# Projection Materials



## Dr. Scarecrow (Mar 14, 2011)

So, short and sweet- if I am looking to project as part of my Halloween Night haunt this year and Im split between singing pumpkins or the forthcoming ghosts DVD from AtmosfearFX. If I decide to take the dive and build a graveyard setup for the side yard- what would be the best way of projecting something outside???? 

Fog is too volatile- especially in New England where it could be windy or even snowy. What else works well outside and won't break the bank? I sheet will look horrible, I think and resign me to singing pumpkins amongst the scarecrows.

Thanks in advance!


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## stagehand1975 (Feb 22, 2010)

I use a king sized bed sheet to watch movies outside in the summer. And i do it using rear projection. I think it looks good.


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## Haunted Spider (Sep 6, 2010)

If you want a project material, you are looking at a sheet or translucent plastic to project onto if you don't want fog as a projection medium. Just hide the sheet from looking like a sheet. Frame it in something to make it look like a mausoleum or something of the sort. I personnally use a shower curtain stretched inside a picture window in my home.


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## CrazedHaunter (Nov 18, 2012)

I use spandex material, alot cheaper than rear projection material,works just as good


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Does your next door neighbor by chance have a large blank wall facing your side yard? You might experiment with projecting images onto that wall. I don't think it would be considered trespassing:jol:

I assume a pepper's ghost set up would also work, using Haunted Spider's suggestion for hiding the edges of the glass with a framework of some kind.


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## stagehand1975 (Feb 22, 2010)

There is a way to do it with clear plexi as well. Projector pointed up to a piece of plexi at an angle. This make it look like your image is floating and you can see through the image. However it needs to be extra dark for it to work this way.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

A lot really depends upon the kind of effect you are looking for.
Using scrim material you can have semi transparent images that will only show up )themselves or the screen) when your projector is on, you can get movie screen material on ebay pretty cheap, and it comes in almost any size you want. Bed sheets are okay, but the color will be a bit diffused, especially if you are projecting the image from behind the sheet. What really makes the image pop is that actual movie screen material is kind of reflective, much like the reflective material used for traffic signs, stop signs, etc.


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## Troll Wizard (May 3, 2012)

I agree with fontgeek, it does depend on that kind of effect your looking for. You need to decide if you want a frontal view or one from the rear. These will determine what type of material your are going to need for your screen. For your normal front view, you would need just a regular projection screen, which comes in different sizes. The reflective material on the screen comes from a silver composite that gathers the light and then reflects it back. Thus giving you the image that we are used to seeing, same as you do if you go to someones house and they show old family movies or slides.

Rear projection material is a little different as in it allows you to see the picture from the front but you don't see where the image is coming from. All the people see is just what your showing from behind the screen. It gathers light in a different maner and of course if your using it outside the less light the better. But there are rear projection materials that work really well during the daylight for giving you a great picture. These tend to defuse ambiant light on the front part of the screen so your picture won't wash out when watching. Fontgeek is also correct in saying that ebay and Amazon are really great places to start because you can get either just the material or screens usually at a pretty good price.

There are also websites now that you can look up to build a DIY screen again both front or rear projections. I even found a screen paint that is available now online so you can paint it on a canvas sheet or something of that type of material. So the choices are unending and you can pay a little or a lot. It really just depends on what you want to do and how much you want to spend. If your like me, you want to spend as little as possible and get the best that you can for the money.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

If you want to add some more movement to the whole thing you can point some fans at the screen to make it ripple while you are projecting the images on it.

Also keep in mind that images projected from behind will be backwards to those viewing the image/screen from the other side. So, if your show is going to have text or something where the viewing angle needs to be as you would normally see it, that you will need to pre-flip the image before it's projected, that way it will be right-reading to the guests.


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## Troll Wizard (May 3, 2012)

fontgeek said:


> If you want to add some more movement to the whole thing you can point some fans at the screen to make it ripple while you are projecting the images on it.
> 
> Also keep in mind that images projected from behind will be backwards to those viewing the image/screen from the other side. So, if your show is going to have text or something where the viewing angle needs to be as you would normally see it, that you will need to pre-flip the image before it's projected, that way it will be right-reading to the guests.


Really great point about the text being backwards from the front. If you are using slides, (which is old school) that wouldn't be a problem because of just reversing the slides. If someone can't flip the image or text then they may be forced to show from the front only. Great Tip fontgeek!


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## MapThePlanet (Nov 12, 2010)

And if you are doing a rear projection setup, and there are test or font issues, you could always resort to aiming it at a mirror and then onto the screen, assuming that you can't flip the images any other way


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## Dr. Scarecrow (Mar 14, 2011)

Thanks for all of the input!

I could easily do front projection and hide the projector and computer behind a tombstone or in a raised crypt or something pretty easily. For me, it's a matter of camouflaging whatever the matter is into the scene. It's a pretty big side yard. No trees and in a well lit (street lights) urban neighborhood. 

Stapling a sheet or other material to some posts or onto a built up PVC frame isn't going to cut it...


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## seeweed (Mar 22, 2014)

*Projection on to Scrim*

When you project onto a scrim (or mosquito netting or ???) does the image continue through to objects beyond? or do they become so diffuse it doesn't matter? I know this is a neo question, but I want to find out before I start investing much time, energy and haunt-bucks. Thanks!


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Depending on the type of scrim material (some are more opaque/solid than others) your image will showing primarily on the scrim itself. while some light may show through, the image ends up being diffused or blurred by the scrim itself. Those sharper or more defined edges and images tend to keep the audience's focus on the intended area. Also, at least for stage work, the scrim tends to be wide enough that you, the viewer, don't really see much of the area behind the scrim so that when no image is projected, you just see the background tinted a bit darker than normal. But if that is the only glimpse you get, the tinted version, then your mind accepts that as the normal appearance.
You can play with different effects using layers of scrim material with projectors between layers. Also simple things like having a fan aimed at the scrim can give your projected image a fluttering or floating image rather than just being static.


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## seeweed (Mar 22, 2014)

Thanks for the info - I'll keep in mind that the type of image I'm projecting will effect the "spill". Time to start my experiments (bwah-hah-haa!)


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## Daphne (Oct 18, 2006)

This is an ancient thread but it has some awesome info so I hate to start another. I bought a projector this morning. Yay! I feel like I just joined some secret society ha ha even though I have ones with preprogrammed stuff but anyway…. 

I tried projecting on a dark gray wall in the basement while holding various fabrics up to test and here is the issue.

My projection is Spectral Illusion’s ghost hearse so it’s fairly dark/ethereal/smoky looking. I’m going to put it in the driveway beside my cemetery. There are a few trees on both sides so it should be shielded pretty well from the blue cemetery lights and at the end of the driveway are big trees that are far enough away that it shouldn’t be a huge problem with light coming through, I think? People are using everything from white or gray bedsheets (opaque) to voile/tulle (see through) to landscape fabric (translucent). It seems like using anything that isn’t opaque would kill the detail. There is nothing behind the scrim I want to show so would the effect be better on a white/gray opaque material? There was also the reflective aspect. Would silver satin be better or is there too much risk of any light spill from the cemetery lighting up the screen with the reflective quality? I want the ghost hearse/horses life size and I was WAY over budget before I snagged the projector so prefer to only buy this big piece of unknown fabric once. Help? Please? Thanks as always!


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## partsman (Feb 26, 2008)

I do remember reading a post on the old form somebody used a fine water Mist to project their video onto don't know if that could help you or not but they made it really like a curtain of mist


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