#23: PAX Week (3/20-27)

The main focus of this week has been PAX & RJ’s studio, and I’m afraid I haven’t made much progress on my own project. The idea that I’d use “down time” this week from work to do the final projection in the venue hasn’t really survived it’s encounter with reality. I have done a final 3D test and know what I need to do to get ready for that, but the final projection will end up being the final milestone (and the same week my show at Holy Cross opens too, sadly – it’ll be a busy one!)

First, I’m planning to project straight-on to the wall, rather than from two opposing angles. This does mean that some recesses of the wall won’t have coverage, but they’ll hit most of the wall, and do 90% of what I’m looking for with around 30% of the work. Fair trade. I’m also only planning to project on the upper portion of the wall (excluding the ~3’ radiator at the bottom). If this becomes part of a performance, that would be a challenging area to hit anyway with people sitting in front of the wall.

I do plan to use my wider, dimmer BenQ MW632ST projectors – they have the right optics, I can set them up on a set of rolling tables that are already in the hall, and the only downside is that they’re dim. Too dim for a proper performance with an audience and lit musicians in front, but just fine for a tech demo and photos.

I also know that I’ll need a projector calibration system, and have a rough idea for one that I can build in Isadora. This will let me check that the projectors are level, centered, and perpendicular to the wall (or at an angle if I change my mind), and give me a good reference for matching the projector zoom & camera FOV.