Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts Grand Opening

 

For the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts grand opening event, we collaborated with local artists to create a once in a lifetime dinner experience for the organization's top sponsors and supporters. The visuals were projected across 3 walls and onto the roof of the Kauffman Center, providing an immersive visual and auditory experience.


The Concept: "Flowing Still"

Within any performance, the audience misses a great deal of detail. Nuances from the performers are beautifully articulated, from slight facial expressions to delicate muscle movements. The concept was to use high speed cameras in an attempt to capture these lost moments in time— giving a visual voice to a performance's still and introspective nature through the use of abstract and expressionistic visual effects inspired by the performances themselves.

The story was told over 5 vignettes using Ballet, Cello, Modern Dance, Percussion and Opera to explore parallel themes of anticipation and release; harmony and dissonance; peace and action; ascension and descension; and anxiety and celebration. Each is marked with a thematic color culminating in Kauffman Blue. A celebration of Kansas City's new home for the Performing Arts as well as a celebration of the artists themselves.


During each vignette, particles that echoed the performer's element were released following the performer's actions and traveled along the two adjacent walls in the space. They traveled outside toward the performing arts center opposite to the performer wall. Once they reached the performing arts center, they would travel along the roof, connecting the performers on the opposite end to the building itself — their new home.

The Performers

Each performer was associated with an element and a color that paralleled the style and energy of the performance.

It was exciting to get to work with such a talented and diverse group of artists. Thanks to Angelina Sansone and Marcus Oatis (KC Ballet), Susie Yang (KC Symphony), Brandon Draper and Kayleigh Fowler. It was the passion and expertise of this amazing cast of local performers that made it all possible.



Color: Purple, Element: Feathers

The scene is defined by contrasting movements. She is rising into a jump as her element (feathers) are cascading down around her.

Color: Green, Element: Fabric

The scene is defined by parallel vibration —a harmonious resonance. The strings vibrate in concert with the movements of the player while the fabric dances.

Color: Yellow, Element: Smoke

The scene is defined by the power of anticipation and release. It focuses on the human body itself as an instrument.

Color: Orange, Element: Water

The scene is defined by the calm before the storm. Building from serene, almost landscape abstraction and stillness to a punctuated crescendo of movement from the water.

Color: Blue, Element: Balloons and Glitter

The scene is defined by the big ending, the grand finale, the fireworks. The white dress and hair evoke elegance and harken to the strings and chords of the musical elements. Her outfit evokes music, her actions evoke dance, and her scene is a celebration of the arts. The climax of the evening and story occurs as the artist is about to sing into the microphone as an explosion of balloons and blue glitter shimmer in the distance.

The Shoot

We used a Weisscam to capture 15 shots of performers and/or physical elements at 2000 frames per second. The Canon 7D Mark II was used to capture the macro shots at 60 frames per second. The shoot happened in one day, yet the SFX planning, fashion design, makeup and hair design started months before. It was an amazing endeavor and a fun collaboration between such a diverse group of designers.

Experience Design

In order to bring the project together into one seamless experience we built a system that would allow the musicians playing during the dinner to control the particles flowing along the walls. With a total of fourteen high powered Christie projectors connected to our command center backstage we could control every pixel in the space and make adjustments using KORG midi controllers. Utilizing a mix of Cinder and Max5 we wrote custom software that connected to the soundboard of the band and drove the visuals flowing around the room blending music and light seamlessly.

Creating the Look

Design was pivotal and present in every stage of the process. We worked closely with every artist involved, from the initial brainstorm to pen and paper, sketches, designs, moodboards, storyboards and SFX tests. It was definitely a fun process of trial and error for the one night to get it right.






Opening Night

The opening night gala followed the inaugural performance in the building. 1500 patrons of the arts came to eat, drink, and celebrate one of the most unique and beautiful performing arts spaces in the country.

Credits

T2

Harvest Productions, Inc. (event projection, audio, & lighting)

Shoot Production Crew

Performers

Costume Design

Styling

Promotional Materials

Vendors

Special Thanks