When it comes to documenting objects, the topic of 3D scanning is becoming increasingly interesting. Canon II is checking the feasibility of these option.
Smartphone apps make this technology accessible to virtually everyone, even without the need for expensive specialist equipment. Owners of newer models of Apple’s iPhone or iPad also benefit from a built-in LiDAR sensor, which greatly improves the spatial capture of objects.
Whilst this technology has worked flawlessly for sculptures, for example, even in public spaces, it does have certain limitations regarding the size and exact nature of objects.
As part of the scenography documentation, an attempt was made to capture a 1:20 scale model of a stage set. Several attempts were made using both an iPhone 17 Pro and an iPad M5 with the PolyCam app. Unfortunately, the result was disappointing.
The model measures approx. 60x60cm and is approx. 80cm high. So, in fact, a size that usually causes no problems whatsoever. Other scans of objects approx. 10cm in size were successful. It only becomes somewhat difficult below that, but down to a minimum of 5cm, the results were quite satisfactory.
The problems here can probably be identified as follows:
1. The stage set was constructed from glossy black cardboard. Black surfaces generally pose significant problems for systems that use autofocus. The glossy finish further exacerbates the issue, making it almost impossible for the camera technology to focus correctly. A highly reflective surface (e.g. porcelain) would have been doomed to failure from the outset. Mirrored surfaces are completely out of the question.
2. The example stage set consists of around 30 small tables suspended by ropes in the centre of the stage area. Here too, it was evidently very difficult for the sensor and the autofocus to make precise measurements. It was to be expected that the wafer-thin ropes would not be detected. However, the jumble of chairs evidently caused further ‘confusion’.
Although it is possible to get very close to the object with a smartphone and the standard macro mode can also focus at this close range, the whole scene was evidently too complex.
The scan of a single table attached to a thin wire (diameter approx. 2 mm), on the other hand, worked perfectly. The small chair is only approx. 5×8 cm wide.
The closer the measuring device has to get to the object, the more important it is to determine its position with true precision. However, this does not appear to be as precise as would be desirable for this purpose, meaning that potential measurement errors have a significant negative impact.
The closer the measuring device has to be to the object, the more important it is to determine its position with true precision. However, this does not appear to be as accurate as would be desirable, meaning that potential measurement errors have a significant negative impact on the final result.
Although this has not been conclusively proven, experience suggests that a minimum distance of at least 20 cm is advantageous.
Further tests will follow. These will then use far less intricate examples. Moreover, even without testing, it is clear that scanning individual parts will certainly be successful. In the aforementioned example, however, dismantling was out of the question. Unfortunately, this applies to many models where the design is so intricately complex.
There is some hope that it will be possible to carry out at least a rough spatial scan and then scan the individual elements separately. It would then be possible to arrange these individual scans correctly within the overall scan and thus replace it. However, this requires some basic knowledge of 3D software and a considerable investment of time. For regular collections, this option is certainly out of the question.
This technology is therefore primarily suitable for relatively solid objects with little to no intricate detail, where there is a good chance that no or only minimal post-processing will be required. The freeware Blender is certainly worth considering for this purpose, as it also allows export to web-compatible 3D formats.
The Sketchfab platform features numerous examples of objects from museums around the world. In some cases, a download is possible, but in all cases, the object can generally be viewed in three dimensions either in a web browser or – if available – directly in virtual space using VR glasses. With regard to stage design models, this naturally also means that one can ‘walk around’ the stage and explore it accordingly. This is an aspect that is also very exciting for the design process and communication with the director and stage technicians.
For scenographers currently active in the field, however, general 3D modelling is also becoming more important than physical model-making.
When it comes to scanning lighting equipment, we encounter similar problems on the one hand, but also additional challenges. Here too, we are mostly dealing with black, and in some cases glossy, surfaces.
Furthermore, older devices in particular often feature very delicate components that are not only permanently fixed but also difficult to access.Last but not least, the interior of the devices is also of great interest for documentation and research. You hardly get access to it even with a relatively small device. Endoscopic technology will be necessary here.
Dr. Stefan Gräbener, april 20th, 2026
3D-scan of set-model with PolyCam on iPhone17pro and iPadM5, optimized in Blender 5.1
3 versions with different settings
3D-scan of table-model with PolyCam on iPhone17pro, optimized in Blender 5.1
Links
Blender
Examples of 3D-Scans at Sketchfab:
Theatre Dress
Toy Theatre – Sörmlands Museum
Set-Design-Model_ PARSIFAL, the enchanted garden of Klingsor
WolkenApparat
Bogenlampen-Scheinwerfer
Shakespeare in Berlin
Jan Lazardzig / Bri Newesely / Kerstin Wittmann-Englert / Franziska Ritter / Halvard Schommartz / Marie-Charlott Schube (eds.)
17 × 24 cm, 304 pages, 80 colour illustrations ISBN 978-3-98612-083-2
As public buildings, theatres are a prominent arena for ideological conflicts, social issues and societal representations. This book is the first to examine 20th-century theatre architecture as an object of knowledge, asking how our knowledge of theatre architecture and stage technology was produced, disseminated and shaped. The authors approach the topic using various objects and discourses, from architectural education and cultural heritage to architectural photography.
Theatre construction knowledge has a social, institutional and infrastructural context.
For the interdisciplinary DFG research project ‘Theatre Building Knowledge’, the results of which are presented in this volume, such a situational context of knowledge is given in two senses: on the one hand, through the perspective of theatre building as an ‘epistemic object’, i.e. an object towards which a specific desire for knowledge or insight is directed. On the other hand, through the collection context itself, in which the materials and media are located.
A central focus of the project is the theatre construction collection at the Architecture Museum of the Technical University of Berlin (see also BTR Special Edition 2018). It represents a collection of objects and knowledge relating to theatre construction and stage technology that is probably unique in the world and today comprises materials from the 1920s to the 1980s on over 500 theatre buildings in Germany, Austria, France, Slovenia, Poland, Czechia and Russia. In three main layers of holdings with a total of over 5,000 objects, the collection documents the innovations in theatre construction of the 1920s and 1930s, shows the new construction and renovation measures
during the Nazi era, and provides comprehensive insight into the architectural plans of West German post-war modernism. At the same time, it provides information about the standardisation and institutionalisation of theatre construction knowledge in the course of the 20th century.
A central part of the TU Berlin’s theatre construction collection originates from a documentation project commissioned by Albert Speer in 1939 in his capacity as “General Building Inspector for
the Reich Capital Berlin” (GBI): The plan was to produce a comprehensive handbook entitled ‘Das Deutsche Theater’ (The German Theatre).
By 1943, some 375 theatre buildings in the German Reich had been photographed and recorded using a questionnaire. Speer commissioned Berlin-based building researcher Theodor von Lüpke (1873–1961) and a team of architects, draughtsmen and an art historian to carry out this publication project. Work on the handbook was discontinued in 1944 shortly before completion, and the work remained unpublished.
The second part of this book is devoted to individual objects from the TU Berlin’s theatre architecture collection. In twenty-one individual analyses, epistemic aspects are examined, always based on the materiality and mediality of the objects. The photograph on the cover of this book also comes from the theatre architecture collection. It is a photograph of the auditorium of the “Gautheater Westmark‘ in Saarbrücken (architect: Paul Baumgarten), built between 1936 and 1938, taken by photographer Emil Leitner for the handbook ’Das Deutsche Theater‘ (The German Theatre). The view falls diagonally through the ’Führer’s box” onto the stage portal. The photograph, mounted on cardboard and marked with pencil marks in preparation for printing, thus bears witness in several ways to the appropriation and ideological transformation of traditional theatre building forms under National Socialism.
This book focuses on the political implications of epistemic shifts and transformations in theatre architecture knowledge in the 19th and 20th centuries.
In their webinar series archiving for Dummies Podiumkunst.net invited Erin Lee (Head of Archive, National Theatre London) en Thomas Peeters (Coördinator Archief, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen) to talk about their approach and experiences. They show you how to integrate archiving smartly and feasibly into your organisation’s workflow and give practical tips you can start using right away.
More information at Podiumkunst.net
On February 28, 2025, Chris van Goethem and Bastiaan Schoof presented the Canon II project at the symposium “100 Years of Theatre Collection” at the Allard Pierson museum in Amsterdam.
All speakers discussed the past and present of this collection, while also looking to the future. Chris and Bastiaan talked about how to document the invisible. “You can’t archive light in a box”, Chris told the audience.
We had 10 minutes to explain our approach, which was quite a short time. However, Chris and Bastiaan managed to capture the audience’s interest, and we received many questions after our talk.
Here, we also announced that we had received our funding from the EU. Allard Pierson and Podiumkunst.net offered to assist us, inviting us to their archive for future Canon II meetings in Amsterdam.
In Oktober 2024, iLo (Institute of Lightdesign) invited Chris van Goethem to talk about the Canon II project to the iLo audience. The talks are mostly attended by lightdesigners, light experts, scenographers, students and teachers. This time we specially invited some researchers from Allard Pierson, the Theatre Collection and Podiumkunst.net. So, there was quite a mixed audience from designers, technicians and even a specialist in Vectorworks drawing.
With all these specialists attending, we had a nice and also deeper conversation about archiving, saving designs, what could be saved and what would be the problems with it. The subject was discussed on different sides. The collection specialist who archived Henk van der Geest his archive, also attended. Henk van der Geest is the founder of iLo, he passed away in 2019. After his death 40 meters of Henk his archive was brought to the theatre collection of Allard Pierson.
At that time, we did not know yet if the EU would finance us. Canon II could only be funded if there was budget left. Still, we wanted to focus our attention on the subject to keep it alive and to see what the interest was in the field. Because of that talk, we got an invitation to talk about Canon II at the symposium 100 years theatre collection from the Allard Pierson.
The talk was also published on the website theaterkrant.nl: https://www.theaterkrant.nl/nieuws/bijeenkomst-over-archiveren-voor-lichtontwerpers/
In recent years, the question of mediation has played an increasingly important role in the arts, cultural institutions, and the corresponding fields of researching and teaching. Mediation can be pedagogical, political, cross-disciplinary and cross-media, intertwining, reconciling and culturally effective, etc. The symposium Building Bridges: Collecting, Researching and Mediating the Performing Arts, will gather representatives of the performing arts, theatre and dance researchers, archivists, librarians and curators to discuss what connects us: the shared passion and curatorial or scientific curiosity about the performing arts in all their facets – present and historical.
The notion of “building bridges” forms the dramaturgical framework of the symposium.
Chris Van Goethem and Stefan Gräbener presented and explained the upcoming phase 2 of the CANON project during the poster presentation and in personal discussions.
https://www.sibmas.org/conference/building-bridges-symposium-2025
https://www.sibmas.org/conference/building-bridges-symposium-2025/programme-6-7-june-2025
