Bat Boy The Musical

Photo: courtesy of XL Video.

AV Product Stories Published: 8 November 2004
XL Video is supplying video equipment and services to “Bat Boy The Musical” that’s just opened at the West End’s Shaftesbury Theatre.

The show originally premiered Off Broadway in 2001, and is inspired by US supermarket tabloid stories sighting a mysterious half human/half bat creature.

The visuals have been produced by video artist Mark Logue of Punk Films, after recommendation by cinematographer Jon Driscoll. Both have worked with XL Video on previous occasions, and the project was co-ordinated for XL by Malcolm Mellows.

Bat Boy The Musical is a co-production between Michael Alden Productions, West End International, Kevin Schon, John Newman for Newpalm Productions and The West Yorkshire Playhouse, and had been co-ordinated by Iona McCorquodale for the general manager’s, Blue Box Entertainment..

Bat Boy The Musical projection utilises two 6-layer dual output Catalyst Digital Media Servers, controlled by a Hog500 console slaved to the Strand 520 master lighting desk. Video sources are displayed on the Catalyst DL1 moving light projector, two Barco SLM G8 video projectors, and a 50” Plasma Screen fitted to a scenic wall on the onstage ‘revolve’. The imagery is used throughout the performance for atmospheric “implication” effects, and for supporting narrative.

Logue produced over 70 effects in total and the show contains approximately 130 video cues.

The video operates on two distinct levels - one refers to the world of the Bat Boy himself, which Logue created as a grainy, surreal monochrome video look, complete with distortions and fisheye lens effects. The other represents a genteel, bourgeois lifestyle, complete with super-saturated colours, and flat looking images created using a long lens. Often the clips are only a few seconds long, just enough to suggest something like a moment of panic or excitement. Projection is also used for more literal internal scenery onto the set wall.

Onstage, a series of angled surfaces (set design by Madeline Herbert) include uneven layers of corrugated plastic and in the second act, tent fabric that’s stretched diagonally across stage in different formations. All contribute to a generally bizarre, skewey look.

Bat Boy’s off kilter surface projections utilized precise projector line up, and the Catalyst’s versatile keystone correction, image masking and soft edge capabilities were absolutely invaluable.

There’s only one straight surface in the entire set – the wall - and the actors also move ‘through’ the projections at specific times, - a highly dramatic effect in its own right. The plasma screen on the wall plays different roles, sometimes as a window revealing different weather conditions, times of day or locations, and other times as signage for environments like the slaughterhouse.

The Catalyst DL1 projector is positioned on a front truss. It’s used principally to project onto two screens that move into three different positions up or down a scenic tower/lift shaft.

The show’s UK debut was at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, in Leeds where it ran for five weeks before transferring to the West End. At the WYP XL’s Simon Pudsey operated the show and the Catalyst cues manually, before programming and setting up the London production.

Video distribution at The Shaftesbury is via Cat 5 Ethernet cable, which eliminates any conventional problems caused by long cable runs (e.g. voltage drop), and serial control from the Catalyst computer is also used to remote control the projector irises.

A mini Ethernet system set up between the Macs and the video servers allowed Logue to edit ‘live’ on his laptop during the technical period, and to upload material immediately – a very flexible work method..

“XL Video are excellent” comments Logue, “It’s been great working with them again”. He’s already well familiar with the company, having worked with them on U2, The Corrs and many other music tours.

The Catalyst was the only system flexible enough for Bat Boy The Musical – with the visuals all produced in the very tight time-frame of 6 weeks. Logue worked on the stills material in PhotoShop and edited the moving images – including specially shot footage from his own DV cam - using Final Cut Pro on his laptop. He also used Adobe After Effects, and then much of the final working was completed in the Catalyst itself – including the keystone and perspective correction.

XL’s Malcolm Mellows comments, “It’s been an immense pleasure working with Mark on such an important project – the show is fantastic and has ‘cult status’ written all over it. Simon Pugsley’s devoted attention to detail has been terrific”.

Source:

XL Video

 

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