Cyc Projection Advice

[Theater]

Hello all.

I am stage managing a show, and I have been put in charge of the backgrounds, which are to be projected on the cyc. I was thinking of doing this on a PowerPoint presentation. There is one thing that seems to be an inconvenience, and that is that the projector is set up in the booth, and NEEDS to stay there, it cannot move because the theater also shows movies. The distance from the projector to cyc is about 100 feet.

Does anyone just have any general advice on this? It would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I remember reading something on here a while back, about something that integrates your PowerPoint in with light cues? I searched but could not find anything. Does anyone know about this?

 

[Theater]

Also, there is NO way around using the projections. The play is based off a book, and we paid a lot of money to get the rights to the original illustrations, and having them put onto actual backdrops would be way to expensive.

 

[techieman33]

What's the problem with it being in the booth? Is there a reason that the video source can't be in booth near it? Even if it has to be controlled from backstage you can make a cable run that long with the proper equipment.

 

[Theater]

What's the problem with it being in the booth? Is there a reason that the video source can't be in booth near it? Even if it has to be controlled from backstage you can make a cable run that long with the proper equipment.

Thanks for your reply!

The problem with the projector being in the booth is that it will definitely be washed out, and the possibility of shadows. Its an older projector, and our TD has trying to get it replaced for a while now, because the image is just not that sharp and bright. The image isn't very intense when showing movies in the dark, and I am really worried about how visible it will be with the lights.

Any advice on how to lessen this washout will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
T

 

[cpf]

Well, if you can't move the projector, can't use a different projector, and can't use a different projection "screen" than your cyc, I'd say you're left with cutting all the US lighting that gets remotely near the cyc and hoping for the best.

As for PowerPoint lighting control, there's the Rosco Keystroke (discontinued, check eBay) that turns DMX into key presses, and I've seen hints on PaletteOS boards that they can advance powerpoints, but I've never actually tried using it.

 

[BillESC]

The stage floor will need to be matte black.

 

[ruinexplorer]

Why can't you move the projector for the production and then put it back in the booth for the next movie night (or do you show movies while in production)? What type of projector do you have? Do you have the appropriate angle to hit the cyc from the booth (at least one theater where I worked, this would have been impossible). Do you have the appropriate lens? How large of an image do you intend to create? Do you have the budget to rent a different projector? Is your stage deep enough to keep lighting away from the scrim?

There are general rules to follow, but they are useless without defining certain variables.

 

[museav]

The problem with the projector being in the booth is that it will definitely be washed out, and the possibility of shadows. Its an older projector, and our TD has trying to get it replaced for a while now, because the image is just not that sharp and bright. The image isn't very intense when showing movies in the dark, and I am really worried about how visible it will be with the lights.

I understand the shadows but why do you think the projector being located in the booth is a factor in the image being washed out? If you don't need as large an image and have a zoom lens you might try zooming in so that the projector output is spread over a smaller image. And if you have not done so, it may be worthwhile to look at how many hours there are on the projector lamp and whether a new lamp might help (lamp and thus projector output decreases over time).

A cyc is not a projection screen so chances are you will get a less bright and probably less color accurate image with the cyc than with a true projection screen. That makes it even more important to minimize other light hitting the cyc whenever you are using projection.

Also, there is NO way around using the projections. The play is based off a book, and we paid a lot of money to get the rights to the original illustrations, and having them put onto actual backdrops would be way to expensive.

Then maybe someone should have defined a solution and the budget to implement it before committing to paying all that money. I always wonder what people were thinking, or if they did think, when I see "we spent all the money creating these challenges so now you have to come up with cheap solutions to them" situations. I always want to respond "well I spent much more than that so now your challenge is to come up with that money". That seems only fair.

 

[ruinexplorer]

Then maybe someone should have defined a solution and the budget to implement it before committing to paying all that money. I always wonder what people were thinking, or if they did think, when I see "we spent all the money creating these challenges so now you have to come up with cheap solutions to them" situations. I always want to respond "well I spent much more than that so now your challenge is to come up with that money". That seems only fair.

I am in one of those situations now. I am negotiating for an operating budget.

 

[Theater]

Thanks everyone for your replies!

Our solution is as follows:
We set up a projector, which we borrowed from a cast member's business-it had a wide lense, on the grid about 25 feet away from the cyc. The projector had an HDMI input, so we used my AppleTV and streamed my laptop onto the cyc using that. The projector is at such an angle that we have way more usable stage space... Only about 5 feet in front of the cyc will create a shadow. This projector is basically new, and has such a bright image!

Thanks all for your help!

T