SARIF Funding Award

Equipment and Infrastructure Award for Projection Mapping

In the Fall of 2016, I was awarded $59,400 through the Department of Research and Engagement's Scholarly and Research Incentive Fund (SARIF).  This equipment and infrastructure award requires matching funds from a researcher's department and college. It is a great honor to be awarded such a sizable amount for a department in the humanities.  The funding went towards upgrading and supplementing Clarence Brown Theatre's projection equipment, and enhancing the department's media lab which I developed to be a state-of-the-art space to learn projection mapping (see below). Proposal, Award.

Integrated Light/Sound/Projection Media Teaching Lab

When I began teaching at The University of Tennessee I was introduced to the Yeagerlab, which was developed by my cohort, Kenton Yeager. This lab was designed to teach lighting at 1/6 scale, with the ability to create, explore, teach, and learn in a safe and extremely fast environment.  I quickly realized that this package could be so much more than a lighting lab. After a few years of experimentation, it has become a true integrated media lab. I have incorporated front, rear, and specialty projections into the rig, using Watchout, Qlab, and Isadora, as well as a surround sound and effect speaker Qlab system for complete sound, projection, and lighting integration.  Cabinets in the lab also contain video and audio recording equipment, and motion capture and interactive control hardware, that can be incorporated into any project.



Below is an example of content for workshops that Kenton Yeager and I present about integrating lights with projections and sound, based on Shakespeare's Macbeth. We present these workshops every year at the Southeastern Theatre Conference. This content (projections and sound) was presented through Qlab, over 50 cueable elements, speakers emulating a 7.1 surround system, a 4000 lumen projector, and rear projected through a leno-filled scrim.