Research and Planning for Canton Chills 2020

I spent some time conducting research this weekend on video projectors, DMX lights, fog machines, and wireless transmitters, digital decorations from AtmosFX, and computer show controllers. My goal was to get a good understanding of equipment and cost and keep that understanding in the back of my mind while planning out the display.

The theme of the display will be kid-friendly with hints of creepiness scattered about. I imagine something more of a Disney experience: good attention to detail with a warmer, thematic feel.

I am also adjusting my mindset such that I think of it more like a show than a display. I am just not skilled enough to know whether the show is built around the display or the display is built around the show. This perspective, I need to understand.

On the display side, I also started a task I was curious about for some time. That was, what is the distance to screen size projection ratio for the video projectors I have. I managed to get measurements for the mini-projector, but the two larger projectors have yet to be done. Based on measurements from three distances, the projection distance can be calculated linearly.

Finally, my wife pointed out the possible interruption this year due to COVID-19. She also quickly noted that everyone will be wearing masks anyway, so, maybe all is good?

Comments

First Try at Making a Projection Map

A couple of nights ago, I set up the short throw projector in the front yard in an attempt to create a projection map. I stacked two portable work tables, one on top of the other, and positioned the projector on top. This provided a projector height of about 5 1/2 feet. The picture below was taken from the perspective of the projector after the map was drawn. I think that just the red outlines look pretty cool. I can't wait to do more with it. I set my laptop to the same resolution as the projector (1920 x 1080) and maximized the Microsoft Paint application. The white border around the house is from the window boarder of the paint application. However, when looking at the projection map image, I realized the projector was not level (pitured below): I'm not sure that it makes that much of a difference, but one thing will: inconsistency. So, I'm devising a means to produce consistent projector mounting results. As with all things, we begin with a good foundation. I purchased ...

First Synchronized Video Produced for 2021

With the plan to use DMX synchronized video projections and lighting controllers, I have been getting busy with the setup for the 2021 Halloween display. This includes making sure the DMX hardware I have actually works and producing video content for the display. I feel that once I confirm the hardware will work, getting the hardware setup should be uneventful. The synchronized videos will require a lot more work, especially since I want to produce an hour long show (in order to not repeat the same scenes too often). I settled on four large video projectors for this season, but I know only where three of them are positioned. Figuring out where the fourth projector goes is eluding me and causing a little angst. I haven't tested the DMX controllers with the media players yet. I'm planning on testing them this weekend. This includes getting a DMX interface from the computer to the universe to work as well as sequencing software. I still have my Lynx USB-to-DMX interface but haven...

Canton Chills

Search This Blog