simple web creator

Research | Scary Tales

Visual and auditory augmentation of live storytelling performances for ‘Little Cat Theatre' company at the English Heritage site of Tynemouth Priory.
This research project involved the design and deployment of motion graphic, effects, video and audio elements for ‘Scarier Tales’, live theatrical events which ran in both 2014, 2015 and 2016.  
This research was practically based, looking at the capacity for design and technology to be used and the practical application of this within actual performances.

READ ON

Rationalle

There is a long established link between Design and Technology. 
Increasingly these are brought together to create unique experiences for an ‘audience’; the span of these is ever widening; retail design, immersive interactive experiences, installation, exhibition design, live music/ theatrical events, advertising, conference facilitation etc.  
A rapid acceleration of platforms on which to build this 'experiential design' has opened up opportunities for designers to contribute, not only to the 'art design' but to the actual 'narrative'.

Aim
The original aim was to explore how design can be used within specific areas of 'experiential design'. For this project this was theatrical performance and the aim was to generate design elements - physical and digital - and experiment with  implementation using a variety of technology i.e. sensor triggered devices.

Place, Partnership & Production(s) 

With this in mind Little Cat Theatre were approached and become, from my perspective, a ‘partner organisation’.
Little Cat produce ‘Scarier Tales’, an hour-long show which uses the English Heritage site of Tynemouth Priory as it’s ‘stage’, the story weaving its way through multiple locations within the site. The unfolding narrative inclines the audience toward participation and encourages interactivity.  Although structured to some extent along a classic linear theatrical narrative, the company were open to new ideas and suggestions, particularly as to how visual and auditory elements could be used to progress, augment and redirect the story.

Taking place during October and November of 2014 and 2018, the shows provided the vehicle for my practical implementation and research.

Plots, Concept’s and Ideas 

Following/ reacting to the narrative, and shaping this where appropriate.
Scarier Tales are thematic. The script is essentially organic, developed right up to the opening performance and then continues to be nuanced to audience reaction. The first challenge therefore was to develop concepts, which could fit within the narrative theme without necessarily being so rigid they would lock in the storyline.
The first show in 2014 theme centred upon WW1 and a real event; the German Navy bombing of Hartlepool.

2015 Told the tale of a murdering Priest brought to justice by the ghost of the ‘widowed’ bride to be, whose marriage never was.

2016 Centered around

2017

2018 Is set during in 1665 during the great plague, following several characters and particularly a 'quack doctor' seeking to exploit the misery of the afflicted.

The site by it's nature is contradictory; whilst it presented many exciting opportunities as a listed site, practical implementation was always the prime factor in what could and could not, be implemented. 


Experiments

In an attempt to establish what might work and what would not, I developed a number of trial ideas, concepts and 'prototype' content, some example can be found under 'notebooks'. Demo/ trial content creation aimed to establish workability of ideas, and much of the raw footage ultimately used was shot on site and composited later.



2018
The requirement was for a relatively large scale projection in a tight claustraphobic space.  The final video was back projected onto thin black canvas and the space filled using a smoke machine.
2017.  A reputable man of science seeks to debunk the hokum of the supernatural and unwittingly breaks an ancient covenant.  This clip played in an underground location used for a street, seance scene.
The performance is spread over multiple locations across the site.  This short clip was projected against the outside wall of what remains of a Chapel, seen as the audience move from one 'scene' to another.
2015
Cast members were filmed on site largely using a digital SLR. Although it was not ultimately used the low res 12khz audio from the camera was treated in Soundtrack Pro. Ultimately a PA was set up in the bunker and the actor voiced over the video as it was projected. The footage itself was edited and 'treated' using Final Cut Pro, After Effects and Apple Motion.
The clock was always intended as a recurring visual motif; the concept was the Bride been caught in the moment on her wedding morning she hears of the death of her groom to be.
This was designed using Illustrator. The advantage of a vector is that it can be scaled to any size, so this was blown up to around 2ft diameter and 3 copies were lasercut from MDF.  One clock was placed near the site entrance where the audience initially are gathered, tied to an iron gate. A pico projector in the ante chamber projected the animated 'stuck clock'  onto the wall opposite. (see Show Photos).
The clock was also used in a key scene in the WW1 Bunker.  Following the haunting of the Priest by his victim, the clock appears as the rest of the narrative is played out.
The 'wedding photo' set piece was shot on site and treated in After Effects.  The initial idea was that this would be used as the audience first assemble, by way of a 'scene setting' visual; to establish the wedding that 'never was'.  The nature of the production however is very fluid and ultimately it's inclusion would have lessened the impact.  

This highlights the core nature of the process; ideas and subsequent footage have to be generated quickly, content over-shot and ultimately sacrificed if they do not add to or assist the flow of the story.
The final scene transformed the dungeon into a Chapel to host both the wedding and judgement of the Priest. The window rose is that of the actual chapel on site, whilst I fabricated the celestial backdrop digitally.  After the inital re-appearence of the victim, the concept was simply that of the bride escapoing purgatory and finally 'entering' heaven.
 
As with the 2014 production, different projectors used at different locations required multiple video output formats; Compressor and Xilisoft were largely used for this.
2014
This clip highlights the experimentation & production process for the 2014 shows. 
I consciously steered clear from producing movie style CGI; the site is ancient and in the context of the narrative such footage would look out of place. I felt that more visceral content which visibly used the actual cast members would be more effective in establishing the narrative link between the footage and the production.
On site, with the addition of more traditional 'stage mechanics' the footage took on another life.  
Particularly effective was the 'Ghost/ Flowers' footage displayed in a claustraphopic bunker with the addition of a smoke machine.
Given the limited amount of space, the notion of using 'shadows' as part of projections was explored.
Timelapse photography was taken using a digital SLR and RasPi Cam set-up.
Green screening was improvised on set, and proved problematic; a controlled environment was needed.  The footage took hours to key out ultimately requiring animated bezier masks. Vector designs were used to re-create the Chapel window and also 'props', principally the 'Barguest' (Devil Hound) which was shadowcast.
The 'swinging noose' although the simplest footage to create (*1) proved arguably the most effective. It was projected onto the far wall of the final scene; a chamber in which the murderer is hanged. It could be seen swinging in the distance as the audience are led into the chamber.  Shot against a plain background the actual stone wall of the chamber and the shadow cast by the noose had impact through its simplicity.
Audio: the main track required was for part of the opening scene; a Barguest is caged in a dungeon. Echoing dripping water, low growls which can be amplified and a priest exorcising the devil dog. Cue: wate recorded dripping into a bucket, pitch-shifted in the mixdown, myself growling, again de-tuned, timestretched and plenty of reverb added.  The 'Priests' incantation was thankfully dropped from the final edit!
GAllERIES CONCLUSIONS

ADDRESS
Design Centre. City Campus
University of Sunderland
SR2 7PT

CONTACTS
Email: roger.thomas@sunderland.ac.uk
Phone: +1 (44) 0191 5152114

Copyright: Roger Thomas 2016

LINKS

Thanks for contacting me, I will reply asap !

SHARE THIS PAGE!