DV Goes to the Opera: Rock Opera

Brad,

This is exactly what our company does: video and large format film projection for live events (broadway, opera, concerts).

1. Where is the projection position ? Have you accounted for overcoming keystone from any angle other than dead on ? Are you rear projection or Front ? If Rear, do you have sufficient upstage space to accomodate throw ?

2. Unless your Lighting Designer is extremely sympathetic, low end projectors will do you no good. Also multiple low end projectors (let's use Proxima 9320 as an example of This) will NOT line up accurately for multiple projectors on the same screen. I've spent a thousand hours doing this... You're going to have to get AT LEAST a 5000 lumen DLP projector to cut through the stage light... Especially if you end up in a front projection scenario.

3. Are the images kinetic or not ? If they're stills you may be able to setup a power point show to run the images 'live'. Otherwise you'll be needing a cheap switcher, and quality video decks (preferrably with device control). We use Doremi Labs V1 VDRs to deliver our content, controlled with a Dataton show control system on the mac. I know this is byond your budget (probably) bu the device control issue is going to keep operator errors to a minimum. Otherwise you'll have to have (or train) an operator with enough savvy to setup for correct pre-roll, take the fade-up, and then preset your next cue on a B-deck... This sounds easy on the surface, but in a live environment it can be a real bitch. Quick take "VJ" mixing is virtually impossible without instant access timecode driven formats like DVD or our V1s, coupled with device controllers...

4.

Here is a low budget idea.
Save all the clips you want to play as Quicktime files with a "radiusSoftDV" codec(720x480 29.97). If you have installed the radius software correctly (a free downlad at icanstream.com) when ever you play the clips with the Quicktime player they will stream out full screen via the firewire port on your computer. I often just hook a DV camera up to a swithcher and use it to convert the Firewire to NTSC.

To get that live "DJ" feel, open as many of the QT clips as you system will alow and adjust the sizes so you can see them all. Which ever one you click on will start playing full screen via the FW.

(with QT pro) click on play all movies and you will get this wild flashing crazy display of all the clips being played at the same time.
You don't need a super fast setup to do this. Last Fall I was doing this on an ibook and it the crowd was loving it.

Bonus:
Make the video clips in AE at 2160x480 render it out as three seperate clips; right, middle, and left, and then play them back from three different computers to three differnt screens. The render will kick you in the pants but a 3 screen video clip can look very cool.

good luck
brad