Systems Integration and Video Design for Contemporary Theater

In the theater community, there is a noticeable lack of education concerning video engineering & production. The normative role of the video designer has been heightened to an aesthetic, image based practice in the modes of lighting and scenic design, but has failed to keep pace with the engineering education demanded by scenic, acoustic and electrics engineers. Carpentry crew calls support the work of a scenic designer, electrics crews support the work of lighting and sound designers, but very rarely does a production ever employ the required breadth of support for a video designer, and quite often, the subsequent departments are left to pick up the slack for a field they have little to no understanding in while producers wonder why deadlines aren't being met, and shop supervisors quickly try to understand a menagerie of technologies that require a frequently underestimated learning curve to comprehend.

In most armed forces worldwide, there are two distinct career paths, that of the commissioned officer, and that of enlisted service-members. While officers command respect due to their station, officer's with a history of prior enlisted service are some of the most valuable members of military society due to their comprehensive and applied understanding of the actions resulting from their decisions. Having experienced this firsthand in my own service, this was a lesson I took to heart, and I truly believe that a designer (who operates in many capacities that are similar to a commissioned officer) will be the most successful in a career that is based on an comprehensive and applied understanding of the engineering that is involved with each of their design elements. (I would even go so far as to say that it is a designer's responsibility to have this understanding.) For scenic designers, this is an education born in the scene shop. Structural mechanics, material tensions ratings, and load bearing capacities flesh out this vocation. Basic Electricity, electrical safety and proprietary console programming are the primary fields of focus for a lighting designer. For the Sound Designer, an understanding of acoustics, dispersion, tuning, signal flow and systems integration all become players. For the video engineer; optics, IT/Networking, programming and systems integration.

Hold up, he just said systems integration... twice!? Whats up with that?

Formal systems integration is a relatively new concept to the world of theater. Scenic designers do not require their assistance until very high end scenic elements are being produced involving hydraulics, lifts and moving scenery. Lighting designers typically operate in proprietary console systems that lack open source operability, and therefore do not require much support from a systems integrator. Sound Designers, who very often employ devices such as timecode, MIDI Show Control and FFT analysis/tuning employ the skills of a systems integrator when they do so. Video departments, which are currently very open source, are perhaps the most involved in systems integration of any field. It is safe to say that systems integration is the most often underestimated/ignored position I see producers, designers and fellow peers fail to recognize as a major component of any show until it is, most often, too late. This is evidenced in a general aversion (on the part of some directors/designers) to working with video components, the frequent and drastic cutting/downsizing of video production past an original design, and the last-minute panics induced when a system is either not properly installed, or an engineer hasn't been hired to maintain said systems past their initial tech “run-in” period.

Beijing University's Introduction to Information Engineering Program defines Systems Integration as,

“...a breadth of knowledge rather than a depth of knowledge. These skills are likely to include software and hardware engineering, interface protocols, and general problem solving skills. It is likely that the problems to be solved have not been solved before except in the broadest sense. They are likely to include new and challenging problems with an input from a broad range of engineers where the system integration engineer "pulls it all together.”

A Systems Integrator is defined as,

“... a person or company that specializes in bringing together component subsystems into a whole and ensuring that those subsystems function together, a practice known as system integration. Systems integrators may work in many fields but the term is generally used in the information technology (IT) field, the defense industry, or in media.”

In video design, programs such as the PC based “Watchout” are respected for their ability to reduce the workload of a systems integrator, but very often this is not an option due to budgetary restrictions and/or not desired due to the tradeoff you get when you sacrifice control for ease of installation. One designer with a knack for programming in simple interfaces and a knack for computers can handle Watchout with ease, but is limited in the complexity of the system and the amount of control over the finer elements of video delivery.

PC based d3, (which costs substantially more than Watchout,) provides the level of control and stability (most times) that gives more in the field of control, but sacrifices for it in making the system harder to maintain, program and manage.

Mac based Isadora is a popular choice among most entry-level video teams due to its low cost and scalable form factor. The epitome of open source video programming, there is almost no component you aren't able to hook into “Izzy” on the fly, but the stability and level of computer science “know-how” required to program and connect a system stable enough to run a show makes the program less desirable to producers counting on a failsafe video delivery system for every show. Isadora systems perhaps benefit the most from the work of a systems integrator.

Speaking of stability, fail-safing is one of the primary responsibilities of a systems integrator. This occurs whenever a redundant system is designed to take over when one computer fails, or system/file redundancy habits are employed in a productions workflow, (yes, with paperwork too!)

While it is just as important to have an eye on a production that serves a collective narrative, it is also equally as important to have that narrative exist, with due respect, in reality. Western production society historically has placed an exorbitant amount of importance on the “ideas” we have, when in reality, it's the “doing” of those ideas that actually produces art. Knowing how to manifest an idea, however unshackled it originally may be, is quite literally a requirement placed on any artist who eventually needs to “make something of themselves.” It is not only necessary to design an inspiring idea, but it is also necessary to understand the implications your ideas have on the world around you. Working in opposition to this idea is irresponsible, and quite frankly, rude to those with whom you work, and rude to the work you yourself are trying to honor. The role of the systems integrator in relation to the fields of design is one that should be recognized from the very early stages of creative development. As technology capabilities increase and the demand/desire for these technologies is asked for in the arts, proper planning and support for these elements is required and the systems integrator will perhaps someday provide their own independent careers for engineers desiring to work in support of the arts. For now however, we must make sure to set a place at our tech tables for a voice which is constantly asking for more information, and requiring the support of the design teams we build that include video.