Hello,
Taken from 'Facial Tracking Study'
Although the magnificent Phil Legg is also helping me with this, I’m posting this in the hope that someone else might be able to help. I’m looking for some advice on a project I’m working on for Tinderbox Theatre’s Writers lab, and could do with some techy knowledge. If you’ve found your way here from twitter, if the idea below is something that you think you can help with, please do contact me phil.hurst@live.co.uk.
As a guide, I’d love to create something like this or this live on stage, linking the output to a TV screen/projector. I’m looking at the plausibility of it all at the moment, and how it would relate to a real theatre space. The lab is an experimental space where for an afternoon we can play around with ideas such as this, and it really exciting to take part in.
If you think you can give me some pointers on how it might be possible, or if you have something that you would like us to try, please get in touch. My level of technical expertise is limited at best, but I’m sure it’s possible if the right people know about it. With help, I’m sure that we can create a new way of presenting a performance. Hopefully as well we can play around with people’s perceptions of a ‘live’ performance.
The Idea
Background
The play takes place in the future, where almost all media coverage is created and distributed by Firecracker Corporation. The corporation is looking to branch out in to the commercially viable coffee shop business, and the audience play the role of special guests to the grand opening of the shop.
During the opening however, the shop and everyone in it are taken hostage by two protestors opposed to this expansion of Firecracker. Firen and Gwined are staging a protest in order to draw attention to what they see is a company overstepping its boundries.
The Scene
Sophie is a Firecracker employee in the store. She is handcuffed to the coffee shop bar but still has an amount of freedom. Under instruction from Firen she has logged into the store computers, which has (unknown to all characters) allowed her to become controlled by an outside source.
When Firen and Gwined leave to check the security of the building, the outside source (Margeret Atrill) takes the chance to speak to the audience.
The Technology
Ideally, the scene requires some kind of facial recognition or motion tracking software to record the movements of the actress playing Sophie. These images would then be relayed to the various media outlets in the coffee shop, in order to create the idea of an outside influence impacting on her behaviour.
The ‘controlling’ figure/face is something that can be changed, and it is the plausibility of this that I wish to address in the lab.
** Update **
The most accurate, yet annoying summing up comes from my little brother @mark_hurst so, you basically want to create Holly From Red Dwarf?
Yes Mark, but with an actor in front of the edited image. Plus, wasn’t Holly just an actor with a wig on?
August 3rd, 2011 at 12:12 pm
A kinnect hack would do it, probably
August 3rd, 2011 at 12:14 pm
But otherwise it’s really hard to understand what you want – do you want to know whether it’s possible? Or just to actually make it happen? What’s the benefit of making it happen over making it look like it’s happened? (also, make your text links hyper!)
August 3rd, 2011 at 1:34 pm
Hyperlinks fixed – that’s the last time I let something do it on its own. Thanks for the idea Hannah, kinect hack does raise some interesting possibilities
September 5th, 2011 at 2:58 pm
[...] it enough to make it look different, representing some kind of manevolent force controlling her. You can see my previous plea for help here. When I posted this I wasn’t sure of how difficult the process would be, but after some [...]