Scenography Close Bounded with Sound and Light Design

Scenography: Close Bounded with Sound and Light Design? Presented at the Szenografenkongress Saturday, May 12 th, 2001, Bablesberg Germany

Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity • “Since the mathematicians have invaded theory of relativity, I do not understand it myself anymore. ” Albert Einstein

Dramatic Space and Time • Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity • The Relationship Between Relativity and the Dramatic Experience • The Dramatic e = mc 2

Scenography: Close Bounded with Sound and Light Design? • Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity • The Relationship Between Relativity and the Dramatic Experience • The Dramatic e = mc 2

Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity • Downtown Bern, Switzerland. • If you are moving away from a clock and look back at it, the light you see must catch up with you. If your motion is near the speed of light, the clock you see will be slow. • A clue to the flexibility of time itself. Image © Bettmann Archive, New York

Understanding Relativity http: //www. pbs. org/wgbh/nova/time/think. html • The speed of an object varies with the speed of the train. The train above is travelling at 30 mph, and the man on the train throws the ball in the direction of the train’s travel at 20 mph.

Understanding Relativity http: //www. pbs. org/wgbh/nova/time/think. html • To the man on the ground, the ball is travelling at 50 miles per hour. • However, to the man on the train, the ball is only travelling at 20 miles per hour. !

Understanding Relativity http: //www. pbs. org/wgbh/nova/time/think. html • No matter how fast the above train travels, the light from the man’s flashlight will still travel at 300, 000 km/sec! • For both the observer, and the man on the train, the light travels at 300, 000 km per second! • The speed of light is constant!

Understanding Relativity http: //www. pbs. org/wgbh/nova/time/think. html • If velocity = distance/time, and both the distance the light travels, and the velocity of the light are the same for both observers, then time must be different for each observer!

• "The relativistic analogy can be carried to its logical end. Since time begins to slow down with higher speeds, it can be shown that at the speed of light it stops totally and beyond that begins to run backwards! Similarly, matter having contracted more and more, ultimately vanishes. But beyond the speed of light it is difficult to imagine negative matter with infinite mass. " -Albert Einstein

Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity • As c approaches 300, 000 km/sec, time slows down. • If c = 300, 000 km/sec, time stops • If c > 300, 000 km/sec, time goes backward • Spaceship travel close to the speed of light would cause time to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n. • We could travel forward in time! http: //www. pbs. org/wgbh/nova/einstein/hotsciencetwin/

The Relationship Between Physical Space/Time and Dramatic Space/Time But isn’t this exactly what happens in the dramatic experience? Antony and Cleopatra: 28 spaces in three days!

The Relationship Between Physical Space/Time and Dramatic Space/Time = ? • Inside it feels like we are not moving, and time is progressing normally • We are aware of another world where time and space are compressed

The Relationship Between Physical Space/Time and Dramatic Space/Time c = d/t Or, if c is constant, time = d/c! “c” is a very important part of the dramatic experience!

The Frame of Reference for a Theatre Audience Frame of reference: 1: an arbitrary set of axes to which the position or motion of something is described or physical laws are formulated 2: a set or system (as of facts or ideas) serving to orient or give particular meaning”

The Frame of Reference for a Theatre Audience Physical Dramatic Space and Time • The theatre building, audience, seats, other audience members, etc. • Time passes normally according to a watch • The dramatic setting of the play • Time passes according to a set of dramatic rules The transition from the Physical space/time to the Dramatic space/time is accomplished in the Exposition of the play!

The Frame of Reference for a Theatre Audience Physical Dramatic Space and Time • Space is determined by • Space and time are relative physical scenery to each individual • Time is relative to an outside reference (clock) Notice how dramatic time conforms more closely to Einstein’s understanding of relativity

The Frame of Reference for a Theatre Audience • "Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT'S relativity. ” -Albert Einstein

The Frame of Reference for a Theatre Audience ct 1 ct 2 • A window “frame” converter

The Frame of Reference for a Theatre Audience • “c” is the speed of dramatic imagination • It is a constant similar to the speed of light or the speed of electromagnetism • Since it is constant in the formula c=d/t we can freely manipulate distance and time in the dramatic frame of reference! • Next: transforming physical mass using “c”. . .

The Dramatic e=mc 2 • "It followed from the special theory of relativity that mass and energy are both but different manifestations of the same thing -- a somewhat unfamilar conception for the average mind. Furthermore, the equation E is equal to m csquared, in which energy is put equal to mass, multiplied by the square of the velocity of light, showed that very small amounts of mass may be converted into a very large amount of energy and vice versa. The mass and energy were in fact equivalent, according to the formula mentioned before. This was demonstrated by Cockcroft and Walton in 1932, experimentally. "

The Dramatic e=mc 2 • Energy is equal to • Mass multiplied by the ratio of • Distance to • Time

The Dramatic e=mc 2 Energy: • 1: vitality of expresssion • 2: the capacity of acting • 3: power forcefully exerted • 4: the capacity for doing work Energy: the life-force of the drama, or the vitality of dramatic expression

The Dramatic e=mc 2 Organism: • “ 1: a complex structure of interdependent and subordinate elements whose relations and properties are largely determined by their function in the whole; • 2: an individual constituted to carry on the activities of life by means of organs separate in function but mutually dependent. ” Energy: the organism or life force of the drama; the vitality of dramatic expression

The Dramatic e=mc 2 Mass: • “the property of a body that is a measure of its inertia, that is commonly taken as a measure of the amount of material it contains, that causes a body to have weight in a gravitational field, and that along with length and time constitutes one of the fundamental quantities on which all physical measurements are based” Mass: the physical entity of the drama: the inert actors, scenery and costumes

The Dramatic e=mc 2 Velocity • “Quickness of motion” • v = d/t where v = velocity d = distance t = time

The Dramatic e=mc 2 Space: • “ 1. a period of time • 2. a limited extent in one, two, or three dimensions: Distance, area, volume. ” Distance: • “a separation in time. ” Distance is a measure of space.

