Keiju ja Kummitus (A Phantom and a Fairy)

Summary

The Phantom and the Fairy were two projects done for a HUT course, in which we made digital effects for the stage. They're both virtual characters whose visuals reflect the changes in the voice of the voice actor.

The Team

• Teemu Mäntylä invented and programmed the Phantom character, and played the cello during the show.
• Lauri Puska sang some opera as the Phantom.
  
• Toni Laitinen invented and programmed the Fairy character, and directed it during the show.
• Elina Teppo did staging and propping and voice acted the Fairy during the show.
• Ville Häkkinen did programming on the audio analysis side.
• I wrote the Fairy's story, did propping and other practical arrangements, programmed the Fairy's background, and played the painter during the Fairy show.

Technologies I Used

• GIMP to create the Fairy's background elements
• Pure Data to program the Fairy's background
• Audio and video playback systems in the Odeion Hall (at HUT)
  

The Phantom

The Phantom is the ghost of an opera singer who only exists when he sings. We filmed Lauri, our singer, in real time off stage and projected his image on a canvas next to Teemu playing his cello. The louder the ghost sings, the less transparent he appears.

The Fairy

The Fairy is a sparkling sphere of light that lives inside a painting, flies around and talks to the painter. The show consisted of the painter (played by me) and the painting projected onto a blank canvas. The painting changes as the painter and the Fairy take turns to paint items into it. The Fairy, controlled in real time by Toni and voice acted by Elina, is projected into the painting, flying around the items. The louder Elina speaks, the brighter the Fairy is and the more she sparkles. She also has three emotional states (changed by the push of a button): yellow for happy, blue for sad, and red for angry. The short dramatic arc ends with the Fairy painting a gun and shooting the painter.