Still Picture Projection - Moving illusion

We have still water pictures, note that they are still pictures and are not multi-shot (meaning that there are none that are taken in quick succession so it cannot be animated by placing them back to back), and we want to have the illusion that it is moving water. I thought of lighting moving through at different speeds in different areas at different intensities, but is there a better way to do this or things that I could try?

On a single picture it appears that the water on it is moving.

Thank you for all your help guys, everytime I've posted I've gotten good advice or my problems solved.

Different intensities, sure, different speeds nope. Light moves at a constant speed. I would see if you could make the screen itself ripple in some way. Although I suppose it doesnt say if you're projecting the images or not.

It would help to know how these images are being made to appear. Is it a projector, an imagePro, or are they posters?

If it is some sort of projection then there are effects glass gobos that when used in conjunction with a gobo rototor can be used to add some rippling/distortion to the image.

If it is a video projection then a lot of digital scrapbook software has the ability to add motion and distortion to the still image. There can be challenges playing that back through an arbitrary system.

If you've got a Mac, you could use a Quartz filter (I'm sure there's a ripple screensaver out there that you could borrow the comp from) to add dynamic ripples to a still image.

josh88 said:

Different intensities, sure, different speeds nope. Light moves at a constant speed. I would see if you could make the screen itself ripple in some way. Although I suppose it doesnt say if you're projecting the images or not.

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Sorry, yes we are projecting images, onto screens, unbendable metal beasts that hang from the ceiling and are about 5 feet wide and maybe 20-30 feet tall. Um... I think the set designer said something about mesh. So, mesh screens (yes we can project on them... badly but that's what we're doing).

So no rippling screen for us. Good idea though if it was a regualar one.

Is there a particular reason why you couldn't go out and film some moving water and use the real footage? Sometimes the real thing tends to work better. Unless editing a still photo would work better for the design/vision of the show, I would try to use the real thing.

Here's an idea, what about renting a GAM FX film for water, and using that on top of the projected image? It might be enough to trick your self into thinking the image itself is moving.

http://www.gamonline.com/catalog/filmfx/index.php




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Unless you are planning to use a slide projector, why don't you just throw the still image in Motion or AfterEffects and make it move? Alternately, you could just get moving footage and use that.

metti said:

Unless you are planning to use a slide projector, why don't you just throw the still image in Motion or AfterEffects and make it move? Alternately, you could just get moving footage and use that.

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That seems to be a critical factor, how and what are you actually 'projecting'?

CrazyTechie said:

Is there a particular reason why you couldn't go out and film some moving water and use the real footage? Sometimes the real thing tends to work better. Unless editing a still photo would work better for the design/vision of the show, I would try to use the real thing.

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There is only one moving stream nearby (which has already been filmed) and, unfortunately, being a college student with no car, makes the next nearest place about a 3 hours walk away, making it a total of 6 hours round trip, no including the time it takes to film it. I also would rather not take things off the internet, but this is also a liable option.

museav said:

That seems to be a critical factor, how and what are you actually 'projecting'?

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We're using isodora (isadora?) if that helps any. We're projecting backgrounds for the Elysian Fields and some other specials that have yet to be fully hashed out. But I will take a look at in Motion and AfterEffects, they might just be what I'm looking for.

Thanks guys.