The Dramatic e=mc 2 Time: • “ 1: the measured or measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues” • 7 a: rate of speed: TEMPO b: the grouping of the beats of music: RHYTHM ”

Velocity The Dramatic e=mc 2 • “c” is the ratio of two very similar, but complementary quantities, space and time. • “c” is the factor responsible for placing the dramatic mass in motion; • “c” is squared in the formula e=mc 2 because it has an exponential influence on the creation of the life force energy of the play. • “c” reveals mass through light and sound, as perceived by the eyes and ears; Velocity: The ratio of space to time (d/t); the space time continuum; transmitted by sound and light, and perceived by the ears and eyes

The Dramatic e=mc 2 • Dramatic mass put into motion by space and time creates the lifeforce or energy of the play.

Light and Sound, Space and Time • The speed of light is a constant: 300, 000 km per second • Note that the speed of light is always measured and defined relative to the observer (e. g. , a time reference) • It remains constant for all observers, regardless of the relative velocities of the observers.

Light and Sound, Space and Time Source: http: //csgrad. cs. vt. edu/~chin/speed. html The speed of sound, however, is dependent on the space that conveys it. The speed of sound varies depending on the medium that conveys it.

Light and Sound, Space and Time Light-particles accelerated, on the other hand becomes mass. Light, then, must be unequivocally anchored in space.

Light and Sound, Space and Time • Note that the speed of light is always measured and defined relative to the observer (i. e. , a time reference); • whereas, • The speed of sound is measured and defined relative to the space that conveys it (i. e. , a spatial reference).

Light and Sound, Space and Time • Light reveals space by defining it relative to time • Sound reveals time by defining it relative to space

Light and Sound, Space and Time • How far is Potsdam from Berlin? • 40 km? • 30 minutes?

Light and Sound Compared 186, 000 miles per sec Transmission 1 foot per picosecond 1100 feet per second 1 foot per millisecond . 000016 - 000038 inch l = c/f . 75 in - 50 feet 311, 000 - 737, 000 gigacycles frequency 20 -20, 000 cycles per second all frequencies White Noise White Light

$Sight and Sound Compared Angle of Incidence Equals Angle of Reflection Also Diffraction, Absorption,$

Sight and Sound Compared Angle of Incidence Equals Angle of Reflection Also Diffraction, Absorption, Transmission, Doppler shift

Sight and Hearing Compared Reflected Light Perceive Mass Through Changing Air Pressure Rods and Cones Perceive Frequency With Basilar Membrane Two Eyes Perceive Space With Two Ears

Sight and Hearing Compared Reflected Light Perceive Mass Through Changing Air Pressure Rods and Cones Perceive Frequency With Basilar Membrane Two Eyes Perceive Space With Two Ears Two Eyes Depth Perception One Ear Horizontal/Vertical Localization Two Ears

Sight and Hearing Compared Rarely Occurs Naturally Pure Tone Perceptual Relativity Out of Tune Color Blind Color Perception Tone Deaf Blue, Calm Color Bias Low, Ominous Rods and Cones Fatigue Basilar Membrane Pure Color Clashing Color

Sight and Hearing Compared

Reconciling Dramatic Space/Time with Physical Space/Time • …is very difficult to do! • Aristotle proposed limiting dramatic space/time through the unities of time, place, and action • Continued in mid 18 th Century neo-classicism, and in the development of the “box set” and rise of Realism • All dramatic ideas do not conform so well to a drama of limited time, place and action!

Reconciling Dramatic Space/Time with Physical Space/Time • The history of theatre is one of different attempts at reconciliation: • • • Periaktoi (Sophocles) House-platea staging and pageant wagons of medieval drama Perspective scenery of the 16 th and 17 th century theatre Stage machinery of the 18 th century Lighting in the 19 th century Modern theatre (with its fly system, traps, wagons, projections, etc. )

Reconciling Dramatic Space/Time with Physical Space/Time • Shakespeare “required a fluid stage where space and time changed freely and quickly. ” • Limited the physical space time (e. g. , scenery, costumes, etc) requirements. • Late 19 th and early 20 th century designers such as Appia, Craig, and Meyerhold developed innovative solutions to free the physical space/time in support of a fluent dramatic space/time.

Reconciling Dramatic Space/Time with Physical Space/Time • The development of Film • Film allows space and time to change as quickly as the dramatist requires. • Film is chiefly limited to two dimensions, however!

Reconciling Dramatic Space/Time with Physical Space/Time • 20 th-21 st century explorations of time in the visual arts • The development of the music-video of the MTV generation • The development of the film editor as “visual percussionist”

Reconciling Dramatic Space/Time with Physical Space/Time • 20 th-21 st Century explorations of space in the sonic arts • Monaural sound, stereo, 5. 1. 7. 1, 9. 1, 10. 2. • It would “take about 1, 000 channels to fully capture one space and reproduce it in another in all its detail…” • The audio pixel: a regular array of transducers on a two-dimensional grid…(of) hundreds or thousands of transducers