Visual storyteller Zachary Borovay began his career as a musician, studying bass at Berklee College of Music, but while a student he became an early adopter of the new digital tools for film and video. After combining both disciplines, he eventually brought that musicality and sense of drama to his work as a projection designer. His projects include some of live entertainment's most memorable shows, from Rock of Ages (Broadway and the West End), to The Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular, and many tours, cruises, and award shows. Borovay's career has spanned the early days of projection design, before it was recognized with its own college programs or recognized by the union. He was instrumental and getting projection design its own category in USA829, and worked for some of the earliest pioneers of the discipline, including Wendall K Harrington, and has seen technology evolve from projectors to media consoles and LED screens.
The Helen Hayes and IRNE Award winner has now taken on the role of drone show designer and producer with industry leader Image Engineering.
Borovay talked to Live Design about his career so far.
Live Design: What originally inspired you to become a projection designer/visual storyteller for live events and how have things changed since you started out?
Zachary Borovay: Growing up on Long Island, my Dad Len was a scenic designer and theatrical educator. I spent my early childhood running around the auditorium and eventually helping him design. He was a masterful designer and had a real gift for visual clarity. Just being around that 24/7 in my childhood I absorbed a lot. Several of his students went on to have careers on Broadway. He probably could have also, but I think he just loved to teach it more. Both of my parents loved Broadway and theme parks too - we made a pilgrimage to Epcot when it opened in 1982 so my parents could witness what they only dreamed about when Walt told them about it on TV in the 1960s. I remember there were copies of Theatre Crafts magazine all over the house.
I actually started out my career as a musician and thought for sure I would play bass in the pit orchestra. When I saw the original Tommy on Broadway several times, it was not for the projections, but because I was studying the bass parts! While at the Berklee College of Music in the 1990s, I learned all about the brand new digital tools used for recording, film editing and scoring, etc. It turns out I was very good with computers (that was something that also ran in the family). So there I was in the early 2000s in NYC schlepping my upright bass and amp all over town, but also working on projects in graphic design and early digital video to pay the rent. In 2001, I saw the Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show, which had video projections by Linda Batwin and Robin Silvestri, and the lightbulb went off in my head. It was the fusion of all my interests and talents. It had music, it had storytelling, it had a live audience, and it had video. And in that moment, I decided that is what I wanted to do. So I tracked down Linda and Robin and asked to come work with them. A few years later I did the same with Wendall Harrington and the rest is history!
When I started my career, the NYC theatrical projection design world was still a very small community. I think at one point we counted everyone working professionally in NYC and it was literally 19 people! There was no college program where you could study projections and really the only way to learn it was to apprentice with the handful of designers that worked regularly at that point. I was very lucky to have had the honor of starting out with some very established projection designers like Batwin+ Robin Productions and Wendall K. Harrington, where I was able to learn on the job on some very high level productions and projects. Over the years, between things like organizing the Broadway projection designers to join the union (USA829 )and Wendall establishing one of the earliest official programs in Projection Design at Yale, I like to say that projection design finally evolved from a “job” to a “career.”
Did some folks make a living doing projections before those things? Sure. But early in my career there were times when I looked around and said to myself “I am working the same hours as everyone else in this room. But why don’t I get health insurance? Why don’t I have access to workplace safety regulations? Or a pension? Why am I not guaranteed the same benefits as everyone else here?” I don’t know if it is a chicken or the egg thing between unionizing and colleges offering programs in projections, but I think the both needed each other for each of them to happen.
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LD: You’ve had an impressive career covering everything from blockbuster Broadway and West End productions to cruise ships and immersive experiences. Do you have a favorite project?
