Death And The Powers
Opera Media Content
“Does the matter really matter?” asks Simon Powers, Richest Man In The World, lover of money and poetry.
Tod Machover’s Death And The Powers, a new sci-fi opera by the MIT Media Lab and the American Repertory Theatre, follows Simon Powers as he merges with cyberspace in a quest to live forever. We created the media for Simon’s new digital-self, capturing the emotional intensity of the actor’s live performance and transforming it into three, robotic, fifteen foot tall media walls.
CAPABILITIES
MEDIA CONTENT
LIVE ACTION PRODUCTION & DIRECTION
MOTION GRAPHICS
INTERACTIVE TOOLKIT
INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCES
SALLE GARNIER, MONTE CARLO (WORLD PREMIERE)
CUTLER MAJESTIC, BOSTON
HARRIS THEATER, CHICAGO
CREDITS
COMPOSED BY: TOD MACHOVER
STORY BY: ROBERT PINKSKY & RANDY WEINER
DIRECTED BY: DIANE PAULUS
PRODUCTION DESIGNED BY: ALEX MCDOWELL
CHOREOGRAPHED BY: KAROLE ARMITAGE
PRODUCED BY
OPERA FUTURUM (MONACO)
MIT MEDIA LAB
AMERICAN REPERTORY THEATRE
APPRECIATION
The emotional intensity [of the media content] felt as vivid and present as the feelings of the actual humans. Wall Street Journal
"The voice is familiar but the face is unreal." confesses Simon's daughter, Miranda, as she meets her newly formed father. The D4D team worked closely with the production to transform actual heartbeats, gestures and vocals into a digital, on-stage persona that captured everything "Simon", only without all that useless "matter."
The visuals displayed on the walls march from concrete to abstract, matching Powers's transformation from a man to
a lifeform made of light. Boston Phoenix
Dynamic Content Design
We produced over 500 unique elements for the live theater production. Simon's consciousness was built from live action footage, motion graphics, and animated blocks of color and form, all manipulated live on the massive LED screens. Simon spoke visually with playful typography, seduced with dream-like memories, and used symbols and stock footage to deploy his sardonic wit.
Behind the Scenes
