Cartoon Theatre and The Perfect Spot
The Perfect Spot is the simple story of a simple man's search for a camping spot that is simply perfect. At this point the simplicity ends, not for the audience but for the production team as this is a Cartoon Theatre show involving full screen interactive animation.
The house style of combining live performance with animation has been developed over the last 10 years. It has involved a learning curve that is not unlike the virtual cliff the hero has to scale on his adventures.
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Originally their shows only used animated inserts. Soon they moved onto using full screen environments and a front projection technique that created a complete environment for the performers to work within. |
| Audience involvement has always been part of their style and they were keen that the technology would enhance that. This meant multiple-choice story lines, interactive animated 'it’s behind you' sequences and children’s descriptions of strange creatures drawn and animated before their very eyes. |
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The first fully animated shows, the award winning Comic, Night to Remember and the original, Cartoon Theatre, were produced on Amiga computers. For the last two shows, however, they have changed platform and used the latest software. This has given them a hugely extended range for interactivity and show control: 'For us it is important that the technology never takes away from the live aspect of theatre. We have been constantly working towards production and cueing methods that allow the performers the freedom to work with the audience and the animation without feeling trapped in a relentless timeline'.
Similarly they have always been keen to move away from the flat screen as the way to present the image.
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Their last show, The Other Side was a large production that involved a complicated set, full of pixel perfect registration and cut outs. This allowed them to create a production filled with transformations and visual delights. |
| The Perfect Spot is their first show to be produced in their new company base in Evanton in the Highlands. The company is part of the larger multi-media company Arts in Motion and in the last few months Cartoon Theatre got their production centre up and running. This stability has been of tremendous benefit to them and allowed more experimenting time with the medium. It has also allowed them to consolidate a great team. |
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They have had many successful collaborations with other companies. Now, as well as working on their own productions, they can provide services to the theatre community from set building to video editing and animation.
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The Perfect Spot is about to tour and do a series of workshops in the Highlands and North-East. Visit Cartoon Theatre's website for tour dates. If anything that they are doing interests you, try and catch the show or get in touch directly with Dave at Cartoon Theatre. |
The Perfect Spot was supported by the National Lottery through the Scottish Arts Council. |