Projection. It's all about projection.

Week 1 - 442 days until opening night

I'm going to get all technical on yer ass now (hell, yeah). I'm a big advocator of using technology in productions - been using digital projections for years - and it's worked out really well. You need to show a train journey - project one. Need to show a giant peach rolling through a town, crushing as it goes - project it. Need to be above the clouds flying - project moving clouds. Up to now it's been very straight forward - connect the computer to the theatre's industrial sized digital projector and press go. Simple. 

But, for this production I'm looking at live feed - realtime images - on a couple of cameras as well as straightforward projection and again, in prinicipal, it's all (fairly) straight forward. I have the cameras, the cables, the projector, the computer, the programs BUT to make it work smoothly I need an AV mixer - and they cost thousands. I've done live feed before successfully but it was a bit clunky with the AV box I was using - then I had the genius idea of talking to one of my closest friends, Ian. He runs a security systems company (cameras, keypads etc) and having sat with him on Saturday and gone through what I want to achieve it sounds like he can help - oh gawd bless ya, Ian. 

This image of a scrappy bit of paper is the first stabbings at entire projection system we've done for M&M...and dammit it will work. Four hundred odd days to iron it out and test. Piece. Of. Cake. **crosses fingers 0h-so-very tightly**

Neil