P3D Monster of Grace 1.0

[Lawrence W Kaufman <kaufman3d@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On April 15th, there was an
unsuccessful attempt to change the
shape and form of opera glasses.
These new ones are cardboard
framed and polarized. I dont think
they will catch on!

In my bespectacled, polarized
vision, something appears to have
gone wrong with the production.
The 70 minute non-narrative
theater piece is divided into
thirteen scenes. Seven scenes
appear in digitally animated
stereoscopy. MOG is only playing
for 13 performances (perhaps a
dozen too many) before the
production moves to The Barbican
Center in London and then onto an
extensive touring schedule. Wait a
minute, 13 scenes, 13
performances, based on 13th
century poems by Jalaluddin Rumi,
Im not superstitious...but could
this be part of the problem?

The opening night audience was
chosen to have their collective
portrait snapped, snapped and
snapped again to make an updated
version of the Life magazine 3D
audience picture. The Philip Glass music
was very good, but after 70 minutes
and thirteen scenes, it began to
sound like the same piece over and
over again.

I had expected a lot from
Kleiser-Walczak Construction Co.,
they did the special effects for
Stargate, Clear and Present
Danger, Judge Dredd and are
working on the much anticipated
ride film 3D experience for
Universal-Floridas Spiderman
attraction. Perhaps I was expecting
too much. KWCC had a staff of 20
artists working out of three
facilities, with over 100 computers
calculating the final imagery 24
hours a day. Much emphasis is
being put on the fact that the film
is 70mm, but a source at KWCC
confirmed that it was blown up
from 35mm.

In the end, KWCC only could
produce eight of the thirteen
scenes and only seven of those
eight were used. So six scenes had
to be hurriedly staged by
designer/director Robert Wilson.
MOG began to be called
Monsters of Grace 1.0: The Beta
Version. The 3D scenes had
ghosting, unless I tilted my head
slightly. The 3D animation was not
very memorable. It moved way too
slow making it look very fake.

One reviewer said he preferred to
watch it with one eye closed in 2D.
I could be wrong, but I believe
some in the audience were
watching it with both eyes closed.
Another reviewer believes the
logical place for MOG to live
would be on a CD-ROM or 3D
Web site. The live actors in the
rushed staged scenes have been
cyberscanned to be entered into
computers for future animation. I
wonder if the large wads of
moving paper that slowly drift
across the stage will become
something else in their future
cyberlife?

Thanks for the time,
Lawrence


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