Position
+ lead animator and projection system designer
Personnel
+ Art Director: John Boesche
+ Animator: Erin Pleake
+ Illustrator: Priyankka Krishnan
+ Sound Designer: Daniel Massey
+ Scenic Designers: MFA & BFA Students
+ Producers: University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, Illinois Theatre, Krannert Center for The Performing Arts
Details
+ 2021
+ Urbana, IL
Shedding light on student work at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign’s theatre program was the premises for what would become Folxtales, an outdoor showcase of student actor and designer talents projected onto the 4200 square foot facade of the Krannert Center’s Foellinger Great Hall.
I was asked by the Art Director and Head of the Media Program, John Boesche, to collaborate on this project as the lead animator and projection system designer. Creating video content started with script selection written by faculty and staff from the university theatre program. Scripts were paired with Master of Fine Arts (MFA) acting students who worked with Script and Performance Coordinator, Aaron Munoz, to cultivate movement and emotion for each piece. Master of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Fine Arts scenic design students developed the inspiration for the story visuals. We then utilized green screen techniques to capture each actor's action to composite them into the artwork. Working within the system's parameters, each student provided storyboards highlighting each environmental and scenic change. Provided with actor footage and detailed storyboards, John, myself, and animator Erin Pleake brainstormed and developed ways to bring these storyboards to life. We created the evocative imagery projected for this project using Adobe After Effects, Premier Pro, Photoshop, Illustrator, and the Red Giant Trapcode Suite.
The projection system consisted of four Barco 30,000 lumen projectors, each utilizing their new periscope style lens designed for a wide coverage angle at a very short distance to the surface. This setup allowed us to use standard scaffolding constructed over the stairways of the atrium and arrange the projectors in an optimal way for mapping imagery on the wall and ceiling. The video content was driven by Dataton's WATCHOUT, utilizing four separate HD feeds to blend and converge the projectors.
This project's overall goal was to emphasize and highlight the incredible work students achieve at the University of Illinois theatre program. Through the collaboration and expertise of professionals within the industry, Illinois Theatre produced an immersive experience for the campus and community to showcase their students' work.
