I was recently the technical director for a production that used digital scenery—a media server and projection screen for the main set. We created a black box space with audience seating on three sides and a large screen on the fourth side. This precluded having any large scenic elements. So in order for us to set the location of a scene we used the projection screen. We employed a combination of video elements and still imagery to create a montage of images on the screen, all sourced from a media server.
You may picture a media server as a piece of rack-mount hardware, but in simplest terms it's just a software program. This program allows you to send multiple image layers to a single projector or multiple projectors; therefore the need for a relatively high-performance computer—often one dedicated to the task.
The simplest way to understand a media server is to think of your projection space as one image area. This image area is your work space. This work space can be one projector or spread over multiple projectors, and either one large screen or multiple screens. The next thing to understand is that you are not limited to one element being shown at a time. The media server I was using could control 12 layers simultaneously. Each one could be video, stills or graphics. Our media server, the Media Master Pro from Arkaos, was running on a computer that was being controlled over Artnet from a lighting console. Artnet is the network protocol used to communicate between a lighting console and other devices such as lighting fixtures, network devices, and media servers.
By using a media server you can control more than just the video being sent to a screen. This particular software program allows control of up to 43 different parameters in each layer. The first two parameters allow you to choose the file folder and the file within the folder. Once an element is selected you can then control the transparency, position and even rotation. One parameter we found very important was the playback mode. The software defaulted to a loop mode for video playback. While this is useful for some video backgrounds, it did not work in our application. So we had to add cues to have the video play just once.
As you move into more complex video playback, multi-screen presentations and digital scenery, you will find that the traditional switchers won't handle everything. If you are using cameras for IMAG, you can send that signal into the media server and it will be available for use on any layer. So, if you're planning on taking your IMAG to the next level, or using digital scenery for your next production, a media server could be a smart choice.
