Footage from ELF the stage show

Footage from Peter Pan the stage show

Stage Backdrops

Animated Video Backdrops for Pantomime Tours & Arena Shows

With over 20 years’ experience creating stage animation, I specialise in dynamic, stage-optimised animated video backdrops for family theatre, pantomime tours, and arena productions.

Previous work includes:

• Animated backdrops for Horrible Histories live stage shows (Birmingham Stage Company)

• Multiple pantomimes for Qdos Entertainment

• Seasonal productions for Butlins

• Animated video backdrops for Jon Conway Productions, including the titles Peter Pan, Elf The Musical, and The Wizard of Oz

I deliver flexible, high-quality content that works on both LED video walls and traditional projection — from HD up to extra-large resolutions for multi-screen mapping.

Working primarily in Unreal Engine, I combine fast real-time rendering with a mix of purchased assets (to control budget) and fully bespoke 3D builds. All scenes are designed to be easily re-edited later — add new content, remove elements, or make changes without starting from scratch. Final polish and effects are added in After Effects for maximum visual impact under stage lighting.

Elf The Musical: Full set of animated backdrops for a three-screen system (centre 16:9, sides 4:4). Some videos were formatted for individual screens while others were rendered as extended full-width versions to cover all three seamlessly. This design avoided playback lag and kept the workflow simple, especially as the side screens were also used for live actor camera feeds.

ELF Video layout