The audience’s view with Zoom (2/2)

There are two basic ways in which the audience may view the remote performance, and these are generally determined by the settings on their device . For standard remote theatre, where the play is being performed remotely to a single location somewhere else in the world, the most usual way for Zoom to be set up would be on Speaker View. This means that the audience will see the actors performing in full screen mode (as in the remote play, 'Oh my home ' shown below)

A decision needs to be made as to whether the audience will keep their own microphone and camera on or off during the performance. Muting is possible of course but we would normally recommend that the audience's microphone and camera is left on, and that it is positioned so that as much of the audience as possible is visible and audible to the actors. As with face-to-face theatre, and since this is a live performance, seeing and hearing the audience can affect (usually positively!) what happens on stage.

However, if the audience is particularly large, and the actors are suffering a lot from stage fright, in certain circumstances it may be appropriate for the audience to turn off their camera. We would also recommend doing this in situations where the internet connection of the actors is considerably weaker than that of the audience, or the audience is making noticeably more noise than the actors. This is because Zoom has a tendency to put onto full screen the connection which is strongest, if there is a marked difference between them. This can also be avoided by the technician on the actors' side using the spotlight feature to ensure that the actors' camera is always on full screen.

With plays which use multiple webcams, connecting from multiple locations, (what we now call Lockdown Theatre) the Gallery View may be more appropriate.  This will show all active cameras side by side, or in a grid formation if there are more than two.

This happens irrespective of whether or not any sound is being produced by the actors in each location. Unless you specifically want the audience to see profile pictures of the participants or names, then we would recommend that you have the hide non-video participants option activated in the video settings. This will ensure that people who aren't actually performing in the play aren't visible to the audience. It also effectively creates a 'backstage', with actors only becoming visible when they turn on their webcams. This is particularly important when performances are arranged for individual audience members, as is the case with streaming sessions live on Facebook or YouTube.

Also in the video settings you will find the option to add a virtual background. This will work much better if a physical green screen is placed on the wall covering the whole field of vision of the camera. Zoom normally comes with a few stock photographs and short videos already installed, but any image (in any standard picture format), or video (providing it is not too long) may also be uploaded from the device being used. These will be saved for future use. The default setting is that the virtual background will be projected onto the area covered by the green screen. However some interesting effects can also be created by altering the settings so that the image is projected onto the body or face of an actor.

Using video as the virtual background can also facilitate some interesting effects. For instance, it is actually possible to upload a video as a virtual background of a person acting in the exact same location as the remote play is being performed. In order for this to work properly, the very short video would need to be recorded through Zoom, ideally in exactly the same position and with the same lighting as in the remote play performance. This way, if the virtual background video is played in a scene with no actor on stage, and then that same actor appears, it is possible to simulate a situation where a person is interacting with themselves!