Modern Theater in VR

One of the perks of working in a public institution is that you’re contacted by people with different expertise, all trying to put something digital in their daily working lives. In one of these very common occurrences, we got contacted by “La Pergola” theater in Florence, as they were hosting some international schools and wanted to impress them with something unique.

After a lot of brainstorming, we came up with the idea of having actors duet with themselves, something impossible in the real world.

An individual wearing a motion capture suit in a room equipped with various technology for capturing and analyzing motion data. The person is standing in front of a large screen displaying a 3D model that mimics their movements. The room also features blue chairs, a whiteboard, and a tripod with a camera or sensor. Another individual is seated at a desk with a computer setup, likely monitoring or controlling the process. This setup suggests a demonstration or class focused on motion capture technology.

During a first stage, these young actors recorded their performances with a MoCap suit, performing as if someone was talking to them (It was quite impressive to see!). After the performance, they first studied the result using a VR headset, analyzing how their bodies moved around the stage and how different points of view could be impacted by how they acted. Subsequently, they once again wore the MoCap suit, this time with the headset still on, and recorded a second session where they completed the dialogue with the recorded version of themselves.

Two individuals interacting with virtual reality (VR) equipment. One person is assisting the other in putting on a VR headset. In the background, there is a large screen displaying a desktop with various icons and a window showing a virtual environment. The virtual environment appears to be an outdoor scene with a person standing on a yellow surface, with mountains and a blue sky in the background. There is also a VR sensor or camera on a stand to the right of the screen

For an external eye it may seem like an overkill, but the feedback we received was extremely positive. Actors often wear dark colors and can’t properly see themselves in a standard recording. By jumping in the scene with a VR headset, they could see details that were impossible to notice otherwise.