The Road To LDI: Sven Ortel, Projection Design And Visual Storytelling For Live Audiences

LDI is back, live in Las Vegas November 15-21, 2021. Live Design takes you on The Road To LDI2021 with a final series of sessions recorded at LDI2019.
Sven Ortel, born in Cologne, Germany, is a projection designer who works internationally creating projections and imagery for theatre, opera, dance, musicals, and beyond. He was recognized with a Tony Award nomination in 2012 for Disney’s Newsies and in 2014 with a Drama Desk nomination for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He's worked at the National Theatre, London's West End, Broadway, European Opera Houses, Pub theaters, Las Vegas and regional theaters in far away lands. He is also an assistant professor at the University of Texas Center for Arts and Entertainment Technologies.

“The experience of the audience is always at the center of my work as a projection designer. To truly engage an audience, suspended disbelief is essential, yet projected media in particular, has a habit of drawing attention to itself. Digital media, whether it be projected or displayed with screens or displays, has to be tightly integrated with the rest of the live design disciplines to serve the production. However, what does integration of media indeed mean? When does the audience suspend its belief and how do we design this experience?,” asks Ortel.

“The results of my integrated approach to projection design can span from the spectacular to the unnoticed, but what matters is whether this outcome is intended.  Advances in pre-visualization technology, as well as scenic mapping and tracking, have made my job easier and productions which feature the design of genuinely unified worlds more achievable.”

Watch Sven's LDI session here!