Digital Media, Projection Design, and Technology for Theatre

Digital Media, Projection Design, & Technology for Theatre, Second Edition comprehensively details the integration of digital media and projections in theatre and live performance, providing foundational skills, best practices, and real-world applications and considerations.

The book provides readers with an overview of the professional field, including current industry standards and workflows for digital media/projection design, its related aesthetics, techniques, and technologies. A practical taxonomy of digital media and how we create meaning through its use on the theatrical stage along with the essential tools and techniques for creating and executing digital content are covered. Readers are introduced to the fundamentals of creating and executing digital content, including photography and still images, generative AI, video, animation, real-time effects, generative art, data, and interactive digital media. The book also details the types and use of industry-standard equipment, including media servers, projectors, projection surfaces, emissive displays, cameras, sensors, and more. It guides readers through technical tasks, such as programming media servers; converging and blending projectors; projection mapping; calculating surface brightness/luminance, screen size, and throw distance; and more, making this a complete guide to digital media and projection design today. The second edition is updated with new content throughout and two new chapters addressing the latest technologies and trends in virtual performance, motion capture, generative AI, and VR/AR. Ten new case studies from diverse practitioners have been added, and the book is restructured with shorter chapters for easier navigation and reference.

This book serves well as a main or supplemental textbook for courses in projection design, theatre, and digital media design. It is also useful for emerging practitioners.

Sample assets and interviews with leading projection designers are available for download at www.routledge.com/9781032302157.

Alex Oliszewski is an associate professor of media design and has a joint appointment at The Ohio State University between the Department of Theatre, Film, and Media Art and the Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design. His transdisciplinary research covers areas such as theatrical media design, new media authorship, virtual reality performance and storytelling, and experiential media system devising and development.

Daniel Fine is an artist, educator, and creative technologist. He collaborates on (and teaches students how to create) original works that are multidisciplinary and technologically inventive. His work combines the simple, traditional forms of storytelling with interactive digital media technologies to engage the imaginations and hearts of a 21st-century audience. His practice is grounded in embodied, theatrical, cinematic, gaming, and interactive storytelling techniques. He centers technology, digital theories, and interdisciplinary techniques into the meaning-making/dramaturgy of the work being created. He has appointments in the Department of Theatre Arts, Department of Dance, Cinematic Arts, and the Digital Arts Cluster at the University of Iowa.

Daniel Roth is a creative director and producer with over 20 years of experience, working with leading brands like GM, Ford, and Google. He is skilled in various aspects of production, enhancing audience experiences through innovative content and techniques. Roth hosts Event Explorer, a podcast revealing behind-the-scenes event stories. He holds an MFA from Arizona State University, an MA from Michigan State University, and a BFA from Wayne State University. Roth lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, Megan, and son, Dylan, blending professional achievements with family life.