Video design or projection design is a creative field of stagecraft. It is concerned with the creation and integration of film, motion graphics and live camera feed into the fields of theatre, opera, dance, fashion shows, concerts and other live events. Video design has only recently gained recognition as a separate creative field becoming an integral tool for engagement and learning while spanning its influence to different realms of intellects such as education. A review conducted by 113 peers between 1992 and 2021 revealed a marked increase in research on video design principles, particularly after 2008. This surge correlates with the proliferation of platforms like YouTube, which have popularized video-based learning. The United Scenic Artists, a union representing designers and scenic artists in the US entertainment industry, added the Global Projection Designer membership category in 2007. Prior to this, the responsibilities of video design would often be taken on by a scenic designer or lighting designer. A person who practices the art of video design is often known as a video designer. However, naming conventions vary worldwide, so practitioners may also be credited as projection designer, media designer, cinematographer or video director (amongst others). As a relatively new field of stagecraft, practitioners create their own definitions, rules and techniques.
History Filmmaking and video production content has been used in performance for many years, as has large format slide projection delivered by systems such as the PANI projector. The German Erwin Piscator, as stage director at the Berlin Volksbühne in the 1920s, made extensive use of film projected onto his sets. However, the development of digital projection technology in the mid 90s, and the resulting drop in price, made it more attractive and practical to live performance producers, directors and scenic designers. The role of the video designer has developed as a response to this, and in recognition of the demand in the industry for experienced professionals to handle the video content of a production. United Scenic Artists' Local 829, the Union representing Scenic Artists in the USA has included "Projection Designers" as of mid- 2007. This means anybody working in this field will be doing so officially as "Projection Designer" if he or she is working under a union contract, even if the design utilizes technology other than video projectors. The term "Projection Designer" stems from the days when slide and film projectors were the primary projection source and is now in wide use across North America. University of the Arts London is the first Master's level course in the UK designed to teach video design exclusively as a specific discipline, rather than embedding it into scenic design. Also, Opera Academy Verona has a Workshop Laboratory from 2009 of Projection Design for Opera and Theatre, Directed from Carlo Saleti, Gianfranco Veneruci and Florian Canga. In the USA, a number of programs started at about the same time reflecting the growing acceptance of the profession and the need for skilled projection designers. Yale University began a graduate level program in Projection Design in 2010., It's being headed by Wendall K. Harrington. CalArts had their concentration Video For Performance [1] since the mid-2000s and is currently led by Peter Flaherty while UT Austin started the MFA concentration Integrated Media for Live Performance also in 2010. It is being led by the Sven Ortel. Both the UT Austin and Yale program are part of an MFA in Design and graduated their first students in 2013.
Components of video design These component of video design serves as a basic foundation for developing a theatrical play, that mesmerizing and enhances audience's sensory experiences. They include: environment, color, space, scale, movement and sound design.
Environment
This is the canvas video designers are faced with when constructing a compelling story to the audience, as Miroslaw Rogala's describes in her article "Nature Is Leaving Us: A Video Theatre Work", "by implicit contract with the audience, I am promising them a vaster canvas than their predetermined notions of television; I am therefore demanding more from them in terms of their attention and engagement. "By harnessing the physical 2D layer of video projection, designers have the ability to construct a visual field where their artwork is a living-breathing physical manifestation of their idea.
Space
This component of video design is describes manipulation of perspective of a play. Rogala breaks these perspectives into 3 namely, "frog-eye-view", "human view" and "bird-eye-view". By tilting the projection or camera along an axis, the designer manipulates the views to create invoke imbalances or invoke an emotion to the audience.
Scale
This is a tool used by a video designer to fit a video projection to multiple screens (or video walls); ranging from small, intimate displays to large video-walls. Doing so, shift the audience's perception of proximity, presence, and importance. Manipulation of scale, allows video designers to disrupt the realism creating a constructive views that contributes to the overall play. According to Rogala, "By altering the scale of the projected images—from close-up facial expressions to full-body silhouettes—we shift the viewer’s perception of spatial relationships and intimacy."
Color
This is a tool used by video designers to invoke emotional response from the audience. According to Parker-Starbuck, "The projected image does not merely serve as a backdrop or setting, but becomes a performative element that interacts with the live body, space, and time, thereby challenging traditional notions of theatrical presence." The use of color in this context serves as a means of creating an immersive experience which ultimately influences audiences' emotion.
Movement
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