Download Shakespeare Relayed Notes MV

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Shakespeare Relayed 1/30/2016 10:00-­‐11:15am Michael Vaclav o Shakespeare and Film ! Old Shakespeare productions couldn’t be filmed indoors ! Set precedent of creating films outside ! Now we can live stream • We can also record and delay broadcasts • Live theatre is being distributed to a larger audience o National Theatre Live now broadcasts as well as the Met and many others o Introductions ! Nicholas Hytner • Former artistic director of the National Theatre ! Antoni Cimolino • From Stratford Shakespeare Festival o How can we use the live streaming for STA? ! How is theatre affected by the knowledge that it is being filmed? Nicholas Hytner o The Met didn’t completely start the broadcasting of performances o Much like a sporting event or a television play o National Theatre ! Can’t tour everywhere ! Duty to get to the whole of the UK due to being tax-­‐funded o The hurdle of the actors and playwrights ! Selling rights were a concern to playwrights ! Actors had more creative concerns • Divide between theatre and camera acting • Concern of overacting on camera o National Theatre Live performances are archived but not online or for sale ! The only such policy ! RSC makes television movies of their performances o Live theatre is treated more like theatre than cinema o Directed as if it isn’t filmed at all ! No one thinks like they are watching a film o Live theatre is simply a different genre Peter o RSC Distinction ! Example of Macbeth by Ian McKellen and Judy Dench is consciously filmic ! National Theatre Live sticks to shots that could actually be seen from the house •
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Antoni o Stratford is filming all of the works of Shakespeare over this year for the first time in North America o Different than live streaming o Gets the word out to an international audience o Educational value of recorded shows o Desire to give the feeling of the theatre while also making quality films ! Captures a live performance and than edits it to be a film ! No good time to stream their shows ! Now can broadcast these productions over many different mediums ! This will never completely replace the experience of a theatre • We should still embrace this Nicholas o Most broadcasts are at the end of a run o For people that can’t get to the show and will not get to the show ! NT Live does distribute to schools ! Sacrificing a show in the course of a whole run is not the end of the world o Trying to always keep the selection fresh o NT Live’s main clients are small arts centres ! Costs of receiving and broadcasting the shows are dropping o Effects on other theatres ! Overall neutral effect at worst ! Worse effect on Shakespeare movies • NT Live brings in far more money that full Shakespearean movies Question 1 o How does the audience react to the presence of the cameras? o Antoni ! The performance becomes more of a special event ! The audience is well informed of the fact that they are witnessing a filmed performance • Filming a thrust stage means the audience is often filmed as well ! Actors really don’t change their performance all that much • The Audience feels more of a difference in the performance than the actors do Question 2 o Pros and Cons of backstage access that often accompanies streamed performances of The Met and NT Live o Nicholas ! Opera singers are often more prepared to be interviewed than actors ! NT Live films pre-­‐recorded short documentary-­‐style bits to accompany the broadcast • These are seen as a benefit that the live audience is not able to access •
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o Antoni ! The films from the Stratford Shakespeare Festival have “making of” bits that play during the traditional intermission time Question 3 o Were there concerns from theatrical unions concerning live streaming? o Antoni ! There is certainly a cultural divide between theatre and film ! Filming results in higher standards of excellence for makeup and costuming ! The ability to film and the quality of filming theatrical productions ha certainly gone up over time o What are the technical changes that have affected streaming theatre? ! Nicholas • The costs of receiving and shoeing the broadcast have certainly gone down and will continue to plummet • The quality of the broadcast will go up • The theatre(ish) setting is still invaluable however o The Experience must be framed properly o One does not expect mobile broadcasts ! Antoni • Close ups are much more possible when filming the production • The volume can be unbalanced • Directing for stage is totally different than directing for film o The ability and need to draw the audience’s attention Question 4 o How does NT Live choose their cinematic partners? Is there concern over quality? o Antoni ! Locale of the playback determines many factors • Example of sound bleed in large theatres o Peter ! Technical difficulties are few and far between but often cannot be helped Question 5 o Audiences vary between film and theatre. Cinematic audiences are critical while theatrical audiences are merciful. How does the audience for live theatre streaming bridge this? o Nicholas ! In a theatre, one must relate to the power of the present actor ! This is a component of live performance that is not lost in live streaming theatre ! The cinematic audience becomes merciful o Antoni ! Audience expectation is different for theatre and cinema ! The audience of a live theatre broadcast is more akin to the theatrical audience in their expectations.