Stagecraft

As a vfx student it’s important to be aware of different roles and crafts that made the film /theatre industry come to the point where it is today and to get an idea of where my place will be later on when I will start my career .

“Stagecraft is the technical aspect of theatrical, film, and video production. It includes constructing and rigging scenery; hanging and focusing of lighting; design and procurement of costumes; make-up; stage management; audio engineering; and procurement of props. Stagecraft is distinct from the wider umbrella term of scenography. Considered a technical rather than an artistic field, it is primarily the practical implementation of a scenic designer‘s artistic vision. “- Wikipedia

On a basic level it can be pretty much done by only one person ( stage manager) whose responsability is to focus on lighting, design and procurement of costumes , make-up , stage management , audio engeneering etc.

Greeks were the first ones recorded to practice stagecraft . “Skene” is Greek, translating roughly into “scene” or “scenery”, and refers to a large scenic house, about one story tall, with three doors. On the audience-side of the Skene, what are now known as “flats” could be hung. Flats developed to two-sided painted flats which would be mounted, centered, on a rotating pin, with rope running around each consecutive pin, so the flats could be turned for a scene-change. The double-sided-flat eventually evolved into the periaktos ” – wiki

“More modern stagecraft was in developed in England between 1576–1642. There were three different types of theaters in London – public, private and court. The size and shape varied but many were suggested to be round theaters. Public playhouses such as the Globe Theatre used rigging housed in a room on the roof to lower and raise in scenery or actors, and utilized the raised stage by developing the practice of using trap-doors in theatrical productions. Most of the theatres had circular-design, with an open area above the pit to allow sunlight to enter and light the stage. It was a penny admission to stand in the pit. Prices increase for seating. Court plays were used for holidays and special occasions.^[2]”

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Then we have Proscenium stages , also called picture-box stages , constructed in Frane around the time of the English Restoration .

The idea is to pretty much build a Skene on-stage . Lighting of the period would have consisted of candles , hanging from chandeliers above the stage.

“After candles, came gas lighting, utilizing pipes with small openings which were lit before every performance, and could be dimmed by controlling the flow of gas, so long as the flame never went out. With the turn of the 20th century, many theatre companies making the transition from gas to electricity would install the new system right next to the old one, resulting in many explosions and fires due to the electricity igniting the gas lines.

Modern theatrical lighting is electrically-based. Many lamps and lighting instruments are in use today, and the field is rapidly becoming one of the most diverse and complex in the industry. “

Jumping to Film industry and our period of time, Stagecrafting is a lot lot more than it was before, it becomes digital .

ILM ( Industrial Light&Magic ) can give us a pretty good idea of what Stagecrafting means today . ” It combines traditional filmmaking tools with cutting-edge technology to allow filmmakers to achieve their vision with speed and flexibility previously unimaginable ”

According to ILM , stagecraft offers filmmakers the ability to Design, Scout,previsualize,perform and shoot .

For example, for the train heist sequence in “Solo:A Star Wars Story ” to achieve the ability to determine exactly what they would need to construct in real life they utilized STAGECRAFT VR to create some of the larger set pieces virtually so they could test and play around with them so when it comes to construct the set in reality , it would be more effective and even safer . It is better explained in this small video :

In “Rogue One” , John Knoll ( Vfx supervisor , Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) said that he wanted to offer Gareth a virtual toolset that would complement his manner of shooting and Stagecraft allowed them to import animated scenes complete with their full production assets .

Hal Hicker ( Animation Supervisor for Rogue One ) is telling us that they put Alan Tudyk in a mocap suit and gave him the ability to see himself performing. Therefore, the full production asset moved in time with his movements allowing him to explore all manner of movement and ultimately define how the reprogrammed imperial droid would walk and move on screen.