ZB: Rock of Ages will always hold a special place in my heart. Not just because it was a hit, but also because I had so many special experiences with it. When the show was featured at LDI, I told attendees the story of how I got to play bass in the band in Vegas when the main bassist had an emergency and had to leave. Through that show I learned a lot about how the business works, I was able to get health insurance for my family, I got to travel the world and made lifelong friends. I’ve also done some very exciting, bucket list theme park projects too. But I try to look at all of my projects like my kids - I don’t have a favorite but I try to give each one as special individual attention as needed when it needs it.
LD: As an someone who has taught at several institutions including the Yale School of Drama, CalArts, and NYU, what do you advise students on how to stay abreast of the technology, which is constantly updating?
ZB: I always like to say that even if you don’t change the oil in your own car, it’s good to have a general understanding of how it works. Projection Design for theater is a unique beast. First of all, even though it is no longer purely a projected image (it might be projections, LEDs, or even something beyond that), I still like to call it Projections as a tribute to where we came from. Theatrical projection design is really the only version of this job where you have to have a working knowledge of design as well as technology. Outside of theater, the media or content designer is really mostly responsible for the content, or what is "on screen” so to speak, and there are others who handle the placement and location of the projector, or if it should be an LED screen, or even what media server you might be using. All the things we are responsible for in theater as a Projection Designer are several separate jobs elsewhere.
So while I often tell students to start by asking the question “why projections” and what can projections do to help tell the story, I also like to have students think about how and where the content will be seen and experienced by an audience as well. It is great to have an understanding of the pros and cons of different scenic surfaces, screen types and media servers. But I always advise students to first think about what they want things to look and feel like and how they want it to move, and then we can figure out what technology to use to tell our story.
LD: You’ve just taken on a new role with Image Engineering. What attracted you to this role and will you continue to design for other projects?
Image Engineering has been on my radar for well over a decade, ever since I became interested in themed entertainment design. I first became aware of them as an industry leader in laser design for live events. But their offerings go far beyond just lasers – pyro, atmospheric effects, scenic and media…they now touch just about every aspect of design for live entertainment, especially for sporting events. I will be leading up their aerial drone division.
In many ways, I look at a drone as another pixel. But it is a pixel that has a three-dimensional quality, which in my opinion truly makes it the next evolution of immersive animation and storytelling. The ability to tell stories, floating in the air no less, that literally have a front, back, and sides! It’s an amazing new canvas for storytelling and we’ve only really scratched the surface of what they can do. It’s very exciting stuff and I can’t wait to show the world what we are working on.
As my life and career evolves, so do my tastes and interests as well as my family’s needs. I am really lucky that my passion for themed entertainment and nighttime spectaculars has grown into a full time job. I still love the magic of theater and if the right project came along, I would happily entertain it. 20th anniversary production of Rock of Ages, anyone?
LD: Where do you see projection/video technology evolving over the next 10 years? What developments are you particularly excited for?
ZB: I think we are at a very interesting crossroads in live entertainment. A few years ago, everyone thought 3D video was going to be the next big thing. But in some ways it turned out to be more of a distraction from great storytelling. My biggest issue with it was that you could still see the edges. It was style over substance. I think the combination of the latest generation of projection mapping, LED screens, drones, lasers and atmospheric effects are truly the next phase of immersive storytelling. Also the real time rendering of content using software like Unreal Engine and Notch, not to mention the interweaving of live video and media. We’ve just gone through what I call the “new car” phase. We’ve gone on a few pleasure cruises down Main Street to brag about our shiny new whitewall tires and our cool headlights. The last few years have been all about showing off all our new gadgets and tricks. In theater, thanks to visual media pioneers like Richard Pilbrow, Wendall Harrington, and Josh White, we have refined the craft for decades to combine scenery, lighting, and media to create a seamless world onstage. I like to say that theater is another form of immersive themed entertainment - It is a dark ride where the seats don’t move!
I think the time has come for us to find ways to use this new set of tools to tell stories with that same theatrical sensibility. I don’t want people leaving my show thinking “well…at least the drones were cool.” I want them to think “wow, for the last few minutes I was transported to a whole new place.”