Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
and to act as the controller for the actors. The
second computer allowed technical support staff
to move avatar actors around the 3D environment
and to set-up props that did not appear on camera
but were visible on the avatar actor screen. The
overall goal was to ensure avatar, 3D props and
the virtual landscape could merge with the live
performer so that the virtual and real had a sense
of shared time/space continuum. This required
the use of two main techniques designed to match
the two spaces by overlaying the 3D space in the
real theatre space: 1) positioning the avatar in the
3D space to match the size of the live performer
and 2) lighting the physical stage floor while
projecting the avatar into this space to create an
illusion that the avatar was standing on a physical
floor plane. Since this floor plane was the same
floor the live actor was standing on it helped to
convince the audience that the interactions were
occurring between the live and virtual actors in
the same shared space.
change what they are doing than someone control-
ling an avatar (Anonymous, 2008).
Through trial and error it became evident that
simple interactions between performer and avatar
were the most effective. Thus narratives proposed
by students were simplified to limit the program-
ming and live manipulation of the avatar to a set
number of movements and gestures. Following are
descriptions of the scenes constructed by students:
The first scene involved improvisation of
the game 'rock, paper scissors'. This group of
students developed a scene that began with one
student playing against an avatar projected onto
the scrim, that was then extended by two more
students entering and another avatar entering as
well. A mock fight then occurred between the
two groups of live performers and avatars, after
which avatars and live actors exited. Live actors
would replicate the 'muscle flex' gesture of the
avatar symbolising victory when they 'won' the
game, while the avatar's gesture would be to cry;
when the live actors 'lost' they would replicate
the crying gesture while the avatar would embody
the victory gesture and so on.
The second scene drew on two techniques:
the first was based on the early silent films of
Georges Méliès which focused on magic and
sleight of hand; the second technique drew on
traditional Japanese Bunraku style puppet and
object manipulation techniques. The piece began
with an avatar creating a box in Second Life that
was projected onto the scrim; the box was moved
through space before disappearing or rather dis-
solving into an identical real box that was suddenly
revealed on stage. Out of this real box emerged
an actor holding a stick with ping pong balls to
replicate the building signals of Second Life who
then created a ball. The ball appeared to the audi-
ence to be a virtual ball, but was in effect a large
white balloon illuminated by a torch and fixed to
a boom attached to the balloon, which a hidden
puppeteer operated. This piece therefore mixed
live actors with avatars and real objects with a
Working with the Live Performers:
Rehearsal to Performance
The first rehearsal in the theatre involved students
mimicking gestures in real time. Following the
rehearsal, the students formed groups of between
five and six students and improvised short scenes,
which were then be worked up for staging. Students
played out Second Life clichés of time lag and
stilted gestures creating comical routines designed
to emphasise the “clunkiness” of virtual worlds.
The varying gestures of Second Life avatars are
fixed and restricted to certain types of movements
that are embodied in a mechanical manner. For the
performer to interact in a meaningful way with the
avatars they had to similarly embody Second Life
gestures and movements. As one student remarked:
The live performer based their performance
around what the avatar was doing because it is
a lot easier and quicker for a live performer to
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