Any productions that would be improved with projections?

[MollyJeanneMusic]

Posted: 1/18/21 at 5:46pm

I know this board has a slight aversion to projection-based sets, such as in Mean Girls and Anastasia, but I'm wondering if there are any projections that could benefit from a creative use of projections.  For example, with the constant rumors of the Disney movie Tangled getting an adaptation for the stage, I couldn't help thinking how cool it would be if the production moved Rapunzel's backstory into a realization at the end of the show, told through painting-themed projections on her tower walls.  I also thought it would be a creative device if the scenes in her tower are all projection-based, but when she finally leaves the tower, the projections disappear to reveal a grand, non-projected set that she and the other characters explore throughout the show.  I figured it would be a cool way to display her constant wall paintings within the tower and also use the disappearance of the screens to juxtapose Rapunzel's two worlds, one within her tower and one on the outside.  Any other examples you can think of working with creative use of projections?

[NameGreg]

Posted: 1/18/21 at 6:03pm

I think projections can be excellent when used correctly. For instance, the use of a projector near the end of Assassins on Broadway was brilliant and made for an unforgettable visual.

I feel like projections in theatre are a lot like CGI in movies. They can be used for brilliant visuals, but it’s also very easy to fall back on them when a method more grounded in reality can work just as well, and that causes them to feel played out.

[blaxx]

Posted: 1/18/21 at 6:14pm

What a stange question. It's not how a production can benefit from them, it's how they serve the staging and the overall design.

Unless the text or score revolves around the use of projections, there is no such thing as a show that will improve by using them.

And if you think the projections are the one thing that will improve a show, then the material must not be very strong to begin with.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 1/18/21 at 6:16pm

Speaking as one of the people who hated the screens in Anastasia (and to a lesser extent, in Mean Girls): 

There are tons of appropriate, tasteful, and highly creative ways to use projections and LED screens. For me, it largely depends on the setting for the show, in conjunction with the amount that it's being used, and whether it's being used as a crutch, or as an essential storytelling tool. A show like Curious Incident (to use a common example) is able to use a ton of projections because it's built into the storytelling concept in a brilliant way. And then there are shows like Wicked, which only uses projections in a subtle way, and it's well-integrated into the lighting design so that it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb. But something like Anastasia? Set in the 1800s (or whatever)? The projections feel garish and distracting.

I also hate when projections/screens are used as a substitute for the storytelling tools in film, especially when it's a show adapted from a movie. Because at a certain point, I find myself thinking: if you're just going to use these screens to make this feel like a movie, why did you bother adapting this for the stage in the first place? (usually, the answer is just: $$$) 

For those reasons,  I have to confess that I don't think I would enjoy the production of Tangled you're imagining. I do like idea of creating a contrast between a LED set and a real set - I actually think that's a pretty creative way to use projections as a legitimate storytelling tool for the stage. I just don't think it would be a good fit for Tangled, personally, because of the world/time period it's set in. I also don't like the idea of telling backstory through projections, because again, now you're just in film territory. Unless the images are projected onto the physical set in a way that feels seamless, so that it seems like the paintings on the (physical) wall are coming to life.

Updated On: 1/18/21 at 06:16 PM

[VotePeron]

Posted: 1/18/21 at 6:16pm

Creative is a great word that I don't think is often paired with the use of projections on Broadway. For example, in Frozen, having Elsa's magic powers be nothing more than projected animations was the laziest stagecraft I've seen in years. Cursed Child is 5.5 hours and only has one repeating effect that uses projections, everything else is practical. 

I think projections should be used creatively to enhance the story or compliment the lighting design only when no other stage effect is possible.

[windowwaving]

Posted: 1/18/21 at 6:21pm

Not that I WANT these productions to use projections, as I love them because they don't rely on them, but I've always wondered what a production of PHANTOM or WICKED would be like if they were just beginning development today. 

Granted, I hated the new US tour of Phantom, but they didn't use projections.

If there is anyone that did projections tastefully, I think it's Frozen. I did not realize that the backdrops were screens and they still had huge physical set pieces. I'm not sure if it's because the brightness on it is not very high, but they looked very real. However, I wasn't fond of the projection mapping on the proscenium. I think Harry Potter did a better job at that. 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 1/18/21 at 6:29pm

Add An American In Paris as a show that used projections in a creative way, the projection designer was even awarded the tony award for best scenic designer that year.

[MattieIce2018]

Posted: 1/18/21 at 6:35pm

I think the projection mapping in Beetlejuice was done really well too; it gave the house set (which was great, in itself) some effects which would've been difficult, if not impossible, with conventional lighting, especially at the end of Act 1 when the title character takes over the house during the dinner party (thinking specifically of when the circus tent is projected onto the walls, then the design appears to exit through the doors and the black/white stripes are 'drawn' on)

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/18/21 at 6:35pm

Hear, hear, Blaxx!

[JBroadway]

Posted: 1/18/21 at 6:39pm

Call_me_jorge said: "Add An American In Paris as a show that used projections in a creative way, the projection designer was even awarded the tony award for best scenic designer that year."

 

To be fair, it's pretty much standard nowadays that if a show uses a ton of projections/screens, they will usually get joint-eligibility with the scenic designer. And for a show like An American In Paris, which also used real sets, it's tough to say which design element they really had in mind when voting. 

For my money, I thought the use of projections in the show could have been much worse - definitely one of the better examples of a period show using projection. But I didn't love it. 

[NameGreg]

Posted: 1/18/21 at 7:24pm

Another great moment with projections is the act one finale of Sunday in the Park with George where after all the actors have gone in place, they reveal the actual painting which fits perfectly.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 1/18/21 at 7:37pm

NameGreg said: "Another great moment with projections is the act one finale of Sunday in the Park with George where after all the actors have gone in place, they reveal the actual painting which fits perfectly."

 

They achieved this effect without projections in the original production. 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 1/18/21 at 8:10pm

JBroadway said: "NameGreg said: "Another great moment with projections is the act one finale of Sunday in the Park with George where after all the actors have gone in place, they reveal the actual painting which fits perfectly."

They achieved this effect without projections in the original production."

[ElphabaGoodman]

Posted: 1/18/21 at 8:57pm

There are some new projections that were added for the national tour of The Band's Visit ("Something Different" and "Answer Me". I found them to be very much story-driven and effective.

[Tag]

Posted: 1/18/21 at 11:17pm

NameGreg said: "Another great moment with projections is the act one finale of Sunday in the Park with George where after all the actors have gone in place, they reveal the actual painting which fits perfectly."

I recall that the 2008 production did NOT do this at the end of Act I, despite the whole show being projections.  It was quite a head scratcher.  The painting was projected after the curtain call though.

[Lot666]

Posted: 1/20/21 at 9:53am

JBroadway said: "Speaking as one of the people who hated the screens in Anastasia (and to a lesser extent, in Mean Girls):

There are tons of appropriate, tasteful, and highly creative ways to use projections and LED screens. For me, it largely depends on the setting for the show, in conjunction with the amount that it's being used, and whether it's being used as a crutch, or as an essential storytelling tool. A show like Curious Incident (to use a common example) is able to use a ton of projections because it's built into the storytelling concept in a brilliant way. And then there are shows like Wicked, which only uses projections in a subtle way, and it's well-integrated into the lighting design so that it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb. But something like Anastasia? Set in the 1800s (or whatever)? The projections feel garish and distracting."

YES to all of this.