Merchant of Venice Chroma Key: Theatre History on the Web

Merchant of Venice Chroma Key

In 1985 the University of Washington received research funding from the IBM Corporation. Distributed on a competitive basis, a portion of this funding would come to the School of Drama for the next seven years.

Perhaps the most challenging questions associated with a desktop computer in those early years were what to do with the machine and how much could it do for you. Spread sheets and data organization and document creation were obvious.

But could the computer be somehow integrated into theatre production? Could we use the computer for pre-production visualization, for example? Could we model sets and lights and actors in motion? The details of our work, which lasted more than a decade, may be found here on this web site.

Recently recovered video and still images illustrate some of the early attempts to answer these questions.

We approached the challenge in two directions. Using a digitizing tablet (a) we input scene design drawings to the computer so the drawings could be seen on a monitor. On a second monitor we placed images of actors, recorded against a black background.
The monitors were positioned (b) with one in front of and one behind a beam splitter (one-way glass). Thus, one image was reflected onto and one passed through the splitter, combining to form a single image. While this technique worked (c) it did not allow for movement by the actors.
The second effort was made without the computer, using scale models of the stage settings and a video process called chroma key, a process that creates a transparent background. This method proved quite effective but required the use of a video sound stage, a technical crew for lighting, sound and camera work. The results were promising but the overhead too costly to be practical.

The pictures on the left show the studio set-up for video taping the model, which is about twelve by eighteen inches in size, and a close-up of the model.

The pictures on the right show the blue-screen set for chroma keying the actors and, in the photo below, two actresses keyed into the image of the model. The blue-screen area contains a blue bench and a short flight of blue stairs.

The video clip, below, reflects the deterioration of the more than thirty year old video tape, but illustrates what can be accomplished using this technique. With today's Non-Linear Editing software and modern hand-held cameras this technique is eminently practical, and at very low cost.