Role: Media Designer

Director: Katherine Harroff

Venues: La Jolla Playhouse, SD;Lyceum Theatre, ASU

Summary: 30 ASU scientists worked with the production team to inspire Red Planet Respite. The production was developed with the School of Earth and Space Exploration and the Mars Rover team at ASU along with  Katherine Harroff and her fellow artist at Circle Circle dot dot, Saroya Rowley. Written and co-directed by Harroff and Rowley, the play tells the story of the first test crew sent to experience an intergalactic resort on Mars, in the year 2044. The production featured an artificially intelligent virtual character that served the ship and resort as a video projection that crew could interact with. The media design involved generating 2D and 3D content of Mars landscapes, space travel, infographics, computer consoles, commercials, as well filming sequences of the virtual character. The production premiered at ASU and was later remounted at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego.

Three 4K projectors were mapped to various screens built into the set as well as each full set piece for scenes involving a Virtual Reality Pod.

Q Lab and Isadora were used for mapping and playback for the ASU production. Watchout was used for playback and mapping in San Diego. Content was developed in Adobe Photoshop, After Effects, and Cinema 4D.

Filming of sequences for the virtual characters and commercials were done in front of a chromakey background and edited in Premiere and After Effects.