Hi,
I've been asked to research some guerilla marketing methods and building projection is on the list! IE - getting images and videos projected onto various buildings across the UK (not image mapping or interative - yet).
I'm fairy tech savvy but this is beyond my current knowledge.
Is there a standard/recommendation on a particular piece of kit and or lumens that would work best for this. My initial thoughts were to hire the kit first to test and then purchase, once satisfied with the results.
I found a brand called Barco which seems popular and was looking at the 20,000 lumens models.
My initial questions are:
Would this suffice?
Could this be run from a standard power source or would it need a generator?
What would I need to connect to it & how?
Can video be projected from these devices?
Would I need a (presumably) long throw lens
Have you done anything like this in the UK? Were there any licensing issues or problems with councils/buildings etc
Any experiences anyone has of delivering or investigating these types of campaigns would be greatly appreciated - as you can see, I'm pretty lost with it all!!
Thanks
Lee
I do building projection work with Barco 20ks quite often, here is my take on it;
- If you arent mapping then the implementation on the media/playback side is easier, but you will really need to find a building that is a light colour with a large, flat, windowless area on it. Combine that with the fact that you realistically need to have a clear line of sight for at least the same distance away from the building as the width of the image you require and that limits your options quickly.
- Of course if you are looking for a more permanent setup then you can look at blending and shooting from multiple angles, etc but as you said guerilla to me that means setup quickly!
- Generally you would require a generator as these draw between 15-20 amps at 240V. Most outlets wouldn't supply that, at least long term.
- They have input cards to suit most sources, and any production company with these will be able to accommodate anything you need.
- You will need a range of lenses to suit various locations, but generally if you are talking about larger buildings you will be looking at lenses somewhere in the mid zoom range.
- I have done a setup out of a van towing a generator before, but this exposes the projector to a lot more possible abuse (note the projector and generator weren't running whist the van was moving!).
- Ambient light will be a big problem. Most cities are quite well lit for safety and this makes projection hard. Usually we will have street lights in the vicinity temporarily disconnected which is something you wont be able to do without permission. The size of the projection and the less than ideal surfaces make 20K look dull very quickly. In a light controlled situation the biggest screen I routinely use a single 20K on is 6m wide, and most building projections will need to be a lot bigger than that.
Hope this helps
-Gareth