The Living Canvas - Technical Feasibility Study

The Living Canvas initiative aims to explore the novel artistic possibilities of using the actor's body and clothes as a projection surface in the context of a stage performance. A new projection system will enable a dynamic or even improvised performance by detecting the posture and silhouette of the performer and projecting imagery precisely to the selected parts of body. This will enable the performer to 'wear virtual costumes' that adapt to the body, or even receive a different face. The dynamic nature of the system will give full control to the actor who can freely move around on the stage, with the projection always 'following' the actor. The Living Canvas is a collaborative project between the Digital Design Studio and Theatre Cryptic.

The subject of this grant application is a first feasibility study to establish an understanding of the capabilities and limits of the current high-speed machine vision technology relevant to the Living Canvas initiative. It aims to build a small prototype environment to develop and test the critical elements of the machine vision system to detect the position, silhouette and posture of the performer, and to project digital imagery onto the performer.

The environment allows to measure the speed at which the silhouette can be acquired, and the time delay introduced until the projection can be adapted to the new posture of the performer. This acquisition delay limits the speed at which the performer can move on stage, and is therefore a critical factor that may influence the artistic freedom. The proposed test will also lead to a good understanding of the achievable projection quality depending on the fabric and make of the performer's costume.

The feasibility study will provide the basic technical understanding necessary to move the initiative into the second stage: the exploration of the new medium in a live performance project, where artistic requirements drive the further development of the Living Canvas technology.