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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?

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