sparks curtain projection/media clip

[wsatorius]

Hi I just signed on and am a voluteer at a church, as sound and lighting guy. I am looking for a projection loop of sparks falling from the top down or shooting up, that I can project on the back wall of our stage. Gaining the effect without the hazard. Any suggestions where I can find a video loop of a sparks curtain?

[DaveySimps]

Welcome! Great to have you here. You may want to post your question in the Multimedia, Projection, and Show Control Forum. Not all members regularly read the New Member Board. You will have better traffic there. Also be sure to use the search function to see what you can find, if you have not already done so. There are a lot of hidden gems there.

Enjoy CB!

~Dave

[Dionysus]

Welcome to the booth, come in, relax. There are many answers to be had here... Just not in the "New Member" area. It's just a place to say "hi/bye/here I come again!"

There are many ways to create the illusion of sparks...
Post a thread in the "Special Effects" area and I'm sure you'll have TEN ways to do it within a day.

[Raktor]

Blue Pony Digital, Inc.

[derekleffew]

Posted by CB's own RuinExplorer, on another forum:

Be careful what you use. Just because you have access to it on the internet does not give you the right to publish it in another form. Images from the Library of Congress should be considered for research purposes only, someone may still own the rights to them, in other words you can get sued for using them. It is best to use images from BluePony or ArtBeats or similar site where you know that the images you use are royalty free. Most of the sites that sell you royalty free images have some stock images for free (samples) which you can access through monthly newletters. It's well worth it to sign up for them. If you find an image that you absolutely must use, it usually isn't too hard to find out who owns it. Even if you are doing a school play, your institution can get sued for using an unauthorized image, the same as the unauthorized use of a play or piece of music.

Blue Pony has already been listed, but also check out:
www.artbeats.com
www.digitaljuice.com
www.alunablue.com
www.worshipfilms.com
www.showfootage.com

Not all of these have free content, but if you check around, you can often get the content for cheap (Digital Juice often retires its content and it can be had for as little as $1.99)

(Moving this thread into the "AV" area.)

[Dionysus]

You can also use a leeko coupled with a gobo and FX Wheel. This can make a very good approximation of things like 'sparks'. If you have any of the above around see what you can make up. If not there are a few combinations that will do a good job.

Quite cost-effective if you already have Gobo rotator(s)/FX-Wheel or other such devices...

The GAM recipe book is a good place to get started: GAM Recipe Book

However if you already have the projector, and have it in position, then media would be quicker and easier.

[BillESC]

Why not take a camera and film a sparkler against a black background.