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Scharff Weisberg recently supplied
projection designer Michael Clark with a video and show
control package for the Broadway production, “700
Sundays.” The company enlisted Dataton Watchout, three
video projectors and Medialon Manager to create the
projected scenery integral to the show.
Billy Crystal makes his Broadway debut in “700 Sundays,”
a play performed and written by Crystal with additional
content by Alan Zweibel; it is directed by two-time Tony
Award-winner Des McAnuff. “700 Sundays” is playing at
the Broadhurst Theatre ( 235 West 44th Street ). An
autobiographical journey, the show is an original
two-act play about family and fate in which Crystal
plays numerous characters that have influenced him
during his life. It covers his youth, growing up in the
jazz world of Manhattan , his teenage years and, finally,
adulthood.
The set features Crystal standing outside his childhood
home while images are projected in the windows and
across the stage. Projection designer Michael Clark
commented, “When we originally did the show in
California , we realized that Billy was going to want to
improvise some of each night’s performance, and we
needed a way to manage the media to adapt to the
changing scenario. I suggested Watchout, which offers
instant access to stored video clips, as a way to
archive and play back segments as needed, and that
worked great.
“When the show moved to Broadway,” Clark continued, “we
wanted to streamline the show’s production. Employing
Medialon allowed us to take light board commands and
execute Watchout without the need of a separate video
operator. The show operator simply pushes a button on
the lighting board triggering Medialon (via MIDI ) which
in turn controls Watchout.”
Clark explained that, “When we knew we were integrating
all these presentation technologies and also needed
projection, I immediately thought of asking Scharff
Weisberg to work with us. I have a long relationship
with them, and they have advanced integration
experience.”
Scharff Weisberg employed a three-screen Watchout system
controlled by Medialon and featuring three Christie
LX100 projectors. Two project on rear projection sheets
that form part of the windows of Crystal ’s house set;
the third projects across the entire front of house. The
projectors switch back and forth between virtual
windows, transitional window-blinds effects, videos and
montages of images from Crystal ’s childhood, some quite
literal and others more abstract.
“We used Watchout as the video source because it was the
easiest way to coordinate three projections and have
lots of easily-editable footage and stills,” noted
Scharff Weisberg’s Project Manger Derek Holbrook.
“Other control systems only allowed us to access the
timeline by timecode; consequently, if you changed the
timeline you might have to change every show-control
cue,” added Scharff Weisberg’s Lars Pedersen. “With
Medialon you can talk to Watchout by the network, which
allows you to trigger cues by a named ‘control
cue.’ This enables you to change whatever you want on
the timeline -- and you don't need to change the show
control. In the theater you're always changing the
duration of cues to adapt to the live performance. In
addition, Medialon’s built-in MIDI Show Control support
allowed us to facilitate triggering the Watchout cues
via the lighting console.”
“Scharff Weisberg supported me very well on this job,”
concluded Clark . “In addition to Derek, Lars and Tom,
[projectionist Tom Whipple], other personnel were
available to help out when their expertise was
needed. They made the whole thing seem easy, and I look
forward to working with Scharff Weisberg again.” |
