Projection + Digital Media

Projection + Digital Media Design by Justin Thomas

Projection and digital media design are, perhaps, my favorite design area. Digital imagery is both concrete, creating visual scenic elements, as well as abstract, emotional, and evocative when changed over time. After all, projected or screened imagery is lighting on stage, specifically arranged to create images. Projection design also requires significant engineering and planning for each production while, at the same time, provides strong artistic opportunities for artistic creation using both analog and digital tools.

It’s no surprise to me that digital media design has only recently been recognized as its own design area. Throughout my career “projection” has often been bounced between scene designers and lighting designers. . . scenic designers choosing or creating visual content and lighting designers, who are more familiar with cueing systems taking on the engineering and implementation of projection systems.

I engage digital media design as its own area, and I collaborate with creative teams to engineer and build designs that impact both the setting for a text as well as the evocative and spiritual elements that impact audiences’ emotional connection to a text.

Digital media design is as versatile as it is beautiful. It shows the audience a character’s inner-monologue or thoughts. It builds a scenic skyline that disintegrates over time. It captures a human dancer’s movement and turns that movement into a drawing tool for painting a stage or screen.

I am a digital media artist. I am inspired by the speed and variety of imagery I create within a digital sphere (even if I begin with pencil or paint), and my creativity is fed through creative collaborations that help digital media support the visual world of performance.

Explore My Projection + Digital Media Portfolio

Stage with colorful pixelated digital screens and two performers, one speaking and the other playing a keyboard, illuminated by multicolored lights.
Stage scene with six women performing. They are dressed in neutral clothing, and the stage features a colorful abstract backdrop with blocks of yellow, green, and orange. The stage is illuminated with various lighting effects.
The image shows a stage with two people sitting and one standing in front of a colorful, pixelated digital art display. The background features numerous blue and purple illuminated pixel art panels, some depicting pixelated clouds. The stage is lit w
Two people, a man and a woman, on a stage illuminated by colorful lights. The man is wearing a striped t-shirt and beige pants, while the woman is dressed in a patterned hoodie and matching pants. A multimedia screen displaying colorful blocks is vis
A black and white portrait of a man with a beard and bald head is in the left foreground. Behind him is a view of the Earth from space, showing a fiery, cloud-filled atmosphere with shades of orange, yellow, and white.
A stylized sketch of a woman with long hair, surrounded by branches with red berries and a single red flower, against a light background.
A white outline drawing of a broken glass mirror framed with ornate decorations, with a crack radiating from the center on a black background.
A digital illustration of a skeleton sitting on the ground near a body of water with a full moon in the sky, surrounded by clouds.
A person sitting on a bed with a colorful blanket, using a laptop, in front of two large pixelated screens displaying video game graphics, in a dark room.
Two individuals seated on a stage with digital pixel art visuals of a retro video game displayed on large screens behind them. The scene is illuminated by stage lighting, creating a contrast against the dark background.
Stage with colorful digital screens forming the shape of a house, lit by stage lights, with performers and children seated in front.
A stage with a geometric backdrop of lit panels displaying purple and pink dots. Four performers, all women, stand in front of the stage, one kneeling in front and three standing behind her, illuminated by spotlights.
Theater stage with two screens displaying a seascape with clouds and wooden pier posts, and furniture including chairs and a table on the stage.
People sitting around a table in a studio with large screens displaying a natural landscape in the background.
Multiple illuminated screens displaying a news anchor with short dark hair and a dark blazer, set against a blue background with the BBC News logo, in a dark room.
A theater stage with digital graphics projected on the background, three performers on stage, one lying on the floor, one standing on a platform pointing, and one standing on a raised block, with colorful lighting and set pieces.
People on a dark stage with laser light beams and grid patterns projected onto the floor and background.
A young person standing in front of a dark background with large glowing numbers and circles projected behind them. They are wearing casual clothing and appear to be adjusting their headphones or accessories.
A theatrical scene with five people on stage surrounded by a starry background. Three are holding large cubes above their heads, while another is lying face down on the floor, and one is kneeling in front of them, with their back to the camera, takin
A young man in a green jacket with a backpack, holding a briefcase, standing on a red podium against a background of projected architectural blueprints and a circular light.
A man with dark hair, wearing a black turtleneck, standing in front of a blue background with a sketched curtain and stage setup. The image has a humorous, exaggerated facial expression.
A man with dark hair and a black shirt appears in a frame decorated with light bulbs and ornate silver trim, resembling a dressing room mirror.
Black and white portrait of a woman with dark hair and a nose ring, set against a colorful background of illustrated rooftops and chimneys, illuminated with stars.

Video

Selected Show Credits

  • Producer: Festival Playhouse

    Scenery and Projections by: me

    Lighting by: Lanny Potts

    Directed by: Quincy Thomas

  • Producer: Grinnell College Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies

    Scenery and Projections: Me

    Lighting Design: Jeff Fightmaster

    Costumes: Erin Howell-Gritsch

  • Production: Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

    Producer: Farmers Alley Theatre

    Scenery and Projections: by me

    Photos by be unless otherwise specifide by @Klose2u Photography

  • Produced During Covid for Online Performance

    Producer: Theatre Gigante

    Written By: Rok Vilčnik

    Conceived and Directed by: Isabelle Kralj

    Visual Artistry and Production Design: Me

    Music by: Frank Pahl and Little Bang Theory