case study 2016 2 min read

Crime and Punishment

disguise and BlackTrax Perform Complex Video Mapping to Russian Stage with 'Crime and Punishment'

Dostoevsky’s classic novel ‘Crime and Punishment’ recently made its debut as a rock opera at the Moscow Musical Theatre with innovative staging by renowned director Andrei Konchalovsky. In another first for Russia, technical partner Polymedia integrated CAST BlackTrax time motion tracking system with a disguise media server. Together they accomplish 6D video mapping on the show’s scenic elements.

“We like how harmoniously the director’s original idea and audiovisual technologies were combined in this staging,” says Elena Novikova, Polymedia’s CEO. “The breakthrough innovative solution we devised expands the space of the performance giving it multi-dimensionality and dynamics. It gives the artists unlimited improvisational possibilities regarding onstage visual transformation.”

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Polymedia chose a 4×4pro with Quad-DVI video format conversion (VFC) cards to process the tracking data for the moving and rotating set pieces. Twelve simultaneous DVI 4K outputs from the single server enable eight projectors to map content to the scenic elements.

The set pieces, which change position and content 36 times during the performance, are based on sketches by Matthew Dilley, a set designer who works with theatres worldwide. The disguise system cross-links the projectors adjusting the brightness and contrast balance of the content.

Polymedia also used Designer, the software-only version of the disguise production suite. “It had a very easy user interface and provided us with all the necessary tools to make a magnificent, high-tech show,” says Novikova. “For our earlier projects we used another brand of media server,” she notes. “But for ‘Crime and Punishment’ we needed a partner with a wide experience in shows, particularly shows featuring BlackTrax integration.

“Everything is working perfectly,” says Novikova. “We believe disguise has a good future at the Moscow Musical Theatre.”

“Thanks to the Polymedia engineers, ‘Crime and Punishment’ has gone down in history as one of the most technologically-advanced performances ever to be staged in Russia,” says Mikhail Shvydkoi, art director of the Moscow Musical Theatre.