Halloween Projection
I went all out for Halloween this year using all 3 of my projectors for mapping some scenes. Using a projector as a secondary display with adobe after effects, you can essentially trace and mask spaces and objects relative to the projector’s position.
With any decent performing laptop, you can output to a projector and use it as an external monitor. Once the projector is placed it shouldn’t move once you start tracing spaces or objects. I used a wireless HDMI transmitter from the laptop and a receiver on the projector to avoid a long, obnoxious cable. I recommend using an iPad as third monitor for the timeline, which will start stacking pretty quick.
I hung black bedsheets in front of our washer and then mosquito netting in front of that. I mounted the projector on top of the dryer (which is higher than top molding) aiming downward on the netting. By angling the projector down, the net is able to catch more light because it’s basically hitting the net parallel. What you don’t see in this clip is that you can see light on the floor, but I think it adds to the effect.
For media, I made a montage of various clips usingHaunted Mansion’s Madame Leotta and other assets purchased from AtmosFX. I set the media player to loop the media once powered on. Volume could be adjusted with a remote.
I added a custom made mini portable fog machine I bought off Etsy. I connected clear tubing with a couple of Y fittings so the tube could circle around the table, hidden underneath the Halloween fabric. Along the tube were a few nozzles and holes to let vapor pour through across the monitor.
These cheap projectors all usually use the same cheap, noisy fans. For quieter operation and better cooling, I swapped the stock fans to slightly bigger silent Noctua fans which virtually eliminated any noise. The fan housing just needed to be shaved down a bit to accommodate. I feel better leaving it on for 8+ hours now without worrying about the led melting.
One of my favorite effects is projecting onto semi-opaque fabrics. Essentially any videos with a black background project as empty space, making fine netting and mesh fabric great “pepper’s ghost” illusion.
Animated candelabra projected downward onto mosquito netting
Our kitchen table has an interesting valley under the glass so I put a desktop monitor underneath with a glass panel for protection and to create the illusion of depth. Over the glass, I added Halloween fabric, webbing, and skeleton bones. To play media, I purchased a little 5v media player that uses SD cards for storage. It has an HDMI out as well as 3.5mm stereo out for audio which I ran to a speaker hidden in the bottom of the table.
Madame Leotta’s finished glass séance table complete w/fog and audio
In my living room, above the couch, is a large nautical painting that I covered in white paper for a clean, bright projection surface. After tracing the frame in After Effects, I can then stack and composite video and graphics either behind or in front of the frame.
Paper covered frame traced for mapping
Since all of the projectors are fixed in place, all I have to do is power them on and hit play using a remote to not disturb the their position. Even a slight bump can misalign the image, especially if the projector is on an angle.