Faculty with the Helmerich School of Drama were awarded a grant from the Vice President of Research and Partnership’s 2021 Strategic Equipment Investment Program to purchase a Green Hippo 3-D projection mapper to enhance their visual productions.
“In industry terms, we call the Green Hippo a media server – a device built to display still imagery and videos at a very rapid pace,” Richard Sprecker, associate professor in the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts, said. “We’re able to map the projection to any number of surfaces and feed it very detailed video. Because of its powerful graphic engine, this media server is a monster.”
Now, the Green Hippo is taking center stage for the University Theatre's production of Everybody, a modern take on the fifteenth-century morality play Everyman. Cara Oates, an undergraduate assistant with the Helmerich School of Drama, makes her debut as the play’s scenic and projection designer.
“Projection content is meant to enhance the storytelling, and that’s a strength of the Green Hippo. It’s able to seamlessly project images and video content with extremely precise control,” Sprecker said. “For this performance, the Green Hippo’s projections enhance moments of existential crisis as characters make their journeys toward death.”
Oates added, “The images projected by the Green Hippo will help the audience connect with the storyline. As each character runs out of time on their journey of self-discovery, viewers will see various displays that showcase different parts of their personalities and experiences.”
In addition to its use in the performance hall, this technology will also be added to the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts’ curriculum.
“We’ve been teaching other versions of media software, but those are loaded onto static computers,” Sprecker said. “But with the Green Hippo, the software and hardware are built in tandem, which allows it to process images and video at incredibly fast speeds. So, having this device on campus is going to open a whole new level of storytelling. It’s really going to be fantastic.”
Learn more about the OVPRP Strategic Equipment Investment Program and learn more about the University Theatre’s 2023-2024 season or purchase tickets.
