Right Arm and projectors

[bigtim]

We've recently purchased our first Apollo Right Arm and are looking forward to putting it through it's paces with conventional lighting instruments in our next production. We also want to start implementing projections (yeah, I know - welcome to the 20th century!). What's the best way to mount a projector to an RA? Am I able to use standard projector ceiling mount hardware as long as it can bolt up to the tilt arm? Opinions/suggestions/issues with using a projector mounted to an RA for front projection? Our stage is 32'x24' and we seat 200. Both small, but we have numerous positions to hang from.

Thanks for the help.

 

[ccm1495]

I have used right arms for a number of things the most recent and ridiculous use was to dump a box of streamers. It was a last minute thing and was kinda a wast of the right arm.

I did at one point mount a projector on one of our right arms as well. I did not have a lot of time or resources so i went to lowes and got some machine screws that would fit the projector and some plastic spacers. I cut the projector mounting plate out of a sheet of 1/2 in plywood. Then marked out and drilled the holes for the screws. I also drilled some holes for bolts to attach the plate to the right arm. The plastic spacers are to give me space to tighten the projector screws. The projector i was using also happened to have a nice hole in it that was perfect for a safety chain.

The biggest problem I had was dealing with the keystone of the projector. Every time the projector moved to a new angle the auto keystone took over but never quite got it right.
The other issue was getting the screens or projection surfaces to be a consistent distance away form the projector so that it did not need to re focus it.

What kinda projector are you mounting on it?
What will you be projecting on? Where?

 

[museav]

Have you asked Apollo? Since they specifically suggest the Right Arm can be used with projectors I would think they could offer a suggested mounting method if not a specific adapter or mount.

 

[bigtim]

Thanks for the input and for bringing up issues I hadn't thought about. Being new to projections/projectors, I'm working on understanding all the variables. As always, budget is an issue. We're looking at a recommendation from a tech friend Optoma USA TW610ST , but he was recommending this specifically for rear projection (something we wouldn't be using the RA for). We'd be projecting on different surfaces - Chameleon scrim, white cyc, etc.

 

[bigtim]

I've asked the good Apollo folks so many questions, I thought I'd give them a brief break and ask the general CB community. But good advice - and I've got their number on speed dial!

 

[hobbsies]

We tried using a right arm to pan a projector around a room while a video of driving down a dark road was projected. It looked cool but was mad dizzying. Are you thinking about doing live moves with the projector on the right arm?

 

[bigtim]

My thinking hadn't gotten that far yet. We mostly do 'standard' (whatever that is) shows, but I'd like to expand our offerings and capabilities so I'm open to most anything.

 

[ruinexplorer]

The projector can become your ultimate break-up gobo machine with a basic projector. You can use it as a light source as opposed to attempting to get the video exactly right. With more expensive projectors, you can have multiple settings, including zoom and focus, so that way the projector can show on surfaces at various focal distances or angles. You may also be able to compensate for some of your keystone issues through your media server (just turn off your auto keystone correction or auto anything for that matter).

 

[bigtim]

An interesting idea and one that could certainly work for us. Thanks for the input!