Designed the rear-projection backdrops and a front-projection animation sequence for the Mane Stage Theater production of Little Shop of Horrors. Made a ton of assets so the entire backdrop was editable. A "select-all" revealed the image is made up of over 42,000 objects. ;) The window is several layers so a sign can be added and lightning can be seen through. The Here It Is sign is animated to drop in on cue. The entire shop was made so it could be "fixed up." The clock is animated so we could "speed up time" in a few scenes.
During the song "Somewhere That's Green," we projected this animation as sort of a vision the character, Audrey, was having. She is singing about her utopia as she envisions it, pulled directly from a Better Homes and Gardens magazine. I designed this vision to be pages from the magazine, and the text I used was directly from old 1950s articles on topics of which she sings.
One challenge with this production was the screen was blocked by physical stage pieces and teaser curtains. I first made the designs for 4:3, but then realized that even though the image shown would be small, the projector functioned at 16:9, so I widened everything. This was also helpful in assuring any movement or adjustments in the set would not expose an empty image.
