# Rear-projecting on a scrim at the front of the stage



## jpe (Jul 31, 2014)

Hi,

I'm fairly new to theatre as a director, and I'm interested in staging a scene where video is rear-projected on a scrim (or other material) downstage, with action visible on stage between the projector and the scrim.

To give you a little more detail, I want an actor watching TV, only instead of an actual TV it's a box with a projector in it and the image is being projected behind him (So, US --> DS, Projector, Actor, scrim)..I want it to remain fairly translucent, in a way that the audience can see both the image and the actor. 

Will this work? And if so, what kind of material would you suggest?


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## balderson04 (Jul 31, 2014)

Hi, jpe:

You will also have the full bright projector lamp shining straight into the audience's eyes. A scrim is not designed to handle the light the way a rear-projection screen is, i.e., absorb and diffuse it -- a scrim's job is actually to pass the light.

There ARE scrims of different opacities, so you might find one that works, but I think that the projection lamp will be a problem with any material that is transparent enough to see the actor behind it.

That's all I've got to offer. Sorry.

David


jpe said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm fairly new to theatre as a director, and I'm interested in staging a scene where video is rear-projected on a scrim (or other material) downstage, with action visible on stage between the projector and the scrim.
> 
> ...


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## JChenault (Aug 1, 2014)

Not going to work as you described. Consider:

Front projecting on the DS scrim (might work if the projector is bright and the images are contrasts. Try it first)
Turn things around and project on an opaque surface US do the actor. ( or RP if you prefer)


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## balderson04 (Aug 1, 2014)

Thinking a little more, you might try projecting from an angle onto the scrim, i.e., from SL or SR. You would then have to find a way to compensate for a distorted image, but you might reduce the amount of light bleeding through onto the audience . . . maybe.

David



jpe said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm fairly new to theatre as a director, and I'm interested in staging a scene where video is rear-projected on a scrim (or other material) downstage, with action visible on stage between the projector and the scrim.
> 
> ...


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## josh88 (Aug 1, 2014)

balderson04 said:


> Thinking a little more, you might try projecting from an angle onto the scrim, i.e., from SL or SR. You would then have to find a way to compensate for a distorted image, but you might reduce the amount of light bleeding through onto the audience . . . maybe.
> 
> David



Most projectors have a keystone option that would be able to compensate for the distortion of coming in at an angle. I'd agree that as an audience member I'd prefer not to be staring into a projector painted at me even if there was a scrim between us.


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## ruinexplorer (Aug 2, 2014)

jpe said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm fairly new to theatre as a director, and I'm interested in staging a scene where video is rear-projected on a scrim (or other material) downstage, with action visible on stage between the projector and the scrim.
> 
> ...



If you don't mind something like a chunk of acrylic hanging, instead of something that would fill the proscenium like a scrim, then this could be workable. You can place a film on the acrylic so that it will catch the projected image and distribute it like a screen (example, example). This will work best if the projector is much lower than the "screen" so that the direct light will be heading toward the catwalks, not blinding the audience as a straight on shot would.


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## Joshualangman (Aug 6, 2014)

If the actor watching TV is close enough and the audience area is fairly narrow, the actor's body may block the lamp itself — though obviously the closer to the projector he is, the more of the image his body will obscure.


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