We started Machos in February of 2020. We met in person for design meetings, excited for the show we were about to put on for a live audience. Then a few weeks later we were hit with the news of COVID-19, and everything shifted. Suddenly we were scrambling to figure out how to put on this show virtually, creating a completely new form of theatre. We knew we wanted to incorporate all of our originals designs that we had worked so hard on, and luckily we were able to do just that. With 3D-printing technology, we were able to build a 4x4 ft scale model of the set, which we adjusted for lighting and set up on a green screen for post-production editing. We even set up a projector with which I was able to project my designs onto the mini model, just like we originally planned. In post-production, I went through each and every clip in Premiere Pro & After Effects, taking out the green screen and adjusting the coloring so it looked just like how the lighting designer planned.

Soon we were ready for building the system. With our actors each in the safety of their own homes, spread across the valley, we had to find a way to connect them all to one place. Our amazing systems engineer, Cassidy Atkins, put together a bundle of equipment, including a green screen, multiple LED lights, a tripod, headphones, and a smartphone. A bundle was sent to each of the actors home for set up. Using an OBS system, we were able to connect the footage from the actors phones into a main computer on campus. This computer then sent the feed through NDI to another computer where I set up Resolume Arena. I was then able to drop the actors live feed onto the recorded footage of the set. Then with a little cropping and chromakey magic, the big picture came to life. Each scene was recorded and put together in a 30 minute final cut, including a 6 minute animation sequence I created to break away from the world of the set and show the amazing range of virtual theatre.