Epson, MASARY Creative Living Supertitles for Boston Lyric Opera

When Boston Lyric Opera prepared to debut its first production at its new Opera + Community Studios in Boston's Fort Point neighborhood, it invited MASARY Studios to help reimagine the role of translation. Working across scenic design, animation, and projection, MASARY Studios created supertitles to accompany the opera, integrating larger-than-life animated typography into the set, powered by Epson large-venue laser projectors.

"Operas are sung in Italian, German and French, and translation has always been treated as a utility, something to be read rather than experienced," says Sam Okerstrom-Lang, co-founder of MASARY Studios. "You're listening and reading all at once, which can disconnect the viewer from the richness of the performance. Our goal was to make the supertitles expressive, to animate the type itself and embed it into the scenery, allowing the words to carry the emotion of the story rather than just explain it."

The collaboration began not with a technical specification, but with the idea that translated text, traditionally handled away from the main stage, could become an integral part of the scenery. MASARY Studios designed animated typography for a story centered on three characters, with fonts styled and paced to match the emotion of each passage. The typography appeared in varying styles and moved in time with the singing, so the translation became expressive alongside the performance.

"We approached this as scenic design first and translation second, which meant the typography had to perform alongside the singers," says Okerstrom-Lang. "By stylizing and animating the phrases, and timing the text to the music, the words became an expressive scenic element through video projection."

"MASARY's work and their use of Epson technology brought a new dimension to the opera-going experience," says Bradley Vernatter, BLO's Stanford Calderwood general director and CEO. "In working with us -- and legendary director and BLO artistic advisor Anne Bogart -- the team cracked open the possibilities of text and supertitles as a performance element. The text design, animation and movement kept audiences inside the world of the show and underscored the emotional center of the work."

Two Epson large venue 4K three-chip 3LCD laser projectors, converged into a single image, carried the supertitles across the set. A third projector, the 10,000-lumen 4K EB-PQ2010W fitted with an ultra-short-throw snorkel lens, powered a rear-projected window built into the set. The window became a portal through which singers could perform, while lighting and projection transported audiences between scenes, settings, and moments in time. This content ran through a media server, while the projectors' interchangeable lenses and Epson Projector Professional Tool (EPPT) enabled the design team to converge, warp and fine-tune each image from a browser rather than a handheld remote.

"Theatre venues are often unforgiving, and you're always working around sightlines, throw distances and whatever is already hanging in the room," Okerstrom-Lang says. "When we discovered an HVAC unit in the theatre that wasn't in the drawings and blocked our planned projector placement, we quickly rerigged the system, swapped the lensing, and adjusted the image without compromising the design. What made the concept work was knowing the color and contrast would stay consistent no matter where the projectors ended up."

"It takes powerful, reliable technology to elevate a traditional art form with projection, pushing beyond what we thought was possible," Okerstrom-Lang says. "Working with Epson gave us the confidence to take that risk. We're hoping this opens up how titles and scenic design can work together to support theatrical stories in whatever language it's sung."

"MASARY Studios saw creative potential in what audiences had long accepted as a limitation, transforming translation into an expressive part of the performance," says Chris Teguh, product manager, Epson America. "It's inspiring to see how thoughtfully typography, music and scenic design were brought together, and we're grateful our projection technology could play a supporting role in bringing that vision to life. Projects like this demonstrate what can happen when artists are given the freedom and tools to explore new ways of telling stories and connecting with audiences."

For more information, visit www.epson.com/largevenue and www.masarystudios.com.