Welcome to the Forum: Video Know-How for Shows

This forum is intended to be a useful reference area for anyone considering using video in a live performance. I would like to see some of the mystery, misunderstanding and gimmickry that surrounds live video dispelled in favour of solid answers and good ideas, well executed. This way, at the start of each project, discussions will no longer dwell disproportionately on logistical questions: thoughts can swiftly progress to the exciting fresh ground offered by creative collaboration.

The topics that I will cover have been gathered over time from questions put to me by both producers and creatives, students and professionals during the course of my work. I have gained a wide range of experience working in the field of Video & Projection Design for shows and I hope that this resource can help people to better understand this medium and feel they can accommodate and benefit from video as the fantastically flexible tool that it is, whatever the scale of the show.

Plus, I’ll be testing out some new ideas and technology right here, based on what people have asked me most recently with accompanying images and videos.

Maybe the first question should be: Why should I be curating this forum? I don’t claim to know everything there is to know about Video for shows, however the world of video design is a close-knit community and I am in a position to be able to access and rely on input from many trusted colleagues and collaborators to join the conversation. I am also actively engaged in education within the industry and therefore exposed to groups of people who are experiencing the medium for the first time and as potential users and there are a lot of questions that they want answers for.

Video can be successfully achieved in Theatre in a variety of ways and each team has its own methods but I will endeavour here to summarise some of the best practice I and my fellow practitioners are employing. Nevertheless, my sound-bytes will not be exhaustive so please feel free to add comments and feedback so that this resource can be expanded as required.

My main focus will be on video for theatrical performances since this is the context in which most of the questions tend to occur but I believe the discussion will have transferable relevance to the live events sector as they seek to become ever more theatrical despite a very different type of economics and mission.

Suggested topics to be covered soon (those with links have articles you can read already):

1. WHY SHOULD I USE VIDEO IN MY SHOW?

2. IS IT EXPENSIVE?

3. WHO WILL MAKE UP THE VIDEO TEAM?

4. WHAT IS PROJECTION MAPPING?

5. SCRAP THE SCREEN: WORKSHOP PROJECTING CONTENT ON DIFFERENT SURFACES

6. PROJECTION AS LIGHTING

7. WHAT TYPE OF CONTENT CAN I USE?

8. WHAT KIT WILL I NEED? WHAT IS A MEDIA SERVER?

9. WILL WE BE ABLE TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE VIDEO IN REHEARSALS?

And of course, if you would like a question answered, just ask here: