Animation in Performances

If you watched the Superbowl last Sunday, then you saw plenty of animation in the advertisements, but there was also some great animation in the halftime show. I'm talking about the stage Coldplay performed on. IT WAS SO COOL!!!

~woah~

I love it when artists use technology in their performances. Obviously I don't know whose idea this was, but for me, it totally worked. The bright colors, butterfly animations, and radial designs fit perfectly with the music and the color scheme of the dancers, musicians, and other performers. My friends and I agreed that Coldplay's performance would have looked even cooler if it were darker outside.

Another performance that I always think about when it comes to animation is Beyoncé's performance at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards. As a powerful artist and dancer, she's perfect for this type of performance. She must have had to work on her choreography for a long time working with animators, and then practicing to get the timing exactly right with the animation in her performance.

Still, we all know who had the best super bowl halftime show...

Never forget.

Floor Projectors

After Katy Perry's performance, the Sochi and Beijing opening ceremonies it was clear to me that floor projectors have become a high end and impressive part of live performances. We can change stadium floors to oceans, cliffs, or lava all in a matter of seconds. It is bringing animating and special digital effects to the brim of interacting with reality. They did an impressive job with all of the mapping at the halftime show but the only downfall is that they are hard to film.

How ever, I was fortunate enough to experience these mapping projectors at the opening ceremonies in Sochi. The projector and Katy Perry flying around literally as a firework reminded me a lot of the opening ceremonies. seeing it all first hand was really breathtaking. When the floor turned to water, you started to feel a little sea sick and it really sucked you into this virtual reality. And stories transitioned so much smoother and could tell so much more depth. In a matter of seconds a scene in the middle of an ocean would turn into a dance hall and then space. This combination of creating 2D images interacting with them in a 3D world is incredible fascinating to me and I can't wait to see how it is expanded upon in the future.

Super Bowl Halftime Show SFX

So, I figured I better write a post about this before someone else steals my idea. I'm sure that many of you watched the Super Bowl  last night just as I did. However, I doubt that all of you were as excited for Madonna to perform as I was so there is a chance you may have missed the halftime show. Yes, the show itself was way over the top and Madonna is so clearly too old to be dancing in heels that high. Even if you were completely appalled by how gaudy the performance was (wtf was up with that cheer leading segment anyway?) you can't say you weren't at least a little bit impressed with the graphics that were playing on the stage. The halftime show is just another example of how far animation, especially 3D animation can take you and in how many different ways it can be used. Not only did the graphics looks incredibly crisp and clean, but they were also incredibly realistic. At one point, 2:40 in, I was convinced for a split second that the stage was actually moving up and down when in reality it was just really well done 3D animation.  The moment 11:00 minutes in when she is singing her final song is also incredible. Yes, lighting was definitely  also a factor in this part but it really did look like they were standing in space.  Ok, maybe I'm getting a little too excited about this but just taking into consideration how difficult creating that was blows my mind. Over the past couple of months I have noticed a trend of live productions becoming increasingly more graphics oriented. During this past Thanksgiving break I went to see the Rocketts in NYC. They also incorporated some pretty impressive 3D animation into their scenery. It just goes to show that the demand for animators is only going to get bigger over the next few years.