The Bielefeld Theater uses Pixera to stage its production 'Black Rider'

In the design of this musical, whose premiere is scheduled for 12 September, AV Stumpfl media server has been used, 4K Digital Projection projectors and tracking technology for a unique stage experience.

Since its original release in the year 1990, the musical show Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets has managed to combine classical culture, postmodernism and a legendary music soundtrack to entertain audiences around the world. The artistic vision of Robert Wilson, along with the narrative of William S. Burroughs and the musical genius of Tom Waits, laid the foundations for this avant-garde and highly entertaining masterpiece.

The latest production, what is going to be done in the Bielefeld Theater by Michael Heicks, uses cutting-edge AV technology to help bring Sascha Vredenburg's video content to life on stage.

In record time, the theater developed its own safety plan in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, adding a series of innovative measures on top of government regulations, to make it possible for trials to continue.

Besides, changes to pre-covid mode of operations also include individually assigned battery boxes to minimize the physical contact required between cast and technicians.

The work itself is based on the German legend free shooter, in which a pact with the devil literally takes center stage. How this archetypal theme relates to modern individuals and notions of addiction is made evident in a very entertaining way., with a lot of black humor.

Diabolical intentions meet the pursuit of true happiness, perfectly underlined and expressed by Tom Waits' twisted soundtrack, similar to jazz and variety.

For new production, whose premiere is scheduled for 12 September 2020, the musical direction is in the hands of William Ward Murta.

Five large projection surfaces act as visual centerpieces of the stage design, created by Michael Heicks. A Titan Laser projector 33000 4K-UHD Digital Projection used to display inspiring video content on these surfaces.

Three projection surfaces (12,62×11 metros; 10,73×6,68 metros; 8,21×10,47 metros) They move on stage independently of each other, while video content continues to be projected on them at the same time. Through the movement of surfaces, The position and angle of the 4K projector constantly changes in real time.

One of the surfaces tilts so much during the performance of the play, that its reverse also acts as a projection surface. This 180° turn is executed as a fluid interaction between the projection and the screen surface without the need to program the show.

Falko Heidemann, head of the audiovisual department of the Bielefeld Theater, explains how this technological configuration was achieved. “Looking at the requirements we realized that a standard show scheduling approach alone would not be enough. It was also relatively clear from the beginning that an optical tracking system would give the best results.”.

The tracking of the projection surfaces was carried out using an OptiTrack system with eight cameras and 16 active bookmarks, incorporated into the stage. OptiTrack settings communicate directly with Pixera BY Stumpfl via Stage Precision tracking system.

A particularly challenging aspect when tracking objects on a stage is that the projection surfaces shift very slightly due to their motion.. These small changes are often difficult to predict..

Heidemann describes a similar challenge in the case of Black Rider: “The surfaces that hang and are attached to the grill tend to go into a kind of slight pendulum movement as the work progresses. This is related to their size and the relatively fast speed with which we move them.. Initially we didn't even realize, because the tracking system compensates for these changes very well”.

The Bielefeld Theater video team, formed by Sabrina Treptow and Lena Thimm, received support from media server specialist Benjamin Müller, who explains the reasons why Pixera was chosen for the production of Black Rider.

“Pixera's main interface is basically divided into three main access points, which make it super easy for users to deal with different aspects of a show, independently scheduled and in real time. Due to the ease with which one can manage their API, Falko Heidemann and I were able to integrate Stage Precision's tracking system setup in record time and realize the director's vision.”.

Regarding advanced tracking settings, Müller highlights the advantages of the direct API interface: “Since both Pixera and Stage Precision use the same 3D spatial scale, it's easy to connect a tracker in Stage Precision with a screen, a virtual layer or camera, without having to align them first. Thanks to the new direct API, “An ultra-fast data exchange link between the tracking system and the media server became possible.”.