Interactive video for the theater performance of Monsieur ibrahim and the flowers of the koran Bulgarian National Theater Ivan Vazov
Monsieur ibrahim and the flowers of the koran
2004
Interactive video for the theater performance of Monsieur ibrahim and the flowers of the koran
Bulgarian National Theater Ivan Vazov

Monsieur ibrahim and the flowers of the koran

2004

Bulgarian-language theater production of Monsieur ibrahim and the flowers of the koran by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt was produced in early 2004.

For this performance I created 2 videos; one ran as permanent backdrop on the stage, while the other was projected on the floor and walls behind the audience using a motor-controlled mirror. The projection and the mirror were controlled through custom Max/MSP software.

Team:
Actor: Marius Donkin
Director: Snejina Tankovska
Stage design: Toni Kondev
Interactive video: Rene Beekman
Composer: Sasho Mladenov

Mr. Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran - Theater registration from Rene Beekman on Vimeo.

The custom software

Custom software was written to control the second video projection and the angle and position of the motor-controlled mirror.
During part of the performance, the actor’s movements were followed using a webcam. His movement were then translated into how the projected video moved.

This is a screenshot of the software interface:

The custom video software interface used in the Bulgarian-language production of 'Monsieur ibrahim and the flowers of the koran'

See also

More about the design of the interactive video and why, after only 3 months, the stagehands sabotaged the use of video in the performance can be found in this article (in Bulgarian) (local copy)