The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) will be putting on a new production of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” using video mapping to bring a virtual character to the stage in London this year. In the production, Ariel is brought to life as an avatar using live motion capture.
To meet the goal, the RSC brought in the London digital agency, The Imaginarium Studios whose previous work includes creating Gollum in the Peter Jackson film “Lord of the Rings” and theatrical productions at the Edinburgh Digital Entertainment Festival.
The RSC also secured the support of Intel and d3 Technologies , whose technologies were used for the complex video mappings. Media servers were also used to calculate the areas of the 14 screens for the 27 projectors being used. The production also used a 120-core computer to help with the special effects.
The performance was filmed live on 11th January 2017 and was broadcast in the US at the beginning of March. It will be staged at the Barbican, London from 30th June to 18th August.
Scene from The Tempest Showing a Virtual Ariel
