Projection designer

Video design or projection design is a creative field of stagecraft. It is concerned with the creation and integration of film, motion graphics and live camera feed into the fields of theatre, opera, dance, fashion shows, concerts and other live events. Video design has only recently gained recognition as a separate creative field. Prior to this, the responsibilities of video design would often be taken on by a scenic designer or lighting designer. A person who practices the art of video design is often known as a Video Designer. However, naming conventions vary around the world, and so practitioners may also be credited as Projection Designer, "Media Designer", Cinematographer or Video Director (amongst others). As a relatively new field of stagecraft, practitioners create their own definitions, rules and techniques.

Filmmaking and video production content has been used in performance for many years, as has large format slide projection delivered by systems such as the PANI projector. The German Erwin Piscator, as stage director at the Berlin Volksbühne in the 1920s, made extensive use of film projected onto his sets. However, the development of digital projection technology in the mid 90s, and the resulting drop in price, made it more attractive and practical to live performance producers, directors and scenic designers. The role of the video designer has developed as a response to this, and in recognition of the demand in the industry for experienced professionals to handle the video content of a production.

United Scenic Artists' Local 829, the Union representing Scenic Artists in the USA has included "Projection Designers" as of mid- 2007. This means anybody working in this field will be doing so officially as "Projection Designer" if he or she is working under a union contract, even if the design utilises technology other than video projectors. The term "Projection Designer" stems from the days when slide and film projectors were the primary source of projection and is now in wide use across North America.

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