenium stage and hence, I designed a "Hemispherical Theatre" for the presentation of the material and began to adapt the material thereto.

    It was not fully conceptualized, because the technology to do it was in a rapidly changing state of flux and I determined that I needed to wait until advancements became more fully realized. I came to understand that by the time I was in a position to implement the show, that the technical realities would be completely different than what I was working with. So I saw no point in continuing in the direction I was going.

   In Truth, there needs to be designs for multiple venues, taking into account the standards in the Industry.

    The realities that were facing me, were that computer advancements, remote control of stage equipment, new technologies and imaging capabilities, such as LCD as opposed to projection, to name a few were advancing much quicker than I could keep up with. They still are. Now we need to take into account the fact that an increasingly larger group of people have their own Home Theatres.

  So, returning to the existing script materials, I have studied the material for Act One and thinking about how to implement the core visual elements, I have come to this conclusion; I can build the conceptual imagery using PowerPoint. I have all the tools to construct a montage that will be used in the opening scenes. 

   So in order to advance, (beyond a Cinematic product) I will be setting up my A/V Editing Suite again, using updated equipment that will be linked to a Lighting Control Board, using both MIDI & DMX. Effectively, I can control video projection from the Lighting Board and go about setting all the Ques for Act One. 

   In order to effect the final design, I will be using stock photography to craft the "prototype" sequence. The imagery will likely be processed and layered into a film sequence. Once that is finished I will convert that over to paintings and create one or more new sequences, depending on the timing required. This painted backdrop sequence will be used as an element of the live theatrical stage show, Procenium or Hemispherical.

    This is all part of my process of setting up a sound stage with a green screen in my studio and linking my equipment together, so I can implement a prototype run on a smaller scale. 

  But I also intend on producing "Nunc Licet" on that stage, for video. NL originated as Act Three of A&O, but is now a separate play.

   I think this will be necessary to succeed

That's all for now. AG