Needing some help with a theatre show...

[jkatme]

Hey guys
I wasn't sure where this post belongs so forgive me if I'm in the wrong place.

I'm directing a theatre show and in it the main character gives youtube vlogs live on stage. We need a way to project a picture of Youtube with a live stream from a camcorder to go in the box on the screen where clips are normally played. Would anyone have any ideas on how to do this?

I've found software that allows us to use the HV20 and other camcorders as a webcam (http://www.orangeware.com/endusers/webcamdv.html) so I think it is possible.

Could anybody help or point us in the right direction?
j

[neocastillo]

You might want to prerecord the sequence and then playback the whole thing on the computer full screen to give the effect. can the audience really see what he's doing on the computer?

[Mal]

Yeah, I didn't understand that either; how can the audience even tell what's going on? Or are you projecting it to a larger screen?

BTW, I've just created a new forum called MIXED BAG; and placed this thread into it!

[jkatme]

It's a theatre performance (female solo show) but we have a projected image on stage.

Normally she uses Flash to trigger certain sequences (video clips, sounds) from a remote control that carries on her. For this performance I wanted her to do some VLOGs directly to camera and for them to be projected onto a much larger screen. I was hoping to project a youtube image and have a live feed from a camcorder go into the box on the youtube page where movies are shown.

It's got to be live and not pre-recorded, because it's a theatre show and is much more interesting when the actor is in the moment. It's a very subtle character and I was hoping to et a nice tight closeup of her face projected really big.

I've been playing around with this software http://www.imagesalsa.com/
but don't really know what I'm doing.

I managed to get a live stream from my hv20 using the other software (webcamdv) via imagesalsa...but I know I'm just out of my league.
j

[neocastillo]

Ok if I understadn you correctly what you need to do is:

1. Have a computer off stage running FCP, AF, AP, VEGA or any program that will out put live video.

2. Set up a screen shot of the website in photoshop and cut out the video area, making sure to retain the transparency.

3. Then bring that picture into your video software then have the video feed coming into the computer from your HV20 or whatever camera scaled and placed where the video should be.

4. Now you will new a second video output device to send that signal to the computer on stage.

Thats just the first solution that came to mind.

[jkatme]

The computer will be onstage along with the camera. She'll be sitting in front of the camera and laptop and the image will project onto a screen via a video projector.

How do you bring the picture into your video software?

I'm a bit familiar with PP2. I know how to make a jpg and then import it into PP2. Jut wondering how I set that image up so that it's the only one on screen and how I get the live feed into a box on screen?

[dasbin]

Cool idea. I think if it were me, I would choose to use two projectors rather than one: one to project the image of the YouTube website, and another for the live input hooked directly to the camcorder, and focused only on the blank video area of the screen.

[jkatme]

I guess that's one way to solve the problemo dasbin. But it's a limited budget...not really the cashola for an extra projector.


I've been trying all sorts of webcam software but not really getting anywhere. Any suggestions on other types of software I could be sussing out anyone?

Another option might be to just buy an el cheapo webcam but there's still the problem of how to insert the live image into a jpeg of a screenshot.

Can anyone recommend any other forums that I could be asking these questions?
j

[neocastillo]

Oh is the a Mac or PC computer you will be dealing with?

[jkatme]

Ultimately it will have to be for a mac (as this is what the actress will be touring with)

But I have a pc and am trying to work out how to do it at the moment. I was hoping to incorporate it as part of a flash presentation but one step at a time. I've worked out it should be possible and am open to any ideas/suggestions...
j

[neocastillo]

What modle mac will she be using. Does it have a built in webcam?

[jkatme]

a probook
it's a few years old (maybe 4)
It doesn't have a webcam but we could easily buy a cheap webcam and clip it on top of the laptop.
Sounds like you have an idea...

[neocastillo]

I guess what I'm getting at is why can't you use YouTube's Quick Capture feature to Capture a live video from a camera?

[dasbin]

What about renting a video mixer?

Or, use real time live compositing / video mix software like this http://www.garagecube.com/modul8/

Any way you slice it, this is a tech design thing that needs a budget. If you want to do it right (or maybe even at all) it is going to cost money. Quite frankly the reason I suggested using another projector is because I'm 90% sure that renting one will be the cheapest route that actually works.

I am a theatrical technical designer by trade. I can say with full confidence that DIY no-budget mickey-mouse solutions invariably disappoint in the end, and if you don't have the budget to do something then you are way better off just cutting it completely and moving your efforts on to improving the rest of the show. Not trying to be harsh or critical in any way, just trying to warn you before you expend lots of energy only to wish you had done things differently later.

[jkatme]

I've been posting on a couple of forums seeing if anybody could help me but haven't gotten any responses.

I had the idea of saving the youtube page as html, then editing the html and changing the source for the embeded frame from a flashplayer to an application on the puter that streams a webcam.

Problem is I don't really know how to do this.

Does anyone have suggestions of forums that I could try posting this problem in?

[neocastillo]

I've been posting on a couple of forums seeing if anybody could help me but haven't gotten any responses.

I had the idea of saving the youtube page as html, then editing the html and changing the source for the embeded frame from a flashplayer to an application on the puter that streams a webcam.

Problem is I don't really know how to do this.

Does anyone have suggestions of forums that I could try posting this problem in?

From what you discribed it really sound like YouTube's quick caputre feature might be the easiest and cheapest way for you to go. Have you played around with that yet?

[jkatme]

Hey Neo
Yeah I did play around with that but we can't be hooked up to the world wide interweb every time we have a show.
Can you think of a way to do it without being online?

[jkatme]

Thanx for your input mate.

I'm gonna head down this avenue for a while to see if I can come up with something effective. I've been toying around with some VJing software but I don't really know what I'm doing.
If it comes down to it I think we'll just put it in webcam software rather than a youtube page. That'll be pretty effective anyway.

j

[sfdex]

Hi, there --

I know this thread was active months ago, but I just recently joined the forum and saw it. Here's an idea that doesn't involve an HV20, necessarily; I'm not sure if the HV20 can do what I'm about to describe.

Many camcorders (basically any Sony DV, DVCam or Digital 8 with a memory-stick for stills, and some other cameras that, I'm sure) have the ability to composite a still from the memory card (memory stick on the Sonys) with a live video feed. You can capture a still of the YouTube page on your PC or Mac. Using Photoshop or some other image editing software, replace the window in which the YouTube video would normally be seen with a color (I think the Sony cameras use Green or Blue.) Make sure this color doesn't appear anywhere else in the webpage image you've captured as a still.

Then, fire up the camcorder and turn on its composite feature; it will automatically replace anything that's the "magic" color -- Green or Blue or whatever the camera requires -- with your camera's live feed. Frame the shot from the camera appropriately, and there you go!

If you want to get fancy, you could even superimpose the YouTube logo over the lower right corner of the green area of the web page so it would be superimposed over your actress' live image.

Hope this isn't too late!