productiondesign

Showing all posts tagged #productiondesign:

Man Cave meets Stadium Suite meets TV Sports Show

Posted on March 4th, 2013

One month ago, we did our anual Kensington weekend playing off the theme of the "Big Game" - it has traditionally been an equivalent of our third holiday event. We have grown the brand to make for an especially good day to target men. We tend to program some over-the-top fun moments in the day; and we always try to do something extra with the stage too.

This year, our discussion theme was about the things we lift up as idols. This is the concept I came up with: "Man Cave meets Stadium Suite meets TV Sports Show."

We reused some flats we’ve used for past productions - 20’ of which we used for the upstage wall; and another 20’ worth we cut out to make a "window." Behind this, we put a couple RP video screens. We created our graphics based on this 32:9 ratio. On the walls (which were lit with soft-focused breakups and LED sconce lights) we built shelves for some amazing sports memorabilia that was generously loaned to us for the weekend.

A primary context for us is live music - placement of the band: For this weekend, I chose to let them spill from SL into the middle of the stage balancing the visual weight of the "window"/screen. Behind them we used S4pars with difusion and barn-doors to back/side-light with warmth and give feel of the "forth wall" of a TV studio. The three levels of hanging truss created a visual "ceiling" and allowed for programming of fun lighting (see video in my Feb. 3 post) to support/enhance music.

Anyway, here are three photos that show the concept idea through the build in process and finally a shot I snapped while standing on a seat in the 6th row as guests were walking in on Saturday night…I won't share the details about how 75sec. prior, I was finessing the placement of some of the decorations.

Projection on textural backdrop that also acts as scrim to reveal dancer on cue

Posted on November 2nd, 2012

So we incorporated dance this past weekend. Some backstory on the #productiondesign that I didn’t share with anybody until after we saw it work: A few weeks back, I had a dream where the setting had me on a stage. A subplot of the dream involved me consulting a redesign of the scenic and lighting. I literally designed the light plot in my sleep. In the dream I positioned stage decks upstage of a sheer fabric so a dancer could be seen in a veiled manner behind a band playing live on the apron. Crazy, but this honestly happened as a subplot of my dream! When our producer shared the vision for the YRLK song I knew I had already designed the look…and I didn’t dare share my inspiration until we saw it live!

Ingredients:

The band was an eclectic mix of guitars, kick drum, a violin, and a couple low horns that I arrayed in a semicircle on a rug DSC

I used strips of Silver Batiste from RoseBrand to create a 40’ wide "seamless backdrop" that we lit with LEDs and Gobos

Upstage of the fabric we built stage decks for the dancer that we lit with toplight gobo and some shinbusters for the reveal

#ProductionDesign Ingredients: Duvetyn, iron stands, ellipsoidal backs, fake cobweb material,...

Posted on October 8th, 2012

#ProductionDesign Ingredients: Duvetyn, iron stands, ellipsoidal backs, fake cobweb material, and a few conventional lights.

Story2012 ProductionDesign

Posted on September 25th, 2012

Our goal was to create a space where lush beauty, artistic rock n roll, cinematic storytelling, and spoken communication could challenge and inspire for a 2 day conference.

An original sponsor backed out shortly before the event. I was honored to get the call. Can I design something for this shallow stage that can carry all the unique elements planned (several keynote presentations, multiple live music performances, interviews, short films, etc.) with immersive depth and beauty? Can I create an inspiring design that can tie in to already created branding? Can we break the fourth wall into the room? Can I do it with zero purchase - using only donated/recycled material? Can I transport it from Detroit to Chicago in my minivan? Can I lead the setup and execution with a team of volunteers (most of whom are young college students with no experience) that I've never met before? Can the setup be completed in a single day?

This is the view of the room. It was actually a little bit of a bummer to cover up the windows where you could see the Chicago skyline out of the stage left window in the back depth. However, the theme was not Chicago, but rather Everywhere. We wanted to transport people to a place of imagination.

The journey to get to from concept to actual design (including materials list, rigging notes, lighting plot, setup checklist, and rendering of vision) took a lot of iteration. It required lots of emails including scanned sketches and study of blueprints of venue that I was out of town and not able to do an in-person site-survey. We also utilized video conferencing for "face-to-face collaboration between Executive Producer, Production Manager, and myself, the Production Designer) including screen-sharing and digital sketching. The most interesting development was the week-of donation of an LED screen that let us gain a lot of stage space because of the throw distance not being required; which was great for the final product, but required some last minute adaptability in redesign of all the rigging and the plot. One of the key layers of this design that wasn’t there when I arrived at the venue was four lekos with abstract gobos. I pushed way hard for the day of rehearsal that our PM managed to find a way to procure the morning of the conference was isome theatrical gobos to throw textural light at the curtains. Sometimes it's the simple, old-school, theatrical tricks that really create the mood and set the tone for the experience. When the team saw them turn on only minutes before doors opened, they realized why I was pushing so hard for such. Magical!

The following screenshots show the final design plot as well as the iteration sketches, blueprint, and in process diagrams:

Crushed Screen-door strips hung between black pipe as textured depth-of-field behind live art. Burgundy CommandoCloth (from Rose Brand) finessed into a House of Blues inspired "theatrical proscenium" finished with three cords to "tie it" into a reveal. Our center focal point is a large LED Wall. Throughout the room are 12 chandeliers. In addition to being beautiful, I wanted to include them in the design to communicate this year’s theme "Everywhere". We’re called as the Creative Class to be light to the world, the best way to go out into the world is in community; not as an individual light but as a beautiful community of oneness. Therefore I see the symbolism that each chandelier represents the 12 tribes of the historical scriptures into all the world…

Oh, and the piano, harp, and guitar in the mid-depth behind the SL interview area: I only placed that there because we had the equipment in the wings and I thought they’d look pretty.

Dinner With A Perfect Stranger

Posted on August 21st, 2012

Scenic & Lighting Design

This was one of my earliest theatrical designs. It was a privilege to be invited to this project and bring the book to life on the stage. The following illustrates the process of creation:

Read the script (still in rough version adapted from the book)
Ideate with the Producer and Director
Research Italian restaurants
Sketch concepts
Development and refinement
Scale drawings
Texture, paint, functionals, decor
Custom table design tilted downstage slightly for audience
Lighting Design
Additions of floor and pillar
Sign off on build process and finishing details like paint, texture, stain, electrical, etc.
Transportation entire set has to transport in trailer, fit through standard doors, and setup/strike quickly for multiple venues
Oversee setup and lighting focus
Program lighting

Circle Truss and PlexiDiscs

Posted on October 8th, 2011

Love having a full circle truss to play with now! The PlexiDiscs are fun too #ProductionDesign

I think I’m due for a blog post to tell you about this #ProductionDesign …and perhaps post a...

Posted on September 17th, 2011

I think I’m due for a blog post to tell you about this #ProductionDesign …and perhaps post a photo from the house, too

Cottage and Scrim Easter 2006

Posted on July 17th, 2011

I was talking about projection and scrim recently. Here is a photo from an old design where scrim was used. We hung a black, sharkstooth scrim in the mid depth. We had scenic elements upstage where for this scene, our actor was at a grave site and experienced a "visions" of his family and life while a song was performed. We projected these "vignettes" on the scrim...

We change our stage with a completely unique design for every event - at least twice per week! I...

Posted on June 3rd, 2011

We change our stage with a completely unique design for every event - at least twice per week! I keep common materials as a branded through-line for a series. For instance we’re currently in a Midweek series where every week I’m using our VersaPlast Panels (see Mar. 7, 2011) in a different configuration. On the weekends, we just got done with a series where I was using Crushed Charcoal Aluminum Strips; and this weekend, I’ll be debuting a brand new look for the KCC stage! Expect a blog post soon…

We do it all with very minimal cost; now that we have an established "tinker toy set" of foundational materials. Our volunteer Turn Team is amazing: We turn around or stage in under 90min. Wednesday night and Sunday afternoon after each service. A solid process and good leadership is everything!

*For those wondering, this photo is from a service we did a couple years ago. I liked it and realized it deserved a chance to be seen.

Good Friday 2011 Production Design

Posted on April 25th, 2011

Kensington Good Friday 2011

For Kensington's Good Friday service this year, there was a powerful moment at the end where live poses portraying scenes from the crucifixion were revealed. Until that moment, the audience had been taken on an artistic journey from walking in to simple beauty with a simple stage containing only a decorated table, a piano and string section, some candles, and screen.

The screen was the key to the design. It was the focal point for a powerful video early on in the day. It also supported songs and teaching with graphics with lyrics and scripture projected on it. However if that was all that it was used for, we would've just used a standard video screen.

Our screen was a custom frame for a RoseBrand Gray Sharkstooth Scrim. The *frame was built out of plywood and wrapped in Burgundy Pinched Taffeta for color and texture. The interior dimension was 19' wide and maintained a perfect 16:9 ratio for projection.

Behind the scrim was a 32" high 20'x8' stage with a cross (capable of supporting an actor) that rose 10' above that. Scrim is a magical material. It behaves much like a standard soft good when lit from the front. However, with only a simple lighting cue, actors are revealed in a stunning way.

The trick to achieving a Renaissance inspired scene is less **light, not more...

The Good Friday service is really only the secondary event for the holiday weekend. Easter is trump. I had to design the GF set to work on the same stage as Easter's. Much of Easter's design lived upstage of the closed mid traveler. The rest was hidden behind a temporary curtain made out of strips of RoseBrand Black Duvetyn. The double intent was to create a black void of negative space to allow the story focal points to pop.

They did. It was a powerful service.

*The frames were shipped to each of our five campuses in trailers; and therefore had to be shipped in 4 pieces and assembled at each location. The scrim was then stretched over cardboard and stapled into place.

**Because of the tight timeline (only a few hours!) that our portable campuses had for setting up and programming we rented 4 Martin Mac250s for every campus. This allowed us to fine tune our cues (specifically the nuanced cues for the poses) at Troy Campus' rehearsal and send a cue sheet and photos to the campuses. This let them quickly program in those values and be 95% there.

***We used no haze for this service. That's very rare for us, as haze is a prominent part of our brand. I wanted to create a sense of focus on what was being lit, rather than the beams of light.

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