Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1983 - 21

Editors: R. Reinecke & W.O. File

Do you wish to
I) place
2) repo it ion
3) delete
-1) \'iew
5) quit
The designer then type one of the
numbers and either get a request for a name,
a position entered at the digitizer, or set
another menu. For example, to place an object on the stage the number I is typed in and
another menu appears:
Do you wish
I) an inventory list
2) to select the item by name
3) to return to the main menu
Another digit may then be chosen, and so
on. The facility for an invemory list enables
all possible items to be examined-a choice
as to the name of the item to be placed can
t hen be made.
With approximately an hour of practice,
one can work \'ery quickly and easily placing
and repo itioning objects on the stage. It is
comfortable to work back and forth between
digitizer and menu, and preliminary \'iews
may be taken at any time.
At the end of the computer de ign proce s, anv "working sets" may be aved for
further analysis and "hard copy" prints of

the perspective views as well as the overhead
orthographic \'iew (in our terms, the floor
plan!) may be generated, The de igner may
then use these \'iews in the next phase of the
design,
The next phase might be to take the computer perspective print and copy it onto
watercolor paper or matboard, One could
then experiment with colors and or textures
freely, knowing that if the result wa n't
what wa wanted, it would be an easy proces
to begin again from the computer output-or
the designer could return to the computer
ystem, recall and modify the design,
generate new output and begin again.
We hope that at least two unwanted side
effects could be drastically reduced using the
computer created perspective, First, the
rendering process should become less
"tight," artistically. Through the mechanical
perspective process, the tight drafting process
carries over into the rendering process, We
believe that drafting and rendering have little in common and that the more that can be
done to help the designer separate the two,
the be([er he or she is able to communicate
graphically with the production team,
Second, with the diminished time spent
creating the \'arious per pecti\'e \'iews, we
hope a diminishing of the "personal addiction" to the rendering would take place.
Philosophically, unlike the land cape artist's
finished paiming, the theatrical rendering is
only a step toward the designer's final product (that which appears onstage opening

night) and not an end unto itsel f. This project should help establish the thought that the
rendering has no more speci fic value than
any other communicative tools.
We have just begun to realize the potential of computer graphics in the theatre, We
are in the process of laking this basic concept
and adapting it to lighting design. While it
now eems more complex and will require
color graphic capabilitie , it eems inevitable
that, at some time in the future, a lighting
designer will be able to sit down at a computer terminal, call up the scene designer's
set, and experimem with instrument placemem and focal length choice visually, not
just in his imagination.
The illustrations were generated by our
pilot system that is curremly running on a
PDP-II/55 system at the University of California at Davis. The graphic output is displayed on a Tektronix 4014 terminal and input is provided by a Tektronix digitizer. The
software is wrillen in ANS-standard FORTRA and is modifiable, so that the system
is not restricted to specific hardware.
All illustration shown took less that ten
seconds to generate, They were all generated
from a data base consisting of a chair, table
and platform. The pro cenium arch or audience boundaries were omi([ed. However, due
to the implicity and flexibility of the construction process and given a floor plan and
ectional view of the theatre, the data base is
easily modified.

This sholl's the stage /rol/l direct- A 1I01l-hiddell slllface (11011 per- A 1I01l-perspectil'e view with hid- A perspective I'iew frOIll about f5'
(\' abol'e-ll'/wt is 1101'1//(//(1' 011 the spectil'e) I'iell' of the stage frol/l delllilles relllol'ed. The I'iewpoillt ill frollt of the stage, slightly stage
left of the cellterlille, and below
is the sallie.
sereI'll \l'hell lI'orkillg 011 the stage left alld abol'e,
stage 11'1'1'1.
s-"stelll.

Wm. Daniel File i a designer and
teache at the ni\'ersity of North
Carolina-Green boro.
Kenneth I. Joy is at the :'\Iathemarics Depanmem, Uni\'er ityof
California-Dm·is.
A nOli-hidden ,1/11:1(/('1' I'iell' frolll .-1 perspeClil'e l'iell' with hiddell ,-I perspeClil'e l'iell'Iarto the stage
the SUllie l·iell'!Joilll.
lilies relllol'ed, uhout f5 'frolllthe le/t ({lid slight(I' abol'e the stage
stage alld slightfl' stage left 0/ 11'1'1'1.
cell tel' ({s \1'1'1/ as slight(l' above the
stage 11'1'1'1.
USITT Spring 1983 Theulre Design &

Teehnolog~

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1983