David Murakami Projection Designer

Bio:
David Murakami is a projection designer and film director focused on the union between cinematic and theatrical storytelling. His designs have been seen on five continents, with recent and notable productions including Ainadamar at Opéra de Montréal, American Idiot and Zoot Suit at the Mark Taper Forum, Bluebeard’s Castle with Opera Omaha, Das Rheingold at Seattle Opera, The Shining and La Belle et la Bête with Opera Parallèle, Rigoletto with Pacific Symphony, and several musicals aboard Princess Cruises’ flagship Royal-class vessels.
His work spans opera, theatre, dance, themed entertainment, immersive performance, and large-scale entertainment, using projection, animation, live camera systems, and emerging media technologies to integrate cinematic language into live performance. Other companies include Arizona Opera, Atlanta Opera, Calgary Opera, Dallas Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, East West Players, LA Opera, LINES Ballet, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, McCoy Rigby Entertainment, Minnesota Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Riyadh Season, SFJAZZ, Skylight Theatre Company, South Coast Repertory, Syracuse Stage, and Virginia Opera. David is a proud member of United Scenic Artists 829.


Artist Statement:
As a projection designer, I consider myself a trespasser, questioning the barriers we erect between media and passionately pursuing new technologies as they intersect in film, theatre, and opera. However, my eagerness to destroy is built upon a purpose of preservation. The integration of digital media and traditional theatre is at once inevitable and impossible. Vast new possibilities are opened up by imposing the digital upon the stage, replacing sets, costumes, props, and even bodies. Though seen by many as the salvation for live performance, the cinematic is, at its core, incompatible with the theatrical. In theatre, we know nothing is real. The actor plays the character. The set represents the place. Nothing is itself…until projections are introduce

Industry Specializations

Live Performance

Concerts

Dance

Exhibit / Display

Opera

Special Events

Theatre

Themed Entertainment

Recorded Media

Commercials

Motion Pictures

Music Video

Television

Skills

Basic

Animation (PJN)

Camera Operator (PJN)

Cinematography (PJN)

Content Creation (PJN)

Live Camera (PJN)

Photography (PJN)

Programming (PJN)

Shooting (PJN)

Software

Adobe AfterEffects (PJN)

Adobe Illustrator (PJN)

Adobe Photoshop (PJN)

Adobe Premier (PJN)

Dataton WatchOut (PJN)

Hippotizer (PJN)

Isadora (PJN)

Max MSP/Jitter (PJN)

QLab (PJN)

Quartz Composer (PJN)