Actors playing in Multimedia Scenes
by Patrizia Palamidese
CATS (Computer Aided Theatrical Score) is a 3D graphics system for
the composition, synchronisation and simulation in real time of multimedia
scenes which include sets, actors' motion and speech, sounds, music, lights,
and camera. The initial project developed by CNUCE-CNR in co-operation
with Italian theatre directors has been subsequently refined with the support
of an Italian company, INTECS, to become an Esprit project funded by the
EU IV Framework RTD program. A consortium of European industries, research
institutes, and representatives of theatre, TV, and cinema producers, participate
in the development of the system. CNUCE is involved primarily in the implementation
of the actor motion component.
Theatre is the very first multimedia system because a theatrical scene
is a composition of different elements such as motion, speech, lights.
Theatre directors and professionals have long been composing and synchronising
such sub-systems, first on paper (scripts, and then on stage (rehearsals).
We thus chose the theatrical scene as a model on which to build any kind
of scene for any type of application. TV shows, film scenes, external events
held in town squares, or sports events can all be derived from this basic
model.
The CATS system makes it possible to create a rapid sketch of a scene
and memorize the structure of a performance as a whole. The main features
of the system are the capability to design a scene very quickly and to
obtain a real-time simulation on a PC platform. The written script or screenplay
is immediately transformed into a digital model or multimedia script for
rapid evaluation and modification. The system provides many views of a
performance, which are completely integrated and kept consistent on the
screen over time. In this way, the user is given the opportunity to intervene
and create new performances and/or change existing ones.
Figure 1: Overview of the architecture.
The main environment is the virtual stage which is a window open on
time: it can either display the still image of the set at a given time
or visualize a real-time simulation within the chosen interval. Following
a virtual rehearsal approach, the director can cue in a new actor at any
time, suggest a movement or a line, make a run for evaluation, and change
parameters such as motion speed or speech intonation. Actor motion is based
on high level procedures which mean that the user is released from having
to perform a time consuming motion specification. Flexibility is determined
by the capability of combining motions and adapting them to any new spatial/temporal
situation.
Figure 2 +3: The stage (left) and the score (right) present different
points of view of the scene.
A symbolic visualization of the scene can be obtained: all the elements
are drawn on horizontal tracks which are parallel to the timeline, much
like a musical score. Symbols can be moved to make different alignments
and to control synchronisation. When an actor or a motion is inserted into
the virtual set, its symbol automatically appears on the score. To check
the structure of the performance as a whole, one can visualize the script
to display such elements as acts, thematic blocks, scenes, actor lines,
etc, and their links.
Please contact:
Patrizia Palamidese - CNUCE-CNR
Tel: +39 50 593 226
E-mail: p.palamidese@cnuce.cnr.it
