Press Release: The first 3D theatrical show in world history

The first 3D theatrical show in world history

Unlikely as it would seem, a new musical, Terracotta Warriors 3D, opened in Beijing as the world’s very first 3D theatrical production on September 2^nd, 2014.  Associated with that event, a previously unknown venue in Beijing has just become the world’s first 3D digital theater.  This has history-making implications!  With the increasingly popularity of 3D cinema, the claim of being the first 3D theatrical production in human history is notable enough, but to have this happen in China is truly a shocking surprise.  After all, even though Japan became the world’s most dominant imitator for decades after the Second World War, China has surpassed Japan as the greatest imitator since the last quarter of the twentieth century.  Now, it is showcasing something that is the first in world history?

This game changer is based on Terracotta Warriors 3D use of the first large 3D LED video wall as the backbone of its art direction.  The most worthy aspect of this first-of-the-kind LED video wall is that great 3D effects can be appreciated by the audience using common passive polarizing 3D glasses used by 3D cinema worldwide.  Dr. Dennis Law, the director and producer of Terracotta Warriors 3D claims: “Given the technology today, true and high quality 3D effect can only be achieved by wearing 3D glasses.  This unique LED video wall used by Terracotta Warriors 3D is the first one manufactured in the world suitable for theatrical use.  That is why the audience will experience a theatrical experience that has never been achieved before.  I am certain 3D theater will improve with time, but the fact remains that it started on September 2^nd 2014 with Sight, Sound & Action’s Beijing production of Terracotta Warriors 3D.”

The producers of this historical 3D show believe that the alternative of “glasses-free 3D” offers image quality that is both too poor and too dependent on center-position viewing to be useful in theater applications.  Other methodologies like “3D-mapping” do not really offer real 3D effects useful in a story-telling stage setting.  Conventional high-end 3D projectors used in modern cinema are ineffective in stage works because theatrical lighting washes out the projected image too drastically.  Lastly, even though excellent 3D imagery can be obtained using a specialized LED video wall with active battery-dependent 3D glasses, this application is totally impractical for theatrical live-show use.  Active 3D glasses not infrequently lose its synchronization with the screen --- with hundreds in the audience, huge uproars are inevitable as batteries lose power and synchronization is dropped intermittently.

Terracotta Warriors 3D has successfully solved most of the important problems with regard to live actors performing and dancing in front of the high definition 3D video screen.  Our 3D LED video wall is truly the first in the world.  A pioneering 3D digital post-production company in Beijing has overcome unique difficulties with regard to launching this history-making show with eighty minutes of 3D digital graphics and animation.  For the first time, the human brain has been asked to appreciate real-live 3D (as in live dancers on stage) and virtual 3D effects and scenic background at the same time ---- and successfully so! 

Being the very first in world history is a rare opportunity indeed.  It would be hard to argue against Terracotta Warriors 3D’s legitimate claim.  Check for more details at www.tcw3d.com. 

Monique Q,
V.P. Marketing, U.S.,
Sight, Sound & Action

e-mail: info@eArtChina.net  

Costume Design

Mo Xiaomin, Original Costume Designer

Mo Xiaomin began studying Sichuan Opera at the age of thirteen.  For ten years, he worked as both an actor and set designer before enrolling in the prestigious Shanghai Drama Academy in 1987.  Later, by joining the Shanghai Opera House, he found himself doing costume designs for regional opera and television series and feature films.  To date, Mr. Mo has designed costumes for over a hundred major films, television series, and stage productions.  Mr. Mo is one of China’s most distinguished costume designers.  In 2004, Terracotta Warriors was Mr. Mo’s first assignment for an American Producer/Director.  In 2007, Mr. Mo won the Canadian Toronto Dora Award for Best Costume Design for the Action-Musical Tang Concubines produced by Sight, Sound & Action. 

Ah Kuan, Designer for New Costumes for 3D edition

Ah Kuan is one of China’s most notable costume designers working in Beijing.  Recognized for designing costumes for over a hundred productions of theater and film, he was widely touted for his designs for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing.  Ah Kuan has also been the costume designer for the last three Action-Musicals by Sight, Sound & Action, Heartbeat Hawaii, Monkey King, and Senses (Las Vegas edition).  For his work on Monkey King, Ah Kuan won a nomination for the 2010 Toronto Dora Award for Best Costume Design.

Choreography & Stage Direction

A show that tells a story of history using modern revolutionary technologies as a basis for its unprecedented art direction demands choreography and stage action that is fresh and innovative.  Terracotta Warriors 3D’s choreographer, Jonathon Feng Han, leads his team to create a show in which all dance movements transcend boundaries of various traditional dance styles while including many elements of Chinese martial arts.  We hope that the mixture of enhanced martial qualities of male dancers juxtaposed with the more poetic and uniquely sensual qualities of Chinese female dancers will provide fresh visual perspective.

Jonathon Feng Han,  Principal Choreographer & Staging Director  

Jonathon Feng Han is a National Class I dancer in China and started his work in choreography with the Action-Musical, Tang Concubines, produced by Sight, Sound & Action in 2006.  His first outing as a choreographer won him and Tang Concubines the prestigious Toronto Dora Award for Best Choreography.  With his second choreography effort for Sight, Sound & Action’s Monkey King, Jonathon and the show won a second Dora Award for Best Choreography in 2010.  In 2011, he choreographed a piece for the Beijing Acrobatic Troupe and won the prestigious Golden Chrysanthemum Award.  Jonathon owes his rapid rise in the world of choreography to his remarkable record of having performed as principal dancer in hundreds of dance dramas while touring with Sight, Sound & Action in North America.  Very few national class dancers in China have ever had such extensive experience on the international stage.