Hanging Shadows

I'm working on the Crucible. My vision for the end is to have John Proctor and Rebecca is to have them walk up and out of the prison, be blocked from sight by the prison walls, and just shadows of them being hung. We just got a new short throw projector (rear projector) and I was thinking of using that behind a physical prison wall. I'm quite new to this technology, so what should I be thinking about?

Second question. In the beginning they do a demonic dance and I was going to have periodic flashes of light illuminating parts of their dance, but now I'm wondering if we could use the short throw for that? In other words have a grey, hazy woods scene on the projector and flash it on and off.

Thanks!!!

Projectors are fairly complicated beasts for a pretty straightforward effect -- you've got to worry about generating the media, having a device to play it back on, cable and power to the projector position, a proper dowser or shutter for the projector, video blue when the dowser doesn't close all the way or opens to soon, the inevitable computer menu screen or company logo that appears instead of the desired image... lots of ways it can go pear-shaped.

I did a similar gag once, but used a lens-less Fresnel and several puppets (I think they were GI Joe action figures) to be the "prisoners" being hung. It worked reasonably well -- the detail of the rope around the neck is pretty much lost in silhouette, so the pose communicates the story.

theatricalmatt said:

Projectors are fairly complicated beasts for a pretty straightforward effect -- you've got to worry about generating the media, having a device to play it back on, cable and power to the projector position, a proper dowser or shutter for the projector, video blue when the dowser doesn't close all the way or opens to soon, the inevitable computer menu screen or company logo that appears instead of the desired image... lots of ways it can go pear-shaped.

I did a similar gag once, but used a lens-less Fresnel and several puppets (I think they were GI Joe action figures) to be the "prisoners" being hung. It worked reasonably well -- the detail of the rope around the neck is pretty much lost in silhouette, so the pose communicates the story.

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What did you project the shadow images onto?

I'm also wondering now if it would work to use a scrim and have them be fake hung. Any thoughts on this?

Yes, you can use a projector to do this. As stated, this will come with a lot of other planning, so if you want to go that way, we can talk about the specifics.

First thing, you cannot project black. So, when you create the imagery, understand that you will be using the projector as a light source, projecting white and having the silhouettes being absent from the image. That's the same concept when you are using a gobo.

Second thing, similar to the first, the projector is a fancy light source. That being said, you need to make sure that it is a bright enough light source for what you need. Some factors that you will need to consider: how big an image you are creating, what surface it will be projected on, what other light will you be competing with. All of these will have an effect on what your audience will see.

Third, you say that this is a "rear projector". I assume that means that the projector is permanently mounted at the back of the stage. The video projector should be able to be switched to front projection if you are allowed to move it (unless menu features are locked out). If you must have it as a rear projection, then you will need a rear projection surface, something that allows a good majority of the light to pass through it, but disperses it enough to not have a "hot spot" where you notice the source of the projection.

Using puppets with a single point light source is a really good option. As a video guy, I always want to make sure that designers know what they are looking for and that video is not always the answer.