Les Misérables – Let the People Sing
Head of Video · BLOC Productions
An ambitious production that pushed what we could achieve technically in amateur theatre, with projection integrated across cloths and scenic walls.
The technical story
Six-projector system
We used four 20,000-lumen and two 30,000-lumen projectors to cover the front cloth, back cloth and four scenic walls — two on either side of the stage. This required careful alignment and mapping across multiple surfaces.
Playback and distribution
QLab ran on a Mac Studio with a backup playback system. Equipment supplied by Stage Sound Services (SSS), including Datapath FX4 units, helped us distribute the video to the required number of outputs.
Technical ambition versus storytelling
We created a technically impressive system, but with hindsight I would have spent more time developing show-specific content and collaborating earlier with the other creative departments. The experience reinforced that technical capability has the greatest impact when it serves the storytelling.
System at a glance
- Projection
- 4 × 20,000-lumen + 2 × 30,000-lumen
- Surfaces
- Front cloth, back cloth and 4 scenic walls
- Playback
- QLab · Mac Studio · backup system
- Distribution
- Datapath FX4 · video routing
- Equipment supplier
- Stage Sound Services (SSS)
