For over 400 years the painted backdrop has been part of the theatrical experience. But can large-format digital print now be used to such dramatic effect? Melony Rocque-Hewitt finds out.
Scenic Backdrops have evolved somewhat since Italian artist and architect Filippo Brunelleschi discovered the principles of linear perspective in 1425. Brunelleschi's system was highly significant as it meant that artists could scientifically measure and paint a scene effecting visual depth onto a backdrop. By the end of the 16th century, the painted backdrop was an established feature of theatrical set design.
Several centuries later, the partnership between the producers of theatrical optical illusion and the entertainment industry is going strong – but the ways in which this relationship is expressed has changed. Take for example, Scenic Workshops, a Liverpool-based company which specialises in the construction and installation of high quality sets, scenery, stages, props, backdrops and other associated scenic products. Servicing the needs of the film, television, theatre, concert, music, media and exhibition industries nationwide, Scenic Workshop was set-up in 2004 by Jason Barker.
A trained sculptor and self-confessed hands-on MD who’s happy to get dirty if the occasion demands, Barker says that the USP of his company lies in the fact that it constructs and engineers scenic sets rather than just finishing them. However, he has wholeheartedly opened-up his company to the delights and benefits of digital print technology. Right from the start Barker has worked very closely with Service Graphics, situated just minutes away, for all his digital print requirements.
“We offer the industry one-off productions and scenery for new tours, but we are increasingly finding that the lead times given to us by the designers is so little, that we often have no option but to use digital print,” he says. While the company works across all areas of entertainment, the theatre is its bread and butter work. Typically, Scenic Workshops works on big budget shows for London’s West End and tours such as ‘Blood Brothers’, ‘Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat’ and ‘Evita’, all the way down to local “am dram” productions needing simple but effective backdrops that are easily transported and stored.
So with Christmas just a matter of weeks away, what about the popular family Christmas pantomime? Surprisingly, this seems to be one area that digital hasn’t quite reached. For example, the work Scenic Workshops carried out for seasonal favourite ‘Aladdin’ in recent years was all hand painted.
“The panto set required lots of glitter and you can’t really print gold and silver to achieve that real glittery effect,” says Barker. “We were going to get the scenery digitally printed then go over parts of the set by hand with real glitter but by the time we looked at it, it was easier to just paint it all by hand.”
Speaking to Mike Sherwood, production director at Qdos Entertainment, the largest pantomime producer in the world, his company does not use digital print for its pantomimes, although a little is used for its cruise ships division. Qdos Entertainment has an active partnership with Scarborough-based Adverset Media Solutions for its printing requirements which includes wide-format digital solutions but the latter only produces promotional display items such as posters and banners and the like for various theatre venues.
“It is not a format for us at the moment,” says Sherwood, but adds it may well be something the company will consider in the future. At present, Sherwood believes that the use of digital print is not suitable for the stylized, Disney-esque shows the company puts on. “Photorealistic is not what we want,” he says, “We want fairy tales – a whole other world.” The pantomime has been an area that Justin Murray at the Weybridge-based, wide-format print specialist Pyramid Visuals has been frustrated with in the past. The company produces backdrops for stage, TV, films and live events but trying to break into the pantomime scenic supply and hire market has proven to be a tricky conundrum. Apart from the budgets, muses Murray, the pantomime is all about tradition. Audiences, he says, expect a hand crafted look. They don’t want slick.
Back at Scenic Workshops Barker agrees, saying that some of the sets and scenery for panto are years old, and are lovingly repaired time and time again. They do the work, they create the magic, so why change it, he asks. Another wide-format print specialist that enjoys a sterling reputation across the entertainment industry and beyond is the Cambridge-based Rutters UK. Bucking the widespread traditionalism that seems to engulf panto, the company worked on ‘Dick Whittington’, the first-ever pantomime to be staged at London Zoo by the delightfully named Hiss and Boo company. Here, a purpose-built theatre was constructed in the heart of the zoo and eight scenic cloths measuring 8m by 3.25m were printed onto digital canvas and scenic gauze.
Pantos aside, back in the summer Rutters produced stunning digital sets for The Barbican’s main feature show ‘School for Scandal’. Commissioned by Factory Settings, with whom it has a longstanding professional relationship, the company produced a series of very large canvas prints, some of which were hung to the walls as cloths and some as wallpaper. Totaling nearly 250m2, the flats for the large scenic drops were printed on digital canvas and the wall flats printed onto self-adhesive material with anti slip surfaces. The latter were expertly mounted onto timber flats prepared by Factory Settings as walls. These were then lowered on stage to become floors.
Rose Brand, North America’s largest theatrical fabric and fabrication company is a good example of the growing adoption of digital print. It began as a small rag company in 1921 but by the 1970s had expanded into the theatrical textile industry. Servicing the Americas, the company has grown into one of the largest entertainment supply companies in the world. Theatre clients include numerous Broadway shows, Irish Repertory Theatre, Theatre Calgary, Minnesota Opera as well as theatres on cruise ships. The company also provides digital scenery for colleges, regional theatres as well as national tours. Rose Brand started using grand-format printing in 1996, when technology and types of substrates to output to were limited. Today it has dedicated digital printing division but outsources digital print work too. “We try to offer as much as possible,” says the sublimely helpful Michael Reed, director of digital printing at the company. “Major print processes we supply are inkjet, airbrush, UV cured inkjet, dye sublimation, direct dye – in other words, most available print processes that work well on fabric without changing the feel of the fabric. “The range of fabrics extends from sheer voiles and scrim to cotton muslin, vinyl and synthetic silk. One of our best received materials is 3m wide fabric that is stunning when lit from behind. Many customers are using it to create eyecatching displays, and television is using it to replace traditional Translight and Duratrans backings. We are constantly surprised how different customers use our materials,” he says.
Reed says that digital printing for theatre work was once regarded as a compromise but designers have learned how to use digital printing to their advantage and as a result are incorporating it more often in their work. “There are many talented painters in the industry who are part of the creative process taking a design concept and interpreting it large scale for a show. Digital printing does not interpret a design, so printing needs to be carefully coordinated with the rest of the scenery to fulfill the design intent,” he says.
The variety of materials that digital print can output to is also an incentive to designers. “Painting on a sheer material is possible but challenging, while printing is very straightforward,” he says, adding, “Another attraction for smaller theatres is they can have a large backdrop delivered quickly and they do not need a dedicated painting space or staff.” Rose Brand has been providing LED and projection screen materials for many years now, and as far as digital print is concerned, although it represents a small part of the company as a whole, it is one of the fastest growing sectors in the business.
“Theatre,” concludes Reed, “has a long tradition that designers draw from for inspiration, but they are always pushing the boundaries of the art. Digital printing has had a large impact on stage scenery, but an even larger impact on scenery for corporate events. We are seeing a synthesis of theatre design and digital production spreading to many different industries we serve